Hey everyone! It’s time for your Monday Daily Trucker News Update!
We have a lot of news to cover today, including:
- Which famous truck stop is hosting a vaccine clinic
- How much DOT fines have increased in 2021
- And what the National Truck Driving Championship looks like this year.
So, let’s get trucking!
Carlin: The Iowa 80 Truckstop Hy-Vee Pharmacy will offer COVID-19 vaccine clinics starting today! They are open to anyone 18 and older and will be on the third floor of the main building at the Iowa 80. Both the Pfizer and the Johnson & Johnson single shot vaccines will be offered. The dates are today, May 10: 2-4 p.m. – Wednesday, May 13: 5-8 p.m. – Thursday, May 14: 5-8 p.m. – Friday, May 15: 5-8 p.m. – Saturday, May 16: 5-8 p.m. To make an appointment visit Iowa 80’s website or give the Hy-Vee Pharmacy a call. Walk-ins are also welcome.
Britnee: The United Auto Workers strike at Volvo’s New River Valley truck assembly plant has ended after a two-week work stoppage. The parties reached a tentative 5-year agreement. The details are being withheld until UAW members can be briefed before a vote in the coming days. If approved the contract will cover about 2,900 plant employees. The plant employs more than 33 hundred people and is using a 400 million dollar investment for advanced technology upgrades, site expansion and preparation for future products. The plant has added 11 hundred jobs since the current union agreement in 2016 and is on track to have 600 more positions in 2021, according to Volvo.
Carlin: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Medical Review Board will look at the vision standard for truck drivers at its next meeting, May 19-20. The virtual meeting is open to the public. The board will evaluate comments from a proposed rulemaking from January. If finalized, that rule would allow drivers who cannot meet either the current distant visual acuity or field of vision standard, or both, in one eye to be physically qualified to operate a commercial vehicle. Currently, these drivers can not be qualified without an exemption from FMCSA. The board will also conduct a review of the medical assessment form for CMV drivers with non-insulin-dependent diabetes. If you want to take part in the meeting, you can! You can even register in advance, but that’s not a requirement.
Britnee: For the second time this year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, along with other Department of Transportation agencies, is updating fines for violations of federal trucking regulations for inflation. These increases are required by law – and the new fine amounts are effective immediately. To find the 2021 adjustment amount, DOT had to multiply the penalty amount by the percentage change between the October 2020 Consumer Price and the October 2019 Index, which means for 2021 all fines increased by 1.02 percent.
Carlin: Check this out! A friend of the Truck Boss Show – Ed Miller, who is a former driver, carrier operator, and safety man – has his memoir featured by Amazon! “A Trucker’s Tale: Wit Wisdom and True Stories From 60 Years on the Road” is part of Amazon’s “Kindle Monthly Deals” program. Through the 30th, you can snag the book on any Kindle device for just 1-99! You can also find our interview with him on the truck Boss Show YouTube! Just search Ed Miller.
Britnee: The American Trucking Association’s National Truck Driving Championship will be different this year… It’s going virtual. Beginning July 31st with State Rounds, there will be trivia contests with questions about driver facts, federal and state laws, state trucking history, and culture. Prize rounds are on August 11 through 13 and the National Battle of the States will take place on August 14.
That does it for today’s update!
Tune in tomorrow for all the trucking news you need!
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