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 Flooding Emergency Declaration

 River Crest Expected at 34.9 Feet

 Emergency Proclamation

    Governor Bobby Jindal issued a Proclamation declaring a State of Emergency to prepare for Mississippi River crests that are predicted to be well above flood stage.

    The National Weather Service has issued flood stage warnings along the length of the Mississippi River and predicted river crests above flood stage in at least five locations in Louisiana — creating the potential for flooding along the Mississippi River in Louisiana.

SMC Courtesy Inspection:  May 23 – Toomey Scales.  The LMTA Safety Management Council will host a courtesy vehicle inspection on Thursday, May 23^rd at the weigh scales on I-10 in Toomey.

   Safety Meeting. Representatives from Louisiana State Police, Weights & Standards and FMCSA have been invited to discuss enforcement initiatives and provide regulatory updates.

   Inspection. Following our breakfast meeting, we will go to the Toomey scales to perform courtesy vehicle inspections. Please notify the LMTA office if you or someone from your company will be able to attend the breakfast meeting and courtesy inspection.

HB 591 – Truck Tire Disposal Fee Increase.  HB 591 (Bishop – Lafayette) was amended in the Senate Environment Committee to return the bill to its original form – without the proposed fee increase for medium truck tires from $5 to $7.50 each for the Department of Environmental Quality’s waste tire program.

HB 211 – Local Vehicle Registration.  Rep. Pat Connick (R-Marrero) returned HB 211 to the calendar when it came up for debate in before the full House last week.  This bill would have authorized parishes and municipalities to create local transportation “districts” who could impose and collect an annual vehicle registration fee.

SB 147 – Extends Texting Ban to Social Networking.  SB 147 by Sen. Dale Erdey (R-Livingston) prohibits any person from operating a motor vehicle upon any public road or highway while using a wireless telecommunications device to access, read, or post to a social networking site. Current law already prohibits any person operating a motor vehicle while using a wireless telecommunications device to write, send, or read a text-based communication. 

   A Senate Floor amendment to the engrossed bill will require that tests administered to driver’s license applicants will include the applicant’s knowledge of distracted driving issues.

Memorial Day Holiday Truck Restrictions.  Read this week’s LMTA Legislative Bulletin for more information on LA-DOTD holiday travel restrictions on Louisiana’s highways.

CVSA Annual Roadcheck.  The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has announced the dates for Roadcheck 2013. Roadcheck is the largest targeted enforcement program on commercial vehicles in the world, with approximately 14 trucks or buses being inspected, on average, every minute from Canada to Mexico during a 72-hour period.

FMCSA DataQ Challenge – Resource Documents.  The American Trucking Associations (ATA) recently released a couple of documents related to the Federal Motor Carrier Administration’s (FMCSA) DataQs program.  DataQs is the mechanism by which motor carriers can challenge errors in roadside inspection and crash data used by FMCSA to assign their CSA Safety Measurement System scores.

   The first is an advocacy document, developed with the assistance of the Trucking Association Executives Council that identifies shortcomings in the system and how they should be resolved.

   The second is a “best practices” document designed to help fleets improve their odds of filing successful challenges.  

California Independent Contractor Challenge.  Heavy Duty Trucking reported that two truck drivers working out of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have filed a lawsuit against a trucking company alleging they should be treated as employees, not owner-operators. The Los Angeles Times newspaper reports the case claims the drivers were denied meal breaks, overtime and lunch hours because they are wrongly classified as independent contractors. They are seeking to get class action status. Their attorneys say the case could affect as many as 400 truckers who worked for the company since 2009. 

Federal Truck Size & Weight Study – Public Session.  Reminder! USDOT is hosting a Public Input Session for the Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Limits Study (CTSW) as mandated by the last highway bill – “Map-21”.

   The CTSW Study will produce findings on highway safety and truck crash frequency and severity, pavement and bridge infrastructure service life impacts, the cost and effectiveness of enforcement and implications for the national transportation system including the modal share of freight movements that would result if Federal truck size and weight limits were to change.

   The meeting, which is free and open to the public, will be held as an in-person workshop. Webinar access is available for those unable to attend in person. Three additional Public Outreach Sessions will be held over the next year and a half.

Read this week’s LMTA Truck Talk newsletter for more information on these stories…