Senate Bill 995 (Laughlin-R) amends Title 75 (Vehicles) to increase the width of multipurpose agricultural vehicles.

1. Specifically, it amends the definition of "multipurpose agricultural vehicle" to increase the width by four inches (from 62 to 66) to reflect the type of equipment that is now being manufactured.
2. Pertinent definitions: Multipurpose Agricultural Vehicle: A motor vehicle which is used exclusively for agricultural operations and only incidentally operated or moved upon the highways.
3. Effective date: 60 days.
4. Status:  Passed Senate, 50-0, 6/9/2020 – Passed House, 202-0, 10/19/2020 – Signed into law as Act 103 of 2020, 10/29/2020 

Senate Bill 1281 (Mastriano-R) also known as the “Move Over Law,” would require a driver approaching or passing a disabled vehicle to move over to one lane, or if that is not possible, to pass the vehicle at a rate of not more than 20 miles per hour less than the posted speed limit.

 

1.       In addition, the disabled vehicle must display at least two visual markings to passing traffic, such as hazard lights, caution signs or road flares. 

2.       It would also establish a new point system for a “Move Over” violation, double the fines for a summary offense, increase public awareness, and implement new requirements for drivers approaching an emergency response area.

 

3.       Status:  Passed Senate, 49-0, 9/22/2020 – Passed House, as amended, 201-0, 10/21/2020 – Senate concurred in House amendments, 47-0, 10/21/2020 -- Approved by the Governor, Oct. 29, 2020, as Act 105 of 2020.

AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration, DHS.

ACTION: Notice, extension of temporary exemption.

SUMMARY: TSA is extending the exemption from Renewal of the Hazardous Materials Endorsement Security Threat Assessment for Certain Individuals that TSA published on July 31, 2020 which was scheduled to expire on October 30, 2020, through December 31, 2020. Under this exemption, states may extend the expiration date of hazardous materials endorsements (HMEs) that expire on or after March 1, 2020, for 180 days, due to restrictions and business closures in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. If a state grants an extension, the individual with an expired HME must initiate the process of renewing his or her security threat assessment (STA) for the HME no later than 60 days before the end of the state-granted extension. Federal partners, state licensing agencies and related associations report ongoing difficulties in timely renewal of expiring HMEs and asked TSA to consider extending the exemption until the end of calendar year 2020. TSA has determined it is in the public interest to extend the exemption through December 31, 2020, which aligns with similar waivers issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation. TSA may extend this exemption at a future date depending on the status of the COVID-19 crisis.

DATES:

This extension of the previously issued exemption published on July 31, 2020 (85 FR 46152) becomes effective on October 30, 2020, and remains in effect through December 31, 2020, unless otherwise modified by TSA through a notice published in the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stephanie Hamilton, 571-227-2851 or [email protected].

Click here to see the Federal Register for complete details.

Join Us For A New PMTA Webinar All About DOT Off-site Audits Thursday, November 12, 2020, from 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM EST

Through September 2020, the number of DOT off-site (remote) audits increased by more than 400% over all of 2019, and those numbers will continue to climb. PMTA has partnered with Scopelitis Transportation Consulting on this new webinar that will explain in detail how FMCSA and its State enforcement partners conduct off-site DOT compliance audits. The webinar content was developed by STC from FMCSA’s safety auditor/investigator training manual and includes: ·     What CSA BASICs trigger the most off-site audits ·     How the off-site audit process really works ·     Details on the number of records audited during off-site audits ·     How drivers and their records are selected, ·     What other business records are requested during these audits, and ·     Much more... This webinar will be delivered by well-known industry regulatory and enforcement expert Dave Osiecki, President of Scopelitis Transportation Consulting, LLC.  Register today, and mark your calendar!

Greenbelt, Maryland (Oct. 27, 2020) – During this year’s Brake Safety Week, 12% of the 43,565 commercial motor vehicles inspected were placed out of service for brake-related violations. Inspectors from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. removed 5,156 commercial motor vehicles from roadways due to brake violations during the week-long inspection and enforcement event, focused specifically on reducing brake-related crashes by conducting inspections and identifying and removing unsafe commercial motor vehicles from roadways.

Fifty-three jurisdictions participated in this year’s Brake Safety Week, which is a voluntary inspection, enforcement and outreach initiative. In light of the coronavirus pandemic, jurisdictions that elected to participate in Brake Safety Week, which took place Aug. 23-29, 2020, conducted inspections following each agency’s health and safety protocols and precautions in consideration of the health and well-being of inspectors and drivers.

Forty-five U.S. jurisdictions, seven Canadian jurisdictions and Mexico’s National Guard and the Ministry of Communications and Transportation provided data this year. In the U.S., 35,778 inspections were conducted; 4,565 vehicles (13%) were placed out of service for brake-related violations. In Mexico, 6% (355) of the 5,958 commercial motor vehicles inspected were placed out of service for brake-related violations. In Canada, 1,829 inspections were conducted, and the brake-related out-of-service rate was 14% (256).

