Texting and Driving... The New Addiction
The urge to text while driving is becoming a major issue in society today. Every time we get into a vehicle we see many of the drivers around us performing this risky endeavor. Some drivers steer with their pinkies while their thumbs do the typing. Others use their knees to quide them on the road, freeing their hands to tap out a quick email. However, what we are not realizing is just how dangerous this can be for our own lives as well as others. We often find ourselves in the mind set that we have texted while driving plenty of times and nothing bad will happen. The truth of the matter is that it can and will. Teenagers are often targeted as the main abusers of this, but adults are to blame as well. All it takes is a second. One glace down at your cellphone can have deadly consequences.
Interesting Facts and Statistics:
- 20% of drivers are sending or recieving text messages behind the wheel.
- 37% of teens admit that texting is extremely distracting while driving.
- The average text takes 4.7 seconds.
- Taking your eyes off of the road for this amount of time at 55 mph is equivalent to the lenght of a football field, or 120 yards.
The Federal Highway Administration has launched a tool that tracks traffic chokepoints bases on data from trucks. The Freight Performance Measures tool is designed both to help carriers move goods more efficiently and to help local governments prioritize spending needs, FHWA said.
FPM’s Web-based tool, FPMweb, uses truck speeds from satellite data to measure congestion along significant freight routes. Users can access the tool at www.freighperformance.org. FHWA, which is part of the Department of Transportation, said it developed the system with the American Transportation Research Institute.
SAFETY BELT USAGE INCREASES NEARLY 10 PERCENT AMONG COMMERCIAL DRIVERS
Safety belt usage among commercial truck and bus drivers significantly increased to 74 percent in 2009 from 65 percent in 2007, according to new data released by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The increase demonstrates the effectiveness of safety initiatives by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) and FMCSA that aim to improve safety on our nation’s highways.
“The increasing trend in safety belt usage among commercial drivers is encouraging,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “However, our advocacy won’t rest until every driver is buckling up.”
The 2009 survey observed 20,818 commercial drivers operating medium-duty trucks, heavy duty trucks and buses at 827 roadside locations across the country. The study found that usage rates were over 10 percent higher in states with strict safety belts laws.
According the FMCSA, safety belt use was at 78 percent in states with primary safety belt laws, which allow law enforcement to stop drivers for not using a safety belt, versus 67 percent in states with weaker laws. Also, the study found that national and regional fleet drivers showed a 78 percent use rate compared to owner operators, whose usage rate was 64 percent.
ATA’s progressive 18-point Safety Agenda supports strategies to increase the use of seatbelts. These safety policies advocate primary seatbelt laws in all states; incentives and penalties to motivate states to pass primary seatbelt laws; audible reminders for seatbelts use in commercial vehicles; contrasting colors for seatbelts so law enforcement can quickly identify non-users; state adoption of the failure to wear a seatbelt defense; and denial of workers compensation for drivers who fail to use seatbelts.
In addition to the safety agenda, ATA advocates increased seatbelt usage among all drivers through ATA’s Share the Road program, America’s Road Team and the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership campaign, “Be Ready, Be Buckled.”
Oklahoma Motor Carrier Magazine, Spring 2010
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published the final ruling requiring electronic on-board recorders in the Federal Register (Vol. 75, No. 64) on April 5, 2010. A summary of the ruling is printed below.
SUMMARY: The Federal Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) aments the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to incorporate new performance standards (see 395.16) for electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) installed in commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) manufactured on or after June 4, 2012. On-board hours-of-service (HOS) recording devices meeting FMCSA’s current requirements and installed in CMV’s manufactured before June 4, 2012 may continue to be used for the remainder of the service life of those CMVs.
Motor carriers that have demonstrated serious noncompliance with the HOS rules will be subject to mandatory installation of EOBRs meeting the new performance standards. If FMCSA determines, based on HOS records reviewed during a compliance review, that a motor carrier has a 10 percent or greater violation rate (“threshold rate violation”) for any HOS regulation listed in the new Appendix C to part 385, FMCSA will issue the carrier an EOBR remedial directive. The motor carrier will then be required to install EOBRs in all of its CMVs regardless of their date of manufacture and use the devices for HOS recordkeeping for a period of 2 years, unless the carrier (i) already equipped its vehicles with automatic on-board recording devices (AOBRDs) meeting the Agency’s current requirements under 49 CFR 395.15 prior to the finding, and (ii) demonstrates to FMCSA that its drivers understand how to use the devices.
