UPDATE

1st Quarter 2012

2

frequency can suddenly rise, costs can getout of control, and the bottom line couldsuffer. The most successful companies I’ve had

the opportunity to visit are the ones whosemanagers constantly challenge the statusquo – I’m not talking one a year or once aquarter, they do it on a daily basis.It’s easy to sit back and let things roll along

with no thought to becoming better. Taskssuch as compliance, preventative maintenanceschedules, dispatch procedures, driver hiring,and about a hundred others, can becomesuch a routine that we can become inatten-tive and start overlooking details. A safety director who becomes compla-

cent will not notice subtle changes in log vi-olations, inspection reports, moving viola-tions, and the many other areas that can af-fect the carrier’s safety rating and liabilityrisks. Fleet managers who are not consistently

monitoring these and other areas such cansuddenly find the organization in financialtrouble, too. All areas of a trucking compa-ny must be monitored continuously sodreaded slip ups don’t happen. Many times you will see a satisfied opera-

tion conducting business in a reactive mode.But, as we all know, being reactive is mostoften too late in our industry.In the days ahead, we will face regulatory

changes, rising equipment costs, freight de-mands, and people needs. We must prepareto battle complacency in our organizationsby reminding our people to keep first thingsfirst, such as safety, training, expectationsand rising costs.Fortunately, this Association is composed

of the best in the business, industry leaderswho routinely hold themselves to a higherstandard. That makes my job easier, butmost importantly, the industry safer … andbetter.

Traveling the state the past fewmonths, meeting and greeting manyof our members, it is evident to me

that the best companies are those that arethe most concerned with their operationsbecoming too complacent.A mentor of mine described complacency

as “doing the same thing all the time, com-fortable, satisfied, routine, but stuck in arut. The only difference between a rut and agrave is that a rut is nothing but a gravewith the ends kicked out.”With that in mind, I found myself re-

viewing how many ruts I’ve experienced inmy career, and how many trucking compa-nies have had similar problems, or evenfailed, due to their ruts.Early in my career, I had an opportunity

to work for an individual who continuouslychallenged the many facets of his business,including my department. At first, I couldnot understand why he was never satisfied.My department would be coasting along atwhat I considered a smooth pace, and hewould pop questions like, “How are wegoing to reduce accidents, or how are wegoing to reduce our cost per mile?” My initial reaction was frustration; but

then, I’d settle down, take a good look atthings, and tackle the task. As the yearswent by, and my maturity grew, I found my-self becoming one of these people alwayswanting to change or challenge a particulararea of concern. I learned being stuck in arut causes great difficulty with moving anorganization to the next level.An occupation in the trucking industry is

one of the most challenging professions onecould have. As we face regulation changes,freight issues, and/or people needs, it’s obvi-ous that complacency, if unattended, willcreate severe problems for a company.If we are not continuously monitoring

the many facets of our business, accident

Tim Frazier, CDSATA Director of Safety and Member Services

‘If we are not continuously monitoringthe many facets of our

businesses, accident frequency can suddenlyrise, costs can get out ofcontrol, and the bottom

line could suffer.’

We can’t affordcomplacency

Safety Insights

SAFETY & MAINTENANCE

3

ATRI lists local and state anti-idling lawsThe American Transportation Research

Institute has updated its listing of localand state anti-idling laws to include tworegulations that have recently taken effectand one change set to take effect soon.For instance, Oregon’s law banning

idling for longer than five minutes took ef-fect in January. Truckers face fines of up to$180 per offense, but the law makes ex-ceptions for air conditioning or heatingduring extreme temperatures.Salt Lake City bans idling longer than

two minutes, with exceptions for air condi-tioning and heating thanks to a law passedin October. First-time offenders get a warn-ing, but a second offense will cost $160.A provision to West Virginia anti-idling

law that allows idling for air conditioningor heating purposes will expire in May,ATRI said.The guide is available in both a full-

page and card-sized version on ATRI’swebsite, www.atri-online.org.

