The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA) has many rules for truckers of driving on the road to increase the safety of truckers, other drivers, cargo, and the environment. Hazardous materials haulers have special regulation and truck insurance because their freight is harmful or deadly if spilled in an accident.

To read all of the hazardous materials regulations in depth, click here. Otherwise, here is a brief overview of some of the important facets.

Qualifying as Hazardous Materials

If your cargo qualifies as hazardous materials, then you must register for a Hazardous Materials Safety Permit (HMSP) prior to shipping. The following qualify as needing the permit:

• Class 7 (radioactive) material
• Over 25 kg (55 lbs) of explosive materials qualified as Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3
• Any amount of Division 1.5 or higher explosive materials
• Materials that are poisonous to inhale over 1 liter (1.08 quarts)
• Compressed or refrigerated liquefied methane or liquefied natural gas in bulk packaging exceeding 13,248 L (3,500 gallons)

Penalties for Violation

Because they are so incredibly dangerous, the penalties are swift and harsh. The minimum civil penalty is $275.00, while the maximum is $32,500.00. For criminal cases, the individual can be fined $250,000.00 and the corporation can receive $500,000 worth of fines, with either sentence including a maximum of 5 years in prison.

Responsibilities

Here are the duties of hazardous materials shippers:

The most difficult of these can be identifying if you are indeed shipping a hazardous material. The rest should be standard procedure for any trucking company.

Hazardous Materials Insurance

Royalty Truck Insurance offers Hazardous Materials Insurance for trucking companies that frequently ship these types of cargoes. Protecting your business is important, and a crash involving dangerous chemicals can be devastating, so add this extra level of security with a hazardous materials insurance policy.

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Let me begin with a disclaimer: safety is always a priority when it comes to trucking. Being in the commercial truck insurance industry, I have seen my fair share of life-ending accidents and any measures that could be used to reduce those are valuable.

The first alteration in the law was to shorten the work week from 82 hours to 70 hours. The idea is that this reduction will give workers more time to rest and relieve the burden of being overworked. The downside is that it also reduces the potential earnings of hourly truck drivers who relied on those additional 12 per week to pay their expenses. The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Association (FMCSA) appears to have accounted for this objection with the “34-hour restart.”

As its name implies, the “34-hour restart” lets drivers restart their work weeks if they spend 34 consecutive hours resting. This provision allows drivers to still get their required 82 hours in a week, while also forcing them to take a break in the middle.

We think that this is a good compromise; it doesn’t hurt truck driver earnings and increases road safety by mandating a break.

Another change is the required 30 minute break after an eight-hour shift of unimpeded driving. This seems like a fair compromise, because thirty minutes is not too long to throw drivers off schedule, but long enough to recharge the mind.

One safety concern regards the continued use of the 11-hour work day. It was believed that this number would be reduced to 10-hours, a more manageable maximum time to be driving, but the 30 minute rest seems to be the compromise to maintain the 11-hour max. There is enough evidence from sleep studies to suggest that 11 hours is too long to work and a change should be made.

So what are the overall opinions about the DOT’s changes to trucker laws? They are better at reducing fatigue to drivers, but ignore the bigger issues. Truck drivers still do not get paid overtime for exceeding 40 hours per week, forcing them to push themselves beyond their limits. These changes just add more regulation to an already over-regulated industry. They also require the use of additional drivers to make up lost hours from the reduced work week, putting more inexperienced truck drivers onto the road.

While the intentions behind the changes may have been for driver safety, the results hurt the wallets of truckers and don’t make a big enough impact. Hopefully new regulation will replace the old laws to decrease accidents.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a division of the DOT, accumulated information and statisitcs from sources in the trucking community, like commercial truck insurance companies, trucking businesses, and law enforcement. In addition, they hosted public forums around the country to get direct input from truck drivers.

In the end, the new rule from the FMCSA reduces a truck driver’s maximum weekly work hours by 12. The previous maximum was 82 hours; the new HOS rule changes that to 70 hours.

