Blog
Keep Kids Safe: School Bus Safety Awareness
As students settle into their new school year, it’s a crucial time to remind all drivers to exercise extreme caution around school buses. National School Bus Safety Week is set for October 21-25, 2024, and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is urging drivers to slow down and stay vigilant…
Stay Safe This Winter: 16 Essential Winter Driving Tips for Truck Drivers
Winter weather can present serious challenges for truck drivers. It only takes one split second of not paying attention to find yourself in a dangerous situation. Snow, ice, and rain reduce visibility and create slippery road conditions, so brushing up on your winter driving skills is crucial to staying safe. We’ve put together 16 essential…
Enhancing Road Safety Together: The “Our Roads, Our Safety®” Campaign
Every day, millions of drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians share the roads with large trucks and buses. Ensuring everyone’s safety is a shared responsibility, and the “Our Roads, Our Safety®” campaign from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is a critical initiative designed to promote safe driving practices around these large vehicles. What is the…
Safety Starts with You. Buckle Up to Save Lives.
Every year, thousands of lives are lost in preventable accidents due to not wearing seat belts. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, there were 916 fatal crashes among truck drivers in 2022. 69.3% of these truck drivers weren’t wearing seatbelts. In 2021, it was 64%. And in…
Webinar: Best Practices DOT/FMCSA Random Drug Testing
Please join us for an educational webinar that will cover the best practices DOT/FMCSA Random Drug Testing. This webinar will give attendees a better understanding of how the FMCSA expects a random drug screening program to be managed. The webinar’s presenter, Dan McDonald, is VP of Business Development at Craig Safety and has worked in…
CVSA Announced Brake Safety Week August 25-31
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has announced Aug. 25-31 as the dates for this year’s Brake Safety Week. Brake Safety Week is a commercial motor vehicle and driver inspection and regulatory compliance enforcement initiative, a brake-safety awareness and outreach opportunity, and a brake-related inspection and violation data-collection project. Inspection and Enforcement CVSA-certified inspectors will…
All You Need to Know about Trucking Weigh Stations
As a professional truck driver, navigating weigh stations is an integral part of your journey. These checkpoints, monitored by various transportation authorities like the Department of Transportation or Department of Motor Vehicles, serve a crucial purpose in safeguarding America’s roads and infrastructure from the potential damage caused by overweight trucks, such as excessive strain on…
Rising Insurance Costs and Maintaining Compliance Records
Insurance is akin to a shield that protects businesses from financial turmoil during the unexpected. And yet, business owners across all types of industries find themselves grappling with the rising costs of insurance – particularly for the trucking industry. Several reasons have contributed to such hefty premiums, some of which include driver shortages, increased litigation…
CVSA’s International Roadcheck Is Scheduled for May 14-16
Roadcheck will prioritize two focus areas: tractor protection systems and alcohol and controlled substance possession, which will include checking the Clearinghouse to make sure the driver is Not Prohibited. There is an average of 15 vehicle inspections per minute. 2023 CVSA conducted nearly 60,000 inspections. 5.5 % resulted in driver out-of-service. CVSA’s International Roadcheck, slated…
Are Your Driver Files in Order?
The DOT has the authority to conduct a driver qualification file audit any time FMCSA safety data indicates a problem with compliance and/or safety regulations. If your company had a DOT audit today, would your Driver Qualification Files (DQ) meet the Federal requirements? The FMCSA requires that all drivers operating a vehicle with a Gross…
The Importance of the Driver’s DVIR (Daily Vehicle Inspection Report)
The safety of a driver and their vehicle is of utmost importance within the trucking industry, which is why the DVIR, or Daily Vehicle Inspection Report, currently exists. Back in the 1930s, it was created with just a few questions in mind, but today, the report is far more comprehensive, prompting the driver to inspect…
DOT Increases Fines for Regulatory Violations
On December 28, 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation increased fines for regulatory violations by just over 1%, 1.03241 to be exact. According to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, agencies must revise their civil monetary penalties every year to account for inflation. In other words, this adjustment of fines…
FMCSA New Login Procedure Effective January 1
We want to keep you up to date on the latest news from our industry. Effective January 1st, users will be required to access the FMCSA Portal with multi-factor authentication. Keep reading to learn how this change impacts you. First, you are probably wondering what multi-factor login is. You are not alone. Multifactor Authentication is…
Can You Guess the #1 Violation of Operation Safe Driver Week?