FMCSA releases handy BASICfact sheetThe Compliance, Safety, Accountability

(CSA) program has released a new Behav-ior Analysis and Safety Improvement Cate-gory (BASIC) factsheet series on the CSAOutreach Website. These factsheets are tar-geted for motor carriers and commercialmotor vehicle (CMV) drivers who want tolearn more about the agency’s seven BA-SICs, the Federal Motor Carrier SafetyRegulations (FMCSRs) upon which theyare based, and how to ensure they complywith those regulations. Motor carriers and drivers should read

all seven of these new factsheets to gain amore comprehensive understanding of theCSA program and, more specifically, theBASICs. The BASICs are Unsafe Driving,Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service), Driv-er Fitness, Controlled Substances/Alcohol,Vehicle Maintenance, Cargo-Related, andCrash Indicator. As these factsheets out-line, the BASICs are safety categories inthe CSA program’s Safety MeasurementSystem (SMS). Motor carriers can seewhere they stand in each BASIC by log-ging into the SMS online athttp://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms/.

These BASIC factsheets fulfill an infor-mational need for motor carriers and driv-ers looking for ways to improve their safetyperformance. Motor carriers should con-sider these factsheets not only as a resourcefor themselves but also as a tool for edu-cating their drivers. FMCSA will highlight

one BASIC factsheet each Monday for thenext seven weeks through this subscriptionemail service to support industry’s under-standing of the BASICs.To view the BASIC factsheets visit

https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/resources.aspx?lo-cationid=58.

ATA, NATMI to offer safety director certification in JulyThe Alabama Trucking Association, in partnership with the North American Trans-

portation Management Institute (NATMI), is offering Certified Director of Safety andCertified Safety Supervisor courses beginning July 16-20, 2012. The courses will be heldat the ATA headquarters in Montgomery.All-inclusive tuition fees for the Accelerated Certification School Program (includes

both course fees, NATMI membership fee, certification kit and certification applicationfee) are as follows: $1,295 (4 days of classroom training); $1,195 (testing option forMotor Fleet Safety Basics + 2 days classroom training); courses taken by themselves areeach $480 for members or $580 for non-members; and both courses taken together are$865 for members and $1,065 for non-membersNATMI’s stated mission is to improve the performance and productivity of fleet

professionals directly responsible for effective fleet and driver performance — e.g. safetydirectors, maintenance managers and commercial driver trainers. Also, insurance companies take NATMI certification into account among other factors in setting premiums.Through training and professional certification programs, NATMI helps transportation

professionals develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to reduce vehicle acci-dents; reduce employee injuries; control costs associated with vehicle maintenance; recruitand retain qualified drivers; avoid fines through proper regulatory compliance; and pres-ent a favorable public image.For more information on the course, visit www.natmi.org or contact Tim Frazier at

334-834-3983.

ATA's 2011 candidates for certified director of safety (CDS) accreditation conducted by North American TransportationManagement Institute. From left, Robert Folk of Cobbs, Allen & Hall; Kent Williams of R.E. Garrison; Stephen Murrayof Dupre Logistics; Tonya Wilson of Barnett Transportation; NATMI instructor Mike Connelly; and Connel Coggins ofBuddy Moore Trucking.

MANAGEMENT COUNCIL NEWS

4

DOT issues HOS Final RuleAs expected U.S. Department of Trans-

portation inissued its Commercial DriverHours-of-Service Final Rule, keeping dailydriving limits intact at 11 hours, but signifi-cantly trimming the amount of time theycan work within a week. Specifically, FMCSA’s new HOS final

rule reduces the weekly limit by 12 hours,from 82 to 70 hours. In addition, truckdrivers cannot drive after working eighthours without first taking a break of at least30 minutes. Drivers can take the 30-minutebreak whenever they need rest during theeight-hour window. According to DOT, the rule requires

truck to take at least two nights’ rest whentheir 24-hour body clock demands sleep themost – from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. This rest requirement is part of the rule’s

