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Bipartisan group of senators to FMCSA: ‘Explore improvements’ to HOS rules

Washington — A bipartisan group of 30 senators is calling for Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Raymond Martinez to “explore improvements” to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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FMCSA clarifies hours-of-service rules on agricultural commodities, personal conveyance

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued guidance intended to clarify the agricultural commodities exemption and the “personal conveyance” provision in driver hours-of-service regulations, according to separate notices published in the June 7 Federal Register.




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FMCSA seeking input on proposed changes to trucker hours-of-service rules

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is asking for comment on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on its hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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FMCSA extends comment period for proposed changes to trucker hours-of-service rules

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is extending to Oct. 10 the comment period for an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on its hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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FMCSA announces livestreamed listening sessions for proposed changes to trucker hours-of-service rules

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will conduct multiple public listening sessions regarding an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on its hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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ATA wants override of California’s meal and rest break requirements after PHMSA ruling on hazmat drivers

Washington — Three days after the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration determined that hazardous materials transporters do not have to comply with California’s rest and meal break requirements, the American Trucking Associations filed a petition asking the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to pre-empt the requirements for all commercial motor vehicle drivers.




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Lawmakers urge DOT to deny pre-emption petition on California’s meal and rest break rules

Washington — A group of 19 congressional Democrats is urging, “in the strongest possible terms,” the Department of Transportation to deny a recent American Trucking Associations petition on California’s meal and rest break rules for commercial truck drivers.




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FMCSA grants trucking industry request for federal pre-emption of California meal and rest break laws

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Dec. 21 granted a petition to pre-empt California’s meal and rest break rules for commercial motor vehicle drivers, stating that the rules are incompatible with current federal hours-of-service regulations and cause “a disruption in interstate commerce.”




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FMCSA considering petition for HOS exemption for livestock, insect, aquatic animal haulers

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking comment on a petition that aims to amend hours-of-service requirements for haulers of livestock, insects and aquatic animals, allowing for a 16-hour on-duty period after 10 consecutive hours of off-duty time, the agency announced in the Feb. 6 Federal Register.




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Lawmakers reintroduce bill to reform HOS, ELD rules for livestock, insect and agricultural haulers

Washington — Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) have reintroduced bipartisan legislation that would require the secretary of transportation to create a working group to determine obstacles to safe operation for livestock, insect and agricultural haulers in an effort to reform federal hours-of-service and electronic logging device regulations.




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Bipartisan House bills seek ELD exemptions for livestock haulers, small carriers

Washington – Bipartisan bills introduced in the House on March 12 would exempt certain segments of the commercial motor vehicle industry from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s mandate on use of electronic logging devices to record truck driver hours of service.




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Proposed changes to trucker hours-of-service regs expected ‘in short order,’ FMCSA administrator tells Senate

Washington — The publication of a proposed rule intended to add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers is expected soon, on the heels of a recent delay, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration head Raymond Martinez said during a June 19 hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.




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FMCSA announces long-awaited proposed rule to amend trucker hours-of-service regs

Washington — After numerous delays, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has unveiled a highly anticipated proposed rule the agency claims would add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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CVSA reminds truckers: No ‘soft enforcement’ for ELD transition

Washington — Commercial motor vehicle inspectors will not observe a “soft enforcement” grace period for drivers still using automatic onboard recording devices to track their hours of service after Dec. 16, and such drivers will be placed out of service for violating Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance warns in a Dec. 2 press release.




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COVID-19 pandemic: Expanded FMCSA emergency declaration includes hours-of-service exemptions

Washington — Commercial motor vehicle drivers transporting items intended to assist in COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts are temporarily exempt from federal hours-of-service regulations, under an expanded national emergency declaration issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on March 18.




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FMCSA preempts Washington state’s meal and rest break rules for truck drivers

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has granted a petition to preempt Washington state’s rules on meals and rest breaks for commercial truck drivers, determining that federal hours-of-service regulations supersede the state’s rules.




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FMCSA proposes amending guidance on CMV ‘yard moves,’ hours of service

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking public comment on a proposal to revise the agency’s guidance on “yard moves” and commercial motor vehicle drivers’ hours of service.




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Annual ‘Roadcheck’ sets sights on CMV lighting, HOS

Greenbelt, MD — Inspectors across North America will examine braking systems, lights, tires and other components on commercial trucks and buses May 4-6 during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s 34th annual International Roadcheck.




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FMCSA extends pandemic-related hours-of-service exemptions

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says temporary hours-of-service exemptions and other “regulatory relief” will continue for commercial motor vehicle drivers transporting items intended to assist in COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts.




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FMCSA grants regulatory relief to drivers taking emergency supplies to storm-hit states

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced temporary relief from hours-of-service requirements for commercial motor vehicle drivers delivering “direct assistance” to emergency efforts in states affected by severe winter weather.




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FMCSA extends ‘regulatory relief’ for transporters of pandemic-related goods

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration once again is extending temporary hours-of-service exemptions and other “regulatory relief” for commercial motor vehicle drivers transporting items intended to assist with COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts.




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Annual ‘Roadcheck’ uncovers out-of-service vehicle, driver violations

Greenbelt, MD — From May 4 to 6, inspectors across North America checked braking systems, lights, tires and other commercial motor vehicle equipment during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s 34th annual International Roadcheck.




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New law grants livestock, insect haulers an added hours-of-service exemption

Washington — Stakeholders in the commercial trucking and livestock industries are applauding a provision to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that gives livestock and insect haulers an additional exemption from Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration hours-of-service regulations.




