Glostone Newsletter February 2015
posted in Blog, Newsletter by Brian Gray
Glostone Newsletter February 2015
Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports (DVIR)
This is a reminder for those carriers that operate in Canada. Despite FMCSA’s change to their driver-vehicle inspection report (DVIR) rules which no longer requires a “no defects” report, all Canadian provinces continue to require this report and it must be present with the vehicle.
Oregon MVR’s, Be Careful When Ordering From a 3rd Party
Another aspect of the new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation requiring drivers to submit medical exam certifications to the DMV is that employers must now insure the driver has submitted the required information by obtaining a Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) that includes the medical exam certification. As of January 31, MVR’s that do not include the medical exam certification can be in violation of the rule.
For typical 3rd parties such as Hire Right who carriers often use to order MVR’s, the Oregon “sanitized” MVR that is issued to 3rd parties will not include the medical exam certification. The Oregon DMV has no timetable as to when these 3rd party sanitized MVR versions will be made available with the required information.
Glostone Trucking Solutions has entered into a contract with Oregon to legally disseminate full MVR’s that includes the medical exam certification to qualified companies. Should you want a fast and convenient method to obtain fully compliant Oregon MVR’s, contact us at 503-607-1088!
Medical Card Update
Last month we reported that new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations allow drivers to no longer carry their medical cards on their person. We also reported that even though Federal Law permits this practice, both Oregon and Washington still have state laws that require these medical cards to be carried by the driver.
In an update, the Oregon Trucking Association (OTA) has worked with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) for a solution to this issue. As a result, ODOT is now in the process of notifying all Oregon enforcement personnel to no longer enforce this part of the state law. In addition, the OTA is working with State lawmakers to create the needed Bill to permanently repeal this requirement.
There is no word from the State of Washington as to how they will be addressing this issue. Because of the likelihood of potential problems drivers could face, we still recommend that all drivers continue to carry a copy of their medical card until these issues are completely resolved.
FMCSA’s 34-hour Restart Study to Begin Soon
At the end of 2014, as part of the appropriations bill, Congress directed FMCSA to conduct a study of whether truck drivers are more fatigued and less safe operating under the 2013 hours-of-service restart provisions compared to the pre-2013 rules. They plan to begin conducting the study this month. The study will be made up of two groups of drivers: one working under the pre-2013 rules and one that uses the post-2013 rules. These groups will be studied for five months, while FMCSA looks at things such as crashes/near crashes; operator fatigue and the alertness and health of drivers.
FMCSA plans to use items including electronic logging devices, psychomotor vigilance tests, actigraph watches, onboard cameras and sleepiness scales to evaluate the set criteria. A panel made up of people that FMCSA states will have “medical and scientific expertise” will review the study. FMCSA’s conclusions will then be sent to the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General for a final look.
The passage of the bill in December halted enforcement of two provisions of the 2013 hours-of-service rule changes:The requirement that a driver’s 34-hour restart include two 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. periods and
The once-per-week limit to the restart’s use.
The stay of enforcement will be in place at least until Sept. 30, 2015. Before the post-2013 provisions can go back into effect, FMCSA’s report must show that post-2013 restart rules reduce driver fatigue and increase alertness and safety.
If you would like more information about the study, you can email FMCSA at driver_restart_stud@dot.gov.
