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National Transportation Consultants
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September, 2013 |
welcome to this month’s newsletter… |
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| Medical Examiner Registry Status |
| Fewer Than 2,000 Examiners Certified |
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Any DOT physical taken on or after May 21, 2014 must be performed by a medical examiner listed in the national registry. In order to achieve that status each medical professional must complete training on the regulations and pass a test. So far less than 2,000 have finished that process, although there are about 10,000 who are in the process of completing the requirements.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) expects to expand the number of testing organizations from one to four. That expansion should increase the pace at which qualified examiners are added. However, the numbers probably won’t spike until the deadline, which seems distant, gets closer. It seems likely that there will be increased activity after the first of the year.
The good news is that not every driver must rush to a listed examiner on May 21, 2014. Physicals taken before that date, even the day before, remain in force until they expire. The bad news is that no one can predict how many practitioners will actually choose to go through the registration process. Large occupational medicine clinics will comply but drivers who live in smaller towns without a clinic may find that general practitioners may not be willing to take the time to become certified if they perform few DOT physicals.
You can find out who the qualified examiners are in your area at this web site:
Qualified Medical Examiners
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| Electronic Logging Rule Closer |
| Under Review by Office of Management and Budget |
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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has sent the electronic logging device rule to the OMB for review. This is part of the standard rulemaking process. This review could extend to the end of the year so we may not get a look at the rule until next year. At that point FMCSA will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which opens up the comment period.
A prior regulation was withdrawn after a successful court challenge to a similar rule targeting motor carriers with hours of service compliance problems. The regulation currently under review was crafted in response to a congressional mandate that was part of the current highway funding law, MAP-21.
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| Hours of Service Saga Ends |
| Regulation Virtually Intact — One Exception |
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The decade long saga surrounding the hours of service is finally over. According to the court, FMCSA prevailed “…not on the strengths of its rulemaking prowess, but through an artless war of attrition…” The court’s decision left the regulation intact with one minor change: short–haul drivers are not required to take the 30 minute break. For all other drivers the 30 minute break is in force and, of course, its effects are controversial. However, it’s hard to argue that taking a break during a potential 14 hour work day is a bad thing.
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To be counted as a valid break (for compliance with the 8-hour/30-minute rule), it must be logged “off duty” or “sleeper berth.” Any time that must be logged as “on duty” based on the definition of on duty time in section 395.2 cannot count as a valid break (except in the case of certain drivers transporting explosives who must attend the cargo and can use attendance time as their break). In general, to be “off duty” the driver must be free of all obligations and responsibilities and free to leave the premises. Note that any kind of “off duty” or “sleeper berth” time will satisfy the rule. For example, a lunch break, a 10-hour break, time spent resting in a sleeper berth , or time spent resting in a parked vehicle will satisfy the break requirement in most cases. The key is that drivers must be relieved of all duty and responsibility and be free to walk away from the vehicle and cargo for the duration of the break.
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What about a driver who fails to take this break? If discovered during a roadside inspection the driver will be required to comply before proceeding and will be assessed a violation along with 7 points — a sign that FMCSA considers this to be a serious violation.
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| OSHA Orders Driver Reinstated |
| Driver Terminated After Refusing Trip |
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently ordered a Massachusetts motor carrier to reinstate a driver that had been terminated. Brillo Motor Transportation was ordered to pay $96,864 in back wages and interest, $9,669 in compensatory damages and $25,000 in punitive damages as well as attorney fees. OSHA took this action after investigating a complaint filed by the former employee that he was told to take a trip even though he was out of hours and could not legally complete the run.
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According to a news release prepared by OSHA: The FMCSA’s “60/7” rule states that drivers who are on duty, driving a total of 60 hours in a seven-day period, must have 34 consecutive hours of rest before operating a motor vehicle again. In this case, the driver refused to drive a truck from Quincy to Milford, Mass., because he was already over his allowable driving hours.
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Chuck Cappello, the owner of Brillo, plans to appeal OSHA’s order. Cappello has stated that his company operates on the 70 hours in 8 days and the driver, when asked to take the run, still had 8 hours available which was ample time to complete the trip.
It’s interesting to note that in OSHA’s press release they misrepresent the applicable FMCSA regulations. They seem to have taken the 60/7 at face value based on the driver’s complaint and also state that the 34 hour restart is mandatory which is not the case. You can read the full news release here.
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| CVSA Event Calendar |
| Brake Safety Week: |
September 8 – 14 |
| Operation Safe Driver: |
October 20 – 26 |
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