Safety

FMCSA withdraws proposed requirements for collection & use of "supporting documents" to verify the accuracy of driver Record of Duty Status (RODS).

As of October 25, 2007 the FMCSA withdrew it November 3, 2004 notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would have required motor carriers to maintain hours of service (HOS) documents to enable Federal or State investigators to connect the documents with RODS easily. Based on comments received, the proposed "self-monitoring" system list of documents to maintain:

• Were not accessible to many carriers, especially smaller carriers;
• Did not always provide data that could be used to verify RODS;
• Would be an undue paperwork burden on motor carriers, affecting smaller carriers more
  [creating issues with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA)];
• Would be costly to maintain, require excess staff and reprogramming electronic records;
• Might require carriers to maintain both paper and electronic records;
• Did not meet criteria of Hazardous Materials Transportation Authorization Act;
• Would likely result in excessive applications for exemptions that FMCSA could not process timely, and would result in routine granting of exemptions;
• Could result in enforcement action even if a carrier had identified violations and disciplined drivers for those violations; and

FMCSA has analyzed all the information collection burden against the PRA and issued a issued a final rule advising that there are no changes to the HOS rule already in place.

New Entrant audits to Get Tougher

In a new rule taking effect February 17, 2009, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has raised the bar on its "new entrant" safety audits, which all new carriers must pass within the first 18 months of operation.

Among the changes, the FMCSA has identified 16 violations that will result in automatic failure of the audit and - if corrective action is not taken within 45 - 60 days - revocation of the carriers registration will take place.

 Drug and Alcohol

DOT issues Final Rule allowing Employers and Third Party Administrators to release drug & alcohol violation results to State Commercial Driver Licensing (CDL) authorities that require them.

Effective February 25, 2010 DOT has authorized Employers to release the results of CDL driver drug and alcohol violations to State commercial driver licensing (CDL) authorities that require them.

Consortia/Third Party Administrators (C/TPAs) are also authorized to release violation results to those authorities for owner-operators who hold CDLs who are served by the C/TPA.

In both instances, the release of such results will not be considered a violation of Part 40.321 because authority to release results to authorized state authorities is granted under Part 40.331(e).

This rule can be found at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010-3729.pdf

New "direct observation" procedures for return-to-duty & follow-up drug tests now in effect.

Effective August 31, 2009 DOT made direct observation mandatory for all return-to-duty & follow-up drug tests.  The procedure, originally scheduled to begin on August 25, 2008, was issued a temporary stay following a legal challenge of the rule. The U. S. Court of Appeal for the D. C. Circuit cleared the way for approval.  The new rule reads:

40.67 When and how is a directly observed collection conducted?

(b) As an employer you must direct a collection under direct observation of the employee if the drug test is a return-to-duty or a follow-up test.

Under direct observation procedures, the collector or observer will request the employee to raise his or her shirt, blouse, or dress/skirt, as appropriate, above the waist & and lower clothing and underpants.  The employee must then turn around to show that s/he does not have a prosthetic device that is to be used to substitute a urine specimen [40.67(i)].  Failure by the employee to do so will be considered a refusal to test.

Congress to seek a national database of positive drug and alcohol tests under proposed "Safe Roads Act".

The "Safe Roads Act" currently before Congress would establish a national, centralized database for commercial vehicle operators who have tested positive for either drugs and/or alcohol.

Under the proposed Act medical review officers (MROs), employers and other service agents would be required to report positive results to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and would also require employers to check the database before hiring a prospective driver/employee.

Currently drivers are sometimes able to omit information regarding a positive test and not complete the required evaluation and treatment program required.  If a prospective employer is not diligent with background checks the violation can be overlooked.

Other requirements under the Safe Roads Act would be to prohibit an employer from hiring a driver unless the employer determines that within the last 3 years that the driver:

1. Has been tested for alcohol and drugs under a DOT rule

2. Hasn't test positive, or if s/he has tested positive, has completed the required evaluation, education and/or treatment under FMCSA rules.

3. Hasn't refused to take a required test.

Also under the Act, once a driver's record is submitted to the database DOT will notify the driver, who will be able to either obtain information, update their information or dispute their record.

CDL licenses could also be affected by the Act in that DOT would be authorized to share the database with state licensing agencies which could result in the disqualification or suspension of their driving privileges.

Watch this site for future updates.