ABCs of Compliance for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Trucks

2. Thomas Bray
Senior Editor,
Transportation
Management
J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

3. ABCs of Compliance for Medium-
and Heavy-Duty Trucks
• Do the safety regulations apply to me? They do if
you…
– Operate even one “commercial vehicle”
– On the “highway”

4. ABCs of Compliance for Medium-
and Heavy-Duty Trucks
• Is the unit a “commercial vehicle?”
– Used in commerce (as part of a business) and…
• Weighs or is rated for 10,001 pounds or more (single or
combination). This varies for intrastate vehicles.
• Is used to transport a placardable amount of a hazardous
material (this generally does not vary for intrastate vehicles)
• Designed to or seats either 8 or 15 (depending on
compensation)

5. ABCs of Compliance for Medium-
and Heavy-Duty Trucks
• Is it operating on the “highway?”
– Highway is any roadway, public or private that:
• A 4-wheeled vehicle can drive on
• Is accessible by the public
• The public is not restricted from using by gates or signs
– Parking lots, alleys, side-lanes are all “highways” under the rules
if the public has unrestricted access to them
– There is no “distance requirement” (simply crossing the street
with a commercial vehicle is “operating on the highway”)

6. ABCs of Compliance for Medium-
and Heavy-Duty Trucks
• If the vehicle is a commercial vehicle operating on
the highway, then the general safety regulations
covering the carrier, driver, and vehicle all apply.
– The CDL and drug and alcohol regulations only apply to certain
drivers (drivers who operate a vehicle requiring a CDL to
operate)
• Intrastate regulations follow the same structure
(once the vehicle is considered a commercial
vehicle by the state, generally all of the safety
regulations apply)

7. Carrier regulations
• Insurance requirements in Part 387
• Knowledge of the regulations and requirement to
comply with safety regulations (Part 390)
• MCS-150/US DOT number
– UCR filing
– OP-1 if a “for-hire” carrier
• Accident register (record of “recordable accidents”)
• Operate drug and alcohol program, if operating
CDL vehicles (can use TPA)
• Maintain required records
• Subject to audit at any time to verify compliance

8. Driver Regulations
• Part 391 requirements (applies to ALL commercial
vehicle drivers)
– Driver is qualified/not disqualified
• Over 21
• Meets English Language requirement
• Can “safely operate” assigned vehicle
• One license of correct class and endorsement
– Driver application on file
– Background checks on file (MVR and SPH)
– Road test and certificate on file
– Medical card on file
– Record of annual certification of violations, MVR, and review on
file
– “On file” mean in Driver Qualification, or “DQ” file

9. Driver Regulations
• Most states follow federal model for their intrastate
drivers in the area of driver qualification, with minor
changes. Minor variations are found in:
– Age allowed
– English requirement
– When a DQ file is required (some states do not require one for
an intrastate driver if the vehicle is under 26,001 pounds)

10. Driver Regulations
• Driving of commercial vehicles (Part 392):
– Driver cannot be “under the influence*,” ill, or fatigued
• Be aware that “under the influence” has a different meaning
when it comes to commercial vehicles!
– Inspection of vehicle and cargo before operation
– No operation of out-of-service or unsafe equipment
– Driver must obey all state and local traffic laws
– No texting while driving (even if not locally prohibited)
– No use of hand-held cell phones (even if not locally prohibited)
– Mandated fueling procedures
– No unauthorized passengers (carrier can authorize non-
employees)
– Stopping at RRXing when required

11. Driver Regulations
• Hours-of-service for “property-carrying” drivers
(Part 395)
– No driving after…
• Having driven a total of 11 hours
• 14 consecutive hours have passed since starting duty
– 10 hour break restarts 11 and 14 hour limits
• Having been “on duty” 60 hours in last 7 days or 70 hours in
last 8 days, depending on company’s operation and decision
– “On duty” means any time the drivers has any
responsibility to the company, vehicle, or customer and
cannot pursue activities of his/her choosing
• Any break of 34 consecutive hours or more “resets” the
driver’s 7 or 8 day hours total to “0 hours worked” (this is
changing in July 2013)

12. Driver Regulations
• Recordkeeping to prove compliance with HOS
limits:
– Driver log
– Automatic electronic log (AOBRD or EOBR)
– Time records if…
• Driver stays within 100 air miles of work reporting location
and returns within 12 hours if operating a CDL vehicle (150
miles and 14 or 16 hours if operating non-CDL vehicles)
• Company keeps records showing starting and ending times,
and total hours worked for each workday

13. Driver Regulations
• If driver must keep a “log”
– Driver must have today and previous seven days in possession
– Log must be current to “last duty change”
– Completed logs must be submitted to carrier within 13 days
• If driver can use time records instead
– Driver does not need to carry time records
• If driver uses automatic electronic log
– Device display is record (no paper record to present)
– Driver must have today and previous seven days in possession
– Completed logs must be submitted to carrier within 13 days

14. Driver Regulations
• In all cases carrier must maintain HOS record and
all supporting documents for six months
– Supporting documents are documents generated or received
while doing business that could be used to verify the accuracy of
a driver’s HOS record. They include (but are not limited to):
• Dispatch and payroll records
• Load-out tickets, bills of ladings, and other shipment
documents
• Fuel, toll, and other expense records
• GPS tracking and cell/satellite communications records