“34-hour restart” provision that allows driv-ers to restart the clock on their work weekby taking at least 34 consecutive hours offduty. The Final Rule allows drivers to usethe restart provision only once during aseven-day periodMeanwhile, the Rule states that compa-

nies and drivers who commit egregious vio-lations of the rule could face the maximumpenalties for each offense. Trucking compa-nies that allow drivers to exceed the 11-hour driving limit by three or more hourscould be fined $11,000 per offense, and thedrivers themselves could face civil penaltiesof up to $2,750 for each offense. Commercial truck drivers and companies

must comply with the HOS final rule byJuly 1, 2013.American Trucking Associations officials

expressed frustration and disappointmentthat the Obama administration issued an“unjustified final rule governing hours-of-service that will do nothing to improvehighway safety, but will very likely increasethe risk of truck-involved crashes.”ATA President and CEO Bill graves said,

“What is surprising and new to us is thatfor the first time in the agency’s history,FMCSA has chosen to eschew a stream ofpositive safety data and cave in to a vocalanti-truck minority and issue a rule thatwill have no positive impact on safety.

“From the beginning of this process inOctober 2009, the agency set itself on acourse to fix a rule that … by all objectiveaccounts is working to improve highwaysafety. Unfortunately, along the way,FMCSA twisted data and, as part of thisfinal rule, is using unjustified causal esti-mates to justify unnecessary changes.”ATA officials noted that even with an

uptick in truck-involved fatalities in 2010,since the current rules went into effect in2004, fatalities have fallen 29.9 percentwhile overall miles traveled for trucks hasrisen by tens of billions of miles. ATA Chairman Dan England added

that “by forcing through these changesFMCSA has created a situation that willultimately please no one, with the likelyexception of organized labor. Both thetrucking industry and consumers will suffer the impact of reduced productivityand higher costs.” ATA argues that groups that have

historically been critical of the currenthours of service rules also won’t be happysince they will have once again failed to ob-tain an unjustified reduction in allowabledaily driving time. “This rule will put more truck traffic

onto the roadways during morning rushhour, frustrate other motorists and increasethe risk of crashes,” Graves said. “By man-dating drivers include two periods between1 a.m. and 5 a.m. creates additional andunnecessary congestion and putting mo-torists and those professional drivers atgreater risk. The largest percentage oftruck-involved crashes occurs between 6a.m. and noon, so this change not only ef-fectively destroys the provision of the cur-rent rule most cited by professional driversas beneficial, but it will put more truckson the road during the statistically riskiesttime of the day.”The rule is being sent to the Federal Reg-

ister and is currently available on FMCSA’sWeb site at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/HOSFinalRule.

Troopers launch awareness campaign for ‘Move Over’ Law Alabama State Trooper officials have

joined with other Southeastern states in acampaign to teach motorists the importanceof “moving over” to protect emergency ve-hicles stopped on the side of the road, theBirmingham News reports.More than 170 law enforcement officers

in the U.S. since 1999 have died after beingstruck by motorists, and thousands othershave been injured, according to a statement

released last month by Col. Hugh McCall,director of Alabama’s Department of PublicSafety. The Alabama highway department is

teaming up with the Florida Highway Pa-trol and the Georgia State Patrol duringFebruary to draw attention to the “MoveOver Law,” which requires motorists tomove over one lane when authorized emer-gency vehicles — including police, fire,EMS vehicles and tow trucks — arestopped on the roadside with emergencysignals activated. “To do our jobs, we must work in close

proximity to traffic,” McCall said in pre-pared statement. “The ‘move over’ law pro-vides all first responders and emergencyworkers the clearance they need to worksafely.”Alabama Trucking Association officials

recommend covering the law to reminddrivers to always attempt to move overwhen passing by law enforcement officersworking accidents or traffic violations. “I notice commercial drivers are pretty

good about getting over or at least slowingdown, so our industry seems to be way outfront on the issue,” said Associationspokesman Ford Boswell. “It’s a probablynot a bad idea to review the law with driv-ers from time to time. Law enforcement of-ficers are pretty vulnerable at these stops,and all drivers should provide them plentyof space to do their jobs.”

