Out With the Old and In With the New: California Construction Trucking Association (CCTA)

After 70 years, CDTOA has changed its name to the CA. Construction Trucking Association (CCTA), which will allow the association to expand its valuable resources to other groups in the transportation industry. Due to the name change, CCTA will be able to cover several areas in our industry that have not had representation in the past. I’m sure that this change will further serve to strengthen the construction industry.

If you have one truck or a fleet of trucks and you do not belong to a trucking association, you need to stop and take the time and fill out the CCTA membership investment application. Remember, strength is in numbers.

I have said this in the past to many of you: If you are a contractor and belong to a construction association, your association is there to assist you with all of your construction needs. The same rule applies if you are operating a trucking company and belong to a trucking association. If you are a contractor and own trucks you may want to consider joining both types of associations. Most know that CCTA dues are a bargain.

Today, you need to ensure that you are getting all the information that’s needed to make your business as strong as it can be in these very challenging times. Your association(s) can assist you with many things as well as provide a wide range of information, support, and services to help you comply with federal, state, and local regulations—regulations that never seem to stop coming.

Caltrans and CHP at Odds With the Motorsport World (NHRA and NASCAR)

Several weeks ago, the NHRA Racing teams were on their way to Pomona for the NHRA Winter Nationals when they were detained by the California Highway Patrol (CHP), who had been waiting for these trucks and trailers to arrive. And NHRA thought its only challenge was going to be the ¼-mile Pomona race track.

This was not a coincidence. The CHP was out in full force in a carefully planned and executed attempt to put the NHRA trucks and trailers out of service. The CHP’s issue is that the NHRA transport vehicles (yes, the fancy million dollar trucks and trailers they pull with the beautiful paint jobs) are over length by 3 or more feet. Over the years, these vehicles have been lengthened to meet the race car owners’ needs while on the road and at the track. The NHRA, NASCAR, and many racing and motorcycle teams have lengthened their transport vehicles to avoid adding one more truck to the road, in the hope of being environmentally and economically more proactive.

This was not the first time these vehicles have been in California, but it could be their last time if there is not a quick resolution to this issue. In the past, the CHP has given the motorsport industry a pass to travel to the racetracks, an act known as “Withholding Enforcement” which was blessed by then-Governor Schwarzenegger. When Commissioner Mike Brown became the top cop, he made it a policy that “Withholding Enforcement” was no longer going to be available for any reason or anyone.

You may be thinking, “This is interesting, but what does it have to do with our industry?” The hundreds of millions of dollars that the racing industry brings to California every year translate into money for public and private development, which means work for our industry. California seems to forget that it finds it difficult to make payroll at times and that it can ill afford losing $500 million to $1 billion of revenue that the NASCAR and NHRA bring to our state annually.
In addition to the loss of money that would have translated into potential jobs for our industry, it is troubling that the CHP and the State Department of Transportation (Caltrans) preferred a “gotcha” scenario for NASCAR and NHRA rather doing the right thing, which would have been to sit down at the table with all the players and find a resolution that works for everyone. The CHP and Caltrans could easily adopt the same attitude towards our industry on an enforcement issue.

In the short-term, the sting operation directed at the motorsport industry was costly and made everyone’s lives very inconvenient. In order for the NHRA’s transports to even be released to continue to travel to Pomona, the NHRA had to have the vehicles transported out on other California-legal low-bed vehicles. The cars were off-loaded and the trailer was then loaded onto a low-bed, except once the trailer was loaded on, it was discovered that the trailer was too heavy and then it had to be unloaded until it could make legal weight. The additional cost of this was over $18,000 per team. In the long-term, California may lose millions if NASCAR and NHRA make good on their promises to leave California permanently. This issue is far from over, and I will keep you posted.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Has Two New Rulings

Effective January 3, 2012, the FMCSA has a new rule which deals with commercial truck drivers and bus drivers using handheld cellular telephones while operating a vehicle. It is now illegal and if caught, drivers will face civil penalties up to $2,750 per violation.

Companies that permit this type of behavior will also face a maximum penalty of $11,000. However, the real risk is not getting caught using a cellular telephone but having an accident. According to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, the risk of accident while using a cellular telephone when driving is equal to driving while legally intoxicated. Many are suspicious of studies like these and, in fact, some believe the study was referring to the actual texting and physically dialing a phone as being dangerous, not just talking on it.

Fleets can use applications that automatically lock down mobile devices when they detect motion. But the real challenge facing our members will be to prevent drivers from using personal cell phones while driving company vehicles.

The law doesn’t ban the use of hands-free devices such as Bluetooth headsets or those that allow the driver to answer a call with the push of a single button, but do not require the driver to hold the device.  The law applies to bus drivers, too.

