Overdrive

August 2018

Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info

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Logbook 16 | Overdrive | August 2018 A petition to the U.S. Department of Transportation asking for a reprieve from electronic log- ging device compliance for small carriers with clean safety records was denied, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association announced July 3. The group was "puzzled and disappointed" by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's de- cision to reject its petition, said Todd Spencer, OOIDA president and chief executive officer. At press time, two appeals to the ELD mandate were outstanding. One was a petition from the Small Busi- ness in Transportation Coalition that requested an exemption for carriers employing fewer than 50 employees. Its public comment deadline was July 16. The other was a bill filed in the U.S. House in May that would ex- empt carriers with 10 or fewer trucks. It has seen no action. OOIDA had asked that FMCSA allow small businesses, defined as those with less than $27.5 million in annual revenue, to continue using paper logs to record duty status if they had no at-fault crashes and did not have an Unsatisfactory safety rating. Among its concerns with the mandate, OOIDA noted the lack of proper vetting of ELD suppliers by either FMCSA or a third party and questions about the devices' cyberse- curity. OOIDA filed a lawsuit in March 2016 against FMCSA seeking to overturn the mandate, but the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled in favor of FMCSA. OOIDA appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case. – James Jaillet FMCSA denies e-log exemption request A federal court ruled July 18 to temporarily block a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency not to enforce Obama-era emissions standards placed on glider kit trucks. The court's temporary injunction against EPA's move means that glider kit builders will continue to be capped at making and selling just 300 trucks annually until the court lifts its injunction or EPA finalizes a rule to repeal emissions regulations on glider kits. A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals in the D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 in favor of a motion filed by a coalition of environmental groups that sued EPA after its July 6 announcement of the stay of enforcement. EPA's attempt at an enforcement-policy change had been seen as a major win for glider kit makers such as Fitzgerald Glider Kits that have fought the emissions regulations. But the lawsuit filed by the Si- erra Club, Environmental Defense Fund and Center for Biological Diversity challenged the change. The D.C. Appellate Court sided with the environ- mental groups, saying it would put a stay on EPA's enforcement discretion "pending further order of the court." EPA is working on a rule to rescind the Obama-era regulations and permanently remove the 300-truck annual cap on the output of glider kit builders, but the rule has been slow to come to frui- tion. EPA's decision not to enforce that cap was meant to give the agency more time to finalize the rule and allow glider kit makers to continue business as usual. Demand for glider trucks, which are new truck bodies equipped with re- manufactured engines and transmissions, has soared over the past decade. They're equipped with engines that do not use exhaust gas recirculation and do not require exhaust aftertreatment. – James Jaillet Ruling keeps restrictions on glider kits A lawsuit filed by environmental groups challenged EPA's decision not to enforce Obama-era emissions standards placed on glider kit trucks. James Jaillet

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