Vol. 06, No. 12   |   March 22, 2006

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Convention Wrap Up

• Thank You To the TCA Scholarship Fund Silent Auction Winning Bidders
• Dave Berry, Chris Burruss Speak at Convention

Regulatory Roundup

• Congress To Reorganize Transportation Security Administration
• FMCSA Pledges to Address Domicile Rule for Student Drivers
• Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) Concerning Truck and Bus Drivers
  with Insulin-Treated Diabetes Mellitus

Member Spotlight

• Celadon Named Among 'Best Places to Work in Indiana'

Stateside

• Overcharged Oklahoman Truckers Refunded
• Permanent Trailer Tag Proposed in Alabama

Truckload Happenings

• DE-MYSTIFYING INTERNET RECRUITING
  "Maximize Your Recruiting Efforts While Minimizing Your Cost Per Hire"

Thank You To the TCA Scholarship Fund Silent Auction Winning Bidders

The TCA Scholarship Fund Trustees are pleased to announce that they held another successful Silent and Live Auction to benefit the Fund at this year's Annual Convention in Orlando, Florida. Below are the Silent Auction Winning Bidders. If you did not have a chance to pay for your Auction item before leaving the Convention, Nancy O'Liddy will notify you for payment. Also, Nancy will be sending via email to each sponsor of the Silent Auction the address of the winning bidder for delivery of his or her Auction item.

On behalf of the Scholarship Fund Trustee's, we want to thank all of you who participated in the Auction. We could not continue this worthy cause without the industry's support. The Scholarship Application deadline is May 22, 2006.

Dave Berry, Chris Burruss Speak at Convention

Dave Berry, TCA's immediate past chairman and Chris Burruss, the association's president both spoke at the 2006 Annual Convention on the state of the industry and TCA. Berry's remarks focused on the state of the industry, regulatory and government new while Burruss focused on the state of the association, TCA's successes and goals. Click here to read Dave Berry's Monday, March 13 speech and here to read Burruss convention remarks from Tuesday, March 14.

Congress To Reorganize Transportation Security Administration

A bill is currently making its way through Congress that would mean some changes at the Transportation Security Administration.

If passed, the bill would call for TSA to update its airport security procedures, including passenger screening and cooperation with local and state governments.

Of interest to the trucking industry, an amendment offered by Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-CA, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Economic, Security, Infrastructure Protection and Cybersecurity, calls for action on the Transportation Worker Identification Card program, known to many truckers as the TWIC program.

The amendment, which was approved by the committee on Thursday, March 16, would require TSA to begin issuing the TWIC program cards to transportation workers – including truckers – at ports, airports, rail terminals and other potential terrorist targets by June 1, 2007.

Another amendment still under consideration by the committee deals with the transportation of extremely hazardous materials. The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Ed Markey, D-MA, calls for physical security measures to offer additional protection for such loads, including passive secondary containment of tanker valves.

The amendment also calls for the notification of concerned federal, state and local law enforcement authorities before an extremely hazardous material shipment is transported "within, through or near an area of concern."

In addition, the amendment would require the creation of terrorism response plans for these shipments, updated communications systems between transporters and authorities, and increased training for anyone who transports, loads, unloads or is otherwise involved in the shipment of extremely hazardous materials.

FMCSA Pledges to Address Domicile Rule for Student Drivers

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has withdrawn a proposal for CDL learner's permits, but promises to address the state of domicile requirement for student drivers. The agency announced it was withdrawing its notice of proposed rulemaking Feb. 23 in the Federal Register. FMCSA published the notice in 1990, but initiatives since then have rendered the proposed rule obsolete, the agency stated.

In 1994, FMCSA issued a final rule that restricted CDL issuance to the driver's state of domicile. In 2002, the agency issued a final rule incorporating new domicile requirements into the CDL regulations, including stricter rules for disqualifying CDL holders and better driver application procedures and state record check requirements. Finally, the federal Real ID Act of 2005 tightened the verification process for determining a person's identity and legal presence in the United States.

The agency noted in its announcement that in working with the Department of Homeland Security to implement the Real ID Act, it will examine the issue of student drivers who want to take their CDL skills tests outside their state of domicile. Driver training schools are not available in every state. TCA has asked the agency to replace the rule with one that merely requires proof of U.S. citizenship.

Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) Concerning Truck and Bus Drivers with Insulin-Treated Diabetes Mellitus

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will publish an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on March 17^th to begin re-evaluating the rule that prohibits drivers with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus from operating trucks and buses in interstate commerce. FMCSA is seeking public comments on whether they should change the standard, and if so, to what extent.

