Safety : Articles

Driver requirements will be the emphasis of the 2020 International Roadcheck, hosted annually by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA). This year's Roadcheck is scheduled to take place May 5-7, a month earlier than its traditional date....

Idealease employees participated in the Susan G. Komen More Than Pink Walk on October 26, 2019. One of our Idealease trucks was updated a breast cancer awareness ribbon and Susan G Komen support decals and was donated for use by the event. We are...

Q: Why does my Fuel Economy drop in the colder months? A: Refineries must change the composition of diesel fuel in the winter to help it function better in the cold weather. These changes give the fuel a little more temperature margin when it comes...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has opened Registration for motor carriers and drivers to participate in the agency’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.  The clearinghouse final rule goes into effect on January 6, 2020. On and after...

Time to Fall Back…..Daylight Savings Time Change in Coming Up Daylight savings time will "fall back" at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 3rd. Make sure that all your drivers are aware that the change to daylight savings will occur.  Caution route...

The National Sleep Foundation has launched Drowsy Driving Prevention week as an educational campaign designed to save lives by increasing awareness of the dangers of driving while sleepy. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates...

The DOT's Office of Inspector General announced that it will audit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) oversight of commercial driver disqualifications. FMCSA reviews state commercial driver's license (CDL) programs annually...

While 2018 highway crash data showed an overall decrease in fatalities, large-truck-related fatalities increased since 2017. Fatalities for crashes involving large trucks rose 0.9% from 2017 to 2018 according to data from the National Highway...

Is that a Drunk Driver? How many times have you been driving and upon seeing another motorist, ask yourself, "Is that a Drunk Driver?" The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has established four categories to identify if a...

With the upcoming holidays, what regulations are in place pertaining to alcohol consumption and driving a commercial motor vehicle? The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations address use of alcohol by any commercial driver (>10,000lbs MGVWR) in...

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg: Safe Trucking is Good Business Trucks move the economy, and they do a superb job. One- and two-day delivery wouldn’t be possible without the nation’s truck army. But when...

Driver shortage continues as the top-ranked issue in the trucking industry, according to the annual Top Industry Issues report from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). The industry's efforts to retain and recruit qualified...

The CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse portal is now accepting stakeholder registrations in advance of the website's launch on January 6, 2020. Motor carriers, medical review officers, substance abuse professionals, and consortium/third-party...

Many of you have questions about receiving messages from consulting firms saying that you are required to have your supervisors of CDL drivers trained in Drug and Alcohol Reasonable Suspicion Testing.  The emails are used as “scare” tactics to get...

California Governor Gavin Newsome has signed into law A.B. 5, a bill that codifies the state Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, 4 Cal. 5th 903. The court adopted a very broad three-part test for when a...

A 1987 handbook published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s division of Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS) been updated and republished by a team led by University of Florida researchers.  USDA-AMS Handbook No. 669, “Protecting...

A study from Ball State University indicates that truck drivers as a group are getting inadequate sleep. The report analyzed more than 150,000 working adults from 2010 to 2018 and found that Americans getting seven hours or less of sleep increased...

Fuel additives to prevent jelling should be added anytime the ambient temperature is below 32. Power Service and Penray are popular manufactures of fuel additives and both companies have two different products available through Navistar and...

Everyone should carry a Winter Survival Kit in their truck. In an emergency, it could save your life. Here is what you need: a shovel windshield scraper and small broom flashlight with extra batteries battery powered radio water snack food...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced it has extended the public comment period on the proposed changes to the hours-of-service (HOS) rules. Acting upon requests from the American Trucking Associations, the Commercial...

Huge thanks to all the folks who came out to the Cumberland Idealease Safety & Compliance Seminar last week.  We hope you found the seminar to be educational and useful to your company.  If you have any questions at all, please reach out to one...

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) Brake Safety Week is scheduled for Sept. 15-21. Throughout that week, enforcement officials will conduct roadside safety inspections on commercial motor vehicles throughout North America. Vehicles...

The first step towards a safe trip begins in the driveway. • Do a "walk around" before leaving:  Check your vehicle's tires, wipers and fluids.  Have your radiator and cooling system serviced.• Plan ahead:  Before you get on a highway, know your...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced the fee structure for motor carriers to purchase queries when the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse becomes accessible on January 6, 2020. A query, an electronic check-in to the...