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Carriers

Driving Safety Tips

Car accidents have killed more people in the United States than all the nation’s wars, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Improvements in vehicle design, road design and seat belt use have reduced accident fatalities, but motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death for people aged four to 34. Educating people on driving safety topics helps reduce the risk of dangerous car accidents.

Distracted Driving
Distracted driving means you are visually, manually or cognitively distracted from driving. Examples of distractions include reading maps, using a cell phone, daydreaming, eating and drinking, changing the radio station, using a GPS or performing personal grooming. Driver distraction contributed to almost 20 percent of accidents in 2008.

Seat Belts
Wearing a seat belt is the most effective way to protect yourself in a motor vehicle accident. Seat belts saved more than 13,000 lives in 2008. Children and pregnant women should also wear seat belts. Don’t count on air bags to save you–seat belts are designed to work with air bags.

Impaired Driving
Impaired drivers are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Alcohol was involved in nearly a third of traffic-related deaths in 2008, while other drugs were present in about 18 percent of deaths. Young people, motorcyclists and people who have previously received convictions for driving while impaired are most likely to drive while intoxicated or on drugs.

Speeding
Speeding contributes to nearly a third of all fatal crashes. Most speed-related crashes involve a single vehicle, and 60 percent occur at night. Driving too fast also uses more fuel.

Child Safety Seats
Children should use child safety seats placed in the backseat until they are tall enough to properly use seat belts, which usually occurs around age eight. Children under 13 should always ride in the backseat, since deployed air bags can endanger young children.

Teen Driving
Car accidents cause more than one of three teen deaths. Males, teens who have recently gotten their licenses and teens driving with teenage passengers are at highest risk for motor vehicle crashes. Teenage drivers are less likely to recognize hazardous situations, less likely to wear seatbelts and more likely to speed than other groups of drivers.

Categories
CDL

What is a CDL?

What is a CDL license and do you need one? For people who drive personal vehicles the answer to that question has no effect on their ability to drive. If you are a person who is interested in a career driving a commercial vehicle, it is important that you not only ask “what is a CDL license” but that you also take the necessary steps to obtain one. CDL is the acronym for Commercial Driver’s License. This is a license that you must have in order to operate a commercial motor vehicle. With a few exceptions, this type of vehicle is defined in several ways. It is defined as any combination of vehicles weighing 26,001 pounds or higher with the vehicle being towed weighing more than 10,000 pounds. It is also defined as a single vehicle that has a weight rating that is greater than 26,001 pounds. The final definition states that it is any vehicle that carries sixteen or more passengers, a school bus, or transports hazardous materials and requires placarding. A CDL is a license that is issued by the state in which the applicant lives. The basic requirements for application are set-forth by the Federal government. Each state, however, may have different testing laws in place. When pursuing truck driving jobs you’ll need to know how to get a CDL. Without a CDL license, a truck driver will be unable to get commercial truck insurance and, more importantly, will be unable to obtain employment as a truck driver.

The Federal Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 includes certain requirements that all states must follow in terms of the testing and licensing involved in getting a CDL. Drivers who get a CDL can only legally possess one license. You must complete CDL training and the required state testing to illustrate a certain level of competency and to show that you meet the qualifications to drive heavy vehicles. Each state is required to set up its own minimum licensing standards and tests for issuing its CDLs. In general, when getting a CDL you must pass both a basic knowledge and skills test. To get an idea of what to expect in your state, consider looking on our trucking forum. The TruckersReport forums are the place to go for up to date trucking information.

There are various classifications of CDLs that are outlined by the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act. These classifications are – Class A, Class B, and Class C. Class A CDLs are for driving vehicles that meet the definition of a combination commercial vehicle. The Class B CDL is for vehicles that meet the definition of single commercial vehicles. Class C CDL is for drivers of commercial vehicles that carry over sixteen people, school buses or vehicles that carry chemicals that are hazardous and require placarding.

There are also endorsements that may be placed on the CDL. These endorsements are “T” for double or triple trailers, “P” for passenger vehicles, “N” for tank vehicles, “H” for vehicles that carry hazardous cargo and materials, “X” for vehicles that are a combination of endorsements N and H, and “S” which is for driving school buses. These are only a few of the basic endorsements. Depending on where you live, there may be more endorsements that are specific to the state. This letter system also applies to restrictions.