The FMCSA also has the new Hours of Service (HOS) Rule that reduces the hours of service for “interstate” CMV drivers. This rule, which will take effect February 27, 2012, will reduce the maximum hours a driver can work within a week by 12 hours. Under the old HOS Rule, a driver could work 82 hours within a 7-day period. The new HOS Rule reduces this to 70 hours within a 7-day period.

Caltrans Revisits the Issue Regarding Using a Detachable Towing Unit Mounted on a Tractor Chassis

At our last California Transportation Permits Advisory Council meeting held on October 18, 2011, we discussed the significant issues that center on the State of California Department of Transportation’s (Caltrans’) definition of “single use” and what it considers minor revisions to existing policy. While the Caltrans representatives understand the potential financial impact to our industry, they were adamant that it would allow no flexibility when it came to Caltrans’ definition of “single use.” Additionally, Caltrans and the industry representatives had a difference of opinion as to what constituted minor revisions and what would be considered substantial changes to existing policy.

Caltrans first expressed its disapproval of this change based on the following justification:

“Based on our review, the subject equipment is a Detachable Towing Unit (DTU) mounted on a tractor chassis. This tractor is also equipped with a fifth wheel which is not necessary for tow, therefore it is considered primarily as a tractor and secondarily as a tow truck. The detachable towing unit is intentionally designed to allow the towing equipment to be easily removed from any truck tractor in a matter of minutes. Thus, the truck can be multifunctional for either towing or pulling trailers. Since tow trucks are specially built vehicles used exclusively in the business of transporting vehicles, this dual function vehicle does not qualify under our program when fitted with the DTU. Please note that the equipment may qualify to function as a legal tow truck.”

This discussion drew the interest of several members who had never considered turning one of their power units into a tow truck in order to retrieve their own trucks that had broken down. Having the ability to do this would save our members money because, while they would still have to pay to repair the vehicle, they would not incur a tow charge. Over time, these tow charges add up and impact our members’ bottom lines. Even when Caltrans realized the economic impact to our members, Caltrans did not back down from its position.

Then only three days later on October 21st, Caltrans reconsidered its position on using a DTU mounted on a tractor chassis and issued a carrier member its Green Weight Annual Transportation Permit, which had been in question due to this issue. This annual transportation permit is only good for operation within a 100-mile radius of the carrier’s facility. Caltrans reconsidered and allowed weights for the subject permit as per Special Conditions for Tow Trucks: For additional information, please see the website listed here: www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/permits/pdf_documents/accomp/sctowt.pdf

This additional axle weight is authorized for a disabled vehicle while under tow. The authorization is not intended to relieve the owner-operator of the disabled vehicle from Division 15, Chapter 5 of the California Vehicle Code which deals with “vehicle weight”.
We want to thank Caltrans for their reconsideration on this issue that will benefit our industry.

Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Make Sure Your IIPP is Updated

Are you prepared for OSHA if you have an accident on a jobsite? We recently had a member who was involved in a jobsite accident. It appeared the member had everything in order on the project. However, red flags were raised when OSHA started reviewing our member’s compliance with OSHA requirements, beginning with having a written and updated Illness & Injury Prevention Program (IIPP), employee safety training, and adequate compliance documentation. OSHA cited our member and found him to be in violation of OSHA rules and regulations. Just more “gotcha” government regulations to be wary of.
I have since talked to other small trucking companies and found that this is an issue where we need to raise awareness. If you need help in writing or updating your IIPP or another element of your OSHA compliance, please give me a call. For more information, please visit www.dir.ca.gov/occupational_safety.html.

Remember, one call to us can save you from exorbitant fines, countless hours of dealing with OSHA investigators, and heartache.

City of Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services (LA-BSS)

We received notification of the closure two days before BSS shut down its permitting offices for a week for the holidays. The closure of the permitting office was in response to the City’s ongoing fiscal problems. While we understand the reason for the closure, the lack of professional courtesy displayed by BSS to our industry was startling. It is our understanding that BSS knew about this closure weeks or possibly even months before it actually occurred. BSS could have worked with industry to lessen the impact of the office closure.  Instead, BSS chose to give our industry almost no notice, causing our members job delays and loss of revenue and increased costs since they did not have adequate time to make alternate arrangements.

City of Mountain View

The City of Mountain View was requiring industry to obtain local city transportation permits when making a pick-up or delivery using Highway 85, which requires a Caltrans permit. So, if you were turning off of Highway 85 into a jobsite or out of a jobsite onto Highway 85 and did not use any city street, you were still required to obtain a local transportation permit from Mountain View. On our industry’s behalf, we requested the City of Mountain View to review this issue. The Mountain View Public Works Department reviewed the situation and responded that it would no longer require a City of Mountain View Transportation Permit when exiting or entering Highway 85 onto a project directly from the highway. However, if you find that the word has not yet reached the permit writers, please let us know.

Greg Dineen
Greg Dineen and Associates
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