The Nation

WASHINGTON — A “big picture” two-year budget deal hammered out between Congressional leaders of both parties and President Donald Trump on July 23 does not contain any provision to halt the rescission of $7.6 billion in highway contract authority scheduled to occur in 2020. However, though state departments of transportation are being encouraged to “take steps now” to minimize their exposure to the rescission, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) policy team noted that the broad-brush nature of this budget deal deliberately side-steps smaller fiscal issues, while legislative fixes to the rescission remain on track, according to an article in the Journal, the official publication of AASHTO. A rescission is legislation enacted by Congress that cancels the availability of budget authority before that authority would otherwise expire. Section 1438 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015 contains a $7.6 billion rescission that will take effect July 1, 2020. “It is clear that this deal, involving only the senior-most leaders in federal government, is focused solely on big-picture issues and does not address any specific budgetary issues that tend to ‘ride’ a must-pass package like this,” AASHTO’s policy team noted in a memo. The principal provisions of the budget deal – passed by a vote of 284 to 189 in the House of Representatives and expected to clear the Senate next week – increase defense and non-defense discretionary spending caps by $320 billion over the next two fiscal years, the policy team said. That means federal spending will total roughly $1.37 trillion in fiscal year 2020 and climb to $1.375 trillion in FY 2021, while at the same time suspending the statutory limit on public debt through July 31, 2021. Meanwhile, AASHTO noted that two separate legislative efforts designed to cancel the rescission continue winding their way through the House and Senate: HR 3612 and S 1992, respectively. As a fallback position, however, AASHTO is encouraging state DOTs to begin looking at ways to “minimize their exposure” to the rescission. “At this time, FHWA [the Federal Highway Administration] has yet to determine what would happen if one or more states do not have sufficient unobligated balances on July 1, 2020, from which to take the calculated rescission amount,” the policy team said in its memo. “The rescission will be calculated based on each state’s overall share of the unobligated balances of contract authority as of September 30, relative to all states,” the memo added. “This share will determine the proportional amount of the rescission applied to each state on July 1, 2020.”      

Statistically speaking, professional truck driving is considered one of the most dangerous jobs in America. But those statistics deal with on-the-road dangers. For some drivers, not all the hazards are encountered behind the wheel. In an announcement July 23 in the Federal Register, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) said that while it doesn’t currently “provide materials or training to truckers, including minority and female truckers, on how to protect themselves from being stalked, harassed, assaulted, or robbed,” the agency is interested in moving in that direction, and the first step is to clarify and quantify the problem. FMCSA said it plans to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR) with the Office of Management and Budget to conduct a study titled “Crime Prevention for Truckers,” focusing on the “prevalence, seriousness, and nature of the problem of harassment and assaults against minority and female truckers.” “FMCSA has accumulated evidence, both documentary and anecdotal, for a serious pattern of harassment- and assault-related crimes against female and minority male truckers,” the Federal Register announcement reads. The evidence is enough that FMCSA is convinced that a problem exists. However, “before effective solutions for preventing or reducing these crimes against female and minority truckers can be developed and implemented, FMCSA must understand the prevalence, seriousness, and nature of the problem of harassment and assaults against truckers,” the announcement says. The announcement goes on to specify that FMCSA wishes to get a more accurate sense of the scope of the problem: How often are assaults and harassment incidents happening? How many of these incidents have been going unreported, and why aren’t they being reported? To achieve this end, FMCSA has contracted with Battelle, a Columbus, Ohio-based nonprofit research and development organization, to create and conduct a survey of truck drivers. To be eligible, participants must be either female or minority male and have driven a truck professionally within the past two years. Participation will be limited to a maximum of 440 female and 440 minority male professional truck drivers. The plan is for about 80 interviews in each group to be conducted in person. The rest will be done online.  