Now that you’ve found out what a CDL is and how to get a CDL, you’ll need to know what information should be on it. According to Federal regulations every CDL should include the driver’s birth date, height, sex, full name, mailing address, and signature. A CDL license should also state clearly what it is, either with the words “Commercial Driver’s License” or with the acronym. In addition, it must also include a color photo, the issuing state, the state license number of the driver, the expiration and issuance dates, the class of vehicle, any endorsements, and notation if there is an issued restriction of air brakes.

Categories
Business Freight Brokers

35% of brokers have authority revoked in bond increase measure, broker group says

The number of freight brokers disappearing from the federal rolls has been increasing by the hundreds every day since Dec. 1, following the new requirement to carry a $75,000 bond, boosted from $10,000 by the MAP-21 highway funding act passed last year.

Today, 35 percent of brokers in business at the beginning of the month no longer have active authority, says James Lamb, president of the Association of Independent Property Brokers & Agents.

As of noon, Dec. 10, 7,561 fewer authorized brokers were active than on Dec. 1, Lamb said, and that number will likely continue to rise until around Dec. 15 — 30 days after the last of the notices of investigation were sent to brokers by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Overdrive reported last week on the decrease in brokers and AIPBA’s court fight against the bond increase. Click here to see it.

That number, however, could also include brokers who had their licenses revoked for reasons other than not complying with the bond increase, said Norita Taylor, spokesperson for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. She also said OOIDA hasn’t heard from any of its members about losing brokers.

FMCSA published a notice in September 2012 saying it would revoke operating authority from brokers who did not comply with the bond increase by Dec. 1, even though the MAP-21 bill required brokers to comply with the increase by Oct. 1.

Brokers are now required to carry a surety bond of $75,000 — up from the previously required $10,000. OOIDA supported the increase, saying it would better protect owner-operators who otherwise would not have been paid by over-extended brokers.

Taylor said the increase helps protect owner-operators from fraudulent brokers. “While most brokers provide a valuable service, the previous system left too much room for fraud where funds were collected from shippers but not paid to owner-operators.”

The American Trucking Associations and the Transportation Intermediaries Association also support the increase.

Because of the 60-day grace period and the time that brokers had to comply with the bond increase, Lamb says it’s “highly unlikely a significant amount” of the non-compliant brokers will be reinstated.

Categories
Freight Brokers Owner Operators Trucker News

Thousands of brokers lose Authority

The number of brokers registered with FMCSA may be dropping — coming on the heels of the enforcement date of the increase in the minimum surety bond required for brokers to carry — but some of the numbers being tossed out don’t represent what’s actually happening, said Chris Burroughs, who’s with the government affairs staff of the Transportation Intermediaries Association, a broker trade group.

Rather than a non-compliance issue, Burroughs said, the number of brokers losing their authority (more than 7,500 by noon Dec. 10) is also dropping because the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration database was out of date, he said. “We feel like there were a lot of people out there who had active authority but weren’t actively doing business and hadn’t been for some time,” he said. “The database had a lot of scrubbing to do.”

A,TI along with the American Trucking Associations and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, supported the increase, which was included in the MAP-21 highway funding act passed last year.

The increase to $75,000, Burroughs said, was something TIA, OOIDA and ATA sat down to work out, finding a compromise that worked for all three groups.

Even though the broker numbers are falling, he said, TIA “absolutely still support(s)” the increase, and the impact to the brokerage industry and the trucking industry will be “minimal, if nothing at all.”

Another broker trade group, the Association of Independent Property Brokers & Agents, is fighting the increase in court, and its president, James Lamb, has said up to 75 percent of current brokers could be forced out of the business by the bond increase. The increase will have a particularly harsh impact on small brokers, Lamb said.

Burroughs said 70 percent of TIA’s membership is made up of brokers with less than $2 million in annual revenue, and the effect on TIA’s membership has been minimal, he said.

Categories
Business Carriers Owner Operators

Highway Truck Fatalities Rose 8.9% Last Year

A new report from the DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that the number of large truck occupant fatalities increased by 8.9% between 2011 and 2012 up to 697. In 2011, the number of deaths was 20% higher than in 2010.

Despite the increase in the past few years, deaths among occupants of large trucks are the lowest they’ve been since 1950.

These numbers are also reflected in the total number of highway fatalities. In 2012, there were 33,561 highway fatalities. The NHTSA says that the number of highway deaths are at “historic lows.”

