01-1-2023 | Issue 1

January 2 - Holiday, TTA Office Closed

January 6 - Deadline for Nominations for the 2023 – 2024 Tennessee’s Road Team

January 18 & 19 - NATMI Safety and DOT Compliance

January 20 - Road Team Selection

More Events

Darlene Crabtree, VP of Safety, I.T. & Training

Lipsey Trucking LLC

5600 Brainerd Road, Suite E-2

Chattanooga, TN 37421

Phone: (423) 475-6468

Email: [email protected]

www.lipseytrucking.com

Kelley Walkup, President & CEO

Conversion Interactive Agency

5210 Maryland Way, #301

Brentwood, TN 37027

Phone: (800) 264-2690 (1301)

Email: [email protected]

www.conversionia.com

Jason Higginbotham

Ozark Motor Lines, Inc.

Welcome to yet another year fellow TTA members!

As we head into the start of the New Year, I’ll keep this message brief as I’m sure we’re shaking off the Holidays!

In my October Newsletter I mentioned that The Governor was beginning to explore implementing tolls in Tennessee. Unfortunately, the Governor announced his intention last month to ask the General Assembly to authorize a tolling study this year. Now more than ever, your Association is focused on representing and protecting its members in Nashville but we need your help. The Tennessee Trucking Association PAC needs your participation to help send a message in Nashville and the greater participation we can show as an industry, the stronger our message will be!

Please, please consider donating just $250 to support the PAC. You can even use corporate funds in Tennessee! Check with Donna England or Dale Allen for more information.

The Association will be holding a NATMI training at the office January 18 and 19^th. Additionally, on the 20^th, the Foundation will be selecting the 2023 Road Team Captains.

See all of you next month!

Eddie Lindsey & Todd Darnell Helps With Wreaths Across America's Mission to Remember, Honor and Teach

On December 17, 2022 TTF Road Team Captains, Eddie Lindsey & Todd Darnell, with Big G Express, participated in bringing wreaths to Arlington for Wreaths Across America. This coordinated wreath-laying ceremony is held at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at more than 3,400 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea and abroad with the mission to remember, honor and teach. 

If you're interested in joining or learning more about this organization visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.  

Photo credit: Jessica Acree

News Release

Contact: Nicole Leandro, Director of Communications, CVSA

Canada's ELD Progressive Enforcement Period Changes Today

Washington, D.C. (Jan. 1, 2023) – Effective Jan. 1, 2023, inspectors and roadside enforcement personnel in Canadian provinces and territories may begin documenting electronic logging device (ELD) violations and issuing citations to commercial motor vehicle drivers operating vehicles without a Canadian-compliant ELD.

Each Canadian province and territory has jurisdictional regulations for applying the ELD rule to its regulated carriers. Therefore, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance recommends that drivers and motor carriers check with each Canadian province and/or territory they may travel in or through to verify each jurisdiction’s requirements.

The ELD mandate does not change any of Canada’s underlying hours-of-service requirements.

View Transport Canada’s list of approved certified devices.

View more information regarding the Canadian ELD mandate, including exemptions, links to each province and territory, the benefits of ELDs and much more.

Pre-employment Investigations for Drug and Alcohol Program Violations 

Beginning January 6, 2023, a pre-employment Clearinghouse query will satisfy the requirement to investigate a prospective driver's previous drug and alcohol program violations, as established by 49 CFR 391.23(e). 

Employers of CDL drivers are required to conduct background investigations before hiring a driver. This process includes determining if the driver has violated the drug and alcohol regulations of any Department of Transportation (DOT) mode within the past three years (see 49 CFR 391.23(e)). Currently, this requires employers or their designated consortia/third-party administrators (C/TPAs) to conduct both electronic queries in the Clearinghouse and manual inquiries with previous employers to meet the three-year time frame.

Beginning January 6, 2023, when three years of violation data is stored in the Clearinghouse, prospective employers must not conduct manual inquiries. In accordance with §§ 382.413(b) and 391.23(e)(4), beginning January 6, 2023, prospective employers must conduct a pre-employment query of the Clearinghouse, as set forth in § 382.701(a), to comply with the inquiry requirement in § 391.23(e) as it pertains to FMCSA-regulated employers.