The surveys will be anonymous, FMCSA said, and none of the information in the surveys will be able to identify the participants. The survey will ask whether the drivers have experienced race- or gender-related harassment or crimes on the job. If the driver answers yes, the survey will ask follow-up questions about the incidents: when and where they occurred, what they know of the perpetrator and whether the driver reported the incident. A $25 “incentive” will be given to qualified participants, the announcement said. FMCSA said in the announcement that it decided it needed to look into the problem of harassment and assault among female and minority because along with the evidence it had collected informally so far, it was apparent that there is a perception among drivers in these groups that they are at greater risk than their fellow drivers. “Second, there is a critical shortage of truckers,” the announcement says, “and helping these subpopulations of truckers protect themselves from crimes could draw more truckers from these subpopulations, while stemming turnover, to alleviate the shortage.” If the results of the study show that that conditions in the industry merits action on the agency’s part, it will consider developing training or outreach materials to instruct truckers on how to protect themselves. FMCSA also said it will make the results of the study public. The agency is seeking public comment on the notice by Sept. 23. Comments can be left online at https://www.regulations.gov/.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Stay Metrics, a provider of driver retention tools, has updated its Stay Days Table for the first half of 2019. The update includes data for drivers hired each month from January 2018 through May 2019 from its carrier clients. The table reveals what percentage of them stayed with their carriers for 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, 270, and 365 days. The Stay Days Table tracks early-stage driver retention across a broad range of carrier clients, representing dry van, tanker, reefer, flatbed and more segments. This iteration of the table includes data for 47,283 drivers and 93 carriers. The Stay Days Table was recently expanded to include a column for “Average Days Stayed” that is calculated once a driver group has reached 365 days since their hire date. Stay Metrics CEO Tim Hindes said the key insight from this update is that early-stage turnover is increasing overall across the industry. While drivers hired in January 2018 stayed an average of 283 days, drivers hired in June 2018 stayed only 216 days on average, a decrease of 67 days. The early indications for drivers hired in 2019 seem to be following this trend. Averaging several months together and comparing by year shows this most clearly. Hindes said 84.9% of drivers hired from March through May 2019 made it a full 30 days with their carriers, compared to 86.3% over the same period in 2018. This shift is even more pronounced at the three-month mark. Among drivers hired in the first quarter 2019, only 64.9% made it 90 days. This is almost a 5% decrease from 69.3% during the first quarter 2018. This downward trend on the average driver retention rate is consistent with recent ATA turnover measurements, Hindes said. The ATA recently reported turnover at large carriers increased 5% in the first quarter 2019. “This update drives home the message we’ve been talking about for years: early turnover is where it’s at,” Hindes said. “Getting the early driver onboarding experience right should be a critical focus for every carrier. And we at Stay Metrics, with our years of research into this trend, can help.” Early turnover costs carriers, trucking stakeholders said. Chris Henry, TPP Program Manager and FreightWaves’ vice president of Carrier Profitability, recently reported that the cost of turnover, on average, sits around $10,900 per hire. This cost hurts more when the turnover occurs before the first year, as the driver has fewer days on the job producing revenue for the carrier, he said. “These data point to a need to better understand what drives early-stage turnover,” said Dr. Bradley Fulton, director of research and analytics at Stay Metrics. “The key to doing this is a well-designed, comprehensive set of measures that can identify these factors and how they fluctuate over time. Analytics that lead to insights and highlight opportunities for improvement are also critical, but the analytics are only as good as the data on which they are based. Quality, comprehensive measurement is the foundation.” Hindes said Stay Metrics offers an Onboarding Survey program for carriers to track drivers’ levels of satisfaction during the crucial first year on the job. Stay Metrics assesses drivers’ thoughts right after orientation to determine their expectations, how well orientation went, and their starting level of satisfaction at a carrier. Then, at several one or more key time points in the first year, a second survey determines how well drivers think the carrier is doing meeting their initial expectations and preparing them for the job. Along the way, he said Stay Metrics alerts carriers when an opportunity arises to step in, reach out to a driver, and solve an issue before it becomes a cause for turnover. Possible triggers could include a sharp drop in overall satisfaction, a driver’s nonresponse to a survey, or a driver specifically asking a question on the survey.      

