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Posts Tagged ‘CDL’
DOT Safety Audit – Your First DOT Compliance Review
Monday, November 9, 2009
posted by 18 Wheeler 8:43 PM
Hello, Fellow Drivers! I was doing some research on trucking authority and found an interesting power point about DOT Compliance. This presentation takes you through the process of your first DOT audit. Below is the link for that power point presentation. In my next post, I will explain the paperwork that you must have in place to pass this inspection by the DOT. You can always email me and I will be happy to answer any questions in depth about this process. Enjoy the read and remember to be safe out there!
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/outreach/education/education.htm
Once you get to this page look in the lower right hand to the column titled “Regualtions and Standards”. Under this heading click on the first title “What is a Compliance Review?”. Your computer will ask you if you should open or save this download. I would save it so you can go back and read it more than once.
This inspection will happen within the first 18 months of opening your trucking business. A DOT officer will contact you to schedule this audit. Preparation is your best tactic to pass this important inspection. You can do it with planning and proper education and guidance. Remember to see yourself as the successful trucking company you are and you will pass your audit with flying colors.
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Trucking Industry News – OOS Alert In Minnesota
Monday, November 2, 2009
posted by 18 Wheeler 12:10 AM
Hello, Fellow Drivers! On June 17, 2009, I published a report about Minnesota State Troopers issuing HOS after going over a “Driver Fatigue Checklist” with drivers that are pulled into weigh stations or are pulled over. Here is a trucking industry news update to that report. Enjoy the read and remember to be safe out there!
SPECIAL REPORT: Minnesota enforced federal regs without authority
Up until Aug. 1, 2009, the state of Minnesota had nothing in its state law that gave it the authority to enforce federal motor vehicle safety regs – including issuing fatigue out-of-service orders – according to a document obtained by OOIDA.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association acquired a document from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration through a Freedom of Information request that reveals the state of Minnesota had not properly adopted either directly or by reference the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Not having those regs on the state books means the state had no authority to enforce them.
The document, titled the “2008 Minnesota MCSAP Review,” also states that FMCSA did not delegate any authority to the state of Minnesota to enforce the federal regs.
FMCSA recommended that Minnesota take steps to correctly adopt FMCSA’s regulations and incorporate any amendments to such federal regulations into Minnesota law. Minnesota corrected its law effective Aug. 1, 2009.
The Association filed the lawsuit May 13 with the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on behalf of truck drivers placed out of service and in some cases fined after members of the Minnesota State Patrol arbitrarily arrived at the conclusion the drivers were “fatigued.”
The original lawsuit charged that drivers were denied their rights to a hearing on the out-of-service orders and that the regulation under which the orders were issued fails both to define fatigue and to establish a standard under which a driver would know when to stop driving.
On Sept. 10, OOIDA moved to amend its complaint in Minnesota federal court to broaden its claim alleging that before Aug. 1, 2009, Minnesota state troopers lacked any authority to issue citations for safety violations of any kind to drivers for interstate motor carriers.
“This revelation is astounding,” said Jim Johnston, president and CEO of OOIDA. “We now know that the problem is even bigger than we had originally thought.
“Not only did state troopers not have the authority to put drivers out of service based on an outrageous checklist, but they had no authority to put drivers out of service for anything.”
The court has set the schedule for the lawsuit, which in court terms is actually a very fast-paced schedule leading to a trial date of Sept. 1, 2010.
More information on the lawsuit will air Friday at 6 p.m. Central Daylight Time on Land Line Now on Sirius 147 and XM 171.
– By Jami Jones, senior editor
jami_jones@landlinemag.com