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Idealease Safety Bulletin - What is in the Cab of Your Truck?

Oct. 22 2021 Miscellaneous By McCandless Idealease

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Read the latest Idealease Safety Bulletin - What Is in the Cab of Your Truck? online, or print, download and/or share this PDF version. Don't forget to sign up to have all future safety bulletins delivered straight to your inbox each week for access to the up-to-date fleet safety news, tips and information!  

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In this issue:

  • Safely getting in or out of a Commercial Motor Vehicle… 3 Point Rule
  • DHS to Require COVID Vaccinations for Canadian Truckers to Enter U.S.

Registration is Open for the 2021 Idealease Fall Safety Webinars. Click on the topics below to register.

WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU LOOKED INSIDE THE CAB, BODY OR TRAILER OF THE TRUCKS THAT YOUR DRIVERS ARE OPERATING?

With COVID, some of you may be reluctant to look inside your trucks, however it is vital to ensure there are not items inside the trucks that present unique dangerous situations to the driver and/or unnecessary liability exposure to your company. 

Having a solid understanding of which items are strictly prohibited and/or restricted by FMCSA regulations and ensuring they are addressed by your company safety polity and procedures manual with help with the safe operation of your commercial motor vehicles. 

Be sure the review the regulations at https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations with your drivers:

  • Items in the windshield, garbage and clutter inside the cab
    • 398.4 Driving of Motor Vehicles
    • Interference with the driver: no motor vehicle shall be driven when any object obscures the view ahead, to the left/right or rear, OR interferes with movement of driver's arms/legs, prevents his/her free and ready access to items required for emergencies, OR prevents free and ready exit of any person from the cab or driver's compartment.


  • Devices mounted at the top of the windshield
    • 393.60 Prohibition of obstructions to the driver's field of view
    • Antennas, transponders, and similar devices must not be mounted more than 6 inches below the upper edge of the windshield. These devices must be located outside the area swept by the windshield wipers and outside the driver's sightlines to the road and highway signs and signals. 


  • Decals and stickers mounted on the windshield
    • 393.60 Prohibition on obstructions to the driver's field of view
    • CVSA inspection decals, and stickers and/or decals required under Federal or State laws may be placed at the bottom or sides of the windshield provides such decals or stickers do not extend more than 4.5" from the bottom of the windshield and are located outside the area swept by windshield wipers, and outside the driver's sightlines to the road and highway signs or signals.


  • Unauthorized Passengers
    • 392.60 Unauthorized persons not to be transported
    • Unless specifically authorized in writing to do so by the motor carrier under whose authority the CMV is being operated, no driver shall transport any person or permit any person to be transported on any CMV other than a bus.  When such authorization is issued, it shall state the name of the person to be transported, the points where the transportation is to begin and end, and the date upon which such authority expires.  No written authorization, however, shall be necessary for the transportation of:
      1.  Employees or other persons assigned to a commercial motor vehicle by a motor carrier
      2.  Any person transported when aid is being rendered in case of an accident or other emergency


  • Tinting of Windows
    • 393.60 Glazing in specified openings
    • Coloring or tinting of windshields and the windows to the immediate right and left of the driver is allowed, provided the parallel luminous transmittance through the colored or tinted glazing is not less than 70 percent of the light at normal incidence in those portions of the windshield or windows which are marked as having a parallel luminous transmittance of not less than 70 percent.  The transmittance restriction does not apply to other windows on the CMV.


  • Televisions
    • 393.88 Television Receivers
    • Any motor vehicle equipped with a television viewer, screen or other means of visually receiving a television broadcast shall have the viewer or screen located in the motor vehicle at a point to the rear of the back of the driver's seat if such viewer or screen is in the same compartment as the driver and the viewer or screen shall be so located as not to be visible to the driver, while he/she is driving the motor vehicle. The operating controls for the television receiver shall be so located that the driver cannot operate them without leaving the driver's seat. 


  • Alcohol
    • 392.5 Alcohol Prohibition
    • Being on duty or operating a CMV while the driver possesses wine of not less than one-half of one per centum of alcohol by volume, beer as defined in 26 U.S.C 5052(a), of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and distilled spirits as defined in section 5002(a)(8), of such Code. However, this does not apply to possession of wine, beer, or distilled spirits which are manifested and transported as part of a shipment. 


  • Drugs and Controlled Substances
    • 394.2 Drugs and other substances
    • (a) No driver shall be on duty and possess, be under the influence of, or use, any of the following drugs or other substances:
      (a)(1) Any 21 CFR 1308.11 Schedule I substance;
      (a)(2) An amphetamine or any formulation thereof (including, but not limited, to "pep pills," and "bennies");
      (a)(3) A narcotic drug or any derivative thereof; or
      (a)(4) Any other substance, to a degree which renders the driver incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle.
      (b) No motor carrier shall require or permit a driver to violate paragraph (a) of this section.
      (c) Paragraphs (a)(2), (3), and (4) do not apply to the possession or use of a substance administered to a driver by or under the instructions of a licensed medical practitioner, as defined in §382.107 of this subchapter, who has advised the driver that the substance will not affect the driver’s ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.
      (d) As used in this section, "possession" does not include possession of a substance that is manifested and transported as part of a shipment. 


  • Animals
    • The FMCSA regulations do not specifically address animals inside of a CMV


  • Firearms
    • Firearms by federal regulation are not specifically regulated, rather, each state has laws regarding transportation of firearms in motor vehicles.  Most states have a concealed weapons law which makes it illegal to transport a firearm concealed in any type of motor vehicle without a permit. 


  • Radar Detectors
    • 392.71 Radar Detectors; use and/or possession
    • (a) No driver shall use a radar detector in a commercial motor vehicle, or operate a CMV that is equipped with or contains any radar detector. (b) No motor carrier shall require or permit a driver to violate paragraph (a) of this section. 


SAFELY GETTING IN OR OUT OF A COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE - 3 POINT RULE

With colder weather and winter precipitation approaching, it is a great time to remind your drivers to follow the 3 Point Rule while getting in and out of their trucks! This can help reduce the chance or slipping or falling when footing conditions are compromised! 

3 Point Rule:

Keep 3 out of 4 of your contact points (hands and feet) secured to keep from slipping or falling. 

When exiting a truck, for example, one hand on the cab handle, one hand gripping the interior door handle, and one foot on a step while the other foot is in transition maintains 3 points of contact. 


DHS TO REQUIRE COVID VACCINATIONS FOR CANADIAN TRUCKERS TO ENTER U.S.

Beginning in early January 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will require Canadian truck drivers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before entering the United States.

DHS is now in the process of amending its regulations to allow non-essential travelers, including tourists, who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and have appropriate documentation to enter the United States via land and ferry ports of entry across the U.S. border with Canada. Essential workers, including truck drivers, have been allowed to cross the border into the U.S. without proof of vaccination up to this point.

Requiring proof of vaccination status for Canadian truck drivers is expected to further hamper cross-border trade and hamper supply chains for U.S. companies and customers.


*The Idealease Safety Bulletin is provided for Idealease locations and their customers and is not to be construed as a complete or exhaustive source of compliance or safety information. The Idealease Safety Bulletin is advisory in nature and does not warrant, guarantee, or otherwise certify compliance with laws, regulations, requirements, or guidelines of any local, state, or Federal agency and/or governing body, or industry standards.