Arkansas Trucking Association

Conflicting Reports Study CSA Accuracy, Fairness

Days following the release of a study conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed significant flaws in the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released its own study findings to the contrary.

The GAO report, “Modifying the Compliance, Safety, Accountability Program Would Improve the Ability to Identify High Risk Carriers,” supports many of the objections cited by the program’s critics, including: Inconsistency between states’ inspection and enforcement practices; Weak association of Safety Measurement System (SMS) scores to crash risk; Indications that a minority of carriers in a single SMC group are responsible for all crashes in that group; among other concerns.

Another Study, More Speculation

A few days before the GAO and FMCSA released conflicting reports on CSA, the FMCSA was met with criticism for its findings following a study indicating the agency’s current hours-of-service rule is more effective at combating fatigue, a conclusion that trucking groups and several members of Congress immediately disputed.

The final 2011 hours rule, which became effective July 1, requires a driver’s restart to be at least 34 consecutive hours and include two periods between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.

The study, conducted by the Sleep and Performance Research Center, Washington State University and Pulsar Informatics Inc., looked at 106 commercial drivers employed by three carriers providing 1,260 days of data, driving a total of more than 414,000 miles from January to July 2013.

Court-Approved Flashing

It’s a common practice among drivers who pass through a speed trap: Flash your headlights at approaching cars as a warning to slow down. Now, a federal court judge in Missouri says penalizing drivers for the headlight flash violates their First Amendment right to free speech.

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey in St. Louis issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the St. Louis County town of Ellisville from citing and prosecuting drivers who flash their lights to warn of radar and speed traps.

Arkansans Join Coalition to Back Keystone XL Oil Pipeline

Five Democrats, including Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), joined Republicans at a Capitol news conference in February to urge President Obama to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline following a State Department report that raised no major environmental objections. The $7 billion pipeline would carry 830,000 barrels of tar sands oil from Canada to Texas oil refineries.

Freight Index Rises to Best Level on Record

The amount of freight carried by the nation’s for-hire transportation industry rose 1.2 percent in November from October, rebounding from a one-month decline to reach its highest all-time level, according to a new U.S. Department of Transportation report.

The November 2013 Freight Transportation Services Index level of 116.5 was 22.8 percent above the April 2009 low during the most recent recession and exceeds the previous high of 115.4 in September 2013. Records go back to 2000.

Fleet Failures Increase Despite Higher Freight Demand

Despite improved freight demand, ongoing cost and regulatory pressures are to blame for the highest level of fleet failures in more than three years, according to Avondale Partners analyst Donald Broughton.

A total of 335 fleets with 7,775 trucks failed during the fourth quarter, the highest since the third quarter of 2010 and more than double the 150 carriers and 2,515 trucks in the final quarter of 2012.

Yellow Light for Green Gas

Blu LNG and Clean Energy, two of the largest developers of natural gas fueling stations, have cut back on expansion efforts.

Blu LNG has laid off 20 percent of its staff, ousted several senior executives and slowed development of fueling stations. The company has a network of about 25 locations, with plans to grow to 40 to 50 by the end of the year, far less than it originally planned. It has cut its number of employees by 40 to 170.

Competitor Clean Energy Fuels is also slowing development of its network, reportedly altering plans to open one station every week-and-a-half to one every two weeks.

The reason? “To let the trucks catch up on us,” said Blu LNG CEO Merritt Norton, as development of the LNG networks has outpaced sales of LNG-powered trucks.

Holy Hog

It’s unknown whether Pope Francis ever rode the custom 2013 Dyna Super Glide that was a gift from Willie Davidson, a retired Harley-Davidson designer and grandson of the company’s co-founder. But an unidentified bidder agreed to pay $327,000 for the motorcycle at a Paris charity auction.

Arkansas Trucking Association Unveils New Website

The Arkansas Trucking Association (ATA) has created a new and improved website that former ATA President Lane Kidd says is a “dynamic, centralized communications hub geared to the needs of our association members and other important audiences in today’s information intensive, 24/7 world.”

ArkansasTrucking.com now has a much more engaging user experience. The overall design and content features of the website have been updated to better reflect ATA’s standing as a recognized industry leader. The entire website is designed to portray the far-reaching, positive impact the industry has in the lives of families and communities, and in our state and national economy.

Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Enacted by FMCSA

Required under MAP-21, last year’s highway reauthorization bill, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced on February 12 a proposed rule to establish a drug and alcohol clearinghouse for all national commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders.

The Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, as it’s known, would help improve roadway safety by requiring carriers to report to FMCSA failed drug tests and test refusals, along with requiring them to query the clearinghouse when making new hires and once annually for current drivers.

Arkansas Best Opens Health Clinic for Employees

Arkansas Best Corp., the parent company of ABF Freight System, Inc. of Fort Smith, is opening a primary care clinic less than a half mile from its headquarters to serve more than 1,000 employees and their dependents.

IMWell Health of Fort Smith will manage the clinic, which will offer yearly physicals and provide treatment for routine illnesses and chronic diseases.

Fayetteville Firm Develops Traffic Warning System

Fayetteville, Arkansas-based VisuaLogistic Technologies entered into a partnership with the state, to introduce its Automated Detection Alert System, or ADAS, to Arkansas highways.

The system entails a series of wireless, solar-powered roadside sensors placed roughly a quarter-mile apart that are updated in real time to inform drivers of what’s ahead-congested traffic, emergency vehicles, even hazardous conditions. Each sensor will flash different colors based on the conditions ahead-for example, yellow for stalled traffic.