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Study questions whether FMCSA’s ELD mandate for truckers ‘has improved safety’

East Lansing, MI — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s mandate on the use of electronic logging devices to record commercial motor vehicle driver hours of service “did not immediately achieve its goal of reducing accidents,” and may be linked to increases in unsafe driving behaviors and crashes, results of a recent study suggest.




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FMCSA requests input on possible changes to ELD regulations

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is asking industry stakeholders for input on “ways to improve the clarity of current regulations on the use of electronic logging devices and address certain concerns about the technical specifications.”




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Safe parking and speed limiters are some of trucking industry’s top concerns, survey finds

San Diego — Several safety-related issues earned a spot on the American Transportation Research Institute’s recently released list of top trucking industry concerns.




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Trucking safety advocates push for action on automatic braking and speed limiters

Washington — The Truck Safety Coalition is calling on the Department of Transportation to make automatic emergency braking and speed-limiting devices a requirement on commercial trucks and buses.




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Should states be allowed to make their own rules for truckers’ meal and rest breaks?

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is asking for comments on petitions seeking to restore California’s and Washington state’s rules on meal and rest breaks for commercial truck and bus drivers.




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Workplace safety toolkit for Canadian immigrants

A new tool developed for immigrant workers in Ontario is intended to help them adjust to the province's workplace safety rules, according to the Institute for Work & Health, a nonprofit research organization.




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CPWR website offers ‘Create-a-Plan’ for reducing silica exposure

Silver Spring, MD – A new online tool from the Center for Construction Research and Training (better known as CPWR) allows users to confidentially save, retrieve and edit plans for reducing worker exposure to silica.




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Universities partner on toolkit to improve health, safety and wellness

Lowell, MA – A new online toolkit aims to help employers integrate their health, safety and wellness programs.




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Make traffic safety a part of company culture, employer network says

Vienna, VA – The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety has developed a free online toolkit to help organizations strengthen their road safety programs.




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New safety resources available to Spanish-speaking workers

Washington – Two agencies have released materials to help educate Spanish-speaking workers about occupational safety.




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Annual campaign urges workers to ‘Drive Focused, Drive Smart’

McLean, VA – The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety is offering a free online toolkit to help employers keep workers and their families safe on the road as part of NETS’ Drive Safely Work Week Oct. 5-9.




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MIOSHA offers kit, video to help medical and dental offices comply with regs

Lansing, MI – The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration has released a toolkit and video to help medical and dental offices comply with state health standards.




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OSHA offering free employer resources for National Safety Stand-Down

Washington — To help employers prepare for the fifth annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction, set to take place May 7-11, OSHA is offering a number of online resources.




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New poster details ways firefighters can reduce cancer risk

Washington — In response to multiple studies showing that firefighters are at an increased risk for many types of cancers, the National Volunteer Fire Council and four other organizations have developed a poster intended to help firefighters understand their risks and take action to protect themselves.




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NORA Manufacturing Council unveils website to help with lockout, other energy control programs

Washington — The National Occupational Research Agenda Manufacturing Sector Council has created an online resource guide intended to assist organizations in beginning, maintaining or enhancing their hazardous energy control programs.




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COVID-19 pandemic: Canadian government publishes tip sheets for essential and high-risk workers

Hamilton, Ontario — A series of free guidance documents from the Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety is intended to help workers and employers in essential or high-risk occupations and industries reduce their exposure to COVID-19 and curb the spread of infection.




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COVID-19 pandemic: Online tool estimates indoor exposure to infectious aerosols

Gaithersburg, MD — A new online tool from the National Institute of Standards and Technology is intended to help curb airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 – the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.




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Still a State Plan: Arizona, OSHA end conflict over fall protection standard in construction

Washington — Arizona’s dispute with OSHA – which at one point appeared to threaten its status as an approved State Plan – has officially ended, OSHA announced in a notice published in the July 26 Federal Register.




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OSHA postpones National Safety Stand-Down

Washington — The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted OSHA to postpone the seventh annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction.




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OSHA moves National Safety Stand-Down to September

Washington — OSHA has rescheduled the seventh annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction for Sept. 14-18.




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National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction set for May

Washington — OSHA, NIOSH, the National Occupational Research Agenda, and CPWR – The Center for Construction Training and Research are providing free online resources to help employers prepare for the eighth annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction, set to take place May 3-7.




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National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction to kick off with webinar

Washington — The eighth annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction is set to kick off on May 3 with a webinar hosted by OSHA, NIOSH, and CPWR – the Center for Construction Research and Training.




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OSHA proposes updates to handrail, stair rail requirements in Walking-Working Surfaces standard

Washington — OSHA is seeking to update the handrail and stair rail system requirements in its standard on walking-working surfaces for general industry.




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‘Fall Protection for Construction’: Oregon OSHA launches Spanish version of online training course

Salem, OR — Oregon OSHA has launched a Spanish-language version of its free online video training course on fall protection for the construction industry.




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Reducing slips, trips and falls

Fall hazards are a common problem across multiple industries and workplaces.




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National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction coming in May

Washington — The ninth annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction is set for May 2-6.




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On the Safe Side podcast Episode 24: How an OSHA ETS works and ladder safety

In Episode 24, the S+H editorial team discusses some frequently asked questions about how OSHA emergency temporary standards and regulations work. Also, Christina Socias-Morales, an epidemiologist in the NIOSH Division of Safety Research, joins us to discuss National Ladder Safety Month, coming in March.