This is the TDMST Weekly Round-Up of news affecting professional truck drivers, written by Vicki Simons for the week ending January 16, 2021.
We welcome your comments, thoughts and feedback on the items of your choice below.
1. Regarding FMCSA panel:
If memory serves me correctly, the FMCSA has made a “tip of the hat” toward truckers in the past.
However, any input by those actually working as truckers in the real world has been dismissed.
We’ll see whether or not anything substantive for truckers is really accomplished with this new panel.
It is important that — instead of just relying on this group of truckers to make a difference — you regularly contact your elected officials on the U.S. level (U.S. House and U.S. Senate) and share what will really help truckers.
- 2021 MCSAC members announced by FMCSA
- Drivers named to FMCSA safety committee
- FMCSA Announces 25 Drivers Selected to First Ever CMV Advisory Panel
- FMCSA assembles advisory panel of 25 commercial drivers
- FMCSA names 25 truck drivers to new safety panel
- FMCSA Names Historic 2021 Motor Carrier Advisory Members
- FMCSA Names Members of Commercial Driver Panel
- FMCSA Names Members of Its MCSAC Advisory Committee
- FMCSA names new commercial motor vehicle driver panel members
- FMSCA announces leadership, members of 2021 safety advisory committee
- Here are the 25 truck drivers chosen to give feedback to the FMCSA
- Trucking companies added to FMCSA safety committee
2. Regarding accidents:
Please learn what you can from these accidents and strive not to repeat any errors in judgment leading up to them.
- Photos of a truck trailer straddling a guardrail because the driver didn’t swing out far enough on a curve
- Colorado troopers warn truckers after runaway semi almost hits top of escape ramp
- Officials led to believe “it’s not all driver error” after section of road claims 3 trucks in 5 days
- Tanker truck driver killed in crash & explosion was driving too fast for conditions, police say
- Truck squeezes under low bridge, but not without leaving a few things behind
- UPDATE: Police cite trucker after motorist slams into oversized load of steel beams
3. Regarding AV, autonomous vehicles, technology, ELDs and electric:
AV
Autonomous vehicles
I oppose self-driving or driverless or autonomous vehicles and am sharing these articles as a courtesy.
- DOT unveils plan to integrate private, commercial automated vehicles onto nation’s roadways
- NHTSA Eyes Exemptions From Some Safety Rules for Self-Driving Cars
- Self-driving’ needs to be omitted from industry vocabulary
- The Daily Dash: DOT unveils autonomous plan; LTL volumes still strong
Technology
- Commentary: Electronic bills of lading necessary but not sufficient
- Mack-OTA-engine-updates-standard
I wonder if this is along the same lines as an ELD. - Malware targeting fleets is ‘everybody’s issue’
- Ransomware attack hits rail freight operator OmniTRAX
- Retailers turned to scanning technology to meet e-commerce explosion
- There are a variety of apps available to help simplify trucking tasks
ELDs
- ELDs Have Improved HOS Compliance
But has the required use of ELDs truly improved safety and prevented truckers’ deaths?
Please see the last section under point #6 below. - FMCSA seeks to change how ‘yard move’ is recorded
- Survey: 30% of drivers fully satisfied with their ELD
An alternative headline would be, “Survey: 70% of drivers are not fully satisfied with their ELD”.
Electric
- NACFE Electrifies Run on Less
- NACFE Plans Run on Less-Electric Event in September
- Run on Less demonstration plugs into electric vehicles
4. Regarding Clearinghouse fines:
Notice the SIZE of the fines!
- DOT increases fines for violations, sets $5833 fine for Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse violations
- Drug/Alcohol Clearinghouse fines set at $5,833 per violation
- The Daily Dash: Civil penalties set for drug/alcohol violations; what happened to ‘Shipageddon’?
5. Regarding truck operations, fuel, holidays, inspections, speed/speeding, and recalls:
Truck operations
Fuel
- Diesel Prices Continue Increase, Hit $2.67
- Diesel prices jump back to pre-pandemic levels
- Diesel prices still climbing
- Diesel Rises 3¢ to $2.67 a Gallon
- Green hydrogen: The future of fuel?
Holidays
- 2020 holiday shopping season dubbed most environmentally friendly
- Shipageddon’ averted: It wasn’t a bad holiday delivery season after all
Inspections
- HAPPENING NOW: Three-Week Multi-State Enforcement Crackdown Along I-70
- Multiple agencies are teaming up for three week I-70 blitz
Speed/Speeding
- Chicago to start using cameras to ticket drivers going as little as 6 MPH over the limit
- North Dakota lawmakers consider 80 MPH speed limits
Recalls
- 17K Navistar trucks recalled as ‘engine may rev and overcome parking brake’
- Navistar recalls trucks because engine revving can overwhelm parking brake
- Recall issued for 17,000 Internationals
6. Regarding hitchhiker on trailer, vision, sleep apnea, and deadliest occupation:
Hitchhiker on trailer
- Woman filmed hitching ride on semi trailer “might’ve done it a couple times before,” witnesses suggest
I’ve seen this kind of thing reported at least once before.
What can be done to prevent people from taking a ride on the back of a trailer?
Without a specifically-angled camera, how can truckers even see back there?
Vision
When God created the human body, He gave us two eyes for a reason: to discern depth.
In my concerted opinion, humans need two fully working eyes in order to drive professionally and this move to allow would-be truckers who have vision problems is badly flawed.
