regulations

FMCSA Updates Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Notifications

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is expanding the timeframe in which it will notify motor carriers of a change in a driver’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse information. Previously, the clearinghouse only sent a notification when a change regarding motor carrier’s driver occurred within 30 days of a pre-employment

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Get Ready for Truck Safety Enforcement Events in 2023

The most significant truck safety compliance and enforcement initiatives of the year are coming up this spring and summer. All are organized by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, a nonprofit organization comprised of commercial motor vehicle safety officials and industry representatives. International Roadcheck runs from May 16-18, 2023. The event

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Trucking Things to Know Now, Part 8: Federal Regulatory Updates

Whatever the political headlines of the day, federal agencies continue to add new trucking regulations, adopt new forms, and extend or discontinue previous waivers and exemptions. In this series, “Trucking Things to Know Now,” PrePass provides quick updates on regulatory developments, often with links to more information. Keep Those Rear

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Trucking and the FTC’s Non-Compete Proposal

By Warren Hoemann, PrePass consultant, former FMCSA chief counsel and deputy administrator The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a broad ban on the use of non-compete clauses between employers and workers, as well as a requirement to rescind existing non-compete clauses. This FTC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) would apply

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Is CSA Reform Back on the Table for Trucking?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration uses the Compliance, Safety Accountability (CSA) program to evaluate motor carrier safety and, seemingly, generate a never-ending list of abbreviations and acronyms. Take, for instance, the BASICs, Behavior Analysis, and Safety Improvement Categories, which represent the seven areas of safety compliance driven by data

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FMCSA Proposes New Freight Broker and Freight Forwarder Financial Rules

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to implement financial responsibility policies for freight brokers and freight forwarders. The proposed changes, FMCSA asserts, would benefit motor carriers when dealing with the small percentage of brokers and freight forwarders who do not meet

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Federal Civil Penalties for Trucking Skyrocket

Across the breadth of the federal government, departments and regulatory agencies have a new weapon against misbehavior. It’s called inflation. Federal law mandates an annual adjustment based on the annual inflation rate in all civil penalties to maintain their deterrent value. The adjustment from 2022 to 2023 was published in

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FMCSA Seeks to Modify Emergency Exemptions

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking to modify the scope of regulatory relief automatically granted in declared emergencies. Existing federal regulations grant an automatic 30-day exemption from Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to motor carriers and drivers providing direct assistance to

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Podcast #71: New Trucking Regulations You Can Expect in 2023

Now that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has an agency head for the first time in years expect to see a raft of new and updated trucking regulations in 2023. Listen to this new episode of the “Eyes on the Road” trucking podcast as we discuss anticipated rules when

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What to Expect with New Trucking Rules in 2023

A look at the U.S. Department of Transportation Significant Rulemaking Report coupled with new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration efforts in 2022 leads to one conclusion: 2023 will be a very big year for trucking regulations! And that’s even before viewing the Fall

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A Look Back at Trucking During 2022

At the beginning of 2022, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration forecast several important rulemakings that did not come to full fruition. FMCSA would, according to the Fall 2021 edition of the Unified Regulatory Agenda, adopt regulations imposing time or mileage limits on the personal conveyance use of commercial motor

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FMCSA Clarifies Key Brokerage Definitions

Is that “dispatch service” helping a motor carrier secure new business operating as a “bona fide agent” of the carrier or is it a “broker”? An important distinction when the latter comes with the required broker authority and a $75,000 bond or trust fund. In the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs

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