Pointing to a blog post by Anne Ferro, a truck driver trade association is claiming that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration administrator is biased against truck drivers and should be asked to step down from her post. The Owner Operator Independent Driver’s Association sent a letter to the secretary of the Department of Transportation, Anthony Foxx, asking him to call for Ferro’s resignation. In the letter, OOIDA argues that the tone of Ferro’s June 3, 2014, post to the “Fast Lane” blog, owned by the DOT, is antagonistic toward drivers and carriers. The association also says that by calling upon Congress to reject a motion to defund part of the hours of service rule, Ferro violated a federal law that prevents the use of federal money and resources for lobbying purposes. “OOIDA’s board of directors, made up predominately of men and women who spend their days on the highway driving a truck, has concluded that the FMCSA can no longer perform its regulatory and enforcement duties impartially, and we have thus lost confidence in Administrator Ferro’s ability to conduct her responsibilities (which go far beyond simply regulating and enforcing truck safety rules and regulations) effectively,” reads the letter from OOIDA. The group goes on to point out that the FMCSA has proceeded quickly with rulemakings opposed by carriers, such as the HOS rules and a pending rule to raise the required levels of insurance carriers much hold; in contrast, it has virtually ignored calls from the industry for minimum training standards for new drivers. “The quick action on the insurance issue, while training continues to be a non-priority for FMCSA is a clear sign of Administrator Ferro’s inability to properly prioritize the tasks before the agency that will result in real safety improvements,” says OOIDA’s letter. Secretary Foxx has not replied to the letter, but DOT spokesperson Meghan Keck told Overdrive that the DOT “does not think a letter like that deserves a statement.” The letter coincides with a high-profile semi-truck crash last week in which a member of comedian Tracy Morgan’s team was killed, as well as the passage of a bill through a Senate committee that would allow the current HOS restart provision to be rescinded.

Next week, FMCSA will publish a final rule extending the requirement for interstate commercial drivers to have paper copies of their medical examiner’s certifications with them when operating a commercial motor vehicle. An advance copy of the rule has been posted to the FMCSA’s website. This requirement will stay in effect until January 30, 2015. This requirement applies to any drivers with either a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or the commercial learner’s permit (CLP) who must be medically certified under 49 CFR part 391. Please note that drivers are still required to certify their status (e.g., interstate or intrastate, exempt or non-exempt) with the State Driver License Agency (SDLA) before January 30.2014 and to provide the SDLA a copy of any new medical certificate received after January 30,2012.
FMCSA also extended the requirement for interstate motor carriers to retain copies of their driver’s medical certificates in their driver qualification files. This extension of the requirement to carry a medical certificate card was needed to ensure that all SDLA’s are prepared to accept and transmit the medical qualification of CDL and CLP holders on the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) driver record.  CLICK HERE to visit FMCSA’s website for more information

Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Drivers and Carriers:

Did you know an important law affecting you goes into effect May 21, 2014?

To keep America’s interstate CMV drivers healthy and our roads safer, all interstate CMV drivers will soon be required to have their medical examinations performed by a Certified Medical Examiner listed on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners.

If you’re an interstate CMV driver, you already need a valid medical certificate signed by a medical examiner. The only change is that after May 21, 2014, you’ll need to go to a certified medical examiner for your medical certificate. If you’ve already had an exam and have a current certificate that certificate will be valid until its regular expiration date.

You can find certified medical examiners in your area—or anywhere in the country—easily by following

1.       Visit the National Registry Web site and search by Zip Code, State, or examiner name.

2.       Choose a certified medical examiner from the list and call to make an appointment.

3.       If your preferred health care professional isn’t on the list, simply refer him or her to the Certified Medical Examiners page to learn more about getting certified.

Please spread the word and encourage your fellow CMV drivers to find a Certified Medical Examiner by May 21st. They can find more information in the Fact Sheet for Drivers or by going to the National Registry Web site, so pass it along!

Thank you for keeping America moving and for your commitment to safer roadways.