NOTE: The Clearinghouse contains only information about drivers employed by FMCSA-regulated employers. If a prospective employee was employed by an employer regulated by a DOT agency other than FMCSA (such as the Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Transit Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, etc.) during the three-year time frame, prospective employers will still be required to directly request drug and alcohol violation information from those DOT-regulated employers in accordance with 391.23(e)(4)(ii), since this information is not reported to the Clearinghouse.

Annual query requirements have not changed.

Employers of CDL drivers must conduct a query in the Clearinghouse at least once a year for each CDL driver they employ (see § 382.701(b)). This annual query requirement applies on a rolling 12-month basis, which means that if you conducted your last annual queries in December 2021, it is time to conduct the next round of annual queries.



Employers must obtain general consent from CDL drivers they employ before conducting limited queries in the Clearinghouse to view these drivers’ information (you can download a sample limited query consent form).

Are you up-to-date on your annual queries?

Log in to the Clearinghouse and visit your Query History page to see if your annual queries are due. For instructions on conducting annual queries, download the How to Conduct a Limited Query job aid.

BRRR…It’s Winter again

Cold winter weather is here again and truck drivers across Tennessee will be making important adjustments to their driving habits and big rigs. To stay safe during winter months, drivers should keep in mind how weather conditions and other roadway hazards might affect your safety. Commercial trucks are already at greater risk for an accident, and cold weather may increase that risk even more.

Knowing how to prepare for a winter trip, and how to handle icy conditions, will keep you and your truck safe through the coldest months of the year. When driving in winter weather or colder climates, you must always be prepared for whatever you may encounter and take these items along.

Ø Warm clothing (layers of clothing, heavy coat, extra gloves, rain gear)

Ø Extra flashlight or batteries

Ø Non-perishable food and water

Ø A bag of sand or salt, extra windshield washer fluid, and antifreeze

Ø A windshield scraper

Ø Jumper cables

Ø Cell phone charger

Ø Tire chains

Many winter accidents occur because of driving to fast for road conditions. A slower speed gives you additional time to react if something occurs. Brake and accelerate lightly! Don’t do anything forcefully in bad weather. If your truck is equipped with ABS brakes, they will prevent the wheels from locking, and allow you to maintain control. If your truck is not equipped, when you need to slow down in slippery conditions, try pumping your brakes as needed to help avoid spinning out of control. 

Black ice is a dangerous roadway condition for truckers as well as other drivers you share the road with. Never assume just because the sun is out that the road is just wet. Always have current information on weather and road conditions in the area you are traveling, including information about ice build-up. Black ice may be hard to spot, so when the temperature gets close to freezing, look for small clues:

Ø Ice build-up on a truck’s mirror arms, antennas, or top corners of the windshield

Ø The spray from tires on vehicles in front of you will stop

Use extra caution when approaching bridges. Elevated structures, such as bridges and highway overpasses usually freeze first, and many are not treated with ice / snow-melt materials (sand, salt) like the rest of the roadway. Black ice can make driving conditions dangerous!!

Always give yourself plenty of safe space. Allow for more room between yourself and other vehicles. You should always have enough space and time to move out of harm’s way and bring the vehicle to a safe stop. When something goes wrong, stay in your vehicle if stranded or stuck. 

REMEMBER: When conditions get bad, use your best judgment, and get off the road. A good driver will avoid traveling when the weather is bad and is always professional when notifying the dispatcher why he or she is shutting down. 

Marty Pollock, Director of Safety

Tennessee Trucking Association

2023-2024 Road Team Nomination

REMINDER to submit your nominations soon. Nominations for Tennessee’s Road Team must be received by Friday, January 6, 2023. Interviews and Selection will be held Friday, January 20, 2023.

Click here to download a nomination form and submit by the 1/6/2023 deadline

If you would like to get an event on the 2023 schedule, please contact

the TTA Office at (615) 777-2882.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Matt Humphrey, TCX, Inc.

is the $15,000 Cash Raffle Winner

William Reed, Skyline Logistics

is the $5,000 Cash Raffle Winner 

Chris Mills, Hunter Oil

is the $3,500 Cash Raffle Winner 

The drawing was held Thursday, December 15th at the TTA office in Nashville. Tennessee Highway Patrol Sgt. Tommy Cooper drew the winning tickets for the Foundation!  

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2022 Foundation Cash Raffle!

Special Thanks to Titan Transfer, Inc., Goggin Warehousing, LLC & TCW Inc.

Dave Edwards with S&E Productions for recording the above video.