Is Your MCS 150 Up to Date?

This week's safety bulletin details how to update your MCS-150, retain your drivers, and overall safe driving practices. Read the full safety bulletin here and subscribe to receive future bulletins directly to your inbox.

The FMCSA requires all interstate carriers to file an MCS-150 or MCS-150B if a Safety permit is required every 24 months based on the last two digits of the US DOT number. The number's last digit dictates the month, and the second to last digit dictates the year. If the second to last digit is even, you report in even number years; for an odd digit, you report in odd number years. Now if there has been a change to your operation, increase in units, change of address, etc., you can file at any time. You can file your MCS-150 online, by fax, or by mail. A motor carrier that submits similar information to a State as part of its annual vehicle registration requirement under the Performance and Registration Information System (PRISM) complies if it files this information with the appropriate State commercial motor vehicle (CMV) registration office. The Motor Carrier Identification Report, Form MCS-150, and the Combined Motor Carrier Identification Report and HM Permit Application, Form MCS-150B, with complete instructions, are available from the FMCSA website: (Keyword "MCS-150" or "MCS-150B"); from all FMCSA Service Centers and Division offices nationwide; or by calling 1-800-832-5660. The report can be updated online at www.fmcsa.dot.gov or by faxing the form to the FMCSA at 703-280-4003.

How do I determine when the last time my MCS-150 was updated?

One easy way is to go to the FMCSA Safer website.

Enter your DOT #, then look at your company snapshot. You will see your "FMCSA Form Date" on the left side of the report.

If it is older than two years, update your MCS-150 ASAP. You can edit it from the above snapshot by hovering your cursor over FMCSA Form Date and clicking on the link.

1. When am I required to file a biennial update?
2. The compliance date for this requirement (49 CFR 390.19) occurred November 1, 2013. Filing schedule: Each motor carrier or intermodal equipment provider must file the appropriate form.
3. Is an entity required to file a biennial update if there is no change to its information?
4. Yes. All entities with a USDOT number must file a biennial update every two years according to the prescribed schedule by the last day of the month.
5. Will entities be notified before a biennial update is due? Yes. Beginning November 1, 2013, FMCSA is issuing a warning letter by mail to the address on file at least 30 days before a biennial update deadline.
6. Can I go into my local FMCSA Division office to update my US DOT number? No, MCS 150 updates must be done online, by fax, or by mail: Online: If your USDOT number is active, you can begin the online update process. By email:  You can upload a signed copy. 
7. How do the biennial update changes in the URS rule affect motor carriers, HMSP applicants/holders, and intermodal equipment providers? Very little. Motor carriers, Hazardous Materials Safety Permit applicants/holders, and intermodal equipment providers must update their registration information every 24 months.
8. How do you complete the biennial update? Biennial updates can be completed online, by email, by mail, or by fax. Online: If your USDOT Number is active, you may update your registration online. 
9. What are the penalties for failure to submit the biennial updates? Failure to complete biennial updates to FMCSA will subject the entities to civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day with a maximum fine of $10,000. https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration/updating-your-registration#biennial-updates.

What are you doing to retain the good drivers that you have today?

The following are some tips for consideration to retain the sound drivers you have:

1. Be transparent with your drivers. Make sure policies are forthright and achievable by your drivers. Drivers leave their place of employment if they feel the organization has been dishonest with them.
2. Recognize your drivers as assets and value them in all aspects of their operations and performance.
3. Keep drivers involved in the operations of your company. Develop a relationship with them, be genuine, and demonstrate that you care for their welfare and longevity with the company. 
4. Review your pay and benefit programs to make sure they are competitive in the industry.
5. Keep your vehicle maintained with a periodic maintenance and inspection program that ensures a safe operating unit for your driver.
6. Provide ongoing training. Drivers who receive continuous training are more likely to stay in your company.
7. Strictly adhere to your driver hiring and selection standards. Qualified, experienced drivers want to avoid being with a company that employs substandard drivers.
8. Provide a structured and comprehensive new driver orientation training program. Drivers need to know the policies and procedures of the company before being placed into service. An informed driver will adhere to guidelines.
9. Recognize drivers' achievements and performance—safe driving awards, longevity awards, customer service, etc. Personalize recognition awards; all driver recognition should occur with other drivers as their peers in attendance.
10. When a driver terminates employment, conduct an exit interview. Determine the actual reason for the driver leaving your organization.

