October brings cooler days, longer nights and dreams of wintery wonderlands yet to come. For truckers it is the last chance to prepare our equipment for dedicated service throughout the coming winter months and for motor carrier enforcement it begins the renewal periods for several important credentials. For all motor carriers, which includes owner operators, […]
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Tied My Yellow Semi Round the Old Oak Tree | Trucker Song Parody
Enjoy this funny video from Eckert & Associates, P.A. Continue Reading -
Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Roadside Checks
As January 2021 fast approaches I wanted to take this time to remind those that employ CDL drivers about their obligations to utilize the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Drug and Alcohol Testing Clearinghouse. Effect last January, all motor carriers that employ CDL drivers -including single truck owner operators- have been required to report all [...] Continue Reading -
Hours of Service Updates
In response to industry requests for greater flexibility in the Federal hours of service regulations the FMCSA published a final rule updating several key areas of the HOS regulations effective September 29, 2020. Many of these changes are very beneficial to short haul and vocational fleets such as towers, salvage yards and construction companies. Here [...] Continue Reading -
Surviving Downsizing – Reducing Insurance?
Brian J Riker April 5, 2020 Downsizing, reduction in force or just plain survival mode. What ever you call it, most fleets are facing several hard choices to make due to the COVID-19 crisis around the world. With many transporters seeing 70-90% reductions in volume due to lower than usual traffic volumes (plant closures, reduced [...] Continue Reading -
Hours of Service Suspension Related to COVID-19 Outbreak
Hawley, PA – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced a limited relief from certain provisions of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations on March 13th, 2020. This marks the first time the FMCSA has issued a nationwide relief and is in direct response to a National State of Emergency declared by President Trump. [...] Continue Reading -
FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Guidance for Fleet Compliance Solutions clients
On January 6, 2020 the FMCSA launched a new drug and alcohol test result database in an effort to reduce driver fraud when applying for safety sensitive positions with motor carriers. Although the database had a rocky start it is functional and use is now mandatory. If your company employs one or more CDL driver [...] Continue Reading -
FMCSA Clearinghouse Decoded
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently began requiring motor carriers employing CDL required drivers to use a new central repository for drug and alcohol testing results. Eventually this clearinghouse will replace the need to send paper forms to previous employers when investigating new hires with CDLs. When the clearinghouse launched on January 6th, 2020 [...] Continue Reading -
New Employee Training
Training is expensive, no doubt about it, although without training you are setting your company, as well as the new hire, up for failure. Aside from preparing your team members to excel at their jobs training may also be a regulatory requirement. A few examples that come to mind where training is required by regulation [...] Continue Reading -
Just because everybody does it doesn’t make it right!
Brian J Riker October 8, 2019 Peer pressure. We all fall prey to it occasionally however, we can’t allow it to cloud our judgement or cause us to take unnecessary risks. We must always think for ourselves and error on the side of caution, especially when safety and compliance is concerned. Some of the more [...] Continue Reading