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Training Room Available for Rent in Lethbridge! Are you looking for space to train your team? Western Transportation Safety Consulting Ltd. has a training room available for rent! Our training space seats approximately 20-25 people in a table-seating setting, or can accommodate 30-35 individuals for theatre-style seating. Our rental package includes full use of our white boards and projector, as well as offering coffee and tea for your training events (please inquire for snack and meal options as an add-on). Our daily room rental fee is only $125.00 and we would be happy to provide you with more information. Please contact us today at: Western Transportation Safety Consulting Ltd. 2825E 2 Avenue South Lethbridge, AB T1J0G8 (403) 320-1086 office Toll Free 1-844-320-1086

Videos show Tesla Semis towing trailers on California roadways First came the Tesla Semi videos sans trailers. Now several videos have recently been posted showing the electric tractors towing trailers on city streets and the highway. Most of these latest videos appear to have been shot in northern California where earlier clips were recorded. You’ll see familiar hallmarks, like an I-80 sign. See the videos here, which includes footage of a Tesla Semi being followed down the highway, one of a Semi making a turn across a highway into a supercharging station and another showing the truck’s quick acceleration. None of the videos note whether the trailers are loaded, or with how much weight, if they are. Tesla unveiled its simply named Semi in November. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP0vIH8r-tE See the full article from Overdrive Staff at: https://goo.gl/KdLjkj

Livestock, ag haulers now have until June to comply with ELD mandate. Truckers hauling agricultural products and livestock have received further reprieve from compliance with the U.S. DOT’s electronic logging device mandate. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced Tuesday that such haulers will have until June 18 to adopt an ELD. They can continue to run on paper logs in the meantime. Ag and livestock haulers had already secured a three-month compliance extension beyond the mandate’s December 18 compliance deadline, giving them until March 18 to comply. However, the agency decided to provide such truckers an additional 90 days to comply so it can “continue to work on outreach and communication with the ag community so they have the fullest understanding of the rule and regulations,” said FMCSA head of enforcement Joe DeLorenzo. Drivers covered by the waiver include those who haul “any agricultural commodity, non-processed food, feed, fiber, or livestock,” according to the agency’s original December waiver. Livestock is defined as “…cattle, elk, reindeer, bison, horses, deer, sheep, goats, swine, poultry (including egg-producing poultry), fish used for food and other animals designated…that are part of a foundation herd or offspring.” The waivers apply to all drivers hauling the aforementioned loads, regardless of their distance traveled or whether they cross state lines. The waiver does not alter hours of service regs for livestock and ag haulers. The agency says it will formally publish the exemption extension in the Federal Register in the coming week. Drivers operating under the waiver must have a copy with them. The agency’s original waiver is available at this link (see below). The agency also said it will also issue in the coming months further guidance related to the 150 air-mile radius exemption already granted to agricultural haulers and guidance related to personal conveyance and ELDs. The agency in December proposed nixing the requirement that a truck be unladen for it to be used in personal conveyance. The agency said the change is mostly targeted at straight truck drivers, who cannot drop their trailer and use their truck for personal use. The agency in December also sought feedback from industry stakeholders about whether it should expand the already-existing HOS waiver for ag haulers, which exempts drivers hauling ag loads from keeping logs and adhering to hours of service regulations if they run within a 150-air-mile radius of their load’s point of origin. They agency floated in December the idea of changing that exemption to 150 miles from the driver’s final pickup, should they pick up partial loads at multiple locations, rather than their load’s origin. See the full Overdrive article by James Jaillet at: https://www.overdriveonline.com/livestock-ag-haulers-now-have-until-june-to-comply-with-eld-mandate/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_content=03-13-2018&utm_campaign=Overdrive&ust_id=956ebec892f61a5049004657347365f2

