Carrier Must Review Within 24 Hours!
NOTE to ICSA fleet owners: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has just updated the notifications sent to carriers when there is a change in the information received by the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse about truck drivers employed by carriers. Effective March 8, 2023, the Clearinghouse will email motor carriers (or carriers’ assistants or third-party drug testing administrators authorized by carriers to receive Clearinghouse notifications) whenever Clearinghouse driver information has changed.
Most importantly, motor carriers must conduct a full follow-on query within 24 hours to see if the new information prohibits the driver from performing safety-sensitive functions, such as operating a truck.
Previously, the Clearinghouse notified motor carriers only when changes had occurred within 30 days of a pre-employment query. Now the Clearinghouse will send notifications of changes within 12 months of a pre-employment or annual query.
The change in the driver’s information may be good news or bad news – it may be a change in return-to-duty status, a removed violation, or a new drug and alcohol violation placing the driver in the “Prohibited” status. The notification will only say that there is new information in the driver’s Clearinghouse record.
Since a full Clearinghouse query requires driver consent, the Clearinghouse notification will include a “Send Consent Request” button, and the motor carrier will not be charged for the query when using that mechanism. The follow-on query will then be considered the annual query for that driver and a new query will not be required for 12 months unless there is another Clearinghouse notification.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently sent an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) on side underride guards to the White House Office of Management and Budget. OMB must approve it before the ANPRM is published in the Federal Register and available for public comment.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to change the financial responsibility requirements of brokers and freight forwarders. The changes are intended to benefit motor carriers.
Punxsutawney Phil Says Winter’s Not Over! ICSA safety consultants have been seeing far too many weather-related crashes this year! However, just because it’s late February doesn’t mean the danger is over. After all, Punxsutawney Phil, the ever-reliable groundhog, predicted just a few days ago that we’re in for another six weeks of winter!