While most of the nation has ground to a halt under the unrelenting COVID-19 crisis, the trucking industry endures. Certainly, not every trucking company out there has been able to weather the storm. Indeed, many have gone out of business – and more well. Yet, there is a resilience in the industry. Truck drivers are front-line workers ensuring the food and medical supplies people need to survive are delivered.
As such, there have still been plenty of regulatory changes, industry updates and more occurring by the day. Whether you are talking about how crashes are counted against a company or latest updates in the clearinghouse rules, there is a lot to cover. Let’s look at the various moves happening in the trucking industry, many of which go unreported as bigger coronavirus-related news dominates the airwaves. First up, a change to the FMCSA’s DataQs.
Unfairly Counted Crashes
Trucking companies have been complaining for many years about being unfairly penalized by the federal government when crashes occur in which they are not at fault. It appears the FMCSA has finally replied to that concern with the Crash Preventability Determination Program, which is an extension of a pilot program the FMCSA had undertaken.
This pilot program was designed to take a second look at crash causation when big rigs were involved. Indeed, it has been 15 years since a study of this kind had been undertaken. The study looked at collision categories, such as tow-away, injury or fatal. With reams of new data available for researchers to comb through, the FMCSA wanted to take a fresh look. The program was designed to examine the feasibility, cost, and benefits of how certain crash types are determined and displayed.
Over 5,600 crashes were evaluated since 2017. In all, the agency wanted to determine how many were not a fault of the truck driver. A full 94% of cases were no fault cases. That is an astonishing amount of crashes that were determined not preventable by the truck driver or motor carrier.
Now, to the delight of many in the industry, they are making this pilot program permanent. They are also expanding the types of crashes that will be included in the program. Under the specifics of the program, if motor carriers have an eligible crash that happened on or after August 1, 2019, they can submit an RDR, or a Request for Data Review.
A Request for Data Review can be submitted, along with the police report, videos, photos, and other supporting documents through the FMCSA’s DataQs website. Many trucking industry advocates and trucking companies themselves are celebrating this decision as a positive step.
How Does It Work?
The program is very specific in how it operates. First, it will completely remove crashes determined preventable from a motor carrier’s safety management system prioritization algorithm. In layman’s terms, this means the tucking company’s Crash Indicator BASIC score will no longer be calculated using non-preventable crashes.
Furthermore, all crashes will still be listed on the FMCSA website, but they will include a notation indicating if the crash was reviewed and what the outcome of that review was. On pre-employment screening records, crashes that were deemed non-preventable will be noted as such. Trucking companies can also request a review of all accidents that occurred on or after August 1, 2019.
The FMCSA also plans to revamp the 30-day public notice process, specifically the time period before a review is finalized. The public can still submit comments, but the review determinations will not be held up by the FMCSA before finalization. Most importantly, police accident reports will be required for all review requests.
With a renewed focus on safety, the FMCSA’s use of this program moving forward may provide much more data on its wider implications. Either way, this is a rare example of a time when trucking companies, interests, and the federal government are all aligned on an issue.
Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Updates
The FMCSA has issued a proposed rule to clarify the rule a state driving agency must play in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse system. Just as a refresher, the system went into effect this past January. In short, it is an electronic database that tracks a commercial truck driver’s license. When one tests positive for prohibited drug or alcohol use, or if a trucker refuses to take a test, it is noted in the system.
If a truck driver completes their required return-to-duty process, this information will also be notated in the system. The system was created to prevent truck drivers from simply being dishonest when trying to get a job. Motor carriers can easily find out whether a potential hire has violated a drug or alcohol rule.
So, what’s the problem? The issue lies in state licensing agencies, which have not yet fully integrated their systems with the clearinghouse. States are simply behind in removing licenses from those truck drivers who are ineligible to drive based on the information contained in the clearinghouse.
To make matters even more complicated, the FMCSA states late last year that they were delaying the clearinghouse compliance date for states. States now have until January 6, 2023 to comply with the rule. This means it is up to the state to determine whether they should check the clearinghouse before providing a license to a potential truck driver.
The main problem has been states’ inability to get the IT infrastructure in place to communicate with the new federal system. While there are contracting organizations available to complete this work, it comes with associated cost and time constraints.
How the Information is Used
So, how are states using the clearinghouse information? For now, the FMCSA is proposing more detailed rules on when and how a state should ping the system as part of a CDL renewal process. A notice was published to the Federal Register on April 28 that would prohibit a state driver licensing agency from issuing, renewing, upgrading or transferring a CDL for someone who is prohibited and within the clearinghouse.
Furthermore, the FMCSA has stated that it seeks additional comment on more ways that state agencies can use the information contained in the clearinghouse to further compliance aims within their own states. More than anything, they seek to ensure truck drivers who should not be behind the wheel are not behind the wheel.
The FMCSA proposal would also revise how reports of actual knowledge violations are received and maintained within the clearinghouse. In effect, the CMV driving prohibition is intended to be self-enforcing. The FMCSA is relying on truck drivers and trucking companies to comply with the rule on their own. This is important because the FMCSA never used to have access to drug and alcohol program violations. Now, they do, and they can provide that information to law enforcement in real-time.
There is still a gap regarding state licensing agencies. This new rule would mandate how a licensing agency accesses and keeps information related to CDL-holders. The FMCSA rule would clarify this process and propose a series of ‘push’ notifications so that a state agency can quickly and easily access violations stored within the clearinghouse.
Trucking companies can also expect a change regarding the retention of certain DUI-related information reported to the clearinghouse. This would be governed under the ‘actual knowledge’ reporting requirement outlined in the guidance.
from Quick Transport Solutions Trucking Blog https://ift.tt/2UoEbNQ
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