This past December, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued an extension to its emergency declaration initially made last spring in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The extension provides relief from hours-of-service regulations for commercial motor vehicle drivers in the trucking industry. It is now expected to expire on February 28th, following month after month of extensions. … Continue reading “Emergency Declaration Extended Through February 2021”
A new year means new changes for minimum wage laws throughout the United States. From state to state, employers are facing updates to minimum wage increases that may affect their employee base. In California, where more than 137,000 trucking companies (most of them small) operate, trucking companies are following their own changes that took effect … Continue reading “Minimum Wage Increases on January 1st, 2021”
Commercial truckers always operate with an element of risk in their daily routes. Whether it’s a quick load drop-off or a cross-country trip, the liabilities related to costly accidents and injuries are still the same. In fact, every 15 minutes, a person is killed or seriously injured in an accident caused by trucks, accumulating to … Continue reading “How Truckers Can Avoid Hefty Insurance Claims”
Driving a truck in severe winter conditions demands a particular set of skills and awareness that all professional truck drivers need. With one in every four vehicle accidents in the United States being weather-related, truck drivers need to prepare the wintry road ahead to limit these risks. From adapting your driving style on snowy and icy … Continue reading “Winter Safety Considerations for Truckers”
Trucking cargo theft usually occurs with greater frequency over long weekends when trucks and facilities are unoccupied or minimally staffed. Specifically, the 2020 holiday season comes after a third quarter where thefts saw a 23-percent year-over-year rise from 2019, including 223 cargo thefts with an average loss of $151,452. All this loss, totaling nearly $34 … Continue reading “Long Weekend Cargo Security for Truckers”
One of the lawsuits challenging the contentious AB-5 bill in California, which includes an unpopular ABC test for drivers in the trucking industry, suffered a significant blowback in the California Court of Appeals. On November 19, the Court of Appeals reversed the earlier trial court decision in the People v. Cal Cartage Transportation Express, LLC, … Continue reading “AB-5 Ruling Update in People vs. Superior Court of Los Angeles”
Maintenance of a fleet of commercial trucks is of the utmost importance in a transportation company. Both company fleets and driver-owned trucks experience neglect due to scheduling conflicts and increased demand for transporting products and services. However, any time spent repairing a truck and keeping up with regular maintenance far outweighs the potential for costly, … Continue reading “The Importance of Truck Maintenance Schedules”
The year 2020 has been unprecedented in practically every way. Even the trucking industry, arguably a reliable source of power in the American economy, has been hit hard by the ongoing pandemic. The sector lost nearly 90,000 jobs in April alone, part of a nationwide loss of 20.5 million jobs in response to COVID-19. However, the … Continue reading “Trucking Trends for 2021 & Beyond”
Under the current Trump administration, the federal auto emission standards set by the Obama White House were all but stripped away, calling for only a 1.5-percent increase in carbon emissions standards per year through 2026, a significant slowdown in regulation compared to the five-percent yearly increase that came before it. But with a Biden-Harris … Continue reading “How Will Biden’s Administration Affect Emissions Standards & Autonomous Vehicles?”
This year, the trucking industry has gone through significant disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The industry has faced unprecedented issues from the ongoing driver shortage to driver health and higher demand for products in response to people staying indoors. In response to these novel times, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) implemented several … Continue reading “A Detailed Look at FMCSA Initiatives for the Remainder of 2020”