OKLAHOMA CITY — Love’s Travel Stops has opened its location in Lake Village, Arkansas. The travel stop on U.S. Highways 82 and 65 adds 52 jobs to Chicot County and 52 truck and 51 car parking spots. “We’re excited to add a second location in Arkansas in as many weeks,” said Tom Love, executive chairman and founder of Love’s. “We look forward to providing drivers, as well as residents, with the ‘Clean Places, Friendly Faces’ that Love’s is known for at our Lake Village location.” There are now 14 Love’s locations in Arkansas. The Lake Village location is open 24/7 and offers many amenities for customers to enjoy such as: Chester’s Chicken, Petro’s Chili & Chips, four diesel bays, four showers, bean-to-cup gourmet coffee, brand-name snacks, Mobile to Go Zone with the latest electronics and CAT scales. In honor of the grand opening, Love’s will host a ribbon cutting ceremony and donate $2,000 to the Southeast Arkansas Economic Development District Inc.

DALLAS — Drivewyze, provider of PreClear weigh station bypass service, has launched its new Drivewyze Safety Notifications service. The new service, currently being offered for free to subscribers of the Drivewyze PreClear weigh station bypass service, provides alerts when a Drivewyze-enabled truck approaches a high-rollover area, plus it alerts drivers to upcoming low bridges. An audible tone, as well as visual alert, provides the warning. The new service, which is now active nationwide, is being rolled out this month throughout the Drivewyze ELD reseller partner network. “These are two great safety features we’ve integrated into Drivewyze’s Safety Notifications service, and it’s just the start – we will have more safety notifications to come,” said Brian Heath, president and CEO of Drivewyze. “Our rollover alerts, on targeted exit ramps and curves, are geo-fenced at 500 locations in 32 states. We worked closely with our state partners to identify the areas that had higher incidences of rollovers, so our alerts offer an early warning to drivers to check their speed. A 2017 FMCSA showcased the problem with more than 14,000 truck rollover crashes, which lead to 170 fatalities. Many of those were preventable. Drivewyze Safety Notifications service alerts will help make an impact in slowing down trucks on dangerous curves; it’s the only such alert in the industry, and we’re pleased to be offering it to our customers.” According to Heath, this is an example of the private sector working with state agencies to improve safety on the roadways. “The Drivewyze Safety Notifications service is the largest in-cab safety alert system in the industry. It will make a difference and help reduce rollovers and bridge strikes – it’s a huge safety advancement for the trucking industry, which will benefit all motorists.” The rollover alerts were tested extensively in a pilot program with several large Drivewyze customers. “What we found was that when the alerts were used, there was a measurable slow down in the risk area, and a 17% reduction in speeding incidents around those same curves,” he said. “That’s exactly what we wanted to see – the alerts had an impact on driver behavior. There is really no room for error with big rigs cornering on overpasses, especially in bad weather. Our internal studies have shown that ‘over speeders’ — going 5 mph over the posted speed limit around curves — are twice as likely to be in a preventable road accident as a driver going the speed limit. Once our customers activate the safety notification product on Drivewyze, its drivers will receive a ‘heads up’ about a 1,000 feet before the corner, to get them zeroed in on what’s coming up.” For the low bridge warnings, Heath said Drivewyze identified 1,500 strike-prone bridges along routes that are commonly used by truckers, and geo-fenced them for alerts. “The latest data (2014) from the Department of Transportation showed more than 4,200 bridge strikes in that year alone,” said Heath. “And those are not only totally preventable and embarrassing, they can be expensive. Repairs to trailers average around $10,000 – not including cargo damage – and the owner of the vehicle is on the hook for any bridge repair, which can be well over $100,000, plus penalties/fines up to $11,000 by the DOT.” Like with the rollover notification alert, an audible and visual notification is provided by Drivewyze when the truck approaches a low clearance bridge that is geo-fenced in Drivewyze’s system. “It’s an extra safeguard for truckers and especially useful for drivers making a delivery on an unfamiliar route,” Heath said. “This is a terrific service that Drivewyze is offering,” said Jorge A. Chavez, safety director from Trancasa. “Weigh station bypass makes us more productive, while the Drivewyze Safety Notifications service will now help our drivers become safer behind the wheel. The name of the game in trucking is productivity and safety – Drivewyze has become a great partner in both.” Both the Drivewyze PreClear weigh station bypass application, and the Drivewyze Safety Notifications service, are available starting this month on a number of Drivewyze partner platforms, including ISAAC Systems, Omnitracs, Orbcomm, Platform Science, Switchboard, Transflo, and Trimble. Drivewyze PreClear subscribers can now receive bypass opportunities at more than 800 locations, in 45 states and provinces. Subscribers interested in deploying the Drivewyze Safety Notifications Service should contact their Customer Service Manager.                    