Operation Safe Driver Week is an annual event organized by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) that promotes commercial vehicle safety. This initiative identifies and addresses unsafe driving behaviors via educational and traffic enforcement strategies and engagement with law enforcement. The latter includes an increase in the number of officers and inspectors who monitor both…
Navigating the Road to Success: The Hiring Process for Truck Drivers
The world of trucking is vital to our modern economy, ensuring that goods and products reach their destinations efficiently. Behind every successful trucking operation is a team of skilled and dedicated truck drivers. If you’re considering a career in trucking or you’re a company looking to hire truck drivers, understanding the hiring process is crucial.…
CVSA Releases 2023 International Roadcheck Results
The International Roadcheck is an annual enforcement and safety inspection event organized by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA). It typically takes place over a 72-hour period and involves a coordinated effort across North America, including the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The primary objective is to identify and address potential safety violations, with the…
Summer Driving Safety Tips for Truck Drivers: Keeping the Roads Safe and Smooth
As the temperature rises and the sun shines brightly, summer brings new challenges for truck drivers on the roads. Longer daylight hours, increased traffic, and changing weather conditions require truckers to adopt specific safety measures to ensure a smooth and accident-free journey. In this blog post, we will explore essential driving safety tips for truck…
Four Surprising Things You Didn’t Know About the DOT’S FMCSA
The U.S. Department of Transportation oversees several operating administrations, one of these being the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or the FMCSA, for short. The primary objective of the FMCSA is to ensure the safety of commercial motor vehicles and their drivers. This is achieved through the establishment of various regulations, such as requirements on…
Best Practices of DOT Randoms
Conducting pre-employment drug screening is the first step to ensuring your workplace is safe and drug free. However, model drug and alcohol testing programs also employ a range of post-hire testing options to maintain a safe drug free work environment. These options include testing for Post Accident, Reasonable Suspicion and Randomized testing. Employee awareness of…
Understanding CSA Scores and FMCSA Proposed Changes
Do you really know what makes up the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) scoring methodology? If you said no, you’re in good company with some of the trucking industry’s most experienced fleet managers who find the whole business of CSA scoring data baffling. But not knowing how it works can significantly impact your company’s CSA score.…
Query Changes for Pre-Employment Requirements for Drug and Alcohol Program Violations
The DCL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse has served as a repository for drug and alcohol program violations since January 2020. Now, with three years of drug and alcohol program violation data stored in the Clearinghouse, employers are no longer required to conduct manual inquiries with previous employers of potential driver’s violations. There is one exception.…
5 Reasons You Need to go digital with your DQ Files
Employers of truck drivers face great challenges maintaining compliance with the FMCSA. The FMCSA’s rules are wide ranging and designed to keep our roadways safe. Failure to comply with the FMCSA can have catastrophic implications to the employer and the driver. Fortunately, technology has made managing compliance easier on the employer. One area of FMCSA compliance…
Roadside Blitz Results
The results for the Roadside Blitz held on June 4-6, 2019 are in and they are not great. Out of 67,072 commercial vehicles inspected in U.S. and Canada, 12,019 vehicles (17.9%) were removed from roadways due to critical violations and 2,784 drivers (4.2%) were placed out-of-service for driver-related issues. During International Roadcheck, North American Standard…
It Starts With A Plan
The first order of any business with a DOT number, should be improvement. Particularly in understanding what deficiencies, processes, or controls are missing from day-to-day operations. This requires a plan. Especially since regulatory enforcement activities are on the rise this year. We talk to people every day who are operating by the seat of their…
How to Pick the Right Compliance Safety Software
Investing in fleet management software will ultimately help your business. Making the wrong choice, however, can leave you with a fleet management platform that is cumbersome and hinders productivity. Worse yet, an incomplete fleet management solution can cost you big in violations and DOT fines. How do you know, then, what to look for in…
CSA Scores aren’t affected if crash wasn’t your fault!
