FMCSA Proposes Rule to Close Loopholes in CDL Permit Process

If a proposed regulation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) becomes law, illegal immigrants, drivers with bad records and others who may look to capitalize on loopholes in the commercial driver’s license permit regulations will not be getting away with it much longer. FMCSA published a notice of proposed rulemaking earlier this month, April 9, in the Federal Register on that seeks to close up loopholes and address shortcomings in the current process.

The proposed rulemaking is in response to provisions in the current highway funding legislation – commonly called SAFETEA-LU and the SAFE Port Act of 2006. In addition to setting new minimum standards in the permit process, the proposed rulemaking seeks to revise the CDL knowledge and skills testing.

The proposed rulemaking includes a comprehensive updating of the permitting and testing process. Some housekeeping type provisions include things such as mandating the minimum age for applying for the permit at 21 years old and making the permits tamperproof.

FMCSA officials propose that permit holders would have to meet virtually every requirement actual CDL holders have to meet. For example, serious and critical violations that CDL holders face being either sidelined or having their licenses suspended for life would also apply to permit holders.

Right now, inconsistency from state to state in verifying citizenship or legal residency leave the permitting process open to fraud. The proposal sets a list of the accepted documents applicants would have to present to apply for the permit. The proposal acknowledges that the current use of interpreters sets the testing system up for fraud and poses safety risks. The proposed reg seeks to prohibit the use of interpreters in the skills portion of the testing.

The public has until June 9 to file comments on the proposed regulation. The Docket number for the proposed rule is FMCSA-2007-27659.

Fax comments with the Docket ID number to (202) 493-2251

Mail comments with the Docket ID number to:


Docket Management Facility

U.S. Department of Transportation

Room W-12-140, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE

Washington, DC 20590-0001

BusRide Magazine; April 15, 2008

Faked Logs, Violations Stall Scofflaw Truckers; Traffic Check - State Police Pull Over Drivers

FAREWELL BEND -- Oregon State Police cited a 63-year-old trucker Thursday for doing the impossible: driving 500 miles in five hours through three states in an 18-wheeler refrigerator truck full of meat.

He might have gotten away with his high-speed claim, had he not been swept into a 72-hour "trucker check" along Interstate 84 in eastern Oregon.

Troopers cited the Utah-based driver at Oregon's Port of Entry at Farewell Bend. Sgt. Alan Hageman said the bogus feat was recorded in the driver's logbook to conceal the fact that he'd been driving longer than the 11 hours allowed truckers in any 24-hour period.

The driver merely wanted to keep going, Hageman said. But had he kept on, he might have become drowsy and wrecked his 80,000-pound rig along the freeway, perhaps injuring or killing himself and someone else. Troopers fined him $367 and put his truck out of service for 10 hours so he could get some sleep.

"We're seeing more of it," especially among drivers paid by the hour or the mile, said Hageman, who has spent 24 years with the state police. There's an inducement for drivers to be as productive as possible, he said, which can mean driving a lot more hours than they are allowed by law.

The around-the-clock check began at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday and was to end at midnight Thursday. Organized by state police and the Oregon Department of Transportation, its goal was to reel in trucks with worn suspensions, frayed tires, bad brakes and long-haul commercial drivers who were drowsy, drunk or drugged. Troopers with narcotics dogs also circled each parked truck to make sure illegal drugs weren't being transported.

An estimated 10,000 vehicles a day pass the state-run port of entry on I-84 between Ontario and Baker City. Forty-five percent are trucks, and most of them are big, diesel-burning tractor-trailer rigs.

By noon Thursday, four big rigs were parked with green tags in their windows, declaring them "out of service." Final numbers won't be in until next week, but during a similar operation last September at Cascade Locks, 11 percent of the 512 trucks inspected were placed out of service for safety violations and 19 percent of drivers ordered out of service for other infractions.

By midday Thursday, inspectors also were seeing more than the usual number of faulty brakes, worn-out tires and mushy suspensions. Police suspect companies are skimping on maintenance and repairs to make up for $4-a-gallon diesel prices.

Possibly more ominous is an apparent drug problem among some commercial drivers. Police estimate that as many as 10 percent have controlled substances in their systems.

"Marijuana and methamphetamines are what we see most, and prescription drugs," Hageman said.

In all, police cited five people for driving while under the influence of alcohol or intoxicants by noon Thursday. Three were commercial drivers and two were in autos.

During a similar truck check at Farewell Bend last September, 468 commercial drivers provided voluntary urine samples. Tests found 8.7 percent tested positive for at least one drug.

Perhaps surprisingly, the check was welcomed by some drivers.

"It's a good thing," said Bill Smith, 57, of Georgia. "It gets some of those idiots off the road."

Commercial drivers are a mix "of some of the best people you'll ever want to meet, and some of the worst," Smith, a commercial driver for 38 years, said. "Some of them are in their own world, and just not thinking. This job requires a lot of common sense."

Portland Oregonian; April 18, 2008

US Regulators to Study Universal EOBR Rule

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says it may expand its proposed requirement for electronic onboard recorders to include all carriers.

FMCSA's current proposal calls for an (EOBRs) mandate only for "repeat violators" of hours-of-service rules.

After months of criticism from safety groups and the trucking industry, FMCSA Administrator John Hill has indicated in the past that regulators might be willing to look at other options. According to a report on Truckinginfo.com, Hill confirmed this week in remarks to the National Industrial Transportation League that he will be asking FMCSA staff to look at ways "we can expand that rule and still be within the scope of what we published.

Under the proposed rule, only truckers with two serious hours-of-service violations within a two-year period would be charged, ignore countless of other potentially dangerous fleets, critics say.

Hill did not say the agency would definitely switch to a universal mandate, but this indicated that the FMCSA is seriously considering a stricter approach. Last year, the FMCSA's sister agency, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, expressed concern that the rule currently on the table lacks the "resources or processes necessary to identify and discipline all carriers and drivers who are pattern violators."

"The only way in which EOBRs can effectively help stem hours-of-service violations, and thereby reduce accidents involving a commercial driver’s reduced alertness or fatigue, is for the FMCSA to mandate EOBR installation and use by all operators," the NTSB said.

Today’s Trucking; April 17, 2008

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