DOT Compliance Consultants LLC

09/10/2021

FMCSA Awards More Than $76 Million in Grants to Improve Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced that it has awarded more than $76 million in grants to states and educational institutions to enhance commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, plus the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are slated to receive federal funds.

“At FMCSA and USDOT our mission is to ensure that all road users, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, reach their destination safely,” said FMCSA Deputy Administrator Meera Joshi. “Together these grants represent the Administration’s commitment to supporting strong state and local partnerships to reach our national goal of reducing commercial vehicle-involved crashes and saving lives.”

In addition to these grants, USDOT is one of the leaders of the White House Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, where they are working to address truck driver retention issues. In July, USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, and FMCSA’s Meera Joshi hosted a roundtable to discuss truck driver recruitment and retention. After the roundtable Secretary Buttigieg and Secretary Walsh wrote an Op-Ed detailing how truck drivers are essential workers and what USDOT is doing to support driver retention.

The FMCSA grant announced today include:

$45.2 million in High Priority (HP) grants to enhance states’ commercial motor vehicle safety efforts, as well as advance technological capabilities within states. The High Priority (HP) grant program consists of HP-Commercial Motor Vehicle (HP-CMV) grants and HP-Innovative Technology Deployment (HP-ITD) grants. HP-CMV grants are designed to provide financial assistance to state commercial vehicle safety efforts, while HP-ITD grants provide financial assistance to advance the technological capability and promote the deployment of intelligent transportation system applications for CMV operations. A full list of this year’s HP grant recipients is available here.

$29 million in Commercial Driver’s License Program Implementation (CDLPI) grants to enhance efforts by states to improve the national commercial driver’s license (CDL) program. The Commercial Driver’s License Program Implementation (CDLPI) grant program provides financial assistance to states to achieve compliance with FMCSA regulations concerning driver’s license standards and programs. Additionally, the CDLPI grant program provides financial assistance to other entities capable of executing national projects that aid states in their compliance efforts, which will improve the national CDL program. A full listing of this year’s CDLPI grant recipients is available here.

$2 million in Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator Safety Training (CMV-OST) grants to 21 educational institutions to help train veterans for jobs as commercial bus and truck drivers. The Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator Safety Training grant program awards grants to a variety of educational institutions that provide commercial truck and bus driving training, including accredited public or private colleges, universities, vocational-technical schools, post-secondary educational institutions, truck driver training schools, associations, and state and local governments, including federally recognized Native American tribal governments. A full listing of this year’s CMV-OST grant recipients is available here.

In addition to the grants noted above, in May/April 2021, FMCSA awarded more than $304 million in Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) grants supporting state and local law enforcement agencies to utilize approximately 12,000 enforcement personnel toward reducing the number and the severity of crashes and hazardous materials incidents involving commercial motor vehicles. A full listing of Fiscal Year 2021 MCSAP grants is available here.

In total, nearly 60 percent of FMCSA’s funding is provided to states and local communities through grant funding – all intended to enhance commercial vehicle safety.

To learn more about FMCSA grants, visit https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/mission/grants.

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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) safety grant funding opportunities are primarily available to State and local government agencies in one of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands. Applica...

07/19/2021

Appendix B to Part 386—Penalty Schedule: Violations and Monetary Penalties

(a) Violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs):
(1) Recordkeeping. A person or entity that fails to prepare or maintain a record required by parts 40, 382, 385, and 390-99 of this subchapter, or prepares or maintains a required record that is incomplete, inaccurate, or false, is subject to a maximum civil penalty of $1,214 for each day the violation continues, up to $12,135.
(2) Knowing falsification of records. A person or entity that knowingly falsifies, destroys, mutilates, or changes a report or record required by parts 382, 385, and 390-99 of this subchapter, knowingly makes or causes to be made a false or incomplete record about an operation or business fact or transaction, or knowingly makes, prepares, or preserves a record in violation of a regulation order of the Secretary is subject to a maximum civil penalty of $12,135 if such action misrepresents a fact that constitutes a violation other than a reporting or recordkeeping violation
390.35 Secondary 390.19(a) Making or causing to make fraudulent or intentionally false entry on the MCS-150A, MCS-150B, or MCS-150C.

04/07/2021

FMCSA-HOS-2020-395-FAQ17.pdf
Frequently Asked Questions Relating to 2020 Changes to Hours of Service Regulations

Question 17

Q: Does the 30-minute break have to be consecutive?

A: Yes. But, drivers may use different non-driving statuses (off-duty, sleeper berth, or on-duty not driving) to add up to the 30-consecutive minutes. For example, a driver could use 10 minutes of off-duty time, followed by 20 minutes to fuel the truck and fill out paperwork (on- duty, not driving time) to satisfy his or her 30-minute break, as long as the various duty periods are consecutive.

