Electronic Logs Mandate: Outrage & Applause
Electronic Logs Mandate: Outrage & Applause – Articles – Drivers – Articles – TruckingInfo.com.
FMCSA Senior Transportation Specialist Deborah Freund
September 02, 2014 – from TruckingInfo.com
A driving force behind trucking safety at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Deborah M. “Debbie” Freund, died Thursday of breast cancer. She was 57.
Freund was a senior transportation specialist at the FMCSA for nearly 15 years, and at the time of her death was National Technical Expert for Vehicle Research. During that time, she served 10 years as a member of the Transportation Research Board Freight Transportation Economics and Regulation Committee.
Her regulatory development responsibilities included safety of commercial vehicle parts and accessories, driver hours-of-service, and motor carrier operations and compliance issues. She also developed and managed major research studies on driver fatigue and alertness and on new applications for vehicle sensor and communications technologies.
Freund received her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Master of Science, Transportation and Urban Systems from Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.
Her career began at the council of state governments in Kansas City as a transportation planner. She later worked for the Federal Highway Administration at the Turner Fairbank Research Center before going to work at the Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C.
She was active in the Society of Automotive Engineers, including organizing and co-organizing many SAE Commercial Vehicle Congress sessions. She was asked to deliver SAE’s prestigious Buckendale Lecture at the annual Commercial Vehicle Meeting a few years ago and received the McFarland Award for her contributions to SAE and the industry.
She also was a fellow with the Institute of Transportation Engineers and a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Although she was not a member of the American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council, she was a frequent sight at meetings, participating in everything from Task Force sessions to Technical Sessions.
“Debbie has been the brains and heart of the key trucking regulations, including most recently the e-log rule,” says HDT Washington Editor Oliver Patton. “She’s been a true champion for truck safety.”
She spoke last year to the Truck Writers of North America at their annual awards banquet on the topic of “Trucking Through the Government 101: Who Does What?”
“Debbie was a creative problem solver, a strong leader and a good friend to the trucking industry,” says Paul Abelson, a longtime TWNA member and trucking reporter who worked with Freund on SAE and TMC panels. “She will be missed.”
Married to Douglas White for 33 years, they lived for 30 years in Dunn Loring, Va. White says she loved live theater, concerts, hiking, birding, gardening, kayaking, bicycling, traveling, and practiced yoga since 2001. She was the chair for her local university alumni club.
There will be a memorial service on Sunday, September 14, at 2 p.m. at Murphy Funeral Home, 1102 W. Broad Street, Falls Church, VA. The family requests that donations be made in her name to the SAE Foundation at http://foundation.sae.org/.
Four Core Principles
Boardroom founder Marty Edelston had 4 core principles for business and life success:
1. He outworked everyone.
2. He had insatiable curiosity.
3. He surrounded himself with people smarter than himself
whenever and wherever possible.
4. He always thought about what he could do for you first.
Net Neutrality: It Affects You
In April, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler put forth a proposal that would allow Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to allow “fast lane” privileges for those content providers who are willing to pay for it. ISPs have been pushing for these changes for a long time. Consumer groups are largely against these changes. As a compromise, the FCC has allowed limited consumer protections.
For example, an ISP may demand that a video or audio streaming company pay more for a bigger internet pipe. The FCC proposal prohibits these charges from being passed directly to consumers. Nothing prohibits ISPs from indirectly passing these charges on.
One side of the argument says that providers and ISPs should be able to work out any pricing deal they wish. The other side of the argument states that the same rules that apply to telephones and wireless providers. I believe that equal access among all providers is essential to commercial services (such as ELDs and telematics services). Even some of the larger internet firms such as Google and Facebook have come out against this proposal.
In an Aug. 5 speech, President Obama stated:
“One of the issues around net neutrality is whether you are creating different rates or charges for different content providers. That’s the big controversy here. So you have big, wealthy media companies who might be willing to pay more and also charge more for spectrum, more bandwidth on the Internet, so they can stream movies faster. I personally, the position of my administration, as well as a lot of the companies here, is that you don’t want to start getting a differentiation in how accessible the Internet is to different users. You want to leave it open so the next Google and the next Facebook can succeed.”
What can you do? The FCC is taking comments until September 15. You can file a comment or contact the FCC from here.
Need to learn more? We recommend:
Woody Leonhard’s article: Net Neutrality: What it Is, Why You Should Care
A Neutral Guide to Net Neutrality by Stephanie Cret.
Tom Risen – US News and World Report.
Roadside Inspection Requirements: AOBRDs – The Current Electronic Log Rule
With all of the press surrounding the new Electronic Logging Device (ELD) rule – it’s easy to forget that electronic logs have been around since October of 1988. The rules that apply to paperless, electronic recording of commercial drivers Hours of Service are found in 395.15. Until the new rule is published in the Federal Register – we’re all under 395.15. Once published, there is a 2 year grace period for non-AOBRD users, 4 year grace period for AOBRD users.
