Do I Need a USDOT Number?

Read this week's Safety Bulletin, "Do I Need a USDOT Number?" Enjoy reading the latest safety tips, subscribe to have the latest bulletins emailed directly to your inbox!

In This Issue:

• Do I Need a USDOT Number?
• DOT Issues ANPRM on Electronic Signatures for Drug and Alcohol Records
• FMCSA Lists Monitoring of Mexican Motor Carriers in Regulatory Agenda

Do I Need a USDOT Number?

This is a commonly asked questions among our customers. This question is usually raised when we have a customer that is an INTRAstate carrier not subject to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations.

The following thirty-eight states and Puerto Rico require a USDOT number for INTRAstate operations:

Alabama Alaska Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Missouri Montana New Jersey New York Nebraska Nevada North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina Texas Utah Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

What is a USDOT Number?

A USDOT is a unique number identifier assigned to a business or individual operating a commercial motor vehicle. This serves as an identifier when collecting and monitoring a company's safety information acquired during audits, compliance reviews, crash investigations, and inspections. 

Click the button below to access our interactive tool that will determine if you need a US DOT number:

DOT Issues ANPRM on Electronic Signatures for Drug and Alcohol Records

The U.S. Department of Transportation has published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to allow the use of electronic signatures, forms, and records for drug and alcohol testing of transportation workers, including truck drivers.

The ANPRM seeks public comment on how DOT’s regulations for conducting workplace drug and alcohol testing for the federally regulated transportation industry could be amended to allow electronic signatures on documents required to be created and used under the regulations, to be able to use electronic versions of forms, and to electronically store forms and data. The regulatory changes would apply to DOT-regulated employers and their contractors (“service agents”) who administer their DOT-regulated drug and alcohol testing programs.

Currently, employers and their service agents must use, sign and store paper documents exclusively. An exception is if the employer is utilizing a laboratory’s electronic Federal Drug Testing Custody and Control Form (electronic CCF) system that has been approved by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Congress has mandated in a statute that DOT amend its regulations to authorize the use of electronic signatures or digital signatures executed on electronic forms, this would replace traditional handwritten signatures executed on paper forms.  DOT said the information received in response to this ANPRM will assist it in developing proposed regulatory amendments intended to provide additional flexibility and reduced costs for the industry.

FMCSA Lists Monitoring of Mexican Motor Carriers in Regulatory Agenda

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has published a new item in its semiannual regulatory agenda that would establish a safety monitoring system and compliance initiative for Mexican-domiciled motor carriers operating in the United States.

The monitoring system would evaluate the continuing safety fitness of all Mexico-domiciled carriers within 18 months after receiving a provisional Certificate of Registration or provisional authority to operate in the United States. It also would establish suspension and revocation procedures for provisional Certificates of Registration and operating authority and incorporate criteria to be used by FMCSA in evaluating whether Mexico-domiciled carriers exercise basic safety management controls.

This rulemaking is a continuation of an interim final rule published by FMCSA twenty years ago in 2002. On January 16, 2003, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit remanded this rule, along with two other NAFTA-related rules, to the agency, requiring a full environmental impact statement and an analysis required by the Clean Air Act. On June 7, 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit and remanded the case, holding that FMCSA is not required to prepare the environmental documents.

National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (September 11-17)

Nearly every aspect of daily life is made possible because of our truck drivers!

National Truck Driver Appreciation Week is an important time for America to pay respect and thank all the professional truck drivers for their hard work and commitment in undertaking one of our economy's most demanding and important jobs. These 3.6 million professional men and women not only deliver our goods safely, securely, and on time, but they also keep our highways safe.

Idealease Will Present a Limited Number of Safety Seminars this Fall

Idealease and the National Private Truck Council NPTC will again be hosting a limited number of safety seminars in the fall of 2022. The one-day seminar this year will focus on new safety technologies available on trucks today, basic safety and compliance, regulation changes, load securement and CSA. The seminars and will be provided to all Idealease customers, potential customers and NPTC members at no charge. The seminar provides important information applicable for both the novice and experienced transportation professionals. Watch this list in future bulletins as additional seminars may be added.

To register for an upcoming seminar in the fall of 2022 click on the following link:

https://www.idealease.com/safety-seminars

Brake Safety Week (August 21-27)

CVSA has announced that this years Brake Safety Week will take place August 21st through the 27th. Brake Safety Week is held annually to ensure commercial motor vehicle brake safety inspection, enforcement, and education initiative. Brake Safety Week is conducted by law enforcement jurisdictions in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. Inspectors will conduct their usual North American Standard Level I and V Inspections and capture and report brake-related data to CVSA. The results will be released in the fall.

View last year’s Brake Safety Week results.

*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.