From expected Biden DOT, owner-operators look for parking, highways, FLSA reforms
New priorities for a new DOT secretary, take 3: A top trio of items familiar yet newly prominent in the list this year, from the No. 1 parking to bolstered highway funding for new lanes/maintenance and FLSA reform for company drivers.
The post From exp…
With the public leery about sharing the road with robots, ‘Advocates’ may be truckers’ ally, for once
A press release from an oten-enough-perceived anti-truck group early this week pressed lawmakers on safety standards for increasingly deployed assistive driving technologies. For safety-conscious truckers urging resistance to any hastened deployment of…
U.S. approves oral fluid drug testing for truckers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Truck drivers could soon face oral fluid testing for controlled substances under a new directive from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The inclusion of oral fluid specimens to the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Wor…
Not ‘engaged to wait’ while in the sleeper? Readers respond to federal labor opinion on driver compensation
More readers than not agreed with commenter Jason McCarter that, “if you are in your truck at any time, you should be paid,” even if off-duty in the sleeper. Find other views, including those contrary, in this round-up of voices with poll results about…
Fines for trucking regs violations increased
The DOT, in order to find the 2019 adjustment amount, had to multiply the penalty amount by the percentage change between the October 2018 Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the October 2017 CPI-U, which this year was 1.02522.
Senate bill would force DOT to resume speed limiter mandate, set 65 mph limit
Due to Executive Orders signed by President Trump in his first days in office, DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration tabled a rulemaking that sought to institute a speed limiter mandate. The agency was scheduled to publish a proposed rule i…
Scrutiny mounts against DOT Secretary Chao over charges of ethical violations
Alleged abuses of power by Chao include improperly steering grant money, not divesting from a materials supplier that competes for roads projects and organizing meetings between U.S. and Chinese officials to benefit a maritime shipping company owned by…
FMCSA denies reports that hours of service rule has cleared White House review
FMCSA officials have confirmed that a proposal to reform hours of service regulations remains under review by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget. OMB must clear the rule before it is published and before details of the proposed reforms a…
It’s official: DOT intends to propose hours of service reforms
The U.S. Department of Transportation intends to propose a rule that would change federal hours of service regulations for truck drivers, said Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao on Friday. However, since the rule is still under review, Chao said she …
DOT Secretary Elaine Chao to provide trucking regs update Thursday at MATS
A statement from MATS said Chao will provide an update on the Department of Transportation’s efforts on safety, infrastructure, truck parking, and reducing trucking regulations. She is scheduled to speak at 1 p.m. in Conference Room B-101.