Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1004801
10 commercial carrier journal | july 2018 JOURNAL NEWS FMCSA boss: ELD mandate could lead to HOS reforms T he head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Adminis- tration, Ray Martinez, last month told congressional lawmakers that the electronic logging device mandate could be a catalyst for hours-of-service reforms, saying the ELD mandate could shine a light on areas where greater hours flexibility is needed. The mandate puts "everybody on a level playing field," given that in many cases, "paper logs were fudged in the past," he said. "Now let's look at hours of service and see about some modifications — not extending the hours, but providing some flexibility in the current rules. We are engaging with our stakeholders in the regulated com- munity and safety advocates to see what would be accept- able." Martinez, who assumed the FMCSA administrator's job in February, testified before the House's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Other topics he discussed include: • Detention. He told the panel that excessive detention is "an abuse of the driver" but that it has been difficult to regulate. If carriers would share with the agency ELD data tracking time spent waiting at docks, "we would be happy to review it," he said. • CSA reform. FMCSA is evaluating recommendations made last year by the National Academies of Science as to how the agency can better score carriers on their safety performance and better target carriers at risk of crashes. • Sleep apnea. The agency has no plans to alter the guidelines for screening drivers. Currently, the issue is in the hands of medical examiners, who determine whether to refer a driver for an in-lab apnea test and diagnosis based on risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea, such as a high Body Mass Index. – James Jaillet Senators press FMCSA to evaluate hours reforms N early a third of the U.S. Senate penned a letter to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administra- tion boss Raymond Martinez last month calling on the agency to "explore improvements" for the hours-of-service regulations. Thirty senators, all but two of them Republicans, signed the four-paragraph letter dated May 17. While it doesn't mention specific reforms, the letter urges FMCSA to "provide for a commonsense framework for drivers, rather than a one-size-fits-all model." "We suggest FMCSA examine a wide range of options to address HOS issues … including … providing certain allowances for unique busi- nesses or driver operations, elimination of unnec- essary requirements or improved utilization of non-driving time." The Senate letter is the latest part of a seem- ingly growing movement for HOS reform, driven in part by the electronic logging device mandate and its rigidity in ensuring HOS compliance. A bill was introduced in the U.S. House in March that would allow drivers to pause their 14-hour on-duty clock for up to three hours a day. Also introduced in the House in April was a rider to a larger bill that would allow FMCSA to enact HOS reforms more quickly by skipping a step in the rulemaking process. The rider was withdrawn, and the bill to pause the 14-hour clock has seen no action. Martinez told CCJ in March he intends to examine possible HOS reforms. – James Jaillet FMCSA Administrator Ray Martinez testified for more than two hours before the House's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in late May. HOUSE TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUC TURE COMMIT TEE The letter from 30 senators urges FMCSA to "provide for a commonsense framework for drivers, rather than a one- size-fits-all model."