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House Bill Would Suspend 34-Hour Restart

  

A bill that was introduced by a bipartisan trio of congressmen would delay the latest changes to the 34-hour restart provision of the current hours-of-service rules. The delay would be pending the completion of an independent assessment of the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

 

The bill would put carriers back under the restart provision that was in force prior to July 1, 2013, so the two periods of 1:00 am to 5:00 am would no longer be required, and specifies that the new 34-hour restart provision could not go back into effect until at least six months after the GAO completes their assessment.

 

The "True Understanding of the Economy and Safety Act" was drafted by Reps. Richard Hanna (R - NY.), Tom Rice (R - SC.), and Mike Michaud (D - ME.). They believe that the 34-hour restart provision is "arbitrary and capricious" because the safety agency has not yet completed a study of its effectiveness. They believe that there are legitimate concerns that this new rule makes our roadways less safe and hurts small business.

 

One of the arguments against the new hours-of-service rules is that it's wrong for the federal government to impose an arbitrary and capricious regulation that impacts almost every sector of the American economy without first finishing a study on its effectiveness.

 

The agency is late in completing its study, but Transportation Secretary, Anthony Foxx, has said that they are working as expeditiously as possible.

 

The bill will likely be referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

 

Source: Transport Topics & Heavy Duty Trucking

TMHA Board
of Directors
  
President
 
Jon Coca
Diamond Transportation System, Inc.
 
First Vice President
 
Aaron Tennant
Tennant Truck Lines
  
Second Vice President
 
Mike Connell
Bennett Motor Express
  
Past President
 
Jim Towery
Steelman Transportation
  
  
Clayton Fisk
Warren Transport
  
Jeremy Ihle
Ihle Transport, Inc.
  
  
TMHA Mission Statement  
  
To provide an ongoing forum for education, networking and advocacy for flatbed, step-deck and lowboy (RGN) carriers that specialize in the transportation of machinery and machinery-related commodities throughout the United States and Canada.
  

Reforms made to Hours of Service (HOS) regulations imposed back in July are one of several factors starting to affect the profitability of carriers, particularly those in the long-haul TL segment of the industry. Productivity appears to drag from the recently implemented HOS mandates, higher maintenance/equipment costs and rising driver-related costs are all part of that cost-pressure mix. J.B. Hunt Transport Services noted that its TL division is being negatively affected by the HOS changes, though the company overall posted higher earnings and revenues in the third quarter this year versus the same period in 2012 due to burgeoning intermodal and dedicated truck demand. Still, J.B. Hunt posted net earnings of $89.5 million on total operating revenues of $1.44 billion in the third quarter, up from net earnings of $78.2 million on $1.3 billion in revenues during the same quarter in 2012. Implementation of new private fleet conversions in Dedicated Contract Services (DCS) division and an increase in revenue per load in Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) helped drive segment revenue increases of 12 percent, 17 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

 

Source: Fleet Owner Magazine
ATA to Review Political Stance

Weary of another year of political gridlock, trucking industry leaders meeting at the annual ATA Management Conference vowed to make more critical assessments before offering support to lawmakers and to take a more cohesive message directly to the public. Bill Graves, president of American Trucking Associations, opened the federation's Management Conference Exhibition with a warning to Congress. The event closed with the announcement of a collaborative industry-wide image campaign and the approval of allowing non-ATA members of state associations to compete in the National Truck Driving Championships. Outgoing ATA Chairman Michael Card said the "Trucking Moves America Forward" campaign will do a better job of reaching out to the public. Safety was a topic at many policy committee meetings and educational sessions, where the effects of regulations such as Hours of Service and the CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) rating program were discussed.

 

Source: Transport Topics

Offer Continued Support to TMHA with an Annual Sponsorship

With 2014 quickly approaching, now is the time for current Allied vendor members of The Machinery Haulers Association to consider taking their support of TMHA to another level.

 

TMHA is seeking participation in its new Premier Sponsorship Program, which has been designed to bring maximum exposure and recognition to sponsors within the association. The additional financial support will help TMHA explore doing things that have been cost prohibitive in the past (i.e. paying speakers for meetings) and will allow the association to become a stronger advocate for its members.

 

There are two levels -- Gold and Silver -- to the Premier Sponsorship Program with the Gold sponsors being limited to one vendor from the categories of truck dealer, trailer dealer, insurance and specialty equipment/technology for a total of four. There is no limit on the number of companies that can participate at the Silver level.

 

Current TMHA vendor members have first right of refusal to participate at one of the four Gold sponsor levels. After November 11, non-members in these specific areas will be given the opportunity to be a Gold sponsor in the categories that remain uncommitted.

 

For more information, please contact Phillip Nicolino at (515) 244-5193 or visit www.machineryhaulers.org to download the Premier Sponsorship Program Commitment Form.
Hotel Accommodations Arranged, Registration Available for the Next TMHA Member Meeting 

 

If you have yet to do so, mark your calendars to attend the TMHA December Membership Meeting at Jumer's Casino & Hotel in Rock Island, Ill., on Wednesday, December 4, and Thursday, December 5.

 

Already established is a great line-up of speakers presenting on the following topics: 

  • Transportation Law
  • Health Care Reform
  • Political Trends

Hotel accommodations have been arranged at Jumer's Hotel with a special rate room block available until November 27. Registration is also open and being accepted electronically by using the link below.

 

As the meeting draws closer, a full schedule of events will be made available and emailed out to your attention.

 

Contact the TMHA office at (515) 244-5193 or [email protected] with questions.

 

For further information, please view the TMHA Winter Membership Meeting Flyer, and don't forget to visit the online registration form to get registered today!

The best advice for driving in bad weather is to avoid it, if you can. Obviously that's not always possible, so extra caution and defensive driving in winter is necessary to safely reach your destination. Keep in mind that snow is not the only adverse weather condition that you and your drivers could encounter in winter. Rain is the most common adverse weather condition. Despite this fact, and driver's familiarity with driving in rain, the dangers of driving in rain are often overlooked. The hazards associated with driving in rain include slippery roads, wet brakes, reduced visibility and traffic congestion. Drivers should watch for "pooling" of water on the road. When water is present, hydroplaning can occur. Speed, the amount of water on the roadway, tread depth issues, tire air pressure issues and road surface characteristics are all factors that can contribute to hydroplaning.

 

Read more about this article at www.machineryhaulers.org.

ATA Would Allow Hair Testing for Drugs Tests
A senator and representative from Arkansas have introduced bills that would allow trucking companies to use hair samples as a means to conduct required pre-employment drug tests on driver applicants. Presently, the only acceptable method for this testing is urine testing. The bills establish hair testing guidelines that would help trucking companies identify drug-abusing drivers and would allow trucking companies to submit positive test results from hair testing to the national drug and alcohol database. The thought is hair testing will keep more drug offenders from getting behind the wheel of commercial motor vehicles as it is a much better way to identify drug abusers. The FMCSA is working on a proposal to create a national database of positive drug and alcohol tests from truck drivers. The bills were both introduced on October 30 with both the Senate and House having referred them to committees for consideration.
 

Source: Transport Topics

The Machinery Haulers Association

717 E. Court Avenue
Des Moines, Iowa
Phone: (515) 244-5193
Fax: (515) 244-2204

Your Professional Staff

Brenda Neville, Director
Don Egli, Safety
Phillip Nicolino, Marketing