Meal and Rest Break Revival? — Guest Article from Scopelitis Law
By Christopher J. Eckhart, Partner at Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary, P.C. Earlier this month, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) gave notice that it will consider petitions requesting a waiver of the FMCSA’s decisions preempting...
read moreResponding in Crisis
On June 27, 2023, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing amendments to the Hazardous Materials Regulations to require all railroads to generate, maintain, and share certain information...
read moreDoubling Down on Share the Road
Depending on your age, political bent, and other factors, the 1980s may represent a decade of decadence, big hair, neon, blockbuster movies, Reaganomics, and whether MTV (and TV in general) was rotting our brains. For trucking, the ‘80s were especially pivotal when...
read moreDid You Know? FMCSA Audits Are Resulting in More Negative Consequences
In the first six months of FY 2023 (Oct. 2022 – March 2023), FMCSA issued 16,600 New Entrant Out-of-Service Orders, a number that is 60% higher than the same period in FY 2022. The percentage of FMCSA compliance investigations resulting in a Notice of Claim (i.e., a...
read moreDid You Know? The Vast Majority of Driver Inspections Are Without Out-of-Service Inspections
Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) recently released results from its 2023 International Roadcheck event which showed that 94.5% of CMV drivers inspected did not have any out-of-service (OOS) violations. For the 5.5% of drivers with OOS violations,...
read moreDid You Know? Appreciation of Truck Drivers Has A Long History
The annual National Truck Driver Appreciation Week started in 1988, making 2023 its 35th straight year of celebrating truck drivers, and their contributions to highway safety and a vibrant U.S. economy. This year’s celebration is coming up and runs from September...
read moreSTC In The News: FMCSA to consider waivers to its pre-emption determination on CA and WA rest-break rules
STC’s Sean Garney commented on FMCSA’s decision to accept waivers from its previous decision to preempt the California and Washington Meal and Rest Break rules. Read or listen to the article...
read moreSTC In The News: BCB Live Discussion with “Drive Safe Dave” on August 14, 2023
STC’s Steve Keppler joined a discussion with host Dave Dover regarding various safety issues in the trucking industry, and in particular marijuana usage and its challenges and impacts. Watch the discussion here. Their conversation was precipitated by this article in...
read moreSafety Critical Event: Trucking Loses A Leader
The STC team was saddened to learn of the passing of our friend and colleague, Dr. Ron Knipling, who died on July 5 from complications of Glucagonoma, a rare neuroendocrine cancer. Dr. Knipling was a scientist who, after receiving his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology...
read moreMary Jane Can’t Drive for Me
From January 6, 2020, to June 2023, more than 190,000 drivers have been found to have a least one violation of DOT’s Drug and Alcohol Testing regulations, and over 135,000 of these drivers remain in prohibited status in FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Of the...
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