A driver pre-employment screening program presented by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has accomplished a long-sought goal of the American Trucking Associations.

In the month of December, FMCSA announced plans to proffer carriers access to an electronic database of drivers' scrutiny and accident records starting from December. Drivers had to sign an approval form agreeing to allow trucking companies to access the information. It also offers a chance to the drivers to verify and correct their records.

The program allows the hiring companies to look at the accident history of the truck divers before employing them.

Since 2002, American Trucking Associations and the trucking industry has urged FMCSA to offer a bigger access to an applicant's history of roadside driver and vehicle inspections including traffic law violations, and DOT reportable crashes to appraise the driver's past safety performance. The Motor Carrier Management Information System database holds safety event data for about 4 million commercial drivers.

This has helped the trucking companies to hire the safest drivers and thereby saving the lives of many.

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Truck drivers reported that they were already lacking parking amenities in Virginia, mainly for interstate freight movements and therefore closing of any of the existing rest stops was considered by many to be an unsafe move. Dale Bennett, VTA President and CEO commented:

"We applaud Gov. McDonnell for taking these steps to help prevent driver fatigue and provide safe, secure parking spaces for truck drivers to comply with federal hours of service regulations."

Gov. McDonnell said that the gates at closed areas will reopen once the workers reconnect power and water, stock traveler information centers; clean the facilities install vending machines and restore the grounds. The Virginia Department of Transportation has decided to spend $3 million from its maintenance reserve fund to activate the facilities until June 30, and will recognize long-term funding during revisions of budget this spring, a state spokesman said. The state also plans to develop the rest areas and welcome centers to make them more outstanding and inviting

A map of the reopened rest areas is available here.

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The Minnesota Trucking Association proclaimed a year-long effort to provide information and training to its members and their drivers to improve road safety. The "Keep Both Hands on the Wheel" campaign will focus on reducing diverted driving by making the truckers, their employers, contractors and the public to follow safe driving habits.

John Hausladen, president of MTA has said that safety is the trucking industry's chief concern and the MTA members and their drivers are dedicated to continue the statewide trend of increasingly safer roads. Though their members are continually focused on safety and education, in 2010 they are urging truckers to make a specific commitment to 'Keep Both Hands on the Wheel.'

The campaign will encourage drivers to keep away from activities that take their hands off the wheel and divert their concentration. The campaign will feature Web-based courses and in-person training for member companies and drivers. MTA has also decided to provide members, truckers and the general public with tips to stay observant

So let's hope that this Campaign will be a successful one and will lead to safer roads...

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American Trucking Association says LA port can't control truck transport services.

The ATA filed its final response in concise with the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles looking for a summary judgment in it's defy to certain aspects of the Port of Los Angeles clean-truck concession requirements.

ATA alleged that few aspects of the port's concession requirements break the federal pre-emption requirement that block state and local entities from regulating motor carrier rates, routes and services.

ATA stated that the Port of Los Angeles is trying to use its concession necessities to cease a motor carrier's power to provide drayage service in the harbor. ATA also stated that the neighboring Port of Long Beach solved this problem by restoring its clean-truck plan's concession necessities with a registration agreement.

The U.S. District Court has planned to hear the ATA's motion and the port's cross motion for summary judgment on Jan. 11 and the judgment expected shortly after that.

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Few weeks back we had a post about the new clean-air guideline that comes into effect at the ports on Jan 1st and about the depression that this caused in truckers. But now there is a change being made in this ban.

The Los Angeles Harbor Commission has announced an additional set of changes to the Port of Los Angeles toll to permit truckers to carry on operating their existing trucks past the ban date of Jan. 1, 2010.

The second set of toll amendments are designed to be regular with a Drayage Truck Rule Advisory issued by the California Air Resources Board on Dec. 8.This will allow truckers who have acquired a new truck or retrofit with personal funds to carry on operating their existing truck until April 30, 2010, while waiting for the new truck to be handed over or the retrofit to be installed.

The Port tariff will permit the same extension as CARB for obtaining a truck with private resources. To meet the criteria for the extension based on private purchase of a retrofit, the truck must be a Level 3 retrofit, and it also must enclose a 25 percent NOx reduction capability in order to function in the Port of Los Angeles.

The Long Beach Port newly accepted parallel provisions to its tariff. If the retrofit on order does not have this supplementary NOx reduction ability, it will not meet the San Pedro Bay Ports ecological requirements, so the extension will not be allowed in either port.

Inorder to sign up for this new extension, truckers are required to register on both the State and Port Drayage Truck Registry by Dec. 30, and they must also provide a copy of an acquisition order or other proofs of an obligation of funds for the new truck or retrofit to CARB by Dec. 31.

The State has committed to send stickers permitting admission into ports and rail yards statewide to make the truckers eligible by Jan. 15, 2010. The two ports have decided to update their electronic gate entry system for entry into port terminals by the same date, Jan. 15, 2010.

We hope that this will now relieve the truckers to some extent.

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The GM Co. and Chrysler, promised the preservation of U.S jobs, by taking billions of dollars from the U.S tax payers, but now are threatening the Union jobs to vulnerable situations.
They are aggressively reducing the costs by employing cheap, non-union car hauling companies to transport vehicles from factories to dealer lots, putting people out of work. "Many of these replacement drivers come with little experience, inadequate training, no accountability and inadequate equipment," the letters say in the report. The money was to preserve good jobs and keep the industries alive.
"It's particularly offensive that GM and Fiat-Chrysler are taking the lead in cutting corners, threatening the safety and economic security of the taxpayers and car buyers who have footed the bill - tens of billions of dollars - to bail them out," said by Rosemary Shahan, founder and president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety

Already, nearly 400 jobs are cut since Oct 1, when GM and Chrysler moved to their new business model. It is known that the average rate of unemployment is higher in Detroit than the national average unemployment rate.

Before, auto industry was in Obama's hand but now in the hands of Chrysler and GM.

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The U.S government's trusted-shipper system that offers a speedy passage across American borders for trusted trucking companies has started attracting the Mexican drug smugglers.

Almost all the trucks enrolled in the program stop at the border for just 20 seconds before entering the United States. And nearly nine out of 10 of them do so without anyone looking at their cargo.

But among the few trucks that were inspected, authorities have found several loads of illegal imports, together with eight tons of marijuana seized during one week in April.

Due such problems some professionals have now started questioning whether the program makes sense at a time when drug traffickers are willing to do almost anything to smuggle their consignments into the U.S.

This system "just tells the bad guys who to target," said Dave McIntyre, former director of the Integrative Center for Homeland Security at Texas A&M University.

The system actually works like this: the companies that are involved agree to follow certain security measures in exchange for fast entry into the U.S. They are forced to put their employees through backdrop checks, fence in their amenities and track their trucks. They are also requested to work with subcontractors who also have been specialized under this system, which is run by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.

The government maintains the list of participants as a secret record, citing national security and trade secrets. But some of the 9,500 companies who are part of the system publicize their membership to boost up their business, making them targets for smugglers, who can then intimidate drivers or offer them bribes.

Almost more than half of all U.S. imports now come from companies in the program, called the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, or C-TPAT. Trucking companies from Mexican make up only 6 percent of global membership in the system, but they account for half of its 71 security breaches during the past two years.

Mexican trucking companies face high inspections than others. They get a full customs check every year, instead of every three years like other participating companies.

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