WASHINGTON – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Wednesday published a proposed rule the agency said would reduce burdens and costs for commercial driver’s license (CDL) applicants by allowing applicants to take general and specialized knowledge tests in a state other than the applicant’s state of residence. This proposal will increase flexibility for driver applicants by reducing time and travel expenditures, while having no detrimental impact on safety, the FMCSA said. To promote further flexibility in the CDL issuance processes, FMCSA proposes to allow driver applicants to take the CDL knowledge tests in states other than applicant’s state of domicile.  Under this proposed rule, a state would not be required to offer the knowledge tests to out-of-state applicants.  However, if the testing state elects to offer the knowledge tests to these applicants, it would transmit the results to the state of domicile, which would be required to accept the results. “Reducing burdens and expenses on CDL applicants has the potential to increase the number of available drivers.  With the American economy continuing to grow at record pace, the need for more commercial drivers is critical.  This proposal offers commonsense regulatory changes that will help CDL applicants, without compromising safety,” said FMCSA Administrator Raymond P. Martinez. FMCSA has been focused on reducing regulatory barriers for CDL applicants.  In March 2019, the agency authored a final rule streamlining the process and reducing costs to upgrade from a Class B to Class A CDL— a deregulatory action that will save eligible driver trainees and motor carriers $18 million annually. Additionally, in June 2019, the Agency published a deregulatory proposal to streamline and simplify the process by which states are currently required to conduct skill tests for individuals seeking to obtain a CDL.  With the goal of reducing administrative costs and helping to alleviate testing delays, this proposal will eliminate needless inconvenience and expense to CDL applicants. The proposed rule will have a 60-day public comment period.  A copy of the proposal, which includes information on submitting comments to the Federal Register Docket, is available at https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration/commercial-drivers-license/commercial-drivers-license-out-state-knowledge-test.

