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Transportation Updates and

Regulatory News (TURN)

A quarterly publication of the Agricultural Marketing Service

www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/transportation/turn

Third Quarter 2018 (October, November, December)

April 2019

Ten Applications for Exemption 

from the Electronic Logging Device 

Rule Denied

On December 7, 2018, the Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) 

announced the denial of 10 applications for 

exemptions from the hours of service electronic 

logging device rule, stating it “has concluded 

that each application lacks sufficient merit to 

justify the exemptions sought.” FMCSA 

reviewed any safety analyses and public 

comments submitted and determined whether 

granting the exemption would likely achieve a 

level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, 

the level that would be achieved by the current 

regulation. The applicants included associations 

that represent retailers and distributors of 

farm-related products and services, agricultural 

equipment dealers, and small business trucking 

companies, including those that haul fresh 

produce.

Renewing the National Commitment to 

the Interstate Highway System: A 

Foundation for the Future

On December 6, 2018, the Transportation 

Research Board (TRB) released the 

Congressionally-mandated study, Renewing the 

National Commitment to the Interstate Highway 

System: A Foundation for the Future, with 10 

recommendations. TRB said, “These include as a 

near-term step: (1) increase the federal motor 

fuel tax to a level commensurate with the 

federal share of the required Renewal and 

Modernization Program investment, and (2) 

adjust the tax as needed to account for inflation 

and changes in vehicle fuel economy.” The 

study also recommends Congress “prepare for 

the need to employ new federal and state 

funding mechanisms, such as the imposition of 

tolls or per-mile charges on users of the 

Interstate Highway System.”
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Guide for Drivers on Electronic 

Logging Device Data Transfer 

Announced

On December 4, 2018, FMCSA, announced 

Using ELDs: A Guide for Drivers, which “Gives 

the driver a high-level overview of the various 

data transfer processes and includes some tips 

on troubleshooting common questions that 

could arise during data transfer.” The 

information provided in the guide could be 

useful background for drivers if they ever 

experience a request by a safety official to 

review the driver’s electronic logging device 

data for potential hours of service violations.

Update on Pilot for 18-21-Year-Old 

Ex-Military Drivers to Operate Vehicles 

in Interstate Commerce

On November 27, 2018, FMCSA announced its 

plan to submit an Information Collection 

Request to the Office of Management and 

Budget for review and approval. It will request 

permission for the 3-year pilot program to allow 

a limited number of individuals, ages 18 to 20, 

to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) 

in interstate commerce, if they received 

specified heavy-vehicle driver training while in 

military service and were hired by a 

participating motor carrier. On July 6, 2018, 

FMCSA published the details and FMCSA’ 

responses to comments on the pilot program. In 

a separate July 6, 2018, notice, FMCSA asked for 

comments on the information to be collected 

during the pilot program. U.S. Secretary of 

Transportation Elaine L. Chao said, “This 

program will allow our Veterans and Reservists, 

to translate their extensive training into goodpaying jobs, operating commercial vehicles 

safely across the country, while also addressing 

the nationwide driver shortage.” Documents 

and comments are available in Docket No. 

FMCSA-2017-0196 for the information 

collection, and Docket No. FMCSA-2016-0069

for the pilot program.

Research Plan to Improve Estimates of 

Impacts of Changes in Truck Size and 

Weight Regulations

On November 27, 2018, the Transportation 

Research Board’s Truck Size and Weight Limits 

Research Plan Committee announced it “has 

issued its second and final report to the U.S. 

Department of Transportation. The report 

presents a research plan to reduce the major 

sources of uncertainty in projections of the 

consequences of proposed changes in truck size 

and weight limits. The report defines a program 

of 27 coordinated research projects in six areas. 

The committee issued its first report in April 

2018, which summarized the research 

recommendations of past truck size and weight 

limit studies and identified criteria for deciding 

the priority of topics for inclusion in the 

research plan.”

California Air Resources Board 

Increases Tracking of Vehicle 

Emissions

• On November 15, 2018, the California Air 

Resources Board announced it had 

“adopted a new emissions tracking program 

that will help regulators identify vehicles 

with excess smog-related and greenhouse 

gas emissions and propel California further 

towards its goal of meeting state and 

federal air quality standards in the decades 

ahead. Real Emissions Assessment Logging 

(REAL) is part of the amendments to the 

OBD (On-board Diagnostic) Regulations 

approved by the Board. The REAL program 

will require no new technology since it will 

take advantage of existing sensors to track 

the necessary data. Older vehicles will not 

be part of the REAL program and will not 

require any new equipment.”
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EPA Acting Administrator Wheeler 

Launches Cleaner Trucks Initiative

On November 13, 2018, “U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator 

Andrew Wheeler launched the Cleaner Trucks 

Initiative (CTI) to further decrease nitrogen 

oxide (NOx) emissions from on-highway heavyduty trucks and engines. He was joined by EPA 

Office of Air and Radiation Assistant 

Administrator Bill Wehrum, White House 

officials, state partners, labor representatives, 

and leaders from the trucking and engine 

manufacturing industry. The CTI will include a 

future rulemaking that will update the existing 

NOx standard which was last set in 2001 while 

also streamlining compliance and certification 

requirements.”

