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Hours of Service Changes, Driver Pay Reform Could Come Before Congress Soon
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Both chambers of Congress are expected to begin work soon on federal appropriations bills for the 2017 fiscal year, and lawmakers will likely, as in recent years, use their 2017 DOT funding bills as vehicles to implement hours of service changes or other trucking industry-related policy reforms.
Two key trucking items likely to see action in the appropriations process include a fix to the hours of service legislative screw-up from Congress' 2016 DOT appropriations law and the revival of the so-called "federal authority" provisions floated in recent transportation-related bills.
The hours of service-related measures will likely center on ensuring that the 34-hour restart will still be an option for truck drivers even after the results of a federal study are complete. In its December 2015-passed law appropriating funds for the U.S. DOT, Congress included language that would, depending on the results of a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration study, remove the 34-hour restart from the hours of service code entirely
The "federal authority" provisions would prevent states from instituting any state-level driver pay reforms and barring states from requiring carriers to give truck drivers paid meal and rest breaks.
SOURCE: CCJ |
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DOT: Study Too Limited to Impact Truck Size/Weight Policy
Much Ado About Nothing might also serve as the subtitle of the long-awaited Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Limits Study that the Department of Transportation has finally released to Congress, almost four years after it was mandated to do so by the MAP-21 highway bill.
DOT said that the report, intended to study issues around trucks operating "within and in excess of" current size and weight limits, "concludes that additional data analysis is necessary to fully understand the impacts of heavier and larger trucks on the transportation system."
DOT also revealed it has determined that "the data limitations related to truck size and weight rules are so profound that no changes in the relevant laws and regulations should be considered until these limitations are overcome."
SOURCE: Heavy Duty Trucking
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Fatal Crashes, Fatalities Involving Large Trucks Declined From 2013 to 2014
The number of large trucks involved in fatal crashes decreased in 2014 by 5%, to 3,744 from 3,921 in 2013, according to a report released April 15 by the FMCSA.
The total number of fatalities involving large trucks and buses declined 2.7%, to 4,161 in 2014 from 4,278 in 2013.
The declines in the number of truck-involved fatal crashes and fatalities occurred despite an increase of 4 million miles traveled by trucks over the same period, from 275 million to 279 million, the report said.
"It is a tragedy whenever there is a fatality on our highways, but the trucking industry is pleased to see that it is a tragedy that fewer and fewer Americans are experiencing," American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves said.
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Truck PAC Iowa Golf Outing --- Still Time to Register!
You still have time to register for the annual Truck PAC Iowa Golf Outing taking place on Thursday, May 26 at the beautiful Legacy Golf Course in Norwalk, Iowa.
This event brings together folks from Iowa's trucking industry all for a good cause, fundraising for IMTA's Political Action Committee. Rain or shine, this outing always proves to be the largest fundraiser for Truck PAC Iowa!
Single golfers, or groups of golfers are all welcome to register!
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California Senator Still Railing Against Trucking Provisions on Meal and Rest Breaks
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is maintaining her opposition to a key trucking provision.
In a recent letter to the leaders of the Senate funding committee, she shoots down the provisions intention and criticizes any effort to advance it. The provision would prevent states from enacting laws requiring companies to schedule meal and rest breaks for drivers or to pay drivers by the hour. Senate appropriators intend to take up a fiscal 2017 transportation funding bill, and Boxer is worried lawmakers will stick the trucking provision in the legislation.
SOURCE: Transport Topics
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State Of New York Reduces Hut Fees
The State of New York has announced that they have reduced their highway use tax certificate of registration and decal fees for both in-state and out-of-state carriers.
The fees for HUT and AFC registration or renewals were previously set at $19 per truck. The new fees became effective on April 13, 2016, and are now $1.50 per vehicle, which includes Certificate or Registration and decal. A replacement fee for a duplicate certificate of registration or decal is also $1.50 per vehicle.
The State of New York imposes a highway use tax (HUT) on motor carriers operating certain motor vehicles on New York State public highways (excluding toll-paid portions of the New York State Thruway). The tax rate is based on the weight of the motor vehicle and the method that you choose to report the tax.
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