Seven motorcyclists are dead, a trucker has pleaded guilty to negligent homicide, a Massachusetts trucking company is under investigation and the head of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles after her agency failed to terminate the commercial drivers license of the truck driver in the wake of a horrific accident involving a pickup truck pulling a flatbed trailer of automobiles and a group of motorcyclists who were members of Marine JarHeads MC, a motorcycle club that includes Marines and their spouses. The pickup collided with the motorcycles late June 21.  The trucker, 23-year-old Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, was driving erratically and crossed the center line, according to criminal complaints. His truck-trailer was classified as a large truck because of the combined weight of the units, federal authorities said. The tragedy sent shockwaves through New England’s communities of motorcyclists and military veterans, which often overlap. Zhukovskyy was employed by Westfield Transport of West Springfield, Massachusetts. Since the crash, The Associated Press said it has emerged that Zhukovskyy had multiple run-ins with the law. Westfield Transport also has a troubled history. According to an AP analysis of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data, Westfield Transport has faced over 60 violations over the last 24 months. About one in five inspections of its vehicles ended with federal investigators issuing temporary orders saying the carrier was not authorized to operate. The company’s out-of-service rate is 20.8% — a figure nearly four times greater than the national average of 5.5%. Federal records show the company has faced seven violations for unsafe driving, which include speeding in March 2018. That same month, the company faced two violations reported in Massachusetts and Vermont of drivers who were in possession of a narcotic drug or amphetamine. The company also received 11 other violations related to the fitness of its drivers, including an April violation for driving without a commercial driver’s license. Vehicle violations included inoperable head lamps in April and defective brakes in March. One driver was put out-of-service for driving while disqualified. There were 14 Hours of Service violations, including three for having no ELD and two for false reports of drivers of record duty status. At first, some thought Zhukovskyy might have been driving illegally because a prior incident where he was charged with being intoxicated, which should have required that his CDL be revoked or suspended. However, even though the combined weight of the truck and trailer resulted in it being classified as a large truck, because that weight was under 26,001 pounds, it did not require the driver possess a CDL. Connecticut prosecutors said Zhukovskyy was arrested May 11 in a Walmart parking lot in East Windsor, New Hampshire, after failing a sobriety test. Zhukovskyy’s lawyer in that case, John O’Brien, said he denies being intoxicated and will fight the charge. Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack said in a statement that the state Registry of Motor Vehicles failed to act on information provided by the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles about a drunken driving arrest involving Zhukovskyy. Pollack said the arrest should have cost him his commercial driving license. As a result, she accepted the resignation of Erin Deveney, head of the Massachusetts motor vehicle division. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said there is no question that the Registry of Motor Vehicles failed to act as it was required to prior to that incident. “My administration’s review has revealed a broader need to strengthen the commonwealth’s law regulating commercial driver’s licenses to ensure that only safe and qualified drivers are authorized to operate the largest vehicles on our road.” Officials said there were stacks of documents lying around the registry offices that had not been processed. Zhukovskyy also has a history of traffic arrests besides the May 11 arrest. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is taking steps to ensure Zhukovskyy remains in custody even if his criminal case were to be dismissed. It would not say why it was targeting Zhukovskyy, who is a permanent resident according to his father. A message was left with Melissa Davis, a public defender for Zhukovskyy. “It’s so preventable. It’s so unnecessary,” said Harry Adler, executive director of the Truck Safety Coalition, an advocacy group calling for more federal action on passing stricter truck safety regulations. “When you have these repeated violations, it speaks to the company’s commitment of being a safe operator on the road.” But in a brief interview with NECN-TV the company’s owner, Dartanyan Gasanov, called the crash a “horrible accident.” He refused to address questions about Zhukovskyy, who had been on the job only three days. He said the company is cooperating with investigators.                            

HIGHWAY CLOSURE UPDATE: I-77 remains closed from I-480 to I-490. The culprits: a load of metal pieces fell from a truck starting on Grant Avenue, scattered along 77 North to I-490 West ramp. Estimated 100 cars with flats. @CLEpolice @ODOT_Cleveland, @CuyahogaHeights on scene. pic.twitter.com/GKe0X1jwQJ — ClevelandFire (@ClevelandFire) July 23, 2019

