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In this October 2024 round up, we will discuss CVSA Brake Safety Week, CDL downgrades, and Colorado tire chain regulations. Let’s get started.

Commercial motor vehicle enforcement personnel in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. conducted 16,725 inspections during this year’s Brake Safety Week, which took place August 25-31.

The total overall vehicle out-of-service rate was 12.8%. Of the more than 2000 vehicles placed out of service, 63% has stand-alone out-of-service brake violations, 56% failed the 20% defective brake criteria, and 10% had steering axle brake out-of-service violation.

The good news is that approximately 87% of the tractors inspected did not have an out-of-service violation.

Colorado has enacted a new law that expands the number of highways where tire chains must be carried on commercial motor vehicles (CMVs).

From September 1 to May 31 of each year, all vehicles with a gross combined weight rating of 16,001 pounds or more must carry tire chains (or alternate traction devices approved by the Colorado Department of Transportation) on seven Colorado highways.

Over 158,000 drivers are currently in a prohibited status in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. If these drivers don’t move forward with the return-to-duty process by November 18, 2024, they may find their commercial licenses denied or downgraded.

Out of the 158,330 drivers currently in a prohibited status:

• 76 percent have yet to start the return-to-duty process,
• 9 percent are in process, and
• 15 percent show as eligible to take a return-to-duty test.

That's it for this month's round up. Stay safe, and thanks for watching.

Who pays fuel taxes on a leased truck?

In a lease, the parties may negotiate certain items. This includes who will pay for fuel taxes under the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA). However, certain conditions apply to different circumstances, and the details of the arrangement must be clearly spelled out in the written lease agreement.

Requirements can vary based on whether it’s a long-term lease or a short-term rental. The details also change depending on whether the lease involves just a truck from a rental company, or a truck with a driver (like when leasing on an owner-operator).

If your operations involve leased commercial vehicles subject to IFTA, make sure you know your role — or risk fines, penalties, and interest for late payments.

The enrollment period opens soon for Unified Carrier Registration (UCR). If you operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce, make sure to keep this program on your schedule and pay the fees on time to keep your credentials active.

Most entities engaged in interstate commerce are subject to annual registration under the UCR program. Understanding the meaning of “interstate commerce” is critical, since it distinguishes businesses that are subject to UCR from those that are not.

The UCR enrollment period for 2025 begins October 1, 2024. If your fleet operates in interstate commerce, be sure to register and pay your fee before January 1, 2025, to continue operating legally.

As kids go back to school over the next few weeks, it’s important that your drivers understand the hazards they may face when entering school zones or encountering school buses. When driving through a school zone and in the area surrounding a school, a driver’s undivided attention needs to be on the road, looking out for potential hazards.

Never pass a school bus:

• When its lights are flashing and its stop arm is extended. This means children are boarding or exiting the bus.
• On the right side. This is where children enter and exit the bus.

That’s it for this month’s roundup. Stay safe, and thanks for watching

Warning letters sent to motor carriers with high CSA scores are helping to reduce crashes, according to new estimates from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or FMCSA. In a recent report, the agency estimates that almost 6,250 crashes were prevented as a direct result of the over 25,000 warning letters sent in fiscal year 2019 alone. That’s about one crash prevented for every four warning letters. The FMCSA says the letters also likely prevented nearly 3,400 injuries and saved 183 lives.

DOT-regulated employers will soon have the option of sending covered employees for an oral-fluid drug test in addition to urine testing.

New regulations go into effect June 1, 2023, harmonizing DOT’s Part 40 drug testing procedures with saliva testing guidelines established by the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS. Before oral fluid testing can be used, HHS needs to certify at least two laboratories, which has not been done. Oral specimen collectors must also be trained on the new procedures.

Carriers that chose to use oral fluid testing will need to update their DOT drug and alcohol testing policy accordingly.

Beginning January 1, 2024, new rules under the International Registration Plan (IRP) will apply to distance records produced by vehicle tracking systems, including electronic logging devices (ELDs), and global positioning systems (GPS).

