Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/795447
14 commercial carrier journal | march 2017 JOURNAL NEWS • The U.S. Senate on Jan. 31 voted 93-6 to confirm Elaine Chao as Secretary of Transportation on President Trump's cabinet. Chao said her three main goals will be to bolster infrastructure funding, bridge the divide between rural and urban transportation and find better balance with federal regulations and concerns of busi- nesses regulated by DOT. Chao also said she intends to create an environment in which new technologies such as autonomous vehicles can be balanced with any ensuing job displacements. • The U.S. Department of Transportation proposed adding four commonly abused opioids to the list of drugs that drivers must be screened for during urine analysis tests. Hydrocodone, oxycodone, oxymorphone and hydromorphone generally are taken as pain pills. New mandatory guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services published Jan. 23 and set to take effect this October call for the addition of the four opioids, DOT said. Comments are being accepted on the proposed changes until March 24. Go to Regulations.gov and search Docket No. DOT-OST-2016-0189-0001. • The Truckload Carriers Association launched an accreditation initiative to help its truckload carrier members attract new employees and create career paths as a retention tool. The certificate and certifica- tion programs will be sponsored by Driver iQ, a provider of background screening and driver monitoring services. • A March 2016 crash between a passenger car and a tractor-trailer in Robstown, Texas, that resulted in three fatalities was caused by the car's fatigued driver who had less than five hours of sleep before the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board found. A 2013 Hyundai Elantra, occupied by an 18-year-old driver and three passengers ranging in age from 17 to 19, lost control on U.S. 77, crossed the median and collided with a 2009 Freightliner. The car's driver was seriously injured, while the three pas- sengers were killed. The truck's driver was not injured. • Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, head of Daimler Trucks & Buses since April 2013, stepped down from the Daimler AG Board of Management, citing "personal reasons." He was released from his duties immediately, with Dieter Zetsche succeeding him on an interim basis until a successor is appointed. Bernhard's contract was set to expire in February 2018. • Florida Gov. Rick Scott's proposed state budget includes cutting $8 million in state fees, including eliminating fees that military veterans pay when they receive a commer- cial driver's license. Scott's budget also pro- poses cutting fees paid by trucking schools in half. The budget has to be approved by the State Legislature. • A survey commissioned by the American Trucking Associations seeks to quantify the amount of money the trucking industry donates to charities, as well as the types of charities the industry supports. ATA President and CEO Chris Spear said the survey will help the association focus its future charitable efforts. The American Transportation Research Institute survey asks fleets, suppliers and others to report their 2016 charitable giving and can be found at www.research.net/r/Trucking-Industry-Gives. GET INTO YOUR COMFORT ZONE Configure yours today at www.bostromseating.com GET INTO YOUR COMFORT ZONE Configure yours today at www.bostromseating.com www.bostromseating.com Wide Ride Core Since 1935 1-800-459-7328 | www.facebook.com/bostromseating O P T I O N A L " S M A R T " D U M P + M E M O R Y V AL VE INBRIEF 3/17