Commercial motor vehicle inspectors throughout North America use the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria to identify critical vehicle inspection item violations that are concerning enough to warrant removing that vehicle from traveling on roadways until those conditions have been repaired.

Eighty-eight percent of the commercial motor vehicles inspected did not have brake-related critical vehicle inspection item violations. Vehicles that did not have any out-of-service conditions during a Level I or Level V Inspection may have received a CVSA decal. A decal, valid for up to three months, signifies that the vehicle was recently inspected by a CVSA-certified inspector and that vehicle had no critical vehicle inspection item violations.

In addition to capturing brake system out-of-service violation data, during this year’s Brake Safety Week, inspectors also recorded and submitted data regarding the chafing of brake hoses. Inspectors reported levels of brake hose chafing violations, separated into five categories based on the level of severity; two of which were out-of-service conditions, three were not.

A total of 6,697 hose chafing violations were reported in a separate data query from participating jurisdictions. Table 1 provides a reference key and details each category of chafing, along with the numeric totals for each category by country. Table 2 illustrates the frequency of each category of brake hose/tube chafing encountered by each country as a percentage of all hose chafing violations.

"Although many commercial motor vehicle enforcement agencies were forced to reduce services in the spring due to the pandemic, it was important that we resumed inspection and enforcement duties as soon as it was safe to do so," said CVSA President Sgt. John Samis with the Delaware State Police. "With truck drivers designated ‘essential personnel’ by the government, we needed to ensure that the vehicles traversing our roadways were safe to support commercial drivers as they selflessly continued to work during such a difficult and challenging time."

Next year’s Brake Safety Week is scheduled for Aug. 22-28, 2021.

Brake Safety Week is part of CVSA’s Operation Airbrake program, in partnership with the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, and Mexico’s National Guard and the Ministry of Communications and Transportation.

October 28, 2020 1:00pm - October 28, 2020 2:30pm

FMCSA will be hosting a live listening session regarding property carriers and brokers. FMCSA would like to hear from members of the public on their views on the regulation of property carrier brokers in general, and on three pending petitions concerning specific property carrier broker regulation issues. Those three issues are as follows: 

• OOIDA requests that FMCSA require property brokers to provide an electronic copy of each transaction record automatically within 48 hours after the contractual service has been completed, and prohibit explicitly brokers from including any provision in their contracts that requires a motor carrier to waive its rights to access the transaction records.
• SBTC requests that FMCSA prohibit brokers from coercing or otherwise requiring parties to brokers' transactions to waive their right to review the record of the transaction as a condition for doing business.
• SBTC also requests that FMCSA adopt regulatory language indicating that brokers' contracts may not include a stipulation or clause exempting the broker from having to comply with the transparency requirement.

Links to the federal registers notice with more details can be found here and here.

This meeting does not pertain to broker or freight forwarder minimum financial responsibility matters. The session will be held via videoconference and will be accessible to the public for its entirety. Individuals with diverse experience and perspectives are encouraged to attend.

To Register, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fmcsa-broker-freight-listening-session-registration-125161384069

DRIVER RECORDS What information is reported to the Clearinghouse? The FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse contains information on all violations of the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Testing Program incurred by drivers who hold a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or commercial learner’s permit (CLP). These violations include: Report for duty/remain on duty for safety-sensitive function with alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater or while using any drug specified in the regulations (Part 40), other than those prescribed by a licensed medical practitioner Alcohol use while performing, or within four hours of performing, a safety-sensitive function Alcohol use within eight hours of an accident, or until post-accident test, whichever occurs first Test positive for use of specified drugs Refusing to submit to a required alcohol or drug test What can a driver do about inaccurate information? If an employer or medical review officer (MRO) enters violation information in your Clearinghouse record that you believe to be inaccurate, you may petition FMCSA to review the information by submitting a driver petition in FMCSA’s DataQs system. Download the Submitting a Petition for Data Review Job Aid for more details. Note that you are permitted to challenge only the accuracy of information in the Clearinghouse reflected in one of the following categories: Accuracy of data in driver record Actual knowledge violation did not result in a conviction Actual knowledge violation did not comply with reporting requirements Refusal to test violation did not comply with reporting requirements Drivers may not use the petition process to challenge the accuracy of test results or refusals. How can drivers view their Clearinghouse record? To view a Clearinghouse record electronically, a driver must be registered in the Clearinghouse and have verified his or her CDL or CLP information. If you have completed registration but not verified your CDL/CLP information, log in to the Clearinghouse and navigate to My Driver Profile and click Add CDL#. Having trouble verifying a CDL? . If your CDL number has special characters (such as spaces or dashes), try entering the CDL number with or without these characters, as requirements vary by State. If your CDL number begins with a zero, or multiple zeroes, be sure to enter these. Log in to the Clearinghouse → Not registered? Register today.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the September 25, 2020 results. With this snapshot, FMCSA has aligned the violations used in SMS to reflect the latest changes to violations recorded as part of the roadside inspection program. A summary of the violation changes is available in the SMS Appendix A spreadsheet.