National ATA asks federalcourt to review HOS final ruleThe American Trucking Associations

filed a petition with the U.S. Circuit Courtof Appeals for the District of Columbia onFebruary 14, asking the court to review theFederal Motor Carrier Safety Administra-tion’s recently published final rule changingthe hours-of-service regulations for com-mercial truck drivers.“We regret that FMCSA and the Obama

administration have put ATA and its mem-ber companies in a position to take thislegal action,” said ATA President and CEOBill Graves. “The rules that have been inplace since 2004 have contributed to un-precedented improvement in highway safe-ty. The law is clear about what stepsFMCSA must undertake to change therules, and we cannot allow this rulemaking,which was fueled by changed assumptionsand analyses that do not meet the requiredlegal standards.”According to National ATA, FMCSA’s

own analyses show that even when theyoverstate the safety benefits of these

News

5

changes, the costs created by their rule stilloutweigh those benefits. “We need thisissue to be resolved in a credible manner,taking into account the undisputed crashreduction since 2004, so we can focus limit-ed government and industry resources onsafety initiatives that will have a far greaterimpact on highway safety,” Graves said.ATA officials pledged to continue to

work with FMCSA to implement rules andprograms that are based on sound research,and that will have a meaningful, demon-strated impact on highway safety. As such, ATA will support FMCSA’s

move toward mandated electronic on-boardrecorders to ensure greater compliance withthe current, effective HOS rules, and to fa-cilitate better enforcement of those effectiverules.Since operating speed and “traveling too

fast for conditions” in particular is, accord-ing to FMCSA’s own data, a far greaterhighway safety concern than fatigue, ATAsupports a new government requirement forlarge trucks to be electronically speed limit-ed; a return to a national maximum speedlimit of 65 mph for all vehicles to avoidsafety consequences of car-truck speed dif-ferentials; and greater deployment of auto-mated speed and traffic enforcement tech-nologies. ATA said it will also continue to push for

greater deployment of active safety tech-nologies to change specific, unsafe driverbehaviors and aid specific crash avoidanceresponses; as well as industry and govern-ment programs to address distracted andinattentive driving since that unsafe behav-ior is at or near the top of the list of crashcauses for both commercial and non-com-mercial drivers.“Improving highway and truck safety

is about understanding the behaviors andevents that precipitate crashes and aboutimplementing programs and counter -measures that truly address those causes.We trust FMCSA will be a partner withATA in implementing meaningful counter-measures aimed at the biggest causes ofcrashes.” said ATA Chairman, Dan Eng-land, chairman of C.R. England, Inc., SaltLake City.

FMCSA updates SMS to includecell phone banThe Federal Motor Carrier Safety Ad-

ministration (FMCSA) has enhanced itsSafety Measurement System (SMS)Methodology to include violations basedon the recent cell phone use regulationsand more detailed breakouts on existing

brake, wheel, and coupling regulations.FMCSA has added five texting and cell

phone use violations in its Unsafe DrivingBehavior Analysis and Safety ImprovementCategory (BASIC) – refer to 177.804 (b),49 CFR 392.80 and 49 CFR 392.82 fordescriptions and violation severity weights.The violations reflect FMCSA’s decision toban commercial drivers from using mobiletelephones while driving, which includes aban on texting.Meanwhile, the SMS update also

includes a breakout of six currentvehicle maintenance violations into 22segments that provide more descriptiveand detailed information about compli-ance with existing brake, wheel, and cou-pling regulations.According to FMCSA officials, this

change ensures that SMS remains alignedwith improvements recently made to road-

side data collection systems. Those im-provements are the results of a jointFMCSA and Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance effort to increase data uniformitythrough improved processes and tools. Thischange will help to clarify who the responsi-ble party is for the violations, either themotor carrier or the Intermodal EquipmentProvider.Motor carriers can check their safety as-

sessment now at http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/smsTo login into the SMS Web site, you will

need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Num-ber; personal identification number (PIN).If you do not know or have forgotten yourPIN, you can request one viahttp://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select ‘Clickhere to request your Docket Number PINand/or USDOT Number PIN.’Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number

PIN, not a Docket Number PIN.

Summary of HOS RulesIn late December, the U.S. Department

of Transportation issued its CommercialDriver Hours-of-Service Final Rule, keep-ing daily driving limits intact at 11 hours,but significantly trimming the amount oftime they can work within a week. Thechart below compares the new rules to theolder ones.