The AOBRD regulations will be here for at least a couple more years. AOBRDs (Automatic Onboard Recording Devices) is the name given to any device that currently produces compliant, paperless, electronic logs.
If your fleet is equipped with compliant AOBRDs, here are the rules:
1. Drivers do NOT need to provide a hardcopy of their logs – although they may voluntarily do so.
2. If an officer deems it necessary – he/she can require additional information via fax, email, or similar means within 48 hours of the roadside inspection.
A compliant AOBRD has requirements for the information displayed, but not the format in which it is displayed.
What is PSP – and How Does it Benefit Your Fleet? ?
In 2010 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) launched the Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP). PSP is available online at http://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov/Pages/default.aspx. Through PSP, enrolled account holders have the ability to search for drivers’ safety histories from the federal Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) database. A PSP record includes a driver’s:
– Five year crash history
– Three year roadside inspection history
– Violations noted during roadside inspections
– The name of the motor carrier for whom the driver was operating for at the time of an inspection or crash
PSP is the only service that provides a driver’s complete FMCSA history. The PSP record allows you to get a clear snapshot of a driver’s past behaviors and habits – important predictors of a driver’s future performance.
The driver’s PSP record may only be accessed during the hiring process. Once a driver is employed, the employer may not request that driver’s PSP record for any reason. To protect a driver’s privacy, a driver must provide their consent using FMCSA’s PSP consent form before the PSP record is accessed.
FMCSA takes drivers’ privacy seriously. With that in mind, FMCSA has implemented PSP audits. On a regular basis, PSP account holders are randomly selected for a PSP audit. The audit entails providing driver consent forms that are requested at random. The consent form demonstrates that the driver has permitted a company to request their PSP record once. Review the driver consent compliance suggestions to learn more and adopt the established best practices.
Who may use PSP?
Inter- and intrastate motor carriers may use PSP to review a potential driver’s safety history. Drivers may also access their own PSP record at any time.
In early October, FMCSA announced an expansion to the PSP program. Now, any company that is directly involved in the hiring of commercial drivers may access PSP records. This includes driver screening companies and similar entities working on behalf of a driver or a carrier to access PSP records (with the driver’s consent).
How is PSP data collected?
Enforcement officials collect data during roadside inspections and crashes. This data is added to the FMCSA MCMIS database. The information is different than the driver’s state motor vehicle record because PSP includes violations and other details about the crash or inspection – not just state convictions. PSP offers motor carriers a more comprehensive picture of a potential employee’s past performance and work history.
On a monthly basis, the PSP database is populated with the latest MCMIS snapshot. The data snapshot includes the most recent data updates for drivers’ crash and inspection histories.
Why use PSP?
Thousands of motor carriers are using PSP to ensure they are only hiring the safest drivers. Motor carriers use PSP for a variety of reasons. Some motor carriers use the PSP data to develop a personalized training plan for each driver that addresses the areas that demand extra attention. A personalized training approach ensures that a driver’s time is well spent and keeps training costs to an effective minimum. Carriers also check the PSP report to see what carrier the driver was operating for at the time of a crash or inspection. Prospective employers can cross reference the carrier names that appear on the PSP report with the list of previous employers supplied by the driver.
The PSP report is different than a state motor vehicle record. Using the reports together shows a clear picture of a driver’s activities. For more details review the PSP and MVR comparison.
How do I use PSP?
PSP is entirely web‐based, available 24 hours a day, and returns drivers’ PSP records instantly.
First, a company must enroll in the program to receive PSP access credentials. To start, download the enrollment packet. The enrollment process typically takes two to three business days. Once enrolled, simply search for a driver’s record by entering the driver’s name, date of birth, license number(s) and license state(s). PSP records are returned instantly in PDF format, and can be saved or printed for the driver’s qualification file. In addition to the web site, the PSP application is available via iTunes for the iPhone and iPad. The PSP app is free and makes it easier to review drivers’ histories on the go.
There is a fee to use PSP. Most PSP account holders pay an annual subscription fee of $100. Smaller carriers, with fewer than 100 power units, qualify for a discounted subscription fee of $25. Each PSP record transaction costs $10. A single monthly invoice is provided to carriers for convenience.
Information on enrollment and questions about the PSP service can be found on the PSP FAQ page. The customer support team is ready to answer questions. Simply email PSPhelp@egov.com or call toll‐free 1‐877‐642‐9499 between 8 AM and 6 PM ET, Monday ‐ Friday. You can access PSP updates by subscribing to the PSP Twitter feed by following @PSP_help.