Carriers using ELDs and GPS for distance tracking should review their IRP recordkeeping practices and confirm with their service providers that the new standards will be in place on January 1, 2024.

It has been four months since enforcement began for those required to comply with Canada’s electronic logging device or ELD mandate. Three recent challenges include ELDs that cannot transfer the records electronically, officers not being able to certify the information gathered from the ELD, and drivers simply failing to have the ELD not mounted properly.

Plus, each jurisdiction is on its own timeline regarding the enforcement of the ELD mandate. Most jurisdictions have been enforcing the mandate on federal carriers since January 1. But still, even for federal carriers, enforcement timelines, and associated fines and penalties may not be the same across the country. This patchwork can be confusing, and carriers need to stay current on the status of federal and provincial enforcement to avoid problems.

That’s it for this month’s roundup. Stay safe, and thanks for watching.

The DOT's latest rulemaking roadmap shows that speed limiter and electronic logging device rules have been delayed but the agency still expects to propose a variety of rule changes before the end of this year, including updates to the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, changes to the registration process, and a new appeals process for drug-test refusals.

Congress is working on legislation to fund the DOT through fiscal year 2025. Included in the House version is $200 million to fund new truck parking, as well as a prohibition on speed limiters and a prohibition on requiring ELDs for livestock haulers.

Is your mobile equipment exempt from HVUT?

With only a few exceptions, highway motor vehicles weighing in at 55,000 pounds or more are taxable under the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax (HVUT) program. But if your mobile machinery falls under one of those exceptions, you won’t need to report it on your Form 2290 or pay the tax.

The key to the exemption lies in the definition of a “highway vehicle.” If your machinery is not considered to be a “highway vehicle,” the exemption may apply. Common examples of vehicles that may fall into this category include mobile cranes, bulldozers, backhoes, agricultural machinery, and drilling rigs.

With the filing deadline at the end of this month – your tax is due by August 31 – now’s the time to look closely at the criteria and figure out whether the definition applies to your equipment.

The AEB final rule was delayed from April 2024 to January 2025 and could require these systems on new medium to heavy-duty vehicles, 10,001 pounds and greater.

As proposed, new vehicles, 10,001 pounds to 26,000 pounds, will be subject four years from the final rule. Most new vehicles, 26,001 pounds or greater, will be subject within three years since they already must have electronic stability control (ESC).

The standard would set the lowest speed at which AEB will engage, and the system would activate at or above that speed. Also, inspections and maintenance of these systems will be required under 396.3.

That's it for this month's round up. Stay safe, and thanks for watching.

The American Transportation Research Institute or ATRI, released the results of their annual operational cost benchmarking survey.

With the freight market continuing its decline from 2022 into 2024, make controlling costs even more important since volumes remain lackluster at best given the capacity in the market. Inflation lowered to 3.4 percent and GDP growth picked up.

Noteworthy changes included:

• Fuel prices decline by 8.8 cents per mile was the greatest change.
• While most items had a moderate increase, insurance premiums and truck and trailer payments grew at higher rates but the rate of increase was lower than in 2022.
• Excluding fuel decreases, the marginal cost of trucking rose by 6.6 percent to $1.716 per mile in 2023.

Despite the increase over last year’s number, the 2025 fees are still less than those that were in effect for registration years 2019 through 2022. The UCR filing period opens October 1, with registration fees due by December 31 each year. For the 2025 Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) year, plan to pay around 25 percent more in fees than you paid for 2024.

On June 21st, the U.S. DOT issued two sets of rules amending its drug testing rules in Part 40. One rule made a series of minor technical corrections and took effect immediately, while the other rule served to amend and clarify the saliva testing rules that were put in place last summer.

That rule has an effective date of August 5th, 2024, but is open to public comment and could end up being partially or wholly withdrawn.

That’s it for this month’s roundup. Stay safe, and thanks for watching.