Well here we are again, summer is at an end and the kids are heading back to school Where did the time go? Long gone are the slow days of summer. We continue at the speed of light 24/7.
This month we report:
HOURS OF SERVICE – It would appear that after all these years, the Hours of Service rules are now set. The final court decision can be viewed here …and the buzz is that the main opposition is now ending the battle. It has been many years, and many battles for these final rules to come into place. The only change to the current rules relates to short haul drivers, who will not be subject to the 30-minute off-duty break requirement. FMCSA issued guidance stating that “effective immediately’ the agency will no longer enforce the 30-minute rest break on short-haul drivers. The agency is defining short-haul operations as those that operate in a 100 air-mile radius of the normal work reporting location and non-CDL drivers that operate within a 150 air-mile radius of the location where the driver reports for duty. Now that the rules are set, members of congress are pressing the Department of Transportation for a firm date to finish a field study on the newly revised 34-hour restart provision of the hours-of-service rule. The study was due before the new HOS rule became final on July 1 but it has not yet been released.
UNIFIED REGISTRATION SYSTEM – The FMCSA rulemaking has been released which amends its regulations to require interstate motor carriers, freight forwarders, brokers, intermodal equipment providers (IEPs), hazardous materials safety permit (HMSP) applicants, and cargo tank facilities under FMCSA jurisdiction to submit required registration and biennial update information to the Agency via a new electronic on-line Unified Registration System (URS). FMCSA establishes fees for the registration system, discloses the cumulative information to be collected in the URS, and provides a centralized cross-reference to existing safety and commercial regulations necessary for compliance with the registration requirements. The final rule implements statutory provisions in the ICC Termination Act of 1995 (ICCTA) and the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, 2005 (SAFETEA-LU). The URS will streamline the registration process and serve as a clearinghouse and depository of information on, and identification of, motor carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, IEPs, HMSP applicants, and cargo tank facilities required to register with FMCSA. The effective date of the rule is October 23, 2015 and can be viewed here in its full splendor.
CSA CHALLENGE – The Federal Court will hear arguments in September on whether the federal government followed the law in implementing and publicizing the new Compliance, Safety, Accountability program for trucking and bus company safety rankings. The Alliance for Safe, Efficient and Competitive Truck Transportation (ASECTT), a group of brokers, shippers and carriers, filed the lawsuit last year, contending that the FMCSA failed to follow the rulemaking process when it informed shippers and brokers to consider CSA scores when hiring carriers. Argument is set for September 10.
