Reminder: FMCSA’s Sandberg to Participate in TTNews.com Internet Chat
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ransport Topics Publishing Group has announced that Annette Sandberg, head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, would participate in an Internet "chat session" Sept. 28 on the TTNews.com Web site.
The 90-minute chat, open to viewers on a first-come, first served basis, was scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. EDT, and take place just days before industry executives assemble for the American Trucking Associations’ 2004 Management Conference & Exhibition in Las Vegas.
The interactive event with the top federal trucking safety regulator comes as the industry juggles issues ranging from a court decision against this year’s new driver hours-of-service rules, to a mandate to open the U.S. border for Mexican trucks, to the quality of data used to trigger safety reviews of trucking firms, and operational concerns such as tight trucking capacity and lack of available drivers.
In July, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C., said FMCSA’s new hours regulation that took effect in January had failed to consider the effect of a rule change on the health of drivers.
The court said it was vacating the new rules and sent the matter back to FMCSA, which at press time was still weighing its response.
Sandberg had announced that under court procedure the rules would remain in place for 45 days as the agency reviewed the decision and decided how to respond. That period expires Aug. 30.
The new rules expanded the time a trucker can drive from 10 hours a day to 11, but cut back the hours a driver could be on duty from 15 hours a day to 14. It also stopped drivers from clocking out during meals and fuel breaks, and while loading and unloading cargo.
Abramson said readers would be encouraged to send questions in advance through a link on the Web site’s home page, www.TTNews.com.
He also said those wishing to participate on Sept. 28 should log on early to the chat session, because there would be a limited number of Web access slots. Viewers would be able to connect with the session through a box on the TTNews.com home page.
In the event users were not able to join in the chat, Abramson said TTPG would post a complete transcript on the site soon afterward, and would report on the event in the next weekly edition of Transport Topics newspaper.
Sponsoring the event is Rair Technologies, a provider of driver qualification and log auditing programs.
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