The ATA commented on the report saying that the NHTSA is not using specific enough categories to accurately portray the data. They note that the NHTSA counts non-freight-hauling vehicles as “large trucks” which is causing people to incorrectly believe that freight-hauling trucks are more prone to fatal accidents than they actually are. According to the ATA, the report “paints an incomplete and misleading picture of the nation’s trucking industry.”

Categories
Business Carriers Freight Brokers Freight Factors

Illegal Brokerage Among Carriers Still Gray Area

On October 1, the FMCSA issued a Final Rule that adopts regulations required by MAP-21. The rule includes the provision which sets a minimum financial security of $75,000 for brokers and freight forwarders, including carriers that occasionally broker loads.

In the Final Rule, the FMCSA states that compliance with the new rule will cost the industry $15.9 million initially. It has identified 2,212 freight forwarders that are impacted and estimates that the financial impact will be $1.69 million in the first year. For the 21,565 brokers on record the initial cost will be $14.21 million.

You’ll notice that there is no estimate for the carriers that need to obtain a $75K bond and broker authority to comply. That’s because the FMCSA admits that it has little information as to the extent of the unlicensed broker population within the motor carrier industry, which makes estimating the costs to this group difficult, if not impossible.

Since this population is difficult to identify, the FMCSA will initially work with industry groups to get complaint information on motor carriers that are acting as brokers illegally through its National Consumer Complaint Database.

The FMCSA also warns that carriers that act as unlicensed brokers may be subject to private civil actions.

So, unless you are moving every load on your own equipment and under your own carrier authority (for at least one leg of the journey), you need to obtain broker authority and the $75,000 bond that goes with it.

If you’re a DAT customer, learn more about a special bond offering for DAT customers through preferred solutions provider Integro.

As we’ve noted before, you must have active operating authority as a broker if you want to post your loads to DAT Load Boards.

For more information on how MAP-21 impacts carriers, read: Surprise! The Broker Bond Affects Carriers.

Categories
Carriers Trucker News

CSA and improving driver respect are priorities in 2014

During his luncheon address to fleet executives at the 2013 CCJ Fall Symposium in Scottsdale, Ariz., American Trucking Associations chairman and president of Bullog Hiway Express Phil Byrd, Sr., said three key legislative focuses for ATA in 2014 are electronic logging devices, rolling back the changes to hours-of-service rules, improving components of the Compliance Safety Accountability program.

ATA is working with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Anne Ferro to work out some of the “fundamental flaws” with the program, including “having no-fault crashes removed from CSA,” said Byrd.

ATA has been a strong supporter in recently introduced H.R. bill 3413 that would revert to hours-of-service rules that existed prior to the current rules that took effect in July. “I would submit that current HOS rules impede the free-flow movement of goods along U.S. highways an exacerbates congestion in metropolitan areas and will make the driver shortage worse,” said Byrd, who added that he anticipates a hearing at the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee in the near future.

Byrd says early statistics show a 3 to 4 percent loss in productivity among large fleets, but says the impact on his own business has been greater.

Highway infrastructure funding is also a priority for ATA, but Byrd said until the stalemate between Republicans and Democrats is broken, nothing is likely to change.

“Highways are literally crumbling beneath our trucks and cars,” said Byrd. “[Congress] knows how to fix the problem, but doesn’t have the will to do it.”

Finally, Byrd said improving driver respect is a cause he plans to champion during his tenure as ATA chairman. “These incredible men and women — US trucking fleet drivers — they brave the dark of night, the ice and snow of the mountain peaks, the heat of the desert, the congestion of America’s highways everyday to deliver America’s goods,” he said. “Everything we need, want and desire comes to you by truck. These brave men and women, these incredible individuals, are disrespected at every turn. When they go to our shippers’ door to pick up, their time is disrespected, they don’t have adequate facilities. Then they get that load secured and get that bill of lading in-hand and go out on the public highway system. And because the motoring public doesn’t understand how we operate as an industry, they are disrespected by the people we share the roads with…when they arrive at our consignees to deliver the goods they receive much of the same disrespect when they loaded the freight. We have to change that. They deserve better. I believe that until we restore the respect that our drivers deserve we can’t expect people to come into our industry to be mistreated and misunderstood.”

