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FMCSA clarifies hours-of-service rules on agricultural commodities, personal conveyance

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued guidance intended to clarify the agricultural commodities exemption and the “personal conveyance” provision in driver hours-of-service regulations, according to separate notices published in the June 7 Federal Register.




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FMCSA seeking input on proposed changes to trucker hours-of-service rules

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is asking for comment on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on its hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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FMCSA extends comment period for proposed changes to trucker hours-of-service rules

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is extending to Oct. 10 the comment period for an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on its hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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FMCSA announces livestreamed listening sessions for proposed changes to trucker hours-of-service rules

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will conduct multiple public listening sessions regarding an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on its hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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ATA wants override of California’s meal and rest break requirements after PHMSA ruling on hazmat drivers

Washington — Three days after the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration determined that hazardous materials transporters do not have to comply with California’s rest and meal break requirements, the American Trucking Associations filed a petition asking the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to pre-empt the requirements for all commercial motor vehicle drivers.




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Survey finds driver shortage, HOS rules top list of trucking industry concerns; ATRI to create ELD data clearinghouse

Austin, TX — A perceived growing shortage of commercial motor vehicle drivers and potential changes to hours-of-service rules are the top issues affecting the trucking industry, according to an annual survey conducted by the American Transportation Research Institute.




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Lawmakers urge DOT to deny pre-emption petition on California’s meal and rest break rules

Washington — A group of 19 congressional Democrats is urging, “in the strongest possible terms,” the Department of Transportation to deny a recent American Trucking Associations petition on California’s meal and rest break rules for commercial truck drivers.




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FMCSA considering petition for HOS exemption for livestock, insect, aquatic animal haulers

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking comment on a petition that aims to amend hours-of-service requirements for haulers of livestock, insects and aquatic animals, allowing for a 16-hour on-duty period after 10 consecutive hours of off-duty time, the agency announced in the Feb. 6 Federal Register.




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Lawmakers reintroduce bill to reform HOS, ELD rules for livestock, insect and agricultural haulers

Washington — Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) have reintroduced bipartisan legislation that would require the secretary of transportation to create a working group to determine obstacles to safe operation for livestock, insect and agricultural haulers in an effort to reform federal hours-of-service and electronic logging device regulations.




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Bipartisan House bills seek ELD exemptions for livestock haulers, small carriers

Washington – Bipartisan bills introduced in the House on March 12 would exempt certain segments of the commercial motor vehicle industry from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s mandate on use of electronic logging devices to record truck driver hours of service.




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Chao confirms: Proposed rule to amend trucker hours-of-service regs sent to OMB for review

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on March 28 submitted for review to the White House Office of Management and Budget a notice of proposed rulemaking intended to add flexibility to FMCSA’s hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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Proposed rule to amend trucker hours-of-service regs slated for publication in June, DOT says

Washington — June 7 is the target date for publication of a proposed rule intended to add flexibility to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers, according to a Department of Transportation regulatory update released in May.




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OMB begins review of FMCSA proposal on hours-of-service rules for agricultural commodities

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on May 17 submitted for review to the White House Office of Management and Budget an advance notice of proposed rulemaking intended to help the agency assess whether to clarify the definitions of “agricultural commodity” or “livestock” in FMCSA’s hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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FMCSA delays publication of proposed rule to amend trucker hours-of-service regs

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has delayed until further notice the publication of a proposed rule intended to add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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July 31 new target for proposed rule to amend trucker hours-of-service regs, DOT says

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is now eyeing July 31 as the publication date for a proposed rule the agency says would add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers, according to a Department of Transportation regulatory update released in June.




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FMCSA seeks comment on definition of ‘agricultural commodities’

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking input on whether it should clarify or revise the definitions of “agricultural commodity” or “livestock” in its hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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FMCSA announces long-awaited proposed rule to amend trucker hours-of-service regs

Washington — After numerous delays, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has unveiled a highly anticipated proposed rule the agency claims would add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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New final rule from FMCSA officially removes suspended HOS restart provisions from Code of Federal Regulations

Washington — Commercial motor vehicle drivers are no longer officially required to take a weekly break of at least 34 consecutive hours, including two breaks between 1 and 5 a.m., to comply with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration hours-of-service regulations, under a new final rule.




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FMCSA extends comment period for proposed rule to amend trucker hours-of-service regs

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has extended by 14 days the comment period for a proposed rule the agency claims would add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers, according to a notice published in the Sept. 19 Federal Register.




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Survey finds driver shortage, HOS rules again top list of trucking industry concerns

San Diego — For the second straight year, a driver shortage and hours-of-service rules are the top two issues affecting the trucking industry, according to the results of an annual survey conducted by the American Transportation Research Institute.




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Washington state latest object of petition to preempt trucker meal, rest break rules

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking public comment as it considers a trucking industry petition to preempt Washington state’s meal and rest break rules for commercial motor vehicle drivers, less than a year after granting a similar request in California.




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Final rule to amend trucker hours-of-service regs sent to OMB for review

Washington — A final rule the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration claims would add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers has been sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review.




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FMCSA final rule amends trucker hours-of-service regulations

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has unveiled a highly anticipated final rule the agency claims will add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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Group petitions FMCSA to delay final rule amending trucker hours-of-service regulations

Washington — A coalition of safety advocacy groups, in conjunction with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, is petitioning the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to reconsider a controversial final rule the agency claims will add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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FMCSA pilot program would allow CMV drivers to pause hours of service for rest break

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking public comment on a proposed pilot program that would allow commercial motor vehicle operators one rest break of up to three consecutive hours but no less than 30 minutes during every 14-hour on-duty period.




