Profile For DaveW

With all the attention being given to independent contractor driver status among trucking firms, and in light of the U.S. Department of Labor recently releasing a rule on that issue, the question has arisen whether a carrier can require their contracted drivers to implement safety measures and still allow those drivers to maintain their non-employee status.

DOL opinion green lights carriers to implement safety requirements on contractor drivers

In this Friday Short Haul truckers can now take training in how to stay safe during protests, new administration means dark days ahead for small carriers, and two mega carriers invest in TuSimple's autonomous truck programs.

Friday Short Haul - Protests, dark days ahead, TuSimple

In their seemingly never-ending march down the road to cripple the state's economy California regulators are proposing a new rule to make warehouse owners and operators responsible for the exhaust emitted by the trucks that service the warehouses.

Proposal to hit up SoCal warehouses for truck emissions at their facilities

In a breakthrough decision by the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, commercial motor carriers need not impose California's meal and rest break regulations on their interstate drivers operating within the state.

Court says interstate drivers are not held to California's meal and rest break rules

The FMCSA today announced 25 commercial motor vehicle drivers selected to the driver panel of its Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee.

The article here is updated to reflect that addition.

In this Friday Short Haul North Dakota proposes an 80 mph speed limit, FMCSA announces its 2021 advisory committee, and a Sixth Circuit Court opinion slashes a truck crash lawsuit attorney's argument.

Friday Short Haul - ND's 80mph speed limit, FMCSA advisory committee, precedent-setting lawsuit

The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety have released its 18th annual Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws and the China virus has taken one more hit in the blame game for helping to give 2020 a "substantial uptick in the fatality rate." In her preamble to the report, Advocate's President Catherine Chase remarked that, "In 2020, emptier roads turned into racetracks, impaired and distracted driving was reported as more widespread, protections like seat belt use appear to have dipped, and the traffic fatality rate spiked. In 2021, let’s change this picture."

Most states fail to measure up to safety advocate's recommendations

A proposal to open up North Dakota roads to Australian-like "road trains" has been approved by the state's legislature for a pilot program.

Road train pilot program approved by North Dakota lawmakers

In this Friday Short Haul TCA announces the top 20 best fleets to driver for in 2021, the U.S. Dept. of Labor publishes its final rule on employee and independent worker status, and ATS says yard jockeys need more training.

Friday Short Haul - Best fleets to driver for in 2021, Feds' final worker status rule, yard jockeys need better training

For truckers the pairing of a service where a dispatcher finds and assigns a reserved parking space for them, and also calls up a mobile tanker to fuel them while they rest would be a marriage made in heaven. And that, indeed, is the concept dreamed up by two transportation industry companies that have been individually serving truckers on the road.

TruckPark and FuelMe partnership takes the worry out of parking and fueling

A hard deadline looms for carriers and owner-operators to register and make their first query with the FMCSA's Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. That deadline is tomorrow, January 5. And FMCSA proposes new guidance defining yard-moves for HOS purposes.

Clearinghouse deadline, and new FMCSA guidance about yard moves

This is a truck vs. car accident case that lasted for years in the courts that defies understanding, much less the ability to explain, but we'll do our best because the bizarre nature of the story is worth it.

2020 closes with probably one of the most bizarre truck crash lawsuits ever

Some 68 years after first being mandated for heavy trucks, and about 53 years after notoriously featuring in a famous actress' death, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is proposing a new rule requiring that rear underride guards must be examined as part of a truck's annual inspection.

FMCSA adds underride guards to list of inspection items

The statistics are alarming. And they don't paint a healthy picture for the trucking industry … speaking of the health of truck drivers, that is. According to a Corporate Wellness Magazine online article, truck drivers as a group are in trouble, health-wise.

Ex-football player helping truckers get into shape

In this Friday Short Haul OOIDA sends letter to Congress claiming COVID-relief bill does little to help truckers, J.B. Hunt partners with the University of Arkansas to develop inclusiveness and diversity in trucking, and a major winter storm hits the mid-West and moves on to the East.

Friday Short Haul - OOIDA's letter to Congress, J.B. Hunt's diversity project, major winter storm

A new strain of the COVID virus that has arisen recently in Great Britain has made the island nation into a virtual "persona non gratis" among European countries. And thousands of truck drivers appear to be among the most-affected and vocal about being stranded at Britain's ports unable to cross over to the continent.

France imposes lockdown on truckers from Britain attempting to cross the channel

Getting your cdl would be a good start for people that make rules for truckers

Personally, I think it should be a requirement within the trucking industry as well.

I remember one time having just finished a long unload at the Statler DC in San Bernardino. I was parked at a side road contemplating shutting down for the night because to go anywhere in the LA area at 5 pm on a Friday would result in me running out of hours before getting there.

So, I get a call from dispatch asking me to "run real quick" for a pickup clear on the other side of the LA Basin. By their reckoning it was only about 40 miles, "Less than an hour, right? You can get there on time."

I told him it was impossible to get across LA during rush hour before I'd have to shut down, and I'd miss the appt anyway.

One thing led to another and I ended up getting shunted to the Fleet Manager to try to talk some sense into me. After arguing with him for a bit I finally asked him, "When you were driving how did you handle it when you were told to do something that was physically impossible to do?"

What he told me changed my whole attitude about dealing with the people who were in charge of my driving schedule. He said, "Dave, I have never sat in the cab of a truck in my life."

So yes, in my opinion, having a CDL and spending some time in a truck should be the minimum requirement for anybody with any authority for determining what is best for drivers.

In a 38-page report released Friday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office the conclusion was that the U.S. Department of Transportation and its three main administrations do not have the skilled staff necessary to oversee the growing automation technology that is taking place in the trucking industry.

DOT told to assess skills of employees able to meet automation challenge

In this Friday Short Haul FMCSA announces a new rule allowing driving trainers to also administer the skills test, U.S. Xpress partners with MIT for an HOS study, and Triton-EV debuts a new hydrogen/electric semi.

Friday Short Haul - New FMCSA final rule, U.S. Xpress MIT study, Triton-EV semi

The COVID virus has been blamed for a lot of things this year – deserved or not – and now online Christmas shoppers are being told to expect a delay in receiving their packages … and it's COVID's fault. To make matters worse, the emergency rollout of the COVID vaccine that is gearing up right now has taken precedence over Christmas gifts, creating a stackup all up and down the logistics supply chain from the nation's ports all the way to a Christmas shopper's front door.

COVID blamed for backlog in holiday deliveries