Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/611028
LOGBOOK December 2015 | Overdrive | 21 A congressional conference com- mittee agreed Dec. 1 on a five-year highway bill, the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. At press time, the bill still need- ed to be approved by both houses before being sent to the White House for President Obama's signature. Highway funding autho- rization at the time was to expire Dec. 4. The FAST Act contains lan- guage that will remove certain Compliance, Safety, Accountability scores from public view, including those in which it is determined that the motor carrier or the commercial vehicle driver is not at fault. Safety Measurement System alerts and relative percentiles for each BASIC will be removed from public view. Inspection and violation information submitted to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration by inspectors and law enforcement officials, as well as out-of-service rates, will still be visible to the public. The "interim hiring standard" provision in the House version to clarify carrier selection standards for brokers and shippers was stripped from the final bill. The provision attempted to combat a rash of negligent selection lawsuits against brokers based on CSA per- centile rankings and failure to use them in selection criteria. In the run-up to the provision's removal, critics warned of a potentially chilling effect on small carriers should it go into effect. Also included in the bill is a provision to allow carriers to drug- test drivers using hair testing as an alternative to urine testing. A pilot program will also be established under the bill in which the U.S. Department of Transportation will study accident data that compares drivers between the ages of 18 and 21 with other drivers. Other trucking reforms include measures to require FMCSA to begin collecting detention data and further study motor carrier li- ability insurance minimums before producing a rule to raise them. – Staff reports Unified highway bill includes CSA reform FUEL SIPPER. You know what it takes to get the job done. That's why when you build a Western Star, you can outfi t it with a customized Detroit ™ powertrain to help you do just that. From the engine to the transmission and axles, you can spec the right truck for any job, inside and out. westernstar.com FUEL SIPPER. You know what it takes to get the Daimler Detroit / #81059 Western Star Detroit Ad 4C, 2.25 x 9.5 / Overdrive Magazine DETROIT_81059_WS_Overdrive.indd 1 10/19/15 12:06 PM Untitled-29 1 10/21/15 8:32 AM GARFIELD TRUCKING was de- clared to be an imminent hazard to public safety and ordered to cease all operations immediately. One of the Jefferson, Ohio-based compa- ny's three trucks was stopped in Missouri Oct. 4 for a roadside safety inspection, during which 43 safety violations were recorded. MINNESOTA DRIVER John Ray Carpenter was placed out-of-ser- vice by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration after an Oct. 22 accident in which he suffered a medical problem, causing a fatal collision. Carpenter, CEO of Hibbing-based Carpenter Brothers Services, admitted he had experi- enced at least six episodes involv- ing medical problems while driving, some of which also resulted in crashes. KNIGHTRIDER TRANSPORTATION owners Raj Singh Bhangu and his mother, Sandy Gean Singh, were in- dicted for fraud. In 2013, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration had placed Columbus, Ohio-based Knightrider out of service. In January 2015, Bhangu allegedly cre- ated a document misrepresenting Knightrider's authority to operate.