CVSA Annual Conference
Recently, I attended the CVSA annual conference in Biloxi, Mississippi. It was awesome to be able to be in the same room as Deputy Administrator Alan Hanson, from the FMCSA; Canadian officials from the CCMTA; and General Salomon Elnecave, from the Mexican Motor Carrier Enforcement. Not to mention enforcement officials from almost every state and over 300 individuals from industry. If you cannot see value in a conference like that, then I suggest that you clean your glasses and try again.
Quick Overview
I would like to give everyone a quick overview of what we covered throughout the week and encourage you to consider joining the CVSA as an associate member. This is one conference that I do not mind leaving early Sunday morning and getting home late Thursday night for. The value it provides and the networking opportunities are endless; you are only limited by your own fear.
Quick Rundown on Just A Few Of The People I Held Personal Conversations With:
PHMSA director Bill Quade talked about his recent change from FMCSA to PHMSA and how he enjoyed the change. The fact that he recently went to Dubai and some of the new regulations that PHMSA is working towards. FMCSA director of IT and his wonderful wife, Major Chris Nordlow from the “Republic of Texas,” are slight cowboy fans. Nicole works in the motion picture industry, working with all of the major media studios to help them support and learn what CMV drivers are and the regulations they must follow to be legal.
Dan and Abigail are with the American Trucking Association. Abigail has been to several countries and loves hiking. She’s also a next-level expert in OSHA, HOS, and who knows what else. I can’t forget Mike with the Arkansas Trucking Association. He’s a great guy and very knowledgeable on every topic in the realm of DOT. I could keep going for days, and all of the networking happened in 5 short days.
It’s not about networking; it’s also having open, honest conversations with enforcement agencies. Getting to see their perspective on some of the issues they’re seeing on the front lines of highway safety with commercial vehicles. When industry has an issue like being cited for not having spare fuses when the truck is equipped with circuit breakers, we’re taking action to try and get it to the point. Where an officer will have to note in violation what specific “critical” item is powered by a fuse and there was not a spare fuse for that component. It may not seem like much, but there are over 5,000 no-spare fuse violations annually. That can be a huge help to the industry. We also help to shape the Out of Service Criteria that officers use to place vehicles out of service at a roadside inspection.
The Big One That CVSA Voted To Support And Is Going To Draft A Letter To Be Sent To FMCSA
We decided that it would be advantageous to industry and enforcement to have ELD providers in the United States go through a certification process. This would help industry and law enforcement know that the units are functioning properly and according to the law. Currently, there are several ELD providers that are not compliant with the ELD mandate, but they are being sold as ELDs. To top that off, the providers have self-registered with the FMCSA, so the industry would not know if the ELD is in compliance until after the units are installed and in use. Personally, I support this and am excited to see it come through the committee. Then the board of directors passed the motion as well.
On the Note of Canadian Regulations
They’ve come out with an ELD law, and it will take effect in 2021. They will be publishing the law in the beginning of 2020, and ELD providers will have to go through a third-party certification prior to being authorized to sell their product to any trucking units running in Canada. Also note that if you are a US trucking company and run in Canada, you will have to comply with this new regulation. They will also be publishing a study on the use of cannabis since it was legalized.
It’s also refreshing to know that FMCSA regulators are common-sense-driven individuals and are trying to do everything within their power to help de-regulate the industry and keep it as safe as possible. Hence, the reason for HOS reform. They also take massive amounts of notes from industry back to headquarters to see what they can do to help. Not to mention, if you ever have a question, I now have contacts in every aspect of FMCSA. Passenger, IT, weights and measures, load securement, vehicle, PHMSA.
Currently, we have approximately eight working groups, and the industry holds three voting spaces in each committee. I’m one of those 24 people who have a voting responsibility.
Here is my request from you.
If you would like to have a representative at the CVSA, please reach out to me. There is a small fee to be a member of the CVSA; the ROI will come in the first 6 months of membership. If your company would like to have a voice, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Second, if you have any concerns that need to be brought up to FMCSA, PHMSA, or the enforcement industry, please reach out to me and let me know about that concern. I can either get you in touch with the right people from your region or reach out to them myself to find an answer for you.
If you would like to know about the conference, reach out to me today. I will be more than happy to give you all of the information that I have. Click here to dive deeper at eclipsedot.com/articles and drive your knowledge to new heights!