Regulatory Topic: Hours of Service
Published Date: Thursday, November 19, 2020
Issued Date: Thursday, November 19, 2020

03/14/2021

requently Asked Questions Relating to 2020 Changes to Hours of Service Regulations

Question 13

Q: If it only takes an hour for a driver to get through the adverse driving conditions, do they still get to use the full 2 hours of the exception?

A: No. Drivers are allowed up to an additional two hours. If it only took an hour for the driver to get through the adverse driving condition, then that is all the additional time the driver is allowed.

Regulatory Topic: Hours of Service
Published Date: Thursday, November 19, 2020
Issued Date: Thursday, November 19, 2020

03/04/2021

391.51 General requirements for driver qualification files.
(a) Each motor carrier shall maintain a driver qualification file for each driver it employs. A driver's qualification file may be combined with his/her personnel file.
(b) The qualification file for a driver must include:
(1) The driver's application for employment completed in accordance with §391.21;
(2) A copy of the motor vehicle record received from each State record pursuant to §391.23(a)(1);
(3) The certificate of driver's road test issued to the driver pursuant to §391.31(e), or a copy of the license or certificate which the motor carrier accepted as equivalent to the driver's road test pursuant to §391.33;
(4) The motor vehicle record received from each State driver licensing agency to the annual driver record inquiry required by §391.25(a);
(5) A note relating to the annual review of the driver's driving record as required by §391.25(c)(2);
(6) A list or certificate relating to violations of motor vehicle laws and ordinances required by §391.27;
(7)(i) The medical examiner's certificate as required by §391.43(g) or a legible copy of the certificate.
(ii) Exception. For CDL holders, if the CDLIS motor vehicle record contains medical certification status information, the motor carrier employer must meet this requirement by obtaining the CDLIS motor vehicle record defined at §384.105 of this chapter. That record must be obtained from the current licensing State and placed in the driver qualification file. After January 30, 2015, a non-excepted, interstate CDL holder without medical certification status information on the CDLIS motor vehicle record is designated “not-certified” to operate a CMV in interstate commerce. After January 30, 2015, and through June 21, 2021, a motor carrier may use a copy of the driver's current medical examiner's certificate that was submitted to the State for up to 15 days from the date it was issued as proof of medical certification.
(iii) If that driver obtained the medical certification based on having obtained a medical variance from FMCSA, the motor carrier must also include a copy of the medical variance documentation in the driver qualification file in accordance with §391.51(b)(8);
(8) A Skill Performance Evaluation Certificate obtained from a Field Administrator, Division Administrator, or State Director issued in accordance with §391.49; or the Medical Exemption document, issued by a Federal medical program in accordance with part 381 of this chapter; and
(9)(i) For drivers not required to have a CDL, a note relating to verification of medical examiner listing on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners required by §391.23(m)(1).
(ii) Through June 21, 2021, for drivers required to have a CDL, a note relating to verification of medical examiner listing on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners required by §391.23(m)(2).

02/05/2021

A safety rating is an evaluation of a motor carrier’s compliance with the safety fitness standard; the process is described in 49 CFR 385, Appendix B. FMCSA may issue one of three safety ratings (Satisfactory, Conditional, Unsatisfactory) after a Rated Investigation (compliance review). Not all investigations result in a safety rating.

12/24/2020

U.S Department of Transportation Issues Final Rule to Streamline Process for Aspiring Truck and Bus Drivers
Thursday, December 17, 2020
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced a final rule to streamline the process for men and women interested in entering the trucking workforce. The new rule will allow states to permit a third-party skills test examiner to administer the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) skills test to applicants to whom the examiner has also provided skills training.

“During the COVID-19 public health emergency truckers have been American heroes—and the Department is committed to helping our economy by reducing unnecessary barriers for those interested in obtaining jobs in the trucking industry,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao.

Federal rules previously prohibited a third-party CDL skills instructor who is also authorized by the state to administer the CDL skills test from performing both the instruction and the qualifying testing for the same CDL applicant. The final rule announced today eliminates that restriction and permits states, at their discretion, to allow qualified third-party skills trainers to also conduct the skills testing for the same individual. This new rule is designed to alleviate testing delays and eliminate needless inconvenience and expense to the CDL applicant—without compromising safety.

“Under Secretary Chao’s leadership, the Trump Administration has continued to examine ways to provide common-sense regulatory reform and help individuals seeking to enter the commercial driver industry. This new rule will provide states more flexibility during the ongoing public health emergency to test CDL applicants and allow more drivers to safely enter the industry,” said FMCSA Deputy Administrator Wiley Deck.

FMCSA has been focused on reducing regulatory barriers for CDL applicants. In March 2019, the agency authored a final rule streamlining the process and reducing costs to upgrade from a Class B to Class A CDL— a deregulatory action that will save eligible driver trainees and motor carriers $18 million annually.

The rule change is effective 60 days from publication in the Federal Register.

To view a copy of the final rule, visit: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration/commercial-drivers-license/third-party-commercial-drivers-license-testers

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