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TMHA Annual Meeting Just Two Weeks Away --- Are Your Registered?
You do not want to miss out on the great line-up of speakers that are scheduled to present at the upcoming TMHA Annual Meeting that will be held at the TMHA Headquarters, in Des Moines, Iowa, on April 13-14.
Things will get kicked off on Wednesday night with a cocktail reception and dinner at 801 Chophouse to welcome everyone to Des Moines. This night promises to be a relaxing evening and a great way to casually network with other TMHA members.
Shuttle transportation will be provided to and from the restaurant. The shuttle will depart the Hampton Inn & Suites at 5:45 p.m., with return service departing 801 Chophouse at 9:00 p.m.
The meeting will resume on Thursday with a breakfast buffet at 7:30 a.m. and then the general meeting at 8:00 a.m. All presentations will take place following the TMHA general meeting.
The three presenters, Rebecca Brewster (American Transportation Research Institute); Dennis Goldford (Drake University); and Shirley McGuire (Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration), will provide highly informative presentations that cannot be missed. And the Governor of Iowa, Terry Branstad, will also stop in to welcome the group and provide a legislative update.
If you have not already registered to attend this FREE member meeting, please use the link provided below to register.
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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.
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DOT Seeking Sleep Apnea Input
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration jointly announced on March 8 that the agencies are seeking public comment during the next 90 days on the impacts of screening, evaluating, and treating CMV drivers and rail workers for obstructive sleep apnea.
FRA and FMCSA will host three public listening sessions to gather input on OSA in Washington, DC, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
The agencies said their Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, a.k.a. a "pre-rule," is "the first step" in considering whether to propose specific requirements around OSA.
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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has extended the public comment period for its proposed rule on safety fitness determinations for motor carriers.
The deadline for the submission of initial comments had been set at March 21, 2016. The deadline for comments is now May 23, 2016. Reply comments will be due on or before June 23, 2016.
FMCSA said that stakeholder requests led to the comment extension.
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Entry Level Driver Training Comment Period Ending Soon
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released proposed modifications to their Entry Level Driver Training (ELDT) requirements. The proposed changes are believed to strengthen current training requirements by mandating more substantial that must be completed before a driver receives their CDL.
FMCSA is proposing that all drivers seeking a CDL be required to take a comprehensive training course designed to improve safety and awareness. The training is required to include both "theory" (traditional classroom) and behind-the-wheel training.
The behind-the-wheel training for a Class "A" driver would consist of at least 30 hours of driving, with at least 10 hours of that driving being on a closing driving range. Students trying to obtain a Class "B" CDL would be required to complete at least 15 hours of behind-the-wheel training, with at least 7 hours of that training being on a closed driving range.
Truck driving schools and other training providers would be required to meet a certain level of certification, based on curriculum, and would be listed on an FMCSA National Training Registry.
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Congressmen Look to Block Carrier Rating Proposal
A group of 33 congressmen wants to block the recently proposed changes to the way the Department of Transportation formally rates trucking companies.
The House members have written to the leadership of the Appropriations subcommittee charged with developing the DOT's budget for coming fiscal year, and they ask that the funding bill include language to prohibit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from finalizing the proposed Safety Fitness Determination (SFD) until the agency has completed the carrier safety data reforms mandated by the new highway bill, the FAST Act.
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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has indicated that motor carriers can fulfil driver medical certification recordkeeping requirements by including a printed screenshot from the State Driver's Licensing Agency (SDLA) website in the driver qualification file, rather than a copy of the a driver's motor vehicle record (MVR).
At issue is the cost associated with obtaining an official MVR to prove a driver's medical certification as currently required under 49 C.F.R. � 391.51(b)(7). The clarification allows motor carriers to use a printed screenshot of the updated medical certification information from the official SDLA website in lieu of an MVR.
SOURCE: ATA Regulations Committee
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Truckers Weigh Doing Business in California
Commercial truckers running shipments in or through California are facing mounting economic pressures from the state's regulatory and litigation climate that has targeted their way of doing business, experts say, driving companies to rethink their operations or pull out from the market.
The trucking industry in recent years has been fighting a bruising battle against California's growing coterie of rules and regulations that experts say have become increasingly onerous, including unsuccessfully challenging them in California courts for conflicting with uniform national standards the trucking sector is already required to follow.
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The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued an important safety bulletin based on a safety recall initiated by Volvo Trucks affecting nearly 20,000 Class 8 motor vehicles, with more than 17,000 affected vehicles in the United States.
This is a critical safety defect that could severely affect the safe operation of these vehicles due to a faulty two-piece steering shaft. This condition can lead to separation of the steering shaft without warning and an immediate loss of steering ability and control which may lead to a vehicle crash. Operators of vehicles affected by the Volvo recall should take the vehicles out of service as soon as possible.
SOURCE: ATA Safety Management Council
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