CARB to block DMV registration of pre-2011 trucks starting 2020 Carriers domiciled in California with trucks older than 2011 model, or using engines manufactured before 2010, will need to meet the Board’s new Truck and Bus Regulation beginning in 2020 or their vehicles will be blocked from registration with the state’s DMV, the state has said. The new “health-based requirements” will need to be met before a driver is allowed to register his or her truck through the Department of Motor Vehicles, CARB says. A new enforcement tool used by the DMV beginning in 2020 will automatically block 2010 and older trucks from registration. For older vehicles, CARB says they must be either replaced with a 2011 or newer vehicle or repowered with a 2010 or newer engine. Under these regulations, truckers must meet the following compliance schedule for vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds: • 2000 and older trucks must comply by Jan. 1, 2020 • 2001-2005 must comply by Jan. 1, 2021 • 2006-2007 must comply by Jan. 1, 2022 • 2008-2010 must comply by Jan. 1, 2023 CARB adds, however, that the Truck and Bus Regulation is already in effect, and the Board can place a DMV regulation block on vehicles now, before the final compliance dates, if they don’t meet current air quality regulations. The state of California is enforcing all diesel regulations in preparation for 2020, CARB says. Vehicles weighing between 14,000 pounds and 26,000 pounds are also subject to the regulations, and must meet the following compliance schedule: • 2004 and older must comply by Jan. 1, 2020 • 2005-2007 must comply by Jan. 1, 2021 • 2008-2010 must comply by Jan. 1, 2023 Vehicles that have met all upgrade requirements or are exempt from heavy-duty diesel regulations in the state will be allowed to register with the DMV. CARB says VIN numbers may be required to ensure your vehicle isn’t mistakenly denied registration. Vehicles that are exempt from other California heavy-duty diesel regulations, such as cargo handling equipment, drayage vehicles and solid waste collection vehicles, may still be subject to the Truck and Bus Regulation, CARB adds. Drayage and solid waste collection trucks with 2007 to 2009 model year engines are required to meet the new regulation by Jan. 1, 2023. Read the full story by Matt Cole of overdriveonline.com at: https://www.overdriveonline.com/carb-to-block-dmv-registration-of-older-trucks-starting-in-2020/

Round-up: Best safety device — you; Answering an ELD-exemption question. “No matter how fancy [your truck], no matter how new, the best safety device in your truck is you.” –Reader Paul Maine Truer words have not been spoken on the subject of the false sense of security some drivers seem to be taking from the proliferation of advanced driver-assist systems in trucks and four-wheelers both. As he suggested, and as was a principle part of my blog talk with veteran “Mustang” Mike Crawford last week, don’t let them lull you to sleep, as Tesla’s Autopilot did for this apparently drunk four-wheeler on the San Francisco Bay Bridge. ELDs for an isolated trip? Another reader wrote in with this question about whether an electronic logging device would be necessary under the terms of the ELD mandate for an isolated trip to pick up equipment for his farm: I have a road truck and a lowboy trailer, all able to pass a DOT inspection. I live in central Florida. I might need to go to Texarkana. I do not run commercially over-the- road but I need to pick up a wide load there and bring it back to my farm. I own both the truck and will be buying the load to bring home. Do I have to have an ELD? I have no problem with a paper log, but I don’t want to run into some DOT guy trying to make a name for himself among his workers or supervisors. This would be a one-time trip and will have to get temporary permits for the trip. In the ELD mandate rule, as we’ve written previously and of which most regular readers will be well aware, there is an exemption for CDL drivers who do not cross the short-haul 100-air-mile radius for more than 8 days in any rolling 30-day period. Assuming the trip would take you fewer than 8 days (seems as if it’s probably a three- or four-day trip, not knowing exactly your origin point), and you and the truck haven’t been operating commercially or beyond the radius where you’d need to keep logs in any of the preceding few weeks, I think it’s safe to say you wouldn’t need an ELD. At once, I’ve heard of some state enforcement folks not understanding the ELD exemptions that exist (more on that later), but in general those stories have been few and far between to date. Keep logs for the trip and you ought to be OK with paper. Read the full article by Todd Dills from www.overdriveonline.com here: https://goo.gl/LxM1vi