FMCSA petitions to delay implementation of electronic med cert rule until 2025

Trucking news and briefs for Tuesday, April 20, 2021:

FMCSA again delays electronic med cert implementation
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, in a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking to be published this week in the Federal Register, is proposing to delay again the compliance date for a system that will streamline communication between state driver’s licensing agencies and FMCSA regarding drivers’ medical certifications.

The agency previously delayed the implementation date of its Medical Examiner’s Certification Integration final rule from June 22, 2018, to June 22, 2021. It is now proposing to delay the implementation until June 23, 2025.

FMCSA says the delay will give the agency “time to complete certain information technology (IT) system development tasks for its National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners and to provide the State Driver’s Licensing Agencies (SDLAs) sufficient time to make the necessary IT programming changes after the new National Registry system is available.”

The rule, part of which took effect in January 2015, requires FMCSA to electronically transmit to state licensing agencies the results of drivers’ medical certifications once they exams have been completed. FMCSA receives this information from medical examiners, who are required to upload exam results to FMCSA by midnight the day after the exam is completed. State agencies, once they receive results from FMCSA, will send the results to the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) to make other states aware of drivers’ exam results.

Ultimately, once the rule is fully implemented, motor carriers will no longer be required to verify that CDL/CLP drivers were certified by a certified medical examiner listed on the National Registry.

The proposal to delay the compliance date means that through June 22, 2025:

• Certified MEs would continue issuing medical examiner certificates (MEC) to qualified CLP/CDL applicants/holders
• CLP/CDL applicants/holders would continue to provide the SDLA a copy of their MEC
• Motor carriers would continue verifying that drivers were certified by an ME listed on the National Registry
• SDLAs would continue processing paper copies of MECs they receive from CLP/CDL applicants/holders

Rates round-ups, last two weeks

Rates keep rising | As was the case in last week's update with a weekly snapshot from load board provider Truckstop.com and FTR Transportation Intelligence, DAT Freight & Analytics' late-week release of its Trendlines report showed truckload rates at historic highs in the week ending April 11. More carriers were following that money to the spot market, DAT reported, posting their equipment available on the board, with truck posts outpacing load volume gains by a small amount. The national average van load-to-truck ratio was unchanged from the previous week at 5.3 loads for every available truck. Reefer load-to-truck slipped from 11.5 to 10.6 while the flatbed ratio fell from 96.2 to 94.7.

Market pressure tips back in truckers favor | For this past week, meanwhile, Truckstop.com and FTR Transportation Intelligence reported a flip from the truck-posts growth seen the week before, sending market pressure in carriers' direction on rates, which grew 1.3% in the aggregate. National fuel prices held steady just above $3 a gallon.

Kinedyne offering compliance training ahead of Roadcheck
Cargo securement manufacturer Kinedyne is offering free training resources, including a webinar and a white paper, as part of its sponsorship of International Cargo Securement Awareness Month in May.

The company launched the awareness month in 2017 to help truckers learn how to properly secure cargo in preparation for the annual Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance International Roadcheck.

Fleets and owner-operators who want to make sure their cargo control will pass inspection during Roadcheck can check out Kinedyne’s new webinar, “Command Your Cargo: Best Practices for Securement,” airing live at 2 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, April 28. During the session, Jeff Luick, Kinedyne account executive, will walk around a commercial truck highlighting key elements of cargo securement that inspectors will examine during Roadcheck. 

Kinedyne is also offering a free white paper “Cargo Securement: A Guide to Cargo Control Regulations.” It covers proper cargo securement; information about the forces that might cause cargo to shift, slide or fall off the trailer; the reasoning behind various cargo securement regulations; and methods to secure loads that are strong enough to withstand the forces of emergency braking or evasive maneuvers made on the road.

Drivers can register for the webinar or download the white paper here for free.

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