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Safety Bulletin - Protecting Your Driver During Extreme Cold Conditions - 1/8/2021

Jan. 8 2021 Miscellaneous By McCandless Idealease

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The first Idealease safety bulletin of 2021 has arrived!  Read the entire bulletin online here, or click the image below to download a PDF version.  Don't forget to sign up to have them delivered straight to your inbox each week for instant access to the latest safety news, tips and information!  

Looking for past safety bulletins? Check out the complete archive at: https://www.idealease.com/safety-compliance/safety-bulletins


PROTECTING YOUR DRIVER DURING EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS

1. Cold weather precautions to prevent hypothermia and frostbite

  • HYPOTHERMIA - What you need to know:
    • Early/Mild Symptoms: 
      • shivering
      • slurred speech
      • mental slowness or lethargy
      • muscular stiffness
      • clumsiness
    • Severe Symptoms:
      • mental confusion
      • disorientation
      • stupor or coma
      • absence of shivering
      • stiff or rigid muscles
      • shallow and very slow breathing
      • weak pulse
      • fall in blood pressure

If any of the above symptoms are detected, seek immediate medical attention!

  • HYPOTHERMIA PREVENTION:
    • Wear several layers of warm, loose-fitting clothes. Items that wick moisture away from the skin are best.
    • Keep heat in with gloves and knit caps
    • Change clothing if it becomes wet.
    • Have an emergency kit containing a change of clothes, a blanket, disposable hand and foot warmers, water, and snacks in case of being stranded.
    • Eat hot, nutritious meals and drink water
    • Make sure the driver has a way to communicate to you in the event of a breakdown of the unit in rural areas of operation.

Many prescription drugs may make you more sensitive to the cold, so check with your physician or pharmacist to find out if your medication falls in this category.

  • FROSTBITE:
    • Symptoms:
      • changes in skin appearance: 
        • swelling
        • red, blue or white coloring
        • numbness
        • stiffness
        • rigidity
    • If untreated, frostbite can lead to loss of fingers, toes or other affected areas
    • Protect skin from direct exposure to cold air or intense cold temperatures to prevent frostbite

TIME TO FINALIZE YOUR ACCIDENT DOCUMENTATION FOR 2020

All motor carriers operating CMV’s over 10,000 lbs. MGVWR, transporting HM in placardable quantities or transporting passengers are required to record accidents on a register by calendar year as defined in 49 CFR 390.51. 

Even if no accidents were incurred by the motor carrier, an accident register is required.

  1.  Definition of an accident:
    • According to FMCSA regulations: 
      • An occurrence involving a commercial motor vehicle (>10,000lbs MGVWR, HM, or Passengers) operating on a highway in interstate or intrastate commerce which results in:
        1. A fatality; 
        2. Bodily injury to a person who, as a result of the injury, immediately receives medical treatment away from the scene of the accident; 
        3. One or more motor vehicles incurring disabling damage as a result of the accident, requiring motor vehicle(s) to be transported away from the scene by a tow truck or other motor vehicle;
    • The term Accident does NOT include:
      • An occurrence involving only boarding and alighting from a stationary motor vehicle;
      • An occurrence involving only the loading or unloading of cargo
    • When an accident by the definition above occurs, the accident is required to be recorded on an accident register with the following information:
      1. Date of Accident
      2. City or town (or most near) and State where the accident occurred
      3. Driver Name
      4. Number of Injuries
      5. Number of Fatalities
      6. Whether hazardous materials (other than fuel spilled from fuel tanks) were released 

Motor carriers are required by regulation to maintain an accident register for 3 YEARS after the date of each accident and must maintain copies of all accident reports required by State or other governmental entities or insurers. 

The accident register is NOT required to be sent to the FMCSA or State, but kept as part of your record keeping for the FMCSA to review during a compliance review or investigation. 

2. BEST PRACTICES:

  •  Maintain TWO Accident Registers by Calendar Year:
    • DOT Recordable Accidents only
    • Non-DOT Recordable Accidents

Reasoning behind this: To provide the FMCSA on the information requested in a compliance review and no more.

  • By having a second register with all accidents and incidents recorded the motor carrier can actively perform analysis of the losses and implement training to proactively reduce the frequency.
  • Accident registers can be kept electronically with a hard copy printed for the FMCSA upon request.

WHERE TO GO TO MAKE SURE WHAT YOU HAVE ON THE REGISTER MATCHES WITH THE FMCSA:

  • View all recordable accidents on the FMCSA Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) Safety Measurement System (SMS) at: https://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms
  • If the crash involves the release of hazardous materials, carriers must complete a hazardous incident report.  See 49 CFR 171.15 and 49 CFR 171.16.

TSA WILL NOT CONTINUE AUTHORITY TO EXTEND HME VALIDITY FOR CDL DRIVERS

The Transportation Security Administration has confirmed that after December 31, 2020, the agency will not continue authorization of State Driver Licensing Agencies to extend the validity of Hazardous Materials Endorsements that have expired.

  • Under this exemption, states may extend the expiration date of HMEs that expire on or after March 1, 2020, for 180 days, due to restrictions and business closures in place in response to the COVID–19 public health emergency. 
  • If a state grants an extension, the individual with an expired HME must initiate the process of renewing his or her security threat assessment (STA) for the HME no later than 60 days before the end of the state-granted extension.

Although companies are still reporting difficulty in arranging Security Threat Assessments in some States, drivers whose HMEs expire after January 1, 2021 must meet the fingerprint and background check requirements to renew their HMEs as previously scheduled.

FMCSA PROPOSES TO ADD REAR IMPACT GUARDS TO ANNUAL INSPECTIONS

  • Proposed Rule to include rear impact guards on list of items to be examined during annual inspections
  • 85 Fed. Reg. 85571 (12/29/20): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-12-29/pdf/2020-27502.pdf  
  • Additional proposal to amend labeling requirements for rear impact guards, and to exclude road construction controlled horizontal discharge trailers from the rear impact guard requirements, consistent with changes made by the NHTSA to the corresponding Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.  
  • NHTSA concluded that installation of rear impact guards on RCC horizontal discharge trailers would interfere with the intended function of the trailers and was therefore impracticable due to the unique design and purpose of those vehicles. 

*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.