COVID-19 and Alcohol Consumption - 11/5/21 Idealease Safety Bulletin

The latest Idealease Safety Bulletin from November 5, 2021, "COVID-19 and Alcohol Consumption" is now available to read, share and download!  

Read the entire bulletin online here on idealease.com, scroll below, or download/print this PDF version.  Be sure to sign up to have the weekly bulletin delivered straight to your inbox  for instant access to the latest safety news, tips and information!  

As always, you can access all past Idealease bulletins for reference online: https://www.idealease.com/safety-compliance/safety-bulletins

WHAT DOES THE FMCSA SPECIFICALLY SAY ABOUT ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION REGARDING A CMV DRIVER?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations address use of alcohol by any commercial driver (Greater than 10K lbs MGVWR)

No driver shall:

• Use alcohol, or be under the influence of alcohol within 4 hours before going on duty or operating, or having physical control of a commercial motor vehicle
• Have any measured alcohol concentration or detected the presence of alcohol, while on duty
• View CFR 392.5 for additional provisions

Any driver who is found to be in violation of these regulations shall be placed out-of-service immediately for a period of 24 hours.  Additional FMCSA regulations, such as random, post-accident and reasonable suspicion testing apply to drivers who are operating a CMV with a CDL and can be found in CFR 382.  CFR 383.51 addresses the disqualification of a CDL for alcohol violations in a CMV and non-CMV. 

BOTTOM LINE: A driver of a commercial motor vehicle jeopardizes his/her license AND job any time they driver any type of motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. 

BREAKING NEWS REGARDING THE OSHA VACCINE MANDATE

Chris Spear, President & CEO of the American Trucking Association made the following announcement this morning:

Dear ATA members:

We have outstanding news to share this morning regarding the vaccine mandate Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) that OSHA released yesterday.  We have received indications from senior Department of Labor officials that the exception for employees who exclusively work outdoors or remotely and have minimal contact with others indoors does exempt solo truck drivers from the mandate.  Furthermore, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh  is on record saying so.  ATA will continue to advocate for the broader workforce as well. 

While we complete our due diligence to confirm this fact through official channels, this appears to be a major victory for ATA and our membership.  This is a result of our pressure campaign during the rulemaking process and all your help as ATA drafted our comments and strategy.  

We continue to believe that OSHA is using an extraordinary authority unwisely and applying it across all industries at an arbitrary threshold of 100 employees in a way that fails to consider the actual risks.  ATA will continue to consider potential legal action to protect all segments of our workforce from this misguided mandate.  

FMCSA RELEASES 2019 LARGE TRUCK AND BUS CRASH STATISTICS

In the FMCSA's latest "Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts", fatal crashes involving large trucks increased by 2% in 2019, with speed and distraction playing leading roles.  

Other highlights of the report include:

• 4% increase in number of large trucks in fatal crashes per 100,000,000 miles traveled
• 6% increase in injury crashes among large trucks
• No change in the number of large trucks involved in property-damage-only crashes
• 2.5% decrease in fatal crashes among buses

NOVEMBER 7-13th, 2021 is DROWSY DRIVING PREVENTION WEEK

The National Sleep Foundation has launched Drowsy Driving Prevention Week as an educational campaign to increase awareness to the dangers of driving while sleepy.  Click here for more information. 

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME CHANGE IS THIS SUNDAY! 

Remember to 'Fall Back" at 2am Sunday, November 7th.  Remind drivers of the change and caution those on routes that the amount of daylight at their stops could be different.  

IDEALEASE SAFETY WEBINARS CONTINUE! REGISTRATION IS OPEN!

November 10th – 1pm CST
Keeping Your Driver Safe During a Pandemic

*The Idealease Safety Bulletin is provided for Idealease locations and their customers and is not to be construed as a complete or exhaustive source of compliance or safety information. The Idealease Safety Bulletin is advisory in nature and does not warrant, guarantee, or otherwise certify compliance with laws, regulations, requirements, or guidelines of any local, state, or Federal agency and/or governing body, or industry standards.