Beginning in August of 2019, the FMCSA will make permanent the program that allows crashes in which the driver was “not at fault” to be listed as “not preventable” in CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) program scores. For the past two years, the Crash Preventability Demonstration Program has allowed FMCSA to gather data to examine the…
COMING SOON: CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse
On-Line database will make it difficult to conceal violations… Employers, FMCSA, State Driver Licensing Agencies, and State law enforcement will soon be able to access an online database to identify drivers who are illegally operating commercial motor vehicles due to drug and alcohol program violations. Beginning this fall, users can create an account and on…
Roadside Inspection Blitz June 4-June 6th, 2019
Over a 72 hour period between June 4th and June 6th, The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) International Roadcheck will conduct a high visibility inspection and enforcement blitz on commercial motor vehicles and drivers throughout North America. Each year, International Roadcheck places special emphasis on a category of violations. This year the focus is on…
Denver crash places focus on compliance
“It was an accident and it’s tragic.” Attorney of arrested truck driver says. We don’t know the cause behind the fiery crash in West Denver recently that killed 4 people. Bystanders thought it was due to a mechanical failure, that the 23-year-old driver lost his brakes and then control of the truck. One thing is…
How to Survive DOT Audits
If your company is subject to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR), DOT audits are part of life. They are not part of everyday life, thank you universe, but they are within the scope of being the owner/operator of a fleet.
How Streamlining Your Business Can Save You Time & Money
Save Big by Streamlining Processes Perhaps your business streamlined processes a few years ago but has outgrown current procedures. Maybe your company is in need of more advanced tracking. Or, it could be you are doing your very best to keep up manually. Everyone has a unique situation. Compliance Safety Manager has something in common…
Is Your Workplace Safe?
On January 18, 2018, Brenda Craig, President, and Founder of Craig Safety Technologies presented a webinar on Safety and Risk Reduction. You can watch the recorded version anytime on our website www.compliancesafetymanager.com
Craig Safety Technologies Launches on the Geotab Marketplace
Craig Safety Technologies (CST) announced today the launch of their trusted management software solution, Compliance Safety Manager(CSM) on the Geotab Marketplace, a go-to source for top organizations requiring GPS fleet management and vehicle tracking solutions.
Motor Carriers Can Rest Easier: ELD Violations Won’t Count Against CSA Points Until After Transition Period
News of the ELD Mandate, which becomes active across the country on December 18, is abuzz. Earlier this month, officials from the FMCSA announced at the Southern Regional Road Show that any ELD violations found at road stops before April 1 would not count against a carrier’s CSA score. If violations are found, the infraction…
Delay in 2018 Carriers Registrations Gives Carriers More Time To Prepare
If you are in the trucking business, you most likely have heard of the delay in carrier registrations caused by the FMCSA’s failure to set up a new fee schedule for the 2018 Fiscal Year. Questions such as how to obtain permits and register are likely on your mind. Here is what you need to…
2017 CVSA Brake Safety Day Violations Increase from Last Year
Results from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s 2017 Brake Safety Day were released last Tuesday. Of the 7,968 inspections conducted between the United States and Canada, 14 percent of them resulted in out-of-service statuses due to brake-related violations. This percentage is slightly higher than last year’s results from the CVSA Brake Safety Day. Last year’s…
Driver Fatigue Awareness and Staying Awake at the Wheel
According to data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drowsiness was the culprit behind at least 100,000 crashes and 1,550 deaths in the U.S. every year. The Truck Crash Causation Study (2007) led by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were at least 12,000 commercial…
Is Your Drug Testing Program Up-to-Date?
Last year the DOT lowered the percent of drivers in the consortium that must be tested for controlled substances from 50% to 25%. Testing for alcohol was left at 10%. This was based on findings that the positive drug tests were down over the last few years. This is great news for transportation and is…
How To Prepare for the ELD mandate
Commercial truck drivers and carrier managers have likely heard of a new federal rule that will take place near the close of the year: The Electronic Logging Device Mandate will be instituted December 18 and will affect many trucking companies across the nation. The ELD Mandate, set out by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration,…
How Top Fleets Manage High-Risk Drivers
Behind every fleet that has a proven record in safety, lie sound and effective policies that are rich with carefully planned strategies and processes. But the details of a robust safety policy aren’t developed overnight. Much of what makes an effective safety policy so great is the amount of consideration and planning that goes into…
Free Inspection During August’s Brake Safety Month
Do you, like many vehicle owners, wait for your brakes to start grinding or the brake pedal to feel “soft” before heading to an automotive service shop for a “brake job?” There’s no better time to check the condition of your vehicle’s complete braking system than during August, MAP Brake Safety Awareness Month. Throughout this…
