The California Air Resources Board has extended the registration deadline for the Small Fleet Compliance Plan to Jan. 1.
This extension will provide fleets that have not already registered to use a compliance option under the regulation to participate in the extended phase-in option of the Small Fleet Compliance Plan that begins in 2013 and ends in 2016.
The Tractor-Trailer GHG Regulation applies to 53-foot or longer dry van or refrigerated van trailers and the tractors that pull them on California highways.
The regulation requires tractor-trailers operating in California to use tractors and box-type trailers that use certain aerodynamic equipment and low rolling resistance tires, as verified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency SmartWay program, to meet specified fuel efficiency improvements.
The regulation establishes specific compliance deadlines for trailers based on fleet size and model year. Specifically, small fleets with 20 or fewer trailers may either: Bring all their pre-2011 model year trailers into compliance by Jan. 1, 2013, or phase-in compliance over several years, between 2013 and 2016, if they register by the registration deadline.
That deadline has been extended from Sept. 1 of this year to Jan. 1, 2013.
For further information about the regulation, Advisory Mail-Out 12-17, training, outreach efforts, compliance tools, or the full text of the Tractor-Trailer GHG Regulation, please visit http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/hdghg/hdghg.htm .
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5/17/2012 – NHTSA Proposes Stability Control Mandate
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed a first-ever federal motor vehicle safety standard to require electronic stability control (ESC) systems on large commercial trucks and buses….
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5/16/2012 – ND DOT Adopts Federal Guidelines for Former Military Drivers
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5/16/2012 – FMCSA Posts 2012-2016 Strategic Plan
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5/15/2012 – Virginia DMV “Troops to Trucks” Program Puts Veterans to Work
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5/14/2012 – Highway Bill Conferees Face Daunting Schedule
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5/11/2012 – CARB Urges Tractor-Trailer Owners to Register Early for Flexibility
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5/11/2012 – DOT Simplifies Stop Sign Regs
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5/11/2012 – Carriers Can Preview Proposed CSA Safety Measurement System Changes
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5/9/2012 – Teamsters Endorse Obama in 2012
Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa announced the union’s endorsement of President Barack Obama for re-election in 2012. Hoffa made the official announcement to more than 1,500 Teamster members attending the union’s annual conference in Las Vegas this week….
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5/9/2012 – ATA’s Graves Not Optimistic about Highway Bill
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4/30/2012 – New Jersey Congressmen Call for Suspension in Toll Hikes
Several New Jersey Congressmen asked the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to delay a second round of toll hikes scheduled for December until the agency can prove it has its finances in order, reports New Jersey’s Star-Ledger.
“The planned toll hikes should be suspended until an external audit determines that the audit recommendations have been addressed,” wrote U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg in a letter…
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4/27/2012 – Highway Bill Conferees Face Tough Funding Issues but Share Some Common Ground on Policy
The House and Senate have chosen their conferees for negotiations on the highway bill. They have until June 30 to work out a deal or pass another extension.
The conferees’ toughest challenge will be to agree on the duration and funding of the bill, but their portfolio includes numerous important policy issues, including truck safety and program reforms at the Department of Transportation….
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4/26/2012 – ATA, OOIDA Square Off on EOBR Debate
In advance of the upcoming conference committee meetings on the surface transportation bill, the American Trucking Associations and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association are urging passage or rejection (respectively) of the Senate’s EOBR requirement….
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4/25/2012 – Transport Experts Say Public Must Push Congress to Act on Highways
Congress can’t do its job on the highway bill, so the public is going to have to take the lead, says a group of infrastructure experts including five former secretaries of transportation.
The federal highway program is now running on its ninth temporary extension because Congress will not compromise on how to pay for it, said the 60 experts brought together by the University Virginia’s Miller Center….
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4/23/2012 – FMCSA Withdraws Sleep Apnea Proposal
FMCSA apparently jumped the gun with its Friday announcement that it proposed to adopt the recommendations of two advisory panels for tougher sleep apnea guidelines….
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4/20/2012 – No Clear Answers on Highway Bill
House passage of another 90-day extension of the highway program sets the stage for another nail-biter.
