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Driving Under the Influence of Allergy Medicine - Idealease Safety Bulletin (March 6, 2020)

Mar. 6 2020 Miscellaneous By Carrie LeBlanc

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Read and share the latest Idealease Safety Bulletin, "Driving Under the Influence - of Allergy Medicine" for important facts and safety tips for your fleet. Plus, find additional information on frost laws, daylight savings time, Hours-of-Service Rule and more! 

VIEW AND DOWNLOAD the complete PDF version March 6th, 2020 Idealease Safety Bulletin below. Be sure to SIGN UP to receive these fleet safety tips directly to your email inbox each week or check back regularly for new updates to help keep you and your team informed and compliant. 

Find information and details on the following items in this week's edition:

  1. Allergy Medicine and Driving under its influence
  • Spring will be here on March 19th - signaling the start of seasonal allergies. Experts anticipate a more severe allergy season compared to previous years
  • Allergy medications and over-the-counter allergy drugs can seriously impair a driver's driving performance and operation of a CMV.
  •  Antihistamines - which block allergic reactions - slow down reaction time and impair coordination.
  • Over-the-counter decongestants can cause drowsiness, anxiety, and dizziness. Drowsy driving is responsible for an estimated 100,000 traffic crashes and about 1,500 deaths every year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
  • Be sure to review all side-effects and consult with a dr or pharmacist about the safety of medications while operating a Commercial Motor Vehicle
  • Review this partial list of medications that may impair your ability to drive: anti-anxiety, amphetamines, barbiturates, stimulants, allergy medicine, pain medicine, blood sugar medicine, antidepressants, motion sickness medications, blood pressure medications, antibiotics, cough syrups, decongestants.  
  • Additional information, along with side effects of all medications can be found online at www.drugs.com 

2. Daylight Savings Time Begins on Sunday, March 8th 

  • Did you set your clocks ahead an hour? (Except HI and AZ)
  • Be sure that drivers are informed. Caution drivers that the amount of daylight will change with their stops
  • Ensure drivers have gotten enough sleep with the time change!

3. Have you registered for our safety seminar? 

  • Click here to sign up and learn more.  The one-day seminar this year will focus on new safety technologies available on trucks today, basic safety and compliance, regulation changes, load securement and CSA.

4. Frost Laws in 16 states and 9 Provinces: 

  • Motor carriers need to monitor laws and spring weight restrictions to rick damage to the truck or the road
  • Many states impose seasonal weight restrictions - click here to view the laws
  • Watch for posted signs indicating allowable weights and reduced speed limits
  • Be ready for an alternate route

5. FMCSA's Hours-of-Service Rule at Final Review Stage:  

  • Office of Management and Budget has up to 90 days to complete its review of new regulations
  • The new HOS rule is considered economically significant
  • FMCSA proposed 5 changes: 
    1. Allowing drivers to extend the 14-hour limit with one off-duty break of at least 30 minutes, but not more than three hours.
    2. Allowing drivers to spend their mandatory 30-minute rest breaks on duty rather than off duty, and allowing up to eight hours of driving time (rather than consecutive time) before a break is required.
    3. Extending the 12-hour limit on the 100-air-mile exception to 14 hours, and extending the allowed radius to 150 air miles.
    4. Extending the on-duty limit of the "adverse driving conditions" exception by two hours.
    5. Modifying the sleeper-berth exception to allow drivers to split their required 10-hour breaks into two periods of at least seven consecutive hours in the sleeper berth and another break of at least two consecutive hours.

Check back each week for more safety tips - or sign up to receive them automatically. Please visit our Idealease Truck Rental and Leasing pages to learn more about the McCandless Idealease services we provide.