Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024:
House committee passes anti-freight fraud bill and DataQs reform
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday approved two pieces of trucking-related legislation.
One bill, the Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Act (link to the passed version is here), aims to combat freight fraud by clarifying the authority of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to assess civil penalties for violations of laws and regulations. It also requires that brokers, freight forwarders, and carriers provide a valid business address to FMCSA in order to register for authority.
The passage of the bill by the committee was applauded by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.
"Freight fraud committed by criminals and scam artists has been devastating to many small business truckers simply trying to make a living in a tough freight market,” said OOIDA President Todd Spencer. “OOIDA and the 150,000 small-business truckers we represent applaud the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee for its bipartisan approach in providing FMCSA better tools to root out fraudulent actors, which are also harmful to consumers and highway safety.”
[Related: UPDATE: Would-be FMCSA registration hackers claim to fight fraud with latest phishing expedition]
The bill has been endorsed by the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), American Trucking Associations’ Moving & Storage Conference (ATA-MSC), OOIDA, the National Association of Small Trucking Companies (NASTC), Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), Institute for Safer Trucking (IST) and Road Safe America.
“Because of the broad industry support for these commonsense reforms, we hope this legislation will move to the full House of Representatives for a vote without delay,” OOIDA’s Spencer added.
[Related: FMCSA's confusing excuse for not enforcing its own rules]
The committee also passed the Motor Carrier Safety Screening Modernization Act, which would require FMCSA to establish guidelines for states to follow in reviewing DataQs-system challenges to citations and violations. Currently, states have the authority to establish their own review process.
According to OOIDA, nearly all states “have established a system where a review is conducted by the same person or agency who issued the violation, which creates an inherent conflict of interest.” The bill would require that a “Request for Data Review,” or “DataQ,” is adjudicated by someone other than the officer that issued the citation.
Both bills will move to the full House floor for consideration.
[Related: How to mount an effective DataQs challenge]
FMCSA registration modernization meeting
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will host its third Registration Modernization Stakeholder Day next month.
The hybrid in-person and virtual meeting aims to engage motor carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, insurance companies, financial institutions, process agents, blanket companies, and transportation service providers to get their perspective on improving the registration experience with FMCSA.
The meeting will be held Oct. 21 from 1-4 p.m. Eastern. Parties interested in attending either in-person or virtually must register here by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Oct. 14. Attendance will be capped at 100 in-person attendees and 500 virtual attendees. In-person attendees will have an opportunity to conduct user testing on portions of the new registration system.
[Related: With registration-overhaul push, does FMCSA have a sole-proprietor problem?]
The meeting will help in FMCSA’s development of a new online registration system to improve the transparency and efficiency of the agency’s registration procedures. FMCSA seeks user perspectives on improving the registration experience.
During the meeting, FMCSA will invite attendees to participate after the initial presentations. FMCSA moderators will facilitate discussions on what potential users would like to see, as well as what would not be helpful from a user experience perspective
The agency previously held similar meetings on Jan. 17 and May 29, where it detailed its plans for its registration overhaul.
Hear what the agency also had to say to owner-operators and others about the planned overhaul in March at MATS via this Overdrive Radio edition:
[Related: FMCSA's registration overhaul 'incomplete and piecemeal': Legal experts]
I-17 lane closures planned in north Phoenix
Northbound I-17 in north Phoenix will be narrowed to one lane between Loop 303 and State Route 74 over the upcoming weekend for ongoing pavement improvement work.
The Arizona DOT said the lane reduction will be in place from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday, Sept. 20-23.
The NB I-17 off- and on-ramps at Dove Valley Road will also be closed. Drivers can access Dove Valley Road by exiting at Loop 303 and continuing north on the frontage road. The NB I-17 circular ramp to westbound SR 74 will be closed during nighttime hours.
Drivers should allow extra time; consider traveling during non-peak morning or nighttime hours, ADOT said. Motorists also should avoid using local streets east of I-17 as alternate routes because those roadways are not designed for heavier freeway traffic.
Future weekend restrictions for this project are currently scheduled as follows:
- NB I-17 also narrowed to one lane between Loop 303 and SR 74/Carefree Highway from 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, to 5 a.m. Monday, Sept. 30.
- SB I-17 is scheduled to be closed at Loop 303/Sonoran Desert Drive from 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, to 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 7. SB I-17 will be narrowed to one lane between SR 74 and Loop 303.
- SB I-17 is scheduled to be closed at Loop 303 and then narrowed to one lane to Jomax Road from 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, to 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 14.
Crews are continuing a much-needed project to improve the ride on 6 miles of I-17 between Happy Valley Road and State Route 74, ADOT said. Additional I-17 closures or lane restrictions will be needed as the work proceeds.