Categories
Trucker News

OTR vs Regional vs Local Trucking Jobs

When you decide you want to become a truck driver, it’s important that you weigh all of your options. For instance, did you know that you have a choice between over-the-road (OTR), regional and local trucking jobs. Let’s discuss what each of these terms mean and some of their pros and cons.

Over-the-Road or OTR Trucking Jobs

Over-the-road trucking refers to jobs that take you across state lines and all over the country. If there’s a road, and you can drive on it, these jobs will take you there. The good thing about OTR trucking jobs is that they tend to pay quite a bit more than other types of jobs. However, you aren’t home very much and this can put a strain on you and your family.

Regional Trucking Jobs

Regional trucking jobs will take you across a couple of states, but never from coast to coast. So, if the company you work for is based in California, you may take trips to Nevada and Arizona. These jobs tend to pay less than OTR gigs but you will still be home most evenings and won’t be kept away from your family as much.

Local Trucking Jobs

Local trucking jobs usually only have you running about the state, but often even more localized than that. You will definitely be home every evening but you sacrifice the earnings potential that a regional or OTR job would give you.

Categories
Carriers

Define an OTR Driver

An over-the-road driver, or OTR driver, can be defined as a person with a transportation job which involves driving a semi-trailer truck long distances. These long-haul drivers might work regionally, or they may travel to any of the 48 states and to parts of Canada.

Function
OTR drivers pick up and deliver freight, some on dedicated routes which have the same trips each week. Others drive different routes with each new transport order.

Life on the Road
These drivers live in their truck cabs when they’re on the road, which may be for many days or even weeks at a time. During their breaks, outside of sleeping, they might eat at a cafe, chat with other drivers, or get some exercise.

Licensing
Driving a semi-trailer truck requires a class A commercial driver’s license (CDL). Training to obtain the license can be acquired at driver training schools, and some employers provide paid training for new hires.

Payment
OTR drivers usually are paid by the mile. They are legally allowed to drive 70 hours in 8 days, with an 8-hour break required after 10 consecutive driving hours.

Considerations
Because of the payment structure, most OTR drivers prefer jobs in which they can drop off a trailer and pick up a new loaded one, rather than being involved in the loading and unloading process.

Categories
Freight Loads

Flatbed Trucking Jobs

Flatbed trucks are versatile options for transporting outsize loads and items needing little or no protection from the elements. A major advantage of the flatbed truck is it allows offloading without the need for a loading dock, and from any side or from overhead. This allows cranes and forklifts easy access to lift and remove material. The flatbed truck also offers many different job opportunities for truckers, ranging from over-the-road long hauls to local short-drive deliveries.

Oversize Loads
Oversize loads are any material exceeding the width of the flatbed trailer and certain prescribed heights determined by the U.S. Department Of Transportation. Flatbed trucking is useful for moving completed large industrial machine components, constructed structures such as generator houses or small office units, and various building materials. Moving oversize loads involves strict attention to traffic conditions and plenty of clearance when turning, passing and going under and over bridges and viaducts.

Local Delivery
Flatbed trucking for local delivery means getting material to construction sites, homes and businesses. With a flatbed truck, you can make local deliveries and return in less than one business day. An additional skill often needed for the local delivery flatbed driver is operating a forklift with the flatbed truck. The driver can move pallets of material to different locations and quickly offload the cargo with the forklift.

Long Haul
Long-haul flatbed trucking usually involves any distance requiring more than one day to complete. Long-haul flatbed trucking can involve anything from oversize loads to just a small pallet of material requiring expedited delivery. Just as with oversize loads, the advantage of shipping by flatbed is easier offloading when the cargo arrives at its destination. Whether by machine or by hand, having access to all sides of the cargo makes it easier to remove the material quickly and safely.

Lowboy
Lowboy flatbed trucks are used as vehicle transports and often as an alternative to a tow truck. Lowboy flatbeds have hydraulically assisted beds that lift and move from front to back. With an attached power winch, the lowboy can quickly load cars, trucks and industrial machinery. The lowboy offers the advantage of being able to load and unload itself with no additional machinery. Lowboy operator jobs involve training not only in how to drive the lowboy, but also in how to secure and move various pieces of related equipment.

Safety
As with any trucking job, the most important factor in flatbed trucking is safety. Adhering to accepted rules of the road and local laws and regulations is paramount for the truck driver. In any trucking job, including flatbed trucking, the truck’s safe operation is crucial to getting the cargo, the truck, the driver and everyone else on the road to their destinations without incident.