15. Driver Regulations
• State HOS regulations for intrastate carriers use
same structure, but vary in the “numbers.” Many
states allow:
– Longer hours
– Longer distances for “time record” exception
– Drivers of certain vehicle types to be exempt from some or all of
state HOS regulations

16. Driver Regulations
• “CDL-Required” vehicles (Part 383)…
– Single vehicle weighing or rated at 26,001 pounds or more
– Combination vehicle weighing or rated for 26,001 pounds or
more when combination includes a trailer of 10,001 pound or
more (regardless of power unit weight)
– A vehicle transporting a placardable amount of hazardous
materials
– Passenger vehicle designed or seating 16 or more

17. Driver Regulations
• Drivers of CDL required vehicles
– Driver must have correct class and endorsement
– Additional restrictions in CDL regulations apply
– Driver must report all convictions within 30 days (not just
annually)
– New CDL/Med Card merger ongoing
– Must be involved in company drug and alcohol testing program
(Part 382)
• Driver must be given copy of company policy
• Driver must take any required tests immediately when
notified

18. Driver Regulations
• Drug and alcohol tests for CDL drivers (Part 382)
– Pre-employment drug test
– Random drug and alcohol
– Post-accident (fatality, injury and vehicle towed if citation for
moving violation issued to driver)
– Reasonable suspicion (company must have trained supervisors)
– Return to duty and follow-up (driver cannot return from a failure
or refusal until SAP process completed and RTW test passed)
– Company must have process to remove a driver that fails!

19. Driver Regulations
• ALL STATES FOLLOW THE FEDERAL CDL AND
DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING REGULATIONS
– No difference between an interstate and intrastate driver in these
two areas
– Some states have additional classes and restrictions, but none
have less

20. Vehicle Regulations
• Commercial vehicles must be marked with
company name and DOT number when placed in
service (Part 390)
– Contrasting color
– Visible from 50 feet
– Rented (not leased) units must be marked within 30 days (rental
agreement with carrier’s DOT number must be in rented vehicle
until marked)
• Intrastate commercial vehicles must meet state
marking requirements

21. Vehicle Regulations
• Commercial vehicles must be equipped in
accordance with the regulations (Parts 393)
– Lights, brakes, tires, frame, suspension, coupling devices, fuel
tanks, literally entire vehicle covered by the regulations
– Special equipment required:
• Fire extinguisher (5 or 10 B:C)
• Warning devices (normally “three reflective triangles”)
• Spare fuses for any required electrical circuit that uses fuses
– Same for intrastate commercial vehicles in most cases

22. Vehicle Regulations
• Commercial vehicles must be inspected (Part 396
and Appendix G):
– Daily by drivers (before, during, and after use)
• Pre-trip
• Enroute in some cases
• Post-trip (required form called a DVIR must be submitted)
– Systematically by carrier maintenance (carrier is allowed to
establish inspection and maintenance schedule)
– Annually by a “qualified” inspector
• Carriers are allowed to qualify their own inspectors
• If vehicle is subject to state-mandated inspection that
matches federal, only state inspection is required
– Same for intrastate commercial vehicles in most cases

23. Roadside Inspections
• Primary tool to gauge carrier and driver
performance
– Over 3.5 million per year
– Conducted only by trained officers
– Different than “routine traffic stop” in that a contact report
(referred to as a “Roadside Inspection Report” a.k.a. DVER) is
completed by the officer and submitted to FMCSA
• Conducted at scales, inspection facilities, or on-
the-road
• Driver and/or vehicle selected based on visible
violation, carrier history, or random selection

24. Roadside Inspections
• Three possible outcomes
– No violations discovered
• 2/3 of the time driver gets no violations, 1/3 of the time
vehicle gets no violations
– Violations discovered, but vehicle and driver allowed to continue
– Violations discovered, and driver or vehicle placed out of service
• Out-of-service drivers and vehicles cannot operate
until out-of-service condition is corrected
• In all cases, driver must forward report to carrier
within 24 hours.
• Carrier must make any necessary corrections and
return signed report to state within 15 days

25. Roadside Inspections
• Roadside inspection results are then used to
“score” the carrier in FMCSA systems
– CSA (used by auditors to determine which carriers will be
audited)
– ISS (used by roadside officers when deciding who to inspect)
– SAFER (carrier out-of-service rate is compared to the national
average, used for HM safety permitting decisions)

26. Key principle
• Carriers are held legally responsible for the
activities of drivers operating commercial vehicles
under their name/DOT number, no exception
• Carrier is always responsible for driver violations
discovered on the road or during an audit. Driver
may get the fine on the road, but carrier will be
assigned the violation in tracking systems.
• Carrier held responsible if:
– Driver operating with expired credential
– Driver operating in violation of one of the traffic safety regulation
– Driver is operating overhours, or with a false or delinquent log
– Driver is not inspecting vehicle and operating it when unsafe

27. Summary
• If you operate “commercial vehicles on the highway,”
the safety regulations related to companies, drivers,
driving, hours-of-service, and vehicles apply to you and
your operations
• If you operate vehicles requiring CDLs, the CDL and
drug and alcohol testing regulations also apply to you
and your drivers
• The vehicle regulations require driver and company
inspections of the vehicles
• The FMCSA and state motor carrier safety office (for
intrastate carriers) track carrier performance to select
who to focus on (roadside inspections and “audits”)

28. Questions?
Thomas Bray
Senior Editor, Transportation Management
J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.
800-558-5011 x-2863
transporteditors@jjkeller.com