6 states combine for anti-speeding effort this weekend
If you’re going to or driving through these states this weekend, make sure to remove the lead from your right foot: Arkansas Kansas Missouri Iowa Nebraska Oklahoma Cops in these states are part of, “Obey the sign or pay the fine,” a concerted effort aimed at speed limit violators from Friday, July 21, to Sunday,…
Supreme Court rejects ELD appeal, ending OOIDA’s challenge options
In a victory for the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Supreme Court has said it will not hear a lawsuit challenging a DOT rule requiring truck operators to use electronic logging devices to track hours of service. The Supreme Court’s June 12 decision leaves in place a lower court ruling upholding the mandate and…
10 Things Truck Drivers Do That Get Them Pulled Over
10 Things Truck Drivers Do That Get Them Pulled Over by Mark Abrahamson In my experience as a state patrol sergeant, the following are driving behaviors or situations that “stood out” from the norm. Not every violation mentioned below necessarily results in a citation but it will, at a minimum, result in a warning and…
Should You Outsource Your Fleet Management
For many small to mid-sized fleets, the burden of day-to-day operations looms large. Budgets are tight, your leadership team is likely wearing many hats and the fleet management expense can seem overwhelming. At this stage, it’s not uncommon that you have investigated the possibility of outsourcing your fleet management entirely. In fact, small business fleets…
Refer a Friend, Save on CSM
At Craig Safety Technologies, we consider every customer a part of our team. That’s why we’re offering 50% off of your subscription—for any Compliance Safety Manager subscription plan. How does it work? The details are simple: Refer Compliance Safety Manager to one of your many colleagues in the Fleet management world If that referral joins…
Two weeks left to prepare for CVSA’s Roadcheck
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s annual International Roadcheck inspection spree will be held in two weeks, June 6-8, across North America. CVSA plans the 72-hour event each summer to “conduct compliance, enforcement and educational initiatives.” Inspectors will primarily be conducting CVSA Level I inspections, the most thorough inspection, throughout the three-day event. While cargo securement is…
New FMCSA Investigative Techniques
The FMCSA recently announced that they are changing their process for performing compliance reviews. Specifically they referred to expanded interviews with members within the organization. Truth is – they have been doing this for a while, but recently completed all of the training and therefore made the announcement. Does this mean that compliance reviews have…
CSA Warning Letters: Tips to Know
When it comes to informing a motor carrier that they have violated FMCSA regulations warning letters are often the first step in the intervention process. The FMCSA sends warning letters to motor carriers whose safety performance data indicates they are not complying with applicable regulations. Below are some tips about warning letters that provides some…
March is National Nutrition Month
The theme of this year’s National Nutrition Month is “”Put Your Best Fork Forward”. The campaign, sponsored by the American Dietetic Association, reminds us: Eating right doesn’t have to be complicated. Use www.mypyramid.gov to develop a personalized plan for lifelong health. The best nutrition advice is based on science. Before adopting any changes to your…
FMCSA withdrawing Safety Fitness Determination will propose new NPR
Today, the rule. The FMCSA previously announced that instead of moving to a final rule, FMCSA will publish a notice in their Federal Register withdrawing their Safety Fitness Determination proposed a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking would be the next step in the process. This ruling was previously introduced in early 2016 and was soon…
Grim 2016 National Stat: Trench collapse fatalities doubled
Ohio worker’s death highlights grim 2016 national stat:trench collapse fatalities have more than doubledOSHA cites 33-year-old man’s employer for willful, serious safety violations WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, Ohio – OSHA cited an Ohio company after a 33-year-old employee was crushed to death in June 2016 as he was digging soil out of the 12-foot trench in Washington…
OSHA’s Top 10 Violations for 2016
OSHA recently announced its top ten most frequently cited safety violations for workplace safety with its top category including almost 7,000 violations. Do you know how to avoid these common pitfalls when it comes to your employees’ health and safety? We share ten tips to avoid these top ten OSHA violations. 1. Fall Protection, 6,929…
New URS Regulations Ahead
This article, New URS Regulations Ahead, is from the “Steal our Ideas” page at hni Risk Advisors. If you are not familiar please check out the site. They do a great job of compiling and sharing the information we need to know. Craig Safety Technologies On December 12, 2015 the Unified Registration System (URS) began…
Drowsy Driving Prevention Week®: November 6- 13, 2016
Here is a reminder from the National Sleep Foundation that “Drowsy Driving Prevention Week®”, November 6th through 13th is coming up. It is a great time to remind drivers about signs and what to do when they are driving. Help them recognize signs they are drowsy and give clear instruction for what they need to…
Preventing driver injuries in Fall and Winter
Slip/Trip and Fall injuries are the most common type of injury for drivers. Most of them occur during the winter months. Each year, thousands of professional drivers are seriously injured due to not paying attention in winter conditions. Working in the ice and snow requires your full attention and awareness.