FMCSA Archives - Jeremy W. Richter

Legal Consequences of Non-Compliance with Hours of Service Regulations

Jun 29, 2017

I recently wrote a series of posts about common motor carrier compliance problems, the first of which was hours of service compliance. The purpose of this post is to consider the legal consequences that arise from a commercial driver’s non-compliance with hours of service regulations. What’s troublesome for me is not when a driver’s logsheet is non-compliant on its face. In fact, that’s a very easy problem to confront during litigation. At that point, you can call your client and say, “Hey, our driver has over his driving limit when the accident happened. The plaintiff is going to try to argue that...

Legal Consequences of a Non-English Speaking Truck Driver

Jan 27, 2017

I recently wrote about the FMCSA regulations governing the hiring of non-English speaking drivers – in short, a motor carrier shouldn’t hire a non-English speaking truck driver. The Department of Transportation and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration require that truck drivers be able to read and speak English well enough to communicate with the general public, to understand road signs and signals that are in English, to respond to law enforcement and DOT officials, and to fill out paperwork. See 49 C.F.R. § 391.11(b)(2). But there are truck drivers out on the roads who don’t speak or understand English well enough...

Common FMCSA Compliance Problems: Non-English Speaking Drivers

Jan 19, 2017

While the FMCSA requires that a commercial drivers are able to read and speak the English language, studies show that motor carriers commonly violate this regulation.

Common FMCSA Compliance Problems: Alcohol & Drug Screens

Jan 12, 2017

The FMCSA requires motor carriers to submit drivers to drug and alcohol screens under certain circumstances, a common area on non-compliance in the trucking industry.

DOT Medical Examinations, Systematic Problems and Scams

Jan 6, 2017

Consider this look at systematic problems and scams associated with DOT medical examinations to be the case study supporting yesterday’s post identifying the compliance problems associated with DOT medical examiner’s certificates and reports. I recently had a case in which my truck driver client had been issued a Medical Examiner’s Certificate after having submitted to DOT medical examinations. The medical examiner was a nurse practitioner. She appeared to have performed a thorough and comprehensive physical of my truck driver. But there were a few problems. The nurse practitioner had re-certified the driver when his heart condition and blood pressure results should...

Common FMCSA Compliance Problems: Medical Examiner’s Certificates & Reports

Jan 5, 2017

The FMCSA requires commercial drivers to be physically qualified to operate a commercial vehicle, a regulation with which motor carriers and drivers commonly struggle to comply.

Common FMCSA Compliance Problems: Hours of Service

Dec 29, 2016

The FMCSA requires commercial drivers and motor carriers to comply with hours of service regulations that control how long and how often a driver can operate a commercial vehicle.

FMCSA’s Mission, and the Purposes of SAFER, CSA, and SMS

Dec 19, 2016

The FMCSA operates to makes the roadways safer (with regulations and programs like CSA) and makes safety information about motor carriers available to the public via various websites like SAFER and SMS.

2017 FMCSA Random Controlled Substance Testing Rate

Dec 16, 2016

On December 13, 2016, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced the rate at which motor carriers will be required to administer random controlled substance testing on commercial drivers for 2017. What is the random controlled substance testing rate? Under 49 C.F.R. § 382.305, motor carriers are required annually to administer random controlled substance testing on a certain minimum percentage of its average number of driver positions. For 2017, the FMCSA is keeping the random testing rate at 25% for controlled substances, just as it was in 2016. Per the statute, the requisite testing percentage is determined by the...

A Motor Carrier Doesn’t Violate the ADA by Classifying Drivers for Sleep Apnea Testing

Dec 12, 2016

Robert J. Parker v. Crete Carrier Corp.: The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a motor carrier does not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act by establishing of class for commercial drivers to undergo medical examination, inclusive of a sleep study, for determining whether a driver suffers from obstructive sleep apnea. Crete Carrier Corporation requires its drivers who have body mass indexes (BMIs) of 35 or greater to undergo medical examinations to determine whether the drivers suffer from obstructive sleep apnea. Pursuant to that policy, Crete instructed its driver Robert Parker to get such a medical examination, and...

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