Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/252139
LEADING NEWS, TRUCKING MARKET CONDITIONS AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS D rivers must continue to carry paper copies of their medical certification, as is rule now, until Jan. 30, 2015. Under the same rule, drivers still were required to self-report their operating status and provide their commercial driver's license-issuing state with a valid medical certificate by Jan. 30, 2014, and that deadline was unaffected. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced the delay for the paper copy mandate Jan. 10 in the Federal Register. All drivers had until Jan. 30, 2014, to report to their state their operating status – generally either interstate or intrastate – and furnish a valid medi - cal examiner's certificate. A lack of readiness by some states, however, led to the delay in the date until which drivers must carry paper copies. Since Jan. 30, 2012, drivers have been required to report their operat - ing status and provide medical certifi- cates when renewing their CDL – as part of the FMCSA rule to combine CDL and medical certificates – so that drivers would need to carry only a single card. Drivers who do not self-report are subject to losing their CDL privileges. – James Jaillet E-log mandate, driver database rules were expected last month A proposed rule mandat- ing the use of electronic logging devices was expected to be published in the Federal Register Jan. 29, according to a monthly Department of Transportation report, which said the rule was projected to clear the White House's Office of Management and Budget Jan. 17. The report also said the rule would have a 60-day comment period that would last until April 1. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's drug and alcohol clearinghouse rule also was set to clear OMB Jan. 17, and the DOT report projected that the rule would be pub- lished Jan. 31. That rule will establish a database of drivers who have failed or refused drug or alcohol tests, and carriers will be required to submit failed or refused tests to the database. Carriers also will be required to query the database when hiring drivers. The electronic logging device rule not only will mandate e-log use but also will set device standards and address driver harassment. In its monthly update in December, FMCSA projected the e-log rule would be published Dec. 23. Also in the report was an update on the agency's Safety Fitness Determination rule, which now is projected for OMB clearance on July 24 and publication Aug. 4. That rule will change the data set and methodology FMCSA uses to pro- duce a carrier's overall safety score. Now, the agency uses only data from compliance reviews, whereas the rule would allow it to use data from the BASIC scores in its Compliance Safety Accountability system; roadside inspections; and crash data. A rule complementing the e-log mandate – designed to prevent car- riers, shippers, receivers or other intermediaries from coercing drivers to drive in violation of safety rules – is pro- jected to clear OMB April 14 and be pub- lished April 23. – James Jaillet Scan the QR code with your smartphone or visit ccjdigital.com/news/subscribe-to-news- letters to sign up for the CCJ Daily Report, a daily e-mail newsletter filled with news, analy- sis, blogs and market condition articles. COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | FEBRUARY 2014 9 The electronic logging device rule not only will mandate e-log use but also will set device standards and address driver harassment. Drivers must carry paper copy of medical certificate through January 2015