6

New medical certificate requirement now in effect

As of Jan. 30, 2012, the Alabama Depart-ment of Public Safety’s Driver License Div., inaccordance with new federal guidelines, is re-quiring new applicants for commercial truckand bus driver licenses to submit a photocopyof their medical certificate. This change alsoaffects current CDL holders wanting to re -new, transfer or change class or endorsement.According to DPS officials, current CDL

holders must submit a photocopy of theirmedical card to DPS either in person, by faxor by mail to continue holding a commercialdriver license. The final deadline to providemedical certificates is Jan. 30, 2014.This requirement is part of federal safety

standards aimed at ensuring that all CDLholders are medically fit to operate a commer-cial vehicle. It is important to note, however,that driver physical requirements are notchanging.These regulations also require drivers to

certify the type of driving they do or mightdo in the future and whether it is interstate orintrastate commerce.Drivers with a CDL that expires before

January 30, 2014, must submit a copy oftheir medical certificate when they renewtheir license. On the expiration date of theirmedical card, if a updated one has not beenreceived by DPS, a driver’s medical status willbecome decertified. The driver’s CDL is stillgood at this time, but they are not medicallycertified to operate a CMV. Further, if thenew medical card is not received after 45days, the CDL is then canceled.Meanwhile, CDL holders whose commer-

cial license expires after January 30, 2014, willreceive a request from DPS to submit a copyof their medical card and certify their drivingtype. If a driver does not comply with that re-quest, DPS will send a CDL cancellation no-tice that is effective 30 days later.When a driver’s medical card expires, the

driver must submit a copy of his or her newmedical card. DPS will send the driver aCDL cancellation notice if a medical cardsubmitted to DPS expires before receipt of anew medical card. The driver can stop a can-cellation from going into effect by submittinga copy of the renewed card to DPS.

DPS officials recommend the best way forAlabama’s more than 175,000 commercialdrivers to protect their driving privileges andavoid costly downtime is to ensure that DPShas a current mailing address for the CDLholder.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What must I do to comply with the newrequirements for making my medical certifica-tion part of my CDL driving record?

A. Starting on January 30, 2012, when you:Apply for a CDL; Renew a CDL; Apply for ahigher class of CDL; Apply for a new endorse-ment on a CDL; Transfer a CDL from anotherState, You will be required to self-certify to asingle type of commercial operation on yourdriver license application form. Based on thatself-certification, you may be required to pro-vide the Alabama Department of Public Safety(DPS) with a current medical examiner’s cer-tificate and if applicable, provide any variance(waiver) you may have along with the medicalcertification card.

Q. What if I am an existing CDL holderwho does not have a license renewal, upgradeor transfer between Jan. 30, 2012 and Jan. 30,2014?

A. You are responsible for providing DPSwith your self-certification of operating statusby January 30, 2014. If it is required for youclass, you must also provide your current med-ical examiner’s certificate and if applicable anyvariance (waiver) document by January 30,2014. DPS is already collecting this informa-tion now on any CDL holder.

Q. After I provide the Alabama Depart-ment of Public Safety with my unexpired med-ical examiner’s certificate, do I still have tocarry an original or copy of my medical exam-iner’s certificate?

A. Yes, until the program is fully implement-ed on January 30, 2014, you will still have tocarry an original or copy of the medical exam-iner’s certificate and provide a copy to your em-ployer for your driver qualification file. Afterthe 2014 date if a driver has a variance (waiver)this must always be in the drivers possessionwhen operating a commercial vehicle.

Q. What should I (as a driver) do with themedical examiner’s certificate beginning onJanuary 30, 2014?

A. After a driver provides DPS and employ-er with the medical examiner’s certificate(card), the medical examiner’s certificate (card)will only be valid to present to law enforcementfor the first 15 days after it was issued, afterthat time the information will be accessed bylaw enforcement via CDLIS. Your medical ex-aminer’s certification information will be

recorded on your driving record and will be-come the valid version of your medical certifi-cation (card).

Q. What if I do not provide the AlabamaDepartment of Public Safety with my self-certi-fication and if required, my medical examiner’scertificate (card) and any required variance(waiver) document by January 30, 2014?