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FMCSA preempts Washington state’s meal and rest break rules for truck drivers

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has granted a petition to preempt Washington state’s rules on meals and rest breaks for commercial truck drivers, determining that federal hours-of-service regulations supersede the state’s rules.




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FMCSA seeks comment on clarification of ‘agricultural commodities’

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is asking for input on an interim final rule that clarifies the definitions of the terms “any agricultural commodity” and “livestock” in the agency’s hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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FMCSA grants regulatory relief to drivers taking emergency supplies to storm-hit states

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced temporary relief from hours-of-service requirements for commercial motor vehicle drivers delivering “direct assistance” to emergency efforts in states affected by severe winter weather.




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FMCSA extends ‘regulatory relief’ for transporters of pandemic-related goods

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration once again is extending temporary hours-of-service exemptions and other “regulatory relief” for commercial motor vehicle drivers transporting items intended to assist with COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts.




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New law grants livestock, insect haulers an added hours-of-service exemption

Washington — Stakeholders in the commercial trucking and livestock industries are applauding a provision to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that gives livestock and insect haulers an additional exemption from Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration hours-of-service regulations.




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FMCSA requests input on possible changes to ELD regulations

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is asking industry stakeholders for input on “ways to improve the clarity of current regulations on the use of electronic logging devices and address certain concerns about the technical specifications.”




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FMCSA proposes adjusting scope of regulatory relief during emergencies

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is requesting public comment on a proposed rule that would “narrow the scope” of temporary hours-of-service exemptions and other regulatory relief for truckers during emergency declarations.




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FMCSA final rule scales back scope of regulatory relief during emergencies

Washington — Temporary hours-of-service exemptions and other regulatory relief for truckers during regional emergency declarations will be limited under a recently published Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration final rule.




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Should states be allowed to make their own rules for truckers’ meal and rest breaks?

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is asking for comments on petitions seeking to restore California’s and Washington state’s rules on meal and rest breaks for commercial truck and bus drivers.




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Make traffic safety a part of company culture, employer network says

Vienna, VA – The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety has developed a free online toolkit to help organizations strengthen their road safety programs.




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Free workbook aims to help measure safety culture

Silver Spring, MD – Managers hoping to improve their workplace safety climate can reference a new workbook from the Center for Construction Research and Training (also known as CPWR).




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Washington L&I moving to revise fall protection rules to align with OSHA

Tumwater, WA — Responding to concerns that some of its fall protection rules aren’t “at least as effective” as federal OSHA’s general industry and construction standards, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries has initiated rulemaking to revise certain provisions of its Unified Safety Standards for Fall Protection.




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Washington L&I revises fall protection rules to align with federal OSHA

Tumwater, WA — Updated fall protection rules in Washington state went into effect Nov. 1, bringing them in line with that of federal OSHA.




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Demographic trend could trigger rise in same-level falls: study

Melbourne, Australia — An expected increase in 45-and-older women in the workforce could mean more on-the-job falls to the same level, a recent study out of Monash University suggests.




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Systems Integrator of the Year Honoree: 2 Basic Rules

MidCo Inc., Burr Ridge, Ill, was founded in 1960 by Edwin F. Janik and Albina Janik as a small intercom and paging company. What started out as a two-man operation




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Most Popular Brands Among Top Systems Integrators

Which suppliers do the largest systems integrators use? This Top Systems Integrators brand-usage report lists the top 15 manufacturers and top 12 distributors that earn the business of the largest systems integrators in the physical security channel.




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FRA seeks further delay of rule on passenger railroad safety programs

Washington — Nearly two years after the Federal Railroad Administration first published a final rule requiring commuter and intercity passenger railroads to develop and implement system safety programs, the process has hit another hurdle.




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FRA again delays rule on passenger railroad safety programs

Washington — The Federal Railroad Administration has extended until March 4 its stay on publishing a final rule requiring commuter and intercity passenger railroads to develop and implement system safety programs.




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DeFazio: Final rule on railroad risk reduction programs fails to address fatigue

Washington — Effective April 20, the Federal Railway Administration is requiring the nation’s largest freight railroads – known as Class I – and smaller freight railroads with “inadequate safety performance” to develop and implement a formal risk reduction program. However, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, says the final rule does not fulfill a congressional mandate to address rail worker fatigue.




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FRA amending final rule on commuter, passenger railroad safety programs

Washington — More than three years after the Federal Railroad Administration published a final rule that requires commuter and intercity passenger lines to develop and implement system safety programs, FRA is amending the rule.




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Cranes and derricks in railroad roadway work: OSHA clarifies final rule; lists exemptions

Washington — OSHA is providing specific exemptions and clarifications for railroad roadway work in its Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard.




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FRA revises rule on highway rail-grade crossing safety plans

Washington — The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a final rule revising the agency’s regulation on highway rail-grade crossing action plans to require 40 states and the District of Columbia to develop and implement – and update, if applicable – FRA-approved action plans.




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FRA proposes changes to Positive Train Control regulations

Washington — The Federal Railroad Administration wants to revise its regulations governing Positive Train Control systems – emergency slowing and stopping systems designed to help prevent train crashes and derailments caused by human error – and reporting on their function.




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FRA issues final rule amending Positive Train Control regs

Washington — The Federal Railroad Administration is revising its regulations governing Positive Train Control systems – emergency slowing and stopping systems designed to help prevent train crashes and derailments caused by human error – and reporting on their function.




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Design issue could allow Positive Train Control systems to be disabled, FRA warns

Washington — The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a safety advisory to railroads and rail employees regarding a recently identified interface design issue that relates to how Positive Train Control systems interface with locomotive and cab car braking systems.