The FMCSA also changes the safety fitness standard to take into account a remedial directive when determining fitness. Additionally, to encourage industry-wide use of EOBRs, FMCSA revises its compliance review procedures to permit examination of a random sample of drivers’ records of duty status after the initial sampling, and provides partial relief from HOS supporting documents requirements, if certain condition are satisfied, for motor carriers that voluntarily use compliant EOBRs.
Finally, because FMCSA recognizes that the potential safety risks associated with some motor carrier categories, such as passenger carriers, hazardous materials transporters, and new motor carriers seeking authority to conduct interstate operations in the United States, are such that mandatory EOBR use for such operations might be appropriate, the Agency will initiate a new rulemaking to consider expanding the scope of mandatory EOBR use beyond the “1 x 10” carriers that would be subject to a remedial directive as a result of today’s rule.
Effective Date: This final rule is effective on June 4, 2010.
Compliance Date: Motor carriers must comply with this final rule by June 4, 2012. The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of June 4, 2010.
Applications for hazardous materials special permits will be reviewed faster and more efficiently due to a new on-line application process effective May 1 from the U.S. DOT and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The new system addresses the “approval and special permit backlog” that Congress identified in the Special Permit Program.
“PHMSA is developing and implementing plans and solutions in an ongoing effort to improve the efficiency and transparency of our hazardous materials safety program and to better serve the American public,” said Administrator Cynthia Quaterman.
The system will accept applications 24 hours a day, and provide immediate confirmation of an application along with a tracking number and allow an applicant to attach supporting documentation. The system will ensure that applications are complete and enable faster, more thorough review and processing. All special permit and approval customers are encouraged to take advantage of online system which can be found at: www.phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/regs/sp-a.
In her April 22nd testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Quaterman reported that PHMSA, in working with FMCSA and other agencies, can now use performance-based measures to compile an applicant’s past safety history and his/her ability to operate under the terms of the special permit. Further, an applicant will have to provide additional information concerning the risks of the proposed operations and the measures to be utilized to address the risks.
She said approval from the Office of Management and Budget is expected by the end of 2010 to finalize the new procedures. Her testimony was in response to congressional criticism directed at PHMSA’s oversight of the Special Permits Program and a July 2009 OIG report.
Safety Management Council, Safety Bulletin, May 2010
FMCSA announced on Feb. 24 the first phase of the Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP). The PSP will eventually allow carriers to obtain each driver applicant’s history of roadside inspections and crashes. This data is generally not reported on an applicant’s MVR so was not available to motor carriers. ATA first called on FMCSA seven years ago to give carriers access to the data and later persuaded Congress to mandate that the agency do so. The first phase allows motor carriers to enroll in the PSP so that they can more quickly gain access to the data when it is fully functional later this spring. The PSP is a voluntary program in which participating carriers will, for a fee and with a driver applicant’s written consent, be able to query FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Management Information System and receive crash data for the last five years and inspection data from the last three years on the driver. Contact: Boyd Stephenson, ATA Manager, Security & Cross Boarder Operations at bstephenson@trucking.org.
Safety Management Council, Safety Bulletin, February 2010
DOT Proposes Hazmat Fee Increases
The Pipeline and hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is proposing to increase the hazmat registration fees for the 2010-2011 registration year. Under the proposal, small businesses would continue to pay $275 while a company that does not qualify as small business would see its fees triple from $1,000 to $3,000 (the statutory maximum). PHMSA has indicated that the increased fees are necessary to fully fund the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness grant program, which is authorized to collect $28.3 million. PHMSA will continue to allow multi-year registrations (e.g., three years). Companies that pre-registered for the 2010-2011 plan year would be required to pay additional fees if PHMSA finalizes that proposal. PHMSA will need to finalize its proposal before the beginning of the 2010-2011 registration year, which commences on June 30.
Trucking Minnesota, March 2010
DOT Announces Federal Texting Ban for Commercial Drivers
On January 26, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced federal guidance to expressly prohibit texting by drivers of commercial vehicles such as large trucks and buses. The prohibition is effective immediately and is the latest in a series of actions taken by the Department to combat distracted driving since the Secretary convened a national summit on the issue last September.
“We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be safe,” said Secretary LaHood. “This is an important safety step and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving.”
The action is the result of the Department’s interpretation of standing rules. Truck and bus drivers who text while driving commercial vehicles may be subject to civil or criminal penalties of up to $2,750.
FMCSA research shows that drivers who send and receive text messages take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds while texting. At 55 miles per hours, this means that the driver is traveling the length of a football field, including the end zones, without looking at the road. Drivers who text while driving are more than 20 times more likely to get in an accident that non-distracted drivers. Because of the safety risks associated with the use of electronic devices while driving, FMCSA is also working on additional regulatory measures that will be announced in the coming months.
