The Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) Website now features the Unsafe Driving Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) factsheet. This new factsheet is one in a series of seven that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released on January 17, 2012 to better educate motor carriers, commercial motor vehicle drivers, and other industry stakeholders on CSA's seven safety categories. Motor carriers and drivers can access this factsheet, as well as the other BASIC factsheets, on the Resources page

FMCSA and PHMSA are amending the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) and the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) to restrict the use of hand-held mobile telephones by drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). This rulemaking will improve safety on the Nation’s highways by reducing the prevalence of distracted driving-related crashes, fatalities, and injuries involving drivers of CMVs. The Agencies also amend their regulations to implement new driver disqualification sanctions for drivers of CMVs who fail to comply with this Federal restriction and new driver disqualification sanctions for commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders who have multiple convictions for violating a State or local law or ordinance on motor vehicle traffic control that restricts the use of hand-held mobile telephones. Additionally, motor carriers are prohibited from requiring or allowing drivers of CMVs to use hand-held mobile telephones.

On November 15, 2011, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published a  final rule that extends the requirement that drivers maintain a copy of their medical certificate on their person.  The requirement was scheduled to expire on January 30, 2012, but has been extended until January 30, 2014. The January 2012 date was originally chosen because on that date drivers are also required to submit a copy of their medical certification to their State Licensing Agency, which should then incorporate the medical information into the Commercial Driver Licensing Information System (CDLIS) database used by licensing and enforcement officials. Unfortunately, several State licensing agencies will not be ready to transmit that information to CDLIS in time. Therefore, drivers will need three copies of their medical certifications now: one on their person, one in their employer motor carrier's driver qualification file, and one deposited at the State licensing agency. Intrastate and exempted intracity zone drivers are not required to provide medical certificate information unless State law requires them to do so. Source:ATA Truckline

The FMCSA has approved two Mexican carriers to begin a long-haul trucking pilot program between the United States and Mexico. The pilot program complies with North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) long-haul trucking requirements. The long-haul trucking program will allow Mexican carriers that meet U.S. transportation standards to transport goods beyond the U.S.-Mexico border. Prior to the pilot program, Mexican trucks were not allowed beyond the border due to transportation safety concerns, which led to a NAFTA trucking dispute. For a list of the approved carriers in the long-haul trucking program, visit the FMCSA website at

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/intl-programs/trucking/Trucking-Program.aspx. Source: Texas Farm Bureau