John G Smith
John G. Smith is Newcom Media's vice-president - editorial, and the editorial director of its trucking publications -- including Today's Trucking, trucknews.com, and Transport Routier. The award-winning journalist has covered the trucking industry since 1995.
CTEA commits to growing voice
WINDSOR, Ont. – Complying with all the rules that apply to producing a vehicle is no small task, and this even holds true for the businesses which build on the work of Original Equipment Manufacturers. Attach something like a dump body or snow plow, and you’re expected to identify and certify the final product with a Canada Safety Mark. Each change has to meet applicable standards, and those who do the work must be able to issue recalls and respond to compliance audits, and familiarize themselves with the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations, and Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Put another way, reaching for a welder or torque wrench is just part of the job. The Canadian Transportation Equipment Association (CTEA) has long been a resource to help comply with the underlying rules. But it’s also been quietly building on that mandate – establishing a stronger voice for businesses which perform the tasks.
Small business ELD exemption ‘not likely’, analysts say
BLOOMINGTON, IN – The rollout of mandated Electronic Logging Devices (ELD) continues in the U.S. And while some trucking operations have secured temporary waivers, analysts at FTR Intel believe a bid to exempt small carriers outright is unlikely to succeed. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) has asked regulators to exempt small businesses making less than US $27.5 million in revenue, that don’t have an unsatisfactory safety rating, and have a safe record with no attributable at-fault crashes. It would last five years. An exemption like that – already rejected during the regulatory review process – would essentially gut the mandate for ELDs, and has been opposed by the American Trucking Associations and safety advocacy groups. Eighty-one percent of over-the-road trucking companies, and 93% of one-truck operators among them, have had no DOT-recordable crashes in the past two years, FTR notes.
Executive Enforcer: In conversation with CVSA’s Collin Mooney
GREENBELT, Md. -- The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has an international focus, finding common ground for roadside inspection practices across North America. But these days the alliance also has a decidedly Canadian face in Collin Mooney. Today’s Trucking caught up with Mooney to discuss ...