During the September 2009 Distracted Driving Summit, the Secretary announced the Department’s plan to pursue this regulatory action, as well as rulemakings to reduce the risks posed by distracted driving. President Obama also signed an Executive Order directing federal employees not to engage in text messaging while driving government-owned vehicles or with government-owned equipment. Federal employees were required to comply with the ban starting on December 30, 2009.
The regulatory guidance was published in the January 27 Federal Register. The public can follow the progress of the U.S. Department of Transportation in working to combat distracted driving as www.distraction.gov.
Caltrux, February 2010
Group seeks clarity in what carriers must retain
The American Trucking Association last month filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit asking it to compel the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to issue a long-overdue hours-of-service supporting documents regulations.
ATA on Jan. 15 filed a “mandamus” action by which a court can compel government officials to perform their legal duties. In the action, ATA is asking the court to require the agency to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) within 60 days of the court’s ruling and a final rule within six months of the NPRM publication date. Actions to require agencies to issue overdue regulations are common and often result in a settlement whereby the agency agrees to act within a negotiated timeframe.
“We have a tremendous amount of respect for the Department of Transportation and the work they do, but we had to show the department just how important the supporting documents issue is to our industry,” says Bill Graves, ATA president and chief executive officer. “We hope this lawsuit prompts a greater focus on the issue and that the department will be willing to work with us to get the regulation out within a reasonable timeframe.”
Supporting documents refer to the documents a motor carrier must retain for six months that can be used to verify drivers’ HOS records. In 1994, Congress recognized that the failure of DOT to define properly for motor carriers what constituted a supporting document was imposing a financial and administrative burden on the trucking industry. Consequently, Congress ordered the agency to promulgate a rule that would designate the “number, type and frequency of [required] supporting document retention” and to ensure that such retention would be at a “reasonable cost” to motor carriers.
Despite the congressional directive, which called for a rule to become effective in 1996, DOT has failed to act. Instead, the agency has by informal guidelines adopted a broad definition of supporting document retention, identifying 34 categories of records and ruling that any document that possibly could be used to verify HOS records must be retained as a supporting document. Accordingly, the administrative and financial burden recognized by Congress remains in place, and the agency’s recent pursuit of various types of electronic records – as supporting documents – in compliance reviews has exacerbated the problem.
One of the most important recent developments in the area of supporting documents is a policy change FMCSA adopted in December 2008 regarding use of Global Positioning System and other satellite tracking system data in compliance reviews. For about a dozen years, the agency had a formal policy of not routinely using satellite data for verifying logs in an audit. FMCSA rescinded that policy in November 2008, saying that it no longer was needed for the purposes of encouraging motor carriers to adopt advanced technology. And in a Dec. 24, 2008, enforcement memorandum, the agency said it now considers satellite data a supporting document that it can require carriers to produce in a compliance review.
“In order to comply, trucking companies need to know what the rules are,” says David Osiecki, ATA Senior Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs. “In the case of supporting documentation for hours of service, the requirements have never been established by regulation. ATA has been seeking a fair and cost-effective regulation, consistent with federal law, for more than 15 years.”
The Department of Homeland Security said it will extend until May 2011 the deadline for implanting toughened driver’s license and identification card security standards mandated by the REAL ID Act of 2005.
“In order to ensure that the millions of Americans traveling this holiday season are not disrupted, DHS is extending the Dec. 31 REAL ID material compliance deadline,” DHS spokesman Matt Chandler said in a statement.
“The May 10, 2011, deadline for full compliance remains in effect, and the Department will continue to work closely with states to meet this deadline.”
The Jan. 1 deadline would have required for the more secure driver’s licenses to board airplanes and grain entrance to federal buildings.
Transport Topics, January, 4, 2010
On Nov., 17, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that starting Jan. 5, the older versions of the Free and Secure Trade cards can no longer be used as valid identification to cross the border. CBP offers will permit a one-time entry into the U.S. to travelers with old FAST cards, but the cards will be seized immediately and the driver will be referred to a FAST enrollment center. New FAST cards with enhanced, WHTI-compliant security features were sent to drivers starting March 2009. Drivers should have activated the new cards within 30 days of receipt at https://goes-app.cbp.dhs.gov/ and then destroyed the old ones. Any driver who has not received a new card needs to immediately go to a local FAST enrollment center to either pick up a new card or apply for a new card.