Personal Conveyance Frequently 

Asked Questions and Guidance 

Updated

In November 2018, the Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration (FMCSA) published 

Personal Conveyance Frequently Asked 

Questions. FMCSA states, “personal conveyance 

is the movement of a commercial motor vehicle 

(CMV) for personal use while off-duty. A driver 

may record time operating a CMV for personal 

conveyance as off-duty only when the driver is 

relieved from work and all responsibility for 

performing work by the motor carrier. The CMV 

may be used for personal conveyance even if it 

is laden, since the load is not being transported 

for the commercial benefit of the motor carrier 

at that time. Personal conveyance does not 

reduce a driver’s or motor carrier’s 

responsibility to operate a CMV safely. Motor 

carriers can establish personal conveyance 

limitations either within the scope of, or more 

restrictive than, the guidance provided.”

Periodic Update of the Jason’s Law 

Survey on Truck Parking Underway

In November 2018, the Federal Highway 

Administration began the required periodic 

survey of States to inventory public rest areas 

and the periodic surveys of commercial motor 

vehicle operators (drivers), trucking operations 

managers, and truck stop owners and operators

to “improve truck parking and provide States 

and metropolitan planning organizations with 

resources to identify parking needs and to 

encourage improvements and investments.” 

Under Jason’s Law, Section 1401 of Moving 

Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, Public 

Law 112-141, the inaugural Jason’s Law Truck 

Parking Survey Results and Comparative 

Analysis was completed in August 2015.

Critical Issues in the Trucking 

Industry – 2018

On October 29, 2018, the American 

Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) 

released Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry –

2018. ATRI said the report was “based on an 

annual survey, which generated more than 

1,500 responses from motor carriers and 

commercial drivers.” The top ten issues were: 

(1) driver shortage; (2) hours of service; (3) 

driver retention; (4) electronic logging device 

mandate; (5) truck parking; (6) compliance, 

safety, and accountability scoring program; (7) 

driver distraction; (8) transportation 

infrastructure, congestion, and funding; (9) 

driver health and wellness; and (10) economy. 

Emerging issues ranked close to the top ten 

were: (11) highway safety and crash reduction; 

(12) tort reform; and (13) automated truck

technology.
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Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA) Assessing 

Crash Risk Based on Commercial 

Motor Vehicle Driver Schedules

On October 25, 2018, FMCSA announced it will 

collect data as part of a “study to investigate 

how commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers’ 

schedules impact overall driver performance 

and safety. FMCSA needs these data to answer 

important research questions related to driver 

schedules and how these affect overall driver 

performance and fatigue.” Comments on the 

data collection were due by December 24, 

2018, and can be viewed in Docket No.FMCSA2018-0279.

Cost of Congestion to the Trucking 

Industry: 2018 Update

On October 18, 2018, the American 

Transportation Research Institute released Cost 

of Congestion to the Trucking Industry: 2018 

Update, which states that “traffic congestion on 

the U.S. National Highway System added nearly 

$74.5 billion in operational costs to the trucking 

industry in 2016, a 0.5 percent increase over 

2015.” Delays totaled “nearly 1.2 billion hours 

of lost productivity. This equates to 425,533 

commercial truck drivers sitting idle for a 

working year.” The top ten States with the 

highest congestion costs were: Texas, California, 

Florida, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, 

Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Ohio, and North 

Carolina.

FMCSA Will Seek Input on the 

Definition of Agricultural Commodity

In October 2018, the White House Office of 

Management and Budget published a notice

indicating that the U.S. Department of 

Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA) will seek, by March 

2019, “public input and data for use in a future 

proposal on the definition of agricultural 

commodity in the hours of service of drivers 

regulations at 49 CFR 395.1(k)(1) and 49 CFR 

395.2.” The regulations state that “hours of 

service rules do not apply during planting and 

harvest periods, as determined by each State, 

to drivers transporting agricultural commodities 

from the source of the agricultural commodities 

to a location within a 150 air-mile radius from 

the source. Agricultural commodity means any 

agricultural commodity, non-processed food, 

feed, fiber, or livestock (including livestock as 

defined in sec. 602 of the Emergency Livestock 

Feed Assistance Act of 1988 [7 U.S.C. 1471] and 

insects).”

An Analysis of the Operational Costs of

Trucking: 2018 Update

On October 2, 2018, the American 

Transportation Research Institute released An 

Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 

2018 Update. The ATRI report indicates “the 

average marginal cost per mile incurred by 

motor carriers increased six percent to $1.69” in 

2017, compared to 2016. Driver wages and 

benefits accounted for 43 percent of the total

average marginal costs in 2017, and fuel costs 

accounted for 22 percent.

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