Rule Mandating Speed Limiters Sent to White House for Approval
 

A proposed federal rule to require the installation and use of speed limiters (aka governors) on all trucks weighing more than 27,000 pounds has been sent from the U.S. Department of Transportation to the White House's Office of Management and Budget for its approval.


The proposed governed speed, however, will not be available until the proposed rule is published.


The rule, sent May 19 to the OMB, is being produced via a joint rulemaking by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.


Once the OMB stamps its approval on the rule, it will be published in the Federal Register and open for public comment for 60 days. According to the DOT's latest rulemakings report, the rule is expected to clear the OMB August 15 and be published August 27. The public comment period would last until late October.


Following the public comment period, the two DOT agencies creating the rule would then produce a Final Rule, which would go through the same review process as the proposed rule, except it would not have a public comment period.


The rule likely would go into effect two years following publication of the Final Rule.
TMHA Board
of Directors
  
President
 
Mike Connell
Bennett Motor Express
  
First Vice President
 
Dave Gallano
Gallano Trucking
  
Second Vice President
 
Tom Witt
Roehl Transport
  
Past President
 
Jon Coca
Diamond Transportation System, Inc.

  
Clayton Fisk
Warren Transport

Jeremy Ihle
Ihle Transport, Inc.
  
Heather Johnson
Landstar 
Transportation Logistics
  
  
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.
  

Enter Your Company Into the TMHA Fleet Safety Awards

  

TMHA carrier members still have the opportunity to enter the association's Fleet Safety Awards Program for 2015. Submissions are being accepted until Monday, June 8.


All fleets that enter the contest will gain consideration for a fleet safety award to recognize the companies for their commitment to safety. The rules and entry form for the 2015 Fleet Safety Awards Program are linked below.

 

Submit your entries to TMHA office by mail (717 E. Court Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50309); e-mail ([email protected]); or fax (515-244-2204). Should you have any questions, please contact Phillip Nicolino in the TMHA office at 515-244-5193.

 

Winners will be announced with a presentation during the TMHA Summer Safety Meeting at Lake Geneva in Fontana, Wis., July 29-30. This year's awards program is again being sponsorsed by HNI Truck Group.

 

Davenport Transport Joins

Lone Star Transportation

Lone Star Transportation, a Daseke company, announced on May 1 that Davenport Transport & Rigging has joined the Lone Star Transportation team.


According to Tex Robbins, president and CEO of Lone Star, Davenport Transport is one of the premier super-heavy transport carriers in the nation. The principals, David and Donnie Davenport, have more than 80 years of combined experience in the industry, beginning with Dave Davenport & Sons Trucking Co., which was started by their father in 1971.

 

The Davenport team will continue to operate the super-heavy transport group from its current facility in Angleton, Texas, with the added capacity and support of the Lone Star team.


Read more at www.machineryhaulers.org.
Get Your Drivers Ready for Roadcheck Inspection Blitz

It's almost that time of the year again. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's annual roadside inspection blitz is on the calendar for June 2-4.

 

CVSA's blitz is the largest targeted enforcement program worldwide that focuses on commercial motor vehicles. During this three-day window, 17 trucks and buses will be inspected every minute across North America. Every year, CVSA places a special emphasis on a particular category of violations. Last year's was hazardous materials, and this year will be cargo securement.

 

TMHA member HNI has compiled helpful tips that can be reviewed as guidance to prepare drivers and reaffirm good safety practices for your operation. Visit www.hni.com for the full overview.

 

Registration, Hotel Information for Summer Safety Meeting
CVSA Executive Director Steve Keppler Confirmed as Speaker


Online registration is now available for the TMHA Summer Safety Meeting that will be held July 29-30 at Lake Geneva in Fontana, Wis., where the headline speaker will be Steve Keppler, who is the executive director of Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.


To register for the event, please use the online registration link below. In addition to quality speakers and the TMHA Fleet Safety Awards presentations, there will also be a cocktail reception boat cruise hosted on the lake, courtesy of HNI Truck Group, the evening of July 29.


Hotel accommodations have been arranged at The Abbey Resort with a special room block available until Friday, June 26. To reserve your room at the discounted group rate of $164 per night, call (800) 709-1323 and select option 2.


More information will be forthcoming as additional details are confirmed in the near future.

House Committee Clears DOT 

Bill Containing HOS, Insurance Minimum Provisions

The U.S. House's Appropriations Committee passed last week a 2016 DOT funding bill that would, if passed into law, keep in place the current hours-of-service suspension until the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration can justify the HOS rule changes put in place in July 2013.

 

The $55 billion bill would also prevent the FMCSA from continuing a rulemaking to raise the current minimum amount of liability insurance required to be held by motor carriers.

 

The bill still needs to be passed by the Senate and signed by the president to become law. The Senate has not produced its version of a 2016 DOT appropriations bill.

 

Read more at www.ccjdigital.com.

FMCSA Proposes Rule for Drivers with Diabetes

On May 4, the FMCSA issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to announce its proposed rule to permit drivers with stable, well-controlled insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) to be qualified to operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce.

Currently, drivers with this condition are prohibited from driving commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce unless they obtain an exemption from the FMCSA.

The NPRM would enable individuals with ITDM to obtain a medical examiner's certificate at least annually if the treating clinician who is the healthcare professional responsible for prescribing insulin for the driver's diabetes provides documentation to the ME that the condition is stable and well-controlled.

The NPRM is open for public comments through July 6, 2015.
 

DOT to Audit FMCSA's High-Risk Investigative Practices

  

The U.S. DOT's Office of Inspector General announced in early May that it will audit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's investigative practices for high-risk motor carriers.


The audit was prompted by an investigation over a year ago after it was reported that the FMCSA had ordered but never initiated an investigation into the negative driver-related safety record of a carrier involved in a crash that killed a toll way worker.


The agency had taken a brief enforcement action against the company but ultimately did not force the carrier to resolve numerous safety deficiencies based on records the newspaper obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. Recurring violations cited include instances of drivers falsifying duty logbooks and violating hours-of-service rules.


The DOT Inspector General was asked to audit the FMCSA's investigative practices, including a provision in the funding bill that directed the department's Inspector General to conduct that audit and to recommend ways to ensure that the agency does not miss opportunities to take dangerous drivers or motor carriers off the road before accidents happen.


A memo to FMCSA Administrator Scott Darling from DOT Assistant Inspector General for Surface Transportation Audits Mitchell Behm advised that "our audit objective is to assess FMCSA's processes for ensuring that reviews of motor carriers flagged for investigation are timely and adequate." He noted that the audit was to begin immediately.

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
Jon Dill, Membership
Don Egli, Safety
Phillip Nicolino, Marketing