A. DPS will notify you that you are nolonger medically certified to operate a CMV,after 45 days of that notice, if the required in-formation has not been received then all theCDL privileges will be removed from your li-cense.

Q. What should I do when my medical cer-tificate (card) and/or variance (waiver) isabout to expire?

A. You must have a new medical examina-tion and obtain a new medical certificate. Youmust then provide the DPS the new medicalexaminer’s certificate (card). You are also re-sponsible for applying to FMCSA for a renewalof your variance (waiver) if applicable.

Q. What happens if my medical examiner’scertificate or variance expires before I providethe Alabama Department of Public Safety witha new one?

A. Alabama DPS will notify you that youare no longer medically certified to operate aCMV in non-excepted Interstate commerce. Ifa current medical examiners certificate and ifapplicable the variance (waiver) is not receivedwithin 45 days all your CDL privileges will beremoved from your license.

Q. How can I get back my CDL privileges?A. If the medical examiner’s certificate has

expired, you must obtain a new one and pro-vide it to the DPS, and if applicable, if the vari-ance has expired, you must renew it withFMCSA and provide it along with your med-ical certification to DPS. NOTE: Re-examina-tion will be required if your Alabama CDL hasexpired over three years.

Q. What if I change the type of operation Iperform?

A. You can change your self-certification sta-tus at www.dps.alabama.gov. Go to QUICKLINKS, then CDL SELF CERTIFICATION,complete the form and hit submit.

Mail or fax the photocopied medicalcard/certificate and a self-certification affidavitform no later than 10 days prior to renewingyour commercial driver license to:Alabama Department of Public SafetyDriver License Div. CDL UnitP.O. Box 1471Montgomery, AL 36102-1471Fax: 334-353-1980For questions, please email cdlmedical

merger@dps.alabama.gov.

News

7

Birmingham Chapter

Chapter meetings begin at 6p.m. and, with the exception ofthe Safety Awards and ChristmasParty, are usually held at theBessemer Civic Center in Besse-mer, Ala. Registration to attendmeetings is required. CallBrandie Norcross at 334-834-3983 to reserve your spot at leasta week in advance.

March 26, 2012Fleet Safety Awards (Pelham Civic Center)

April 12, 2012Tuscaloosa Roadside Insp ection

May 14, 2012Policy Manual Building

June 1-2, 2012Alabama Truck Driving Championships

June 5, 2012Road Check 2012Heflin, Ala.

Aug. 7-11, 2012National Truck Driving Championships

Aug. 13, 2012PSP/Data Q

Sept. 12, 2012Audit Role Play

Oct. 18, 2012Clanton Roadside Inspection

Nov. 12, 2012Regulatory Update

Dec. 10, 2012Christmas Celebration (Pelham Civic Center)

Jan. 14, 2013Driver Wellness/Agility

Feb. 11 , 2013Electronic Recordkeeping

Wiregrass Chapter

Chapter meetings begin at 3p.m. and are usually held at theAssociation Headquarters inMontgomery, Ala. Registrationto attend meetings is required.Call Brandie Norcross at 334-834-3983 to reserve your spot atleast a week in advance.

Feb. 15, 2012Accident Reconstruction

March 26, 2012Fleet Safety Awards

April 19, 2012Ozark Roadside Inspection

May (TBA)Wiregrass SMMC Golf Tournament

June 1-2, 2012Alabama Truck Driving Championships(Bessemer Civic Center)

June 5, 2012Road Check 2012Heflin, Ala.

Aug. 7–11, 2012 National Truck Driving Championships

Aug. 16, 2012 Accident Response

SeptemberNo Meeting

October (TBA)Ozark Roadside Inspection

Nov. 15, 2012Audit Role Play

Dec. 10, 2012Christmas Party & Celebration(Bessemer Civic Center)

Jan. 17, 2013DOT Updat e

Feb. 14, 2013PSP/DataQ

Gulf Coast ChapterThis growing chapter meets quarterly. For more info; contact Randy Watson at randyw@evergreentrans.com

Calendar

Visit Our Website @ www.alabamatrucking.org