Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/1009508
22 | Overdrive | August 2018 Logbook California regs draw legal actions The Western States Trucking As- sociation last month filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Trans- portation asking it to interject in the ongoing dispute over California's breaks requirement. The group also filed a lawsuit challenging a recent California Supreme Court ruling regarding owner-operator status. WSTA represents trucking companies in 11 states, including California. The two issues at hand, however, affect all carriers that op- erate in California, no matter where they're based, the group argues. The July 9 petition filed with DOT asks the agency to declare that, for drivers of oversize and overweight loads, federal hours of service regulations supersede Cali- fornia's break requirement laws. The lawsuit against California's Department of Industrial Relations and the state's attorney general, meanwhile, seeks "to nullify the Su- preme Court ruling that effectively eliminates the use of owner-opera- tors, even one-truck motor carriers, from the trucking marketplace," said Joe Rajkovacz, WSTA's head of government affairs. The California Supreme Court's April 30 ruling in Dynamex Opera- tions West Inc. vs. Superior Court con- tended that the state's labor laws favor classifying contractor drivers as compa- ny employees who are entitled to cer- tain benefits and labor law protections. Citing the ABC test, the court said that if employers have a high degree of control over the type and manner of work performed, the worker should be classified as an employee. WSTA's lawsuit says the decision conflicts with the 1994 Federal Avi- ation Administration Authorization Act, which says that states cannot enact laws that interfere with prices, routes and services of interstate mo- tor carriers. The group also says the ruling violates both the Commerce Clause and the Supremacy Clause within the U.S. Constitution. – James Jaillet PARKING AVAILABILITY. The I-10 Corridor Coalition, representing Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, is seeking a $13.7 million grant through the Federal Highway Administration to develop a system that would use signs along the corridor to inform truckers about available parking at rest areas. Aug. 23-25: Great American Trucking Show, Dallas Sept. 8: American Truck Historical Society Rocky Mountain Chapter Truck Show, Art Robinson Transport Museum, Salina, Utah Sept. 9-13: National Truck Driver Appre- ciation Week Sept. 13-15: Richard Crane Memorial Truck Show, St. Ignace, Michigan Sept. 14-16: American Truck Historical Society LaGrange Engine Show and Northeast Ohio Chapter Show, Lorain County Fairgrounds, Wellington, Ohio Sept. 14-16: American Truck Historical Society San Juan Chapter Classic Truck and Vehicle Show, Riverside Park, Aztec, New Mexico Oct. 14-17: National Motor Freight Traffic Association Member Meeting, Hyatt Regency Savannah, Savannah, Georgia Dec. 15: National Wreaths Across America Day CALENDAR DAIMLER TRUCKS NORTH AMERI- CA recalled 18,105 model-year 2018-19 Cascadia tractors because the brake caliper mounting bolts may not have been tightened properly, which could result in the caliper detaching. Call DTNA customer service at 800-547- 0712 with recall number FL-775. ATLANTA-BASED TRUCKER Terrelle M. Jackson was arrested for shooting at another vehicle while driving on I-95 in Chesterfield County, Virginia. Police say Jackson, 26, cut off a 2001 Nissan pickup, then pulled alongside the pickup and shot at it. The pickup's 51-year-old driver was not injured and called authorities. A HEARTLAND EXPRESS TRUCK destroyed two homes July 18 near Colfax, Washington, when the driver reportedly fell asleep at the wheel and drove off State Route 26. The truck went down an embankment and through one house, then down another steep hill before coming to a stop in the living room of a second house. No one was injured. Agents focus on human smuggling by truck U.S. Customs and Border Protection last month announced that agents thwarted 42 human smuggling attempts involving trucks at the Mexican border in May and most of June, rescuing 406 people from trailers with rising temperatures. On June 30 and July 1, Border Patrol agents in five incidents arrest- ed nine U.S. citizens for smuggling 64 illegal immigrants. "These rescues are a result of stepped-up enforcement at our immigration checkpoints, cou- pled with our search-and-rescue efforts that are key to preventing unnecessary loss of life," said U.S. Border Patrol Acting Chief Carla L. Provost. – Matt Cole