November 10, 2015:  MCM Weekly Newsletter
 

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
*There is no Billings Chapter Safety Meeting scheduled for November*

Nov 19            Missoula Chapter Safety Meeting
                        12:00 p.m. -1:00 pm.
                        Location, Speaker & Topic TBA

Nov 16-20       SafetyFestMT:  Billings
                        Billings Hotel & Convention Center
                        1223 Mullowney Lane, Billings, MT

Nov 27             MCM Office Closed for Thanksgiving Holiday
Attention Montana Pre PassMembers
North Carolina Welcomes PrePass Truck Bypassing Service
HELP partners with NCPASS to offer safety bypassing at two weigh stations
                                
PHOENIX - PrePass-approved trucks are now eligible to be pre-cleared for bypassing the weigh stations near Hillsborough, NC, making North Carolina the 32nd state in the country to offer this truck safety electronic screening technology.


HELP Inc., the provider of PrePass, International Road Dynamics Inc., the provider of NCPass, and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol jointly announced in April 2015 their agreement to allow PrePass users the safety and efficiency benefits of bypassing at the Hillsborough weigh stations.
 
PrePass fleets that have provided PrePass a current photo of a typical truck from their fleet can bypass the eastbound and westbound weigh stations on Interstates 40 and 85, six miles west of Hillsborough. The truck photo is a North Carolina-specific credential that can be easily uploaded by fleets via [email protected].

"It is exciting to see many months of hard work come to fruition," said HELP Inc. President and CEO Karen Rasmussen. "The expansion of PrePass into North Carolina provides additional bypass opportunities to those fleets and drivers that travel throughout the southeast, while the system allows weigh station personnel to focus on trucks that may need additional attention. It's another great example of industry and government working together to move freight more safely and efficiently throughout our country."

More than 533,000 trucks from over 45,000 fleets are currently enrolled in the PrePass commercial vehicle pre-clearance and bypass service.
Since 1997, PrePass has provided nearly 670 million actual truck bypasses, saving carriers almost $4.8 billion in operational costs.
House Rejects Proposal to Bar Teen Truck Drivers
The House rejected amendment on Wednesday to block teenagers from driving trucks, clearing the way for an effort to lower the minimum age of truck drivers on interstate trips from 21 years of age to 18. The chamber rejected an amendment to the $325 billion highway bill that is being considered this week that would have eliminated the language lowering the minimum truck driver age from the road funding legislation on an 181-248 vote. 
Heavy Truck Definition Survey
The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) is sponsoring a research project to investigate disparities in the definitions of heavy trucks to help the trucking industry and enforcement officials to understand pertinent regulations and to assist with future legislature to clarify these definitions and language. This project aims to uncover ambiguity and discrepancies existent in the federal and state level rules, laws, and regulations regarding heavy trucks. For that purpose, the Western Transportation Institute (WTI) at Montana State University is developing a survey in order to:

-       Collect and document comments from commercial vehicle operators, practitioners, and law enforcement regarding Montana state and federal regulations on heavy truck operation, safety, and registration.

-       Use the information to identify ambiguity existent in regulations and improve clarity and cohesion.
 
We would like to have your inputs on this survey by November 28th, 2015 to collect issues that enforcement officials and the trucking industry have interpreting different definitions of large trucks in rules, laws, and regulations.   Thank you for your input.
Free Safety Workshops
Montana's workers are exposed to a range of workplace hazards on a daily basis. But how do we keep these exposures to a minimum? Join us this December as we help you and your co-workers stay injury free as we present Working Together for a Safer Montana.

We All Share the Responsibility -   Let's face it; no matter what you do for work, on the job safety is always a concern. But the question remains, who is responsible for the safety of an employee? We contend everyone in your workplace must play a part. In this session we'll help you break down the roles and responsibilities of each of your employees so you get everyone in your organization working together for safety.

Not Only for Office Workers - Ergonomics are one of the most overlooked issues in workplace safety, yet they affect everyone from the receptionist to the traveling salesman to a line worker at a manufacturing facility. Simply put, ergonomics has to do with proper posture, managing forces and an excessive repetitive motion. In this section of the workshop we'll give you the tips you need to tackle everyday ergonomic issues, as well as open the floor for discussion to for participants to share their ergonomic challenges and solutions.

Dates and Locations
December 1 - Kalispell - Hampton Inn
December 2 - Missoula - Best Western Grant Creek Inn
December 3 - Helena - Holiday Inn Express
December 4 - Great Falls - Holiday Inn
December 8 - Butte - La Quinta Inn
December 10 - Miles City - Sleep Inn & Suites
December 11 - Billings - Big Horn Resort
December 15 - Bozeman - Holiday Inn

Interested?
Register Now. The free trainings take place from 8:30 am - Noon. If you have questions, call 800-332-6102 extension 5361 (Kirk Smith).
November Driver of the Month Nominations
We are now accepting driver of the month applications for November 2015. An application is attached, and you may also download an application from our home page at www.mttrucking.org under the Driver of the Month tab.
All applications must be in by Monday, November 30 at 8:00 a.m.