The average price for a gallon of diesel nationwide fell by 0.7 cents for the week ending July 22, to currently stand at $3.044 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The lack of movement in diesel prices continues a pattern that has been going on for the past month. On June 24, diesel was at 3.042, with changes of less than 1.5 cents every week in between. Though tiny, the movement in diesel prices was nearly unanimous this past week, down in all but one region of the country.  That one exception was the Rocky Mountain region, where diesel rose 0.3 cents, to $2.978. Year-to-date, diesel prices are lower in every region, with the Rocky Mountain region again being the standout, having the greatest difference, 39.1 cents from this time last year. California made it a clean sweep for lower diesel prices year-to-date with a drop of 1.3 cents this past week, to $3.939, still by far the highest in the country, but 0.4 cents below this time last year. Along the rest of the West Coast, diesel dropped 1.1 cents to $3.198, bringing the overall West Coast average to $3.611 per gallon. The average along the East Coast is currently $3.072, with prices highest in the Central Atlantic, where diesel is going for $3.259 after a 1.3-cent drop. Diesel is $3.122 in New England following a decrease of 0.9 cents over the past week, while in the Lower Atlantic region diesel slipped by 0.4 cents to stand at $2.937 per gallon. That’s still slightly better than the Midwest, where diesel is going for $2.948 per gallon after a drop of 0.8 cents. Meanwhile, the Gulf Coast, the low-price leader in diesel, fell by the same 0.1 cent it gained the week before to stand at $2.804. On Monday, increasing tensions between Iran and Western countries failed to produce a sharp reaction in the crude oil markets. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 98 cents, or 1.57%, to settle at $63.45 a barrel. U.S.-based West Texas Intermediate crude rose 59 cents, or 1.06%, to settle at $56.22 a barrel. Click here for a complete list of average prices by region for the past three weeks.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor said Monday it had determined that time spent in the sleeper berth by professional truck drivers while otherwise relieved from duty does not count as compensable time. The DOL issued the determination in a written opinion letter by the department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) on how a particular law applies in specific circumstances presented by the individual person or entity that requested the letter. The American Trucking Associations lauded the opinion. “ATA welcomes Monday’s opinion letter from DOL Wage and Hour Division Administrator Cheryl Stanton that concluded time spent by a commercial driver in the sleeper berth does not count as compensable hours under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, unless the driver is actually performing work or on call,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “This opinion, which is consistent with decades-old DOL regulations, the weight of judicial authority, and the long understanding of the trucking industry, clears up confusion created by two recent court decisions that called the compensability of sleeper berth time into question. Significantly, this opinion letter provides new guidance, the DOL said. Under prior guidance, the DOL said WHD interpreted the relevant regulations to mean that while sleeping time may be excluded from hours worked where “adequate facilities” were furnished, only up to eight hours of sleeping time may be excluded in a trip 24 hours or longer, and no sleeping time may be excluded for trips under 24 hours. “WHD has now concluded that this interpretation is unnecessarily burdensome for employers and instead adopts a straightforward reading of the plain language of the applicable regulation, under which the time drivers are relieved of all duties and permitted to sleep in a sleeper berth is presumptively non-working time that is not compensable,” the opinion letter said. “There may be circumstances, however, where a driver who retires to a sleeping berth is unable to use the time effectively for his or her own purposes. For example, a driver who is required to remain on call or do paperwork in the sleeping berth may be unable to effectively sleep or engage in personal activities; in such cases, the time is compensable hours worked.” The ATA commended Acting Secretary Patrick Pizzella and Stanton for adopting a straightforward, plain-language reading of the law, rather than the burdensome alternative interpretation embraced by those outlier decisions. “ATA also commends the department for making guidance like this available through opinion letters, which provide an opportunity for stakeholders to better understand their compliance obligations prospectively, rather than settling such matters only after the fact, through costly and wasteful litigation,” Spear said.    

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Richland County Sheriff’s Department says they have arrested three employees of a delivery company, after discovering $23,000 worth of stolen inventory in one of their homes. Officials became suspicious when some retail stores reported that not all of the products supposedly being shipped from Home Depot’s West Columbia distribution center were reaching their final destination. An investigation by the Sheriff’s Department and officials from Home Depot and Estes Express Line led authorities to get a search warrant for the home of Cody Bessinger. That is when they found more than $23,000 worth of stolen water heaters that Bessinger and two other thieves reportedly accumulated over one years time. Authorities arrested Bessinger, along with Joe Gunter and Chris Shumpert, who were both managerial employees for Estes Express Line. This begs the question…”why water heaters”? Could it be that besides working for Estes Express Line, these guys had a clandestine plumbing operation on the side? You might even say these three men are in hot water.