- FMCSA pitches some changes to vision standards
- FMCSA plan would make it easier for truckers with vision loss in one eye to operate
- FMCSA Proposes Changing Vision Standards to “Enhance Employment Opportunities”
- FMCSA proposes eliminating vision exemptions for drivers
- U.S. looks to physically clear truck drivers with limited vision in one eye
Sleep apnea
For your convenience, you may wish to read the Sleep Labs post on our site.
- CCJ Daily Dispatch, Jan. 14: Sleep apnea may be more prevalent in truckers than previously studied, researchers find
- Nearly 49% of CMV Drivers Could Be at Risk for Sleep Apnea, Study Says
- Nearly half of truck drivers are prone to sleep apnea, study reveals
- One In Three Truckers Could Have Sleep Apnea According To New Study
Deadliest occupation
Please do everything in your power not to be caught in a fatal accident!
7. Regarding weather and wind:
Weather
Wind
Other than not driving in very windy areas — or always making sure you have a heavy load on your trailer — how do you protect yourself and your rig in high winds?
- VIDEO: Trucker loses big time battle with high wind
- WYDOT reports 18 semi trucks blown over during ‘wind event’
8. Regarding proposed split sleeper berth break:
After all of the hullabaloo regarding the most recent change to the Hours of Service regulations, why is the FMCSA now looking at split sleeper berth breaks?
- Flexible HOS? FMCSA proposes pilot program to evaluate 6/4, 5/5 sleeper berth splits
- FMCSA Proposes Pilot Program to Study Splitting Sleeper Berth Time
- FMCSA Proposes to Study 6/4 and 5/5 Split Sleeper-Berth Exceptions
- FMCSA seeks to study safety of 6/4, 5/5 sleeper berth splits
- FMCSA to study 6/4 and 5/5 sleeper berth splits
- FMCSA wants to analyze additional split sleeper options
- Regulators propose more sleeper berth flexibility
- Split-Sleeper Pilot Program Would Study 6/4, 5/5 Splits
- True Split Sleeper Time: FMCSA Takes First Steps
- U.S. regulators propose split-sleeper pilot study
9. Regarding fraud, violence, and theft:
Please do what you can to protect yourself, your belongings, your rig, and the cargo on-board.
Fraud
Violence
- $72.5k bail set for woman who chucked rock at passing truck driver
- Killers who target truckers — Long-Haul Crime Log
- Mysterious concrete chunk narrowly misses driver’s head after smashing through windshield
- Troopers hunt for suspects who threw deer off overpass at semi truck
- White Paper: How to Protect Your People, Business and Cargo During Civil Unrest Events
Theft
- Alabama police search for suspects who allegedly stole from sleeping truck drivers
- Cargo thieves stepping up activity during pandemic
10. Regarding economy, rates, capacity, employment, pay, and predictions:
Economy
- 2020 closes on strong note with increase in net trailer orders for December
- ACT projects record trucking profits, increased truck demand in ’21
- Atlanta tops DAT’s list of Top 10 markets for spot truckload freight in 2020
- Consumer Sentiment Posts Moderate Pullback in January
- December Class 8 Sales Reach High Mark for 2020, Down 7.4% Compared With 2019
- December LTL volumes ‘remain healthy’
- Freight is moving; load, truck posts surge after holidays
- How Did Wild Third-Quarter Swings Affect Fleet Earnings?
- Q4 trailer orders break record as December bookings stay strong
- Sales still booming to start January
- Spot truckload activity starts 2021 at quick pace, according to DAT
- Strong freight markets drive commercial vehicle build rates, forecasts higher, says ACT
- Top 10 freight markets of 2020
- Trucking conditions pull back from record high
- US Core Consumer-Price Gauge Cools Slightly From Prior Month
- Used truck prices on the rise in Canada, U.S.
Rates
Capacity
Employment
- Trucking bucks economy’s trend as employment, rates continue rallying
- Trucking jobs continue growth streak in December
- US Jobless Claims Jump by Most Since March, Approach 1 Million
Pay
Predictions
- All gas. No brakes’
- FreightWaves Truck Talk: What does Workhorse’s past say about its future?
- HDT Editors Talk Trucking Trends for 2021
- Outlook For Trucking in 2021: A Transitional Year
- The second half of 2020 offers clues to where 2021 is heading
- Trucking regulations to watch for in 2021
- Trucking trends to watch in 2021: Speed limiters, insurance regs, hours and more
- Trucking’s Year to Come
- What matters most — Freightonomics
11. Regarding rest breaks:
Do you see this ruling as positive or negative?
- Appeals Court Sides With FMCSA in Battle Over California’s Meal and Rest Break Rules
- Court Upholds FMCSA Exemption of Trucking From California Rest Break Rules
- Ninth Circuit sides with FMCSA on California break rules preemption
12. Congratulations!
Award
Helping one another, like family
I am encouraged when people love their neighbors as they love themselves — and I hope you are, too!
Some acts of kindness are worth far more than money.
- VIDEO: Pickups team up to help a semi up an icy hill
- Watch this driver prove that truckers are still a ‘family’
- Witnesses say they “believe in America in 2021” after watching two strangers rush to the aid of a trapped truck driver
My husband Mike and I wish you — and all professional truck drivers — safe travels and lots of money saving opportunities on the road.
Return from TDMST Weekly Round-Up: 2021.01.16 to our TDMST Weekly Round-Up Trucking Commentary or our Truck Drivers Money Saving Tips home page.