Also, commercial truck drivers are required to take a thirty minute break after a shift of 8 hours. This is designed to reduce the tension caused by long shifts.

There will be a “34-hour restart” provision implemented as well, which allows the driver to restart his or her work week by taking a consecutive 34-hour break.

Finally, one aspect of the old rules was maintained: the 11-hour driving limit in a day. Further research is being done to determine if this time limit is appropriate.

One reason behind the rules changes is that they force truck drivers to get at least two-nights of rest to restore their bodies. Drivers who maximize their work week still need sleep during the body’s key resting hours from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.

Fines for these offenses will be high, with some exceeding $10,000. The purpose is to keep the roads safer for truckers and pedestrians and hopefully the rule changes help in that regard.

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As a commercial truck insurance company, we know better than anyone just how regulated the industry is. In the midst of a recession where paying truck insurance premiums are the least of most truckers problems, a lot of drivers are worried these new ratings regulations couldn’t have come at a worse time.

The Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 is a new federal program that’s being rolled out by the FMCSA.  The program assigns a score to motor carriers that aims to demonstrate their risk to shipping agencies based on their past safety violations.

Things like driver fatigue, behavioral analysis, driver fitness, alcohol or controlled substance violations and accidents caused are all measured to formulate a final score—kind of like a quarterback rating in the NFL

Some drivers are concerned many shippers will read too much into the numbers, choosing to avoid carriers with lower scores that are still above acceptable standards.  They’re worried this could cost smaller business jobs based on unfair comparisons.

Trucking companies with excellent track records and safety advocates for the FMCSA think otherwise, calling the ratings system a “new nationwide system that will make the roads safer for motor carriers and the public alike.”

Stories have surfaced of freight companies that have suffered lower scores because of violations taken into consideration from the distant past—sometimes even before the violations were even considered safety related at all.  In some cases, these companies have lost major accounts.

Let us Know What You Think in the Comments Below:

Is the new CSA rating system really a bonus for the safest drivers, sort of like lower commercial truck insurance premiums are offered to the safest companies? Or is this an unfair system that divulges too much unnecessary information for shippers to discriminate against the trucking industry?

Should a license in good standing, a qualified driver and proof of commercial truck insurance be all a company should need to be hired?  Will these safety regulations really cost truckers more jobs in the end?

Motor carriers operating motor vehicles transporting hazardous materials, hazardous substances or hazardous wastes. For-hire motor carriers operating motor vehicles transporting property in interstate or foreign commerce. For-Hire motor carriers transporting passengers in interstate or foreign commerce. Private motor carriers domiciled in Mexico transporting property in interstate or foreign commerce.
Financial Responsibility: Having insurance policies or surety bonds sufficient to satisfy the minimum public liability requirements   { Royalty Truck Insurance can provide you with both.  You can receive a quote online http://royaltytruckinsurance.com/?id=truck-insurance-quote or call us at Toll Free: 1-866-989-8998 }
Public Liability:  Public Liability means liability for bodily injury, property damage and environmental restoration.
Environmental Restoration:  Environmental Restoration means restitution for the loss, damage, or destruction of natural resources arising out of an accidental discharge of toxic or other environmentally harmful materials or liquids
Definitions of terms relating to FMCSA financial responsibility regulations can be seen at:
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rulesregs/fmcsr/regs/387.5.htm
and/or
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rulesregs/fmcsr/regs/387.29.htm
Requirements: Motor carriers must have at least the minimum amount of insurance required by law. A list of the minimum requirements can be seen at:
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rulesregs/fmcsr/regs/387.9.htm
and/or
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rulesregs/fmcsr/regs/387.33.htm
Proof:  Proof of financial responsibility shall be maintained at the motor carrier’s principle place of business. All vehicles operating in the U.S. must have a legible copy of the proof of the required financial responsibility.  All motor vehicle in which there is no evidence of financial responsibility shall be denied entry into the U.S.
Examples of Proof:
Form MCS-90
Form MCS-82
Form MCS-90B
Form MCS- 82B
For more information or clarification please call Royalty Truck Insurance 1-866-989-8998