News

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is preparing to release a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to reduce air pollution from highway heavy-duty vehicles and engines, including ozone, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases. This proposal would change the heavy-duty emission control program to further reduce the air quality impacts of heavy-duty engines across a range of operating conditions and over a longer period of the operational life of heavy-duty engines. In addition, this proposal would make targeted updates to the existing Heavy-Duty Greenhouse Gas Emissions Phase 2 program, proposing that further GHG reductions in the Model Year 2027 timeframe are appropriate considering lead time, costs, and other factors. The notice also includes limited amendments to the regulations that implement air pollutant emission standards for other sectors (e.g., light-duty vehicles, marine diesel engines, locomotives, various types of nonroad engines, vehicles, and equipment).

As soon as this NPRM is published in the Federal Register a link will be sent to you.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is withdrawing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) allowing States to permit third-party skills test examiners to administer the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) skills test to applicants to whom the examiner has also provided skills training, a practice now prohibited under FMCSA regulations. FMCSA decided to withdraw the NPRM after reviewing comments received following publication of the NPRM. The NPRM was published July 9, 2019 and is withdrawn as of March 9, 2022. The withdrawal notice can be found here: 2022-04968.pdf.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has withdrawn a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would have allowed driver applicants to take the commercial driver’s license (CDL) general and specialized knowledge tests in a State other than the applicant’s State of domicile. The NPRM also proposed that the applicant’s State of domicile would have been required to accept knowledge test results. FMCSA is withdrawing the Notice after reviewing comments received following the publication of the NPRM. The NPRM was published on July 29, 2019 and is withdrawn as of March 9, 2022. The withdrawal notice can be found here: 2022-04966.pdf.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a Final Rule amending its regulations to eliminate the requirement that drivers operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce prepare and submit a list of their convictions for traffic violations to their employers annually.

The agency has determined that this requirement was largely duplicative of the separate rule requiring each motor carrier to annually to obtain the motor vehicle record (MVR) for each driver it employs from every State in which the driver holds or has held a CMV operator’s license or permit in the past year.

To ensure motor carriers are aware of traffic convictions for a driver who is licensed by a foreign authority rather than by a State, the Agency amends the rule to provide that motor carriers must make an annual inquiry to each driver’s licensing authority where a driver holds or has held a CMV operator’s license or permit. This final rule is effective May 9, 2022 and the full text can be found here:  2022-04930.pdf.

Visit https://nasdpts.org/stop-arm-violations/#instructions to find out how you and your state can help!

“Joe will be your primary contact with PTSI going forward”

Syracuse, NY, March 7, 2022. Ms. Nikki Hughes, President of the PTSI Board of Directors announced today that Joseph LaMarca has been selected as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the company. An experienced school transportation director and business leader, Joe succeeded Kathy Furneaux and assumed all PTSI management responsibilities on January 18, 2022. After a long and rewarding career as Executive Director, Kathy Furneaux will take a part-time consulting role with PTSI and enjoy her well-deserved retirement in the years to come.

Joe’s school transportation career started in 1985 as a driver for Golden Arrow Bus Service. After six months, he was promoted to a management trainee, and over the next seven years he experienced every operational level within the transportation department which set the foundation for his career. In 1993 he was promoted to Director of Transportation where he served three New York State school districts over his 36-year career.

As CEO of PTSI Joe will manage internal and external operations and maintain customer service to achieve maximum customer satisfaction, and he will oversee the day-to-day operations with an emphasis on fiscal responsibility.

“Joe is a take charge kind of person that will move the organization in the right direction, at the right time” said Jaime Gallego, Treasurer for PTSI. All PTSI Board Members agree, “Joe will be a good fit for the company” said Kanoe Cockett, Secretary for PTSI.

PTSI is committed to delivering the highest quality training materials and support to allow clients to exceed their respective safety missions. We are a leading provider of school transportation training resources to public and private sector organizations throughout North America.

PTSI
10 Adler Drive, Suite 102
East Syracuse, NY 13057
(800) 836-2210

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a Final Rule today amending the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to increase the area on the interior of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) windshields where certain vehicle safety technology devices may be mounted. In addition, FMCSA adds items to the definition of vehicle safety technology. This final rule is effective as of May 6, 2022 and may be found here: 2022-03996.pdf.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued an Commercial Driver’s License Skills Testing exemption at the request of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) for the State Drivers Licensing Agencies (SDLAs) in Maryland, New Hampshire and Virginia to allow the three States to continue using revised Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) pre-trip vehicle inspection and revised control skills test procedures following the completion of field tests conducted under a waiver granted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). AAMVA believes that the requested exemption would enable these States to continue operating under the pilot model without the burden of reverting to the current CDL test model generating costs and delays associated with the reconfiguration of testing locations and retraining of CDL test examiners. FMCSA determined that the exemption, subject to the terms and conditions imposed, will achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be achieved absent such exemption. The exemption is effective February 22, 2022 and expires on February 22, 2027.

The full notice can be found here: 2022-04255.pdf (govinfo.gov).

UPDATE: On Monday, February 28th, TSA confirmed that we should be following the CDC for school bus transportation and not the TSA. You will recall there has been an overlap between the CDC and TSA on this issue as the TSA Security Directive covers airports, airplanes, buses, bus terminals, train stations, trains, and other forms of transportation. That overlap is no longer our concern.

This afternoon the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued updated masking guidelines. In general, in areas were COVID is posing a low or medium threat to hospitals, people can stop wearing masks.

With respect to masking on school buses, please note the following from the CDC: Effective February 25, 2022, CDC is exercising its enforcement discretion to not require that people wear masks on buses or vans operated by public or private school systems, including early care and education/child care programs. CDC is making this change to align with updated guidance that no longer recommends universal indoor mask wearing in K-12 and early education settings in areas with a low or medium COVID-19 Community Level.

To read the entire updated masking statement from the CDC, please go here: https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/masks/mask-travel-guidance.html

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued revised guidance on the use of the term “medical treatment” in the reporting of accidents. The revised guidance explains that an x-ray examination is a diagnostic procedure and should no longer be considered ‘‘medical treatment’’ in determining whether a crash should be included on a motor carrier’s accident register. This guidance is applicable as of February 25, 2022 and expires February 25, 2027.

The guidance may be found here: 2022-03997.pdf (www.govinfo.gov).