Including today, there are 31 working days left before the current extension expires. The extension the House passed on Wednesday would give the House and Senate until the end of the fiscal year in September to negotiate the details of a highway bill that lasts longer than 90 days….
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4/20/2012 – FMCSA Proposes Guidance for Sleep Apnea
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is proposing tougher standards for sleep apnea evaluation. The agency is adopting the recommendations of two advisory panels, one from the medical community and one representing industry, enforcement, labor and safety advocacy interests, for how medical examiners should evaluate the condition….
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4/20/2012 – Employee Misclassification Report No Good, Says New York State Motor Truck Association
A new report published by the Drum Major Institute claims to illustrate widespread abuse through the misclassification of employees in the truck transportation industry. The New York Motor Truck Association, however, says this report is just a tool the Teamsters Union is using…
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4/19/2012 – N.J. Trucking Executive Warns Senate on the True Cost of Tolls
In testimony before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, NFI Chief Financial Officer Steve Grabell warned that rapidly increasing toll rates, as well as the spread of tolls across the country, are a threat to consumers and to the trucking industry….
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4/19/2012 – New Rule Will Create Registry of Certified Medical Examiners
Truck safety regulators are about to post a new, long-awaited rule aimed at shoring up driver medical standards.
The rule will require those who perform medical exams for drivers to be trained, tested and certified to a national standard. It also will create a national online registry of examiners who have met the certification requirement….
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4/19/2012 – House Passes Another Highway Bill Extension, Heads to Conference Committee
Once again, the U.S. House of Representatives has kicked the can down the road on highway funding. Despite a presidential veto threat, the Republican legislation extended transportation funding through September — the 10th such extension — and mandates construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline….
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4/17/2012 – Canada Aligns GHG Emissions Regs with U.S.
Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent announced Canada’s alignment with the U.S. regulations for heavy-duty vehicle and engine greenhouse gas emissions for 2014 and later….
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4/17/2012 – N.J. Owner-Operators Need IRS Determination for Non-Employee Status
UPDATED — A number of New Jersey fleets have discovered the hard way — with fines to the tune of $800,000 — that the New Jersey Department of Labor now requires owner-operators to first prove that the Internal Revenue Service already deemed them independent contractors before the state will allow an employee exemption….
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4/16/2012 – California Court Says Employers Must Offer 30-Minute Meal Breaks
California trucking companies will be required to give drivers a 30-minute meal period within the first five hours of driving, according to the California Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Brinker v. Superior Court. …
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4/13/2012 – Truck Dealer of the Year Nominee Educates Nebraska Rep. on Natural Gas
U.S. Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., visited Omaha Truck Centers, owned by dealer Trey Mytty, to learn more about natural gas in the commercial vehicle industry….
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4/13/2012 – FMCSA Wants to Study Overweight Trucks’ Connection to Safety
The DOT wants to better understand the safety performance of overweight vehicles — both permitted and illegally overloaded — so it is looking for state agencies to work with in a study of the issue….
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4/13/2012 – Study Finds Few Effects from Diesel Exhaust from EPA-07 Engines
The first results of what is said to be the most comprehensive study ever undertaken of the health effects of exposure to new technology diesel engines has found no evidence of gene-damaging effects in the animals studied, and only a few mild effects on the lungs, according to a report issued by the Health Effects Institute….
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4/10/2012 – FMCSA Shuts Down JA Transportation
The U.S. DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration declared New Jersey-based JA Transportation Inc. an imminent hazard to public safety, and ordered the trucking company to shut down its operations….
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4/9/2012 – New Rule for Medical Examiners Nearing Publication
A final rule to establish a National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners is close to publication.
The rule was cleared last week by the White House Office of Management and Budget, the last stage before publication in the Federal Register….
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4/5/2012 – Three Oregon Ports of Entry to Switch to Phone-based Services
The Oregon Motor Carrier Transportation Division is closing its registration offices at three ports of entry and replacing over-the-counter services with phones and fax machines truck drivers can use for registration and over-dimension permit services….
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