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May 15th Idealease Safety Bulletin - Time for Spring Cleaning….What is in the Cab of Your Trucks?

May. 15 2020 Miscellaneous By McCandless Truck Center

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The most recent Safety Bulletin has arrived, courtesy of Idealease Truck Leasing and Rental!

This May 15th edition has spring cleaning tips and reminders for the cab of your trucks,  hours of service final rule information, important dates related to COVID-19 and more! 

Click the image below to sign up to receive these timely bulletins to your inbox each week, or even download previous editions! 

In this week's edition:

1. Time for Spring Cleaning…. What is in the Cab of Your Trucks? 

Be sure to take a moment to inspect your trucks to ensure drivers are not exposing themselves or the company to dangerous situations or unnecessary liability. 

Please review Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations with your drivers at it pertains to:

  • Items in the windshield, garbage, and clutter inside the cab 
  • Unauthorized Passengers 
  • Tinting of Windows 
  • Televisions
  • Alcohol
  • Drugs and controlled substances 
  • Animals
  • Firearms
  • Radar Detectors

2. COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Extended until June 14th - READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT HERE

FMCSA announced this past Wednesday that they have extended the duration of the COVID-19 Emergency Declaration until 6/14/20. All of the requirements and applicability outlined in the original and expanded declaration remain in effect, and have not changed.

3. CDC has published guidelines for long-haul truck drivers. CLICK HERE TO VIEW CDC INFO FOR LONG HAUL TRUCK DRIVERS

We encourage you all to continue visiting ATA’s COVID-19 Hub as well for up-to-date information

4. Important Dates Related To COVID-19 as of May 8, 2020

  • June 14 National Emergency Declaration Expires
  • June 14 FMCSA Temporary Authority Waiver Expires
  • June 30 FMCSA CDL and Medical Certification Waiver Expires for CDL’s and Medical Certifications that have expired after March 1st. Includes all states, Canada, and Mexico who have issued similar declarations.

5. Hours of Service Rule Changes Final Rule - The final rule seeks to improve efficiency and add increased flexibility for drivers, while not increasing the maximum allowable time for a driver to operate. 

The final rule makes four substantive changes. It will go into effect 120 days after it is posted in the Federal Register.  View the entire final rule here. 

(1) expands the short-haul exception to 150 air-miles and allows a 14-hour work shift to take place as part of the exception;
(2) expands the driving window during adverse driving conditions by up to an additional 2 hours;
(3) requires a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving time (instead of on-duty time) and allows an on-duty/not driving period to qualify as the required break; and
FMCSA releases hours-of-service final rule(4) modifies the sleeper berth exception. The modified sleeper exception allows a driver to meet the 10-hour minimum off-duty requirement by spending at least 7, rather than at least 8 hours of that period in the berth and a minimum off-duty period of at least 2 hours spent inside or outside of the berth, provided the two periods total at least 10 hours, and that neither qualifying period counts against the 14-hour driving window.