Hands-Free Cellphone Use: A Dangerous Distraction

There are several types of driver distraction:

• Visual – takes your eyes off the road. This includes looking for something in the vehicle, electronic devices, or reading advertising along the route.
• Manual – takes your hands off the wheel. Smoking, eating, and drinking in the vehicle are common manual distractions.
• Auditory – keeps you from hearing important sounds from outside the vehicle. Driving while wearing headphones, talking to passengers, or playing loud music falls into this category.
• Cognitive or Mental – takes your mind off of driving. Stress dramatically contributes to this area as we think about our day and get lost in our thoughts.

Cell phones are unique from other forms of driver distraction because they usually involve all forms of distraction. Many people tend to focus on visual and manual distractions. However, mental distraction is hazardous because people do not always recognize they are mentally distracted, and this distraction lasts much longer than the other types. There is a false perception that hands-free phones are safer than handheld. But research has found no safety benefits to hands-free use. Think about how often you turn down the volume on the radio when looking for a specific address!

Risks of Driving While Talking on a Cellphone:

• Four times as likely to be in crashes resulting in injury or property damage
• More likely to commit driver errors and traffic violations
• Slower reaction time than drivers impaired at the 0.08 alcohol concentration level
• Looking but failing to see up to 50 percent of the driving environment
• More than one-third of the brain's processing resources are drawn away from driving tasks.

Operation Safe Driver Week

Operation Safe Driver Week is a safe-driving awareness and outreach initiative aimed at improving the driving behaviors of passenger vehicle drivers and commercial motor vehicle drivers through educational and traffic enforcement strategies and interactions with law enforcement.

The next Operation Safe Driver Week is July 9-15, 2023

Throughout Operation Safe Driver Week, law enforcement personnel will look for commercial and passenger vehicle drivers engaging in risky driving. Identified unsafe drivers will be pulled over and issued a citation or warning.

Data shows that traffic stops and interactions with law enforcement help reduce problematic driving behaviors. By contacting drivers during Operation Safe Driver Week, law enforcement personnel aim to make our roadways safer by targeting high-risk driving behaviors.

• Speeding has been a factor in over a quarter of crash deaths since 2008. (Source)
• Speeding of any kind was the most frequent driver-related crash factor for drivers of commercial motor vehicles and passenger vehicles. (Source)
• Speeding was a factor in 26% of all traffic fatalities in 2018, killing 9,378 people or an average of more than 25 people daily. (Source)
• Distracted driving claimed 3,142 lives in 2019. (Source)
• Of the 22,215 passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2019, 47% were not wearing seat belts. Seat belts saved an estimated 14,955 lives and could have saved an additional 2,549 people if they had been wearing seat belts in 2017 alone. (Source)
• Every day, about 28 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes — that's one person every 52 minutes. In 2019, 10,142 people lost their lives due to drunk driving.

Registration is now open online for the 2023 Idealease/NPTC Safety Seminars!

Data Utilization in Transportation Safety

Idealease and the National Private Truck Council NPTC will again host safety seminars in 2023. This year's one-day seminar will focus on data available from trucks today about safety, basic safety and compliance, regulation changes, and CSA. The seminars will be provided to all Idealease customers, potential customers, and NPTC members at no charge. The seminar provides essential information applicable to both novice and experienced transportation professionals. Seminars currently available for registration have their venues secured. If you cannot register for the seminar in your area, check back, as registration availability will be added as the venues are secured. This information will be updated weekly in this bulletin. To register for an upcoming seminar in 2023, click on the following link:

http://www.idealease.com/safety-seminar-registration

FALL SEMINARS (Sept-Oct)

*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 standard