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website. 

Three Months Left to Meet Clearinghouse Annual Query Requirements

If an employer has not yet conducted queries in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse on any CDL drivers they currently employ, time is running out. The deadline to meet the annual query requirement (per § 382.701) is January 5, 2021.

This annual query requirement is tracked on a rolling 12-month basis. For instance, if an employer conducts a query of a CDL driver on October 9, 2020, the employer will not need to query that driver again until October 9, 2021.

Employers must purchase a query plan to ensure they, and their designated consortia/third-party administrators (C/TPAs), can conduct queries on prospective and current drivers. Learn more about query plans.

Be sure to register for the Clearinghouse and conduct your annual queries today. To learn more, download the queries and consent requests factsheet.

Highland, N.Y. – The New York State Bridge Authority (NYSBA) today announced the start of the full deck replacement project on the north (westbound) span of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, as well as new traffic patterns that will take effect by mid-December. Once the multi-year project is complete, drivers will experience a brand new road surface while traveling westbound on the span. It represents a major capital improvement in a critical connector for the Hudson Valley and the Northeast.

The north span of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge is the older of the dual spans and carries westbound Interstate 84 traffic across the Hudson River. First opened in 1963, the last deck replacement took place in the early 1980s, shortly after the south span of the Newburgh-Beacon was opened.

To ensure that the project is completed effectively and efficiently, the Bridge Authority and its contractor have announced a plan to reroute traffic during construction. Most traffic will be routed onto the wider south span, with the exception of westbound traffic coming from Route 9D. By December 15, 2020, the following traffic patterns will be in effect:

• For eastbound traffic coming from I-84: Two lanes, rather than the usual three, will go across the south span of the bridge. Traffic entering I-84 from the Route 9W on-ramp will need to merge into eastbound traffic.
• For westbound traffic coming from I-84: Two lanes from I-84 will be routed toward the south span within the vicinity of the toll plaza. Once on the bridge, eastbound and westbound traffic will be separated by a concrete barrier.
• For westbound traffic coming from Route 9D: Drivers will utilize the exit ramp and stay in the northernmost lane on the north span, which currently functions as a breakdown lane. Bridge Authority maintenance staff will be repaving the breakdown lane during summer 2020 to prepare it for its increased use during construction.

“Our engineering team and contractor believe the traffic plan we have put in place is the best option for keeping traffic flowing while the bridge receives this vital improvement,” said Tara Sullivan, Acting Executive Director for the Bridge Authority. “The Newburgh-Beacon Bridge is a critical connector for the Hudson Valley and the entire Northeast. It will remain that way for decades to come, thanks to this deck replacement.”

The entire deck replacement project at the north span is expected to wrap up by July 2023, with most work expected to take place in 2021 and 2022.

Yonkers Contracting Co. was awarded the project in June. In addition to the deck replacement, Yonkers Contracting will also be putting in structural elements for a future conversion to cashless tolling. The Bridge Authority encourages all drivers to make the switch to E-ZPass in order to save time and money during their travels. Information on setting up an account can be found at www.e-zpassny.com.

The south span of the Newburgh-Beacon had its deck replaced between 2012 and 2014. One difference with the newest deck replacement project will be that the concrete will be poured in place on the bridge, rather than pre-poured panels of concrete being installed on the bridge. This eliminates joints between panels and ensures a better finished product. Another difference from the previous deck replacement project is that traffic will have more room to travel by being able to access the wider south span during the construction project.

Once complete, the deck replacement of the Newburgh-Beacon north span will cap off a decade-long period of several significant improvements to the Bridge Authority’s most traveled crossing. In addition to the south span deck replacement, the Bridge Authority completed a rehabilitation of the I-84 overpass over Route 9W in 2019.  

Traffic updates for all spans operated by the New York State Bridge Authority can be found on NYSBA’s Facebook and Twitter profiles at www.facebook.com/NYSBridge and www.twitter.com/NYSBridge.  

The New York State Bridge Authority

The New York State Bridge Authority operates the Bear Mountain, Newburgh-Beacon, Mid-Hudson, Kingston-Rhinecliff and Rip Van Winkle Bridges. It also owns and maintains the structure of the Walkway Over the Hudson pedestrian bridge. The Authority is funded principally from bridge tolls and receives no state or federal tax monies for bridge maintenance and operation. Learn more at www.nysba.ny.gov.

FMCSA has created an online tool to help drivers and their organizations better understand the new changes to the Hours of Service Regulations.

Within the tool, you can enter duty statuses into the the log to identify potential violations. You can access ETHOS here: https://eld.fmcsa.dot.gov/HOSRuleTool