The Agency will consider the public comments along with the advice of its recently appointed Medical Review Board when evaluating potential changes to the existing medical standards.

Currently, drivers with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus may only operate commercial vehicles in interstate commerce if they obtain an exemption from FMCSA. This can be a lengthy process because prior to granting an exemption the Agency is required to examine each applicant's medical circumstances and publish their names in the Federal Register for public comments.

Public comments on the ANPRM may be submitted to the rulemaking docket by visiting the U.S. Department of Transportation's Docket Management System Web site, http://dms.dot.gov. The docket number for the ANPRM is FMCSA 2005-23151 and the deadline for submitting comments is June 15, 2006.

Celadon Named Among 'Best Places to Work in Indiana'

TCA member Celadon Trucking Services has been selected among the "Best Places to Work in Indiana" by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. Celadon, based in Indianapolis, was one of only 15 large companies chosen and one of 36 companies selected overall. The winners will be honored and their rankings unveiled at an awards luncheon on May 3.

"Receiving this recognition from the Indiana Chamber is exciting," says Celadon President Tom Glaser. "As a business, it means that we are doing the right things for our employees. Our chairman, Steve Russell, has a motto -- 'Life is good when you can't wait to get to work and you can't wait to get home. I am proud that Celadon is a place where people enjoy working."

In its first year, the "Best Places" assessment program was created to identify outstanding employers in the state as determined through extensive employer evaluations and comprehensive employee surveys. Winners were selected from two categories: small- to medium-sized companies of between 25 and 199 employees, and large-sized companies consisting of 200 or more employees.

"Our goal with 'Best Places to Work in Indiana' is two-fold -- to recognize the first-rate Hoosier employers who take pride in creating an environment that makes employees feel valued, and to encourage other Indiana companies to examine their workplace structure and how it impacts their employees," says Indiana Chamber President Kevin Brinegar. "After all, an employee who feels valued will likely be more productive for the employer."

Overcharged Oklahoman Truckers Refunded

The Oklahoma Trucking Association and their attorneys Schneider & Labarthe, P.A. of Oklahoma City, were instrumental in securing a much greater share of the refunds in a class action toll case than was originally proposed. A class action lawsuit on behalf of Oklahoma PikePass users who were overcharged by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority resulted in a $6 million settlement fund in the form of credits against future tolls.

Initially class counsel proposed that trucking companies that registered multiple trucks and paid large amounts of tolls under a single account be treated the same as individual one-car accounts and get the same $11 credit. The Oklahoma Trucking Association filed objections to that proposed allocation of the settlement fund. ATA filed similar objections, arguing that refund size should be proportional to the level of overpayments made.

Ultimately, a SubClass of high volume users of PikePasses that experienced $5,000 or more in incomplete readings of their PikePass units from July 1, 1997, to June 30, 2002 was created, with eleven high volume users and the Oklahoma Trucking Association acting as their representatives. High volume users will share in approximately $1.5 million of PikePass credits after submitting appropriate claim forms. Schneider & Labarthe, P. A. will be sending claim forms and notices of the claims procedure to SubClass members later this month. Contact Dan Case, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Trucking Association at 405-843-9488 for further information.

Permanent Trailer Tag Proposed in Alabama

The Alabama Trucking Association supports state legislation that would require trailer owners to buy a permanent trailer tag rather than an annual trailer tag.

The Alabama House passed the bill unanimously.

Most states, including Alabama's neighbors, don't have the annual requirement, said Frank Filgo, president of the association. Retagging trailers that are in transit is an undue burden, Filgo said.

The bill would replace the annual $20 trailer tag with a $60 tag good for the life of the trailer. The association estimates average trailer life at eight years, so the change in pricing would cost Alabama nearly $1.1 million annually.

The bill contains language that would allow the state to recover that lost revenue with a 4 percent increase in truck registration fees for gross vehicle weights more than 73,281 pounds or Class 8 and 9.

"You're saving on the trailer and putting it on the tractor," Filgo said. "The bonus is the savings in time and expense."

DE-MYSTIFYING INTERNET RECRUITING
"Maximize Your Recruiting Efforts While Minimizing Your Cost Per Hire"

Audio Conference
Thursday, April 20, 2006
12:00 pm-1:30 pm

TCA is proud to present its newest audio conference, "De-mystifying Internet Recruiting." Cost-effective recruiting continues to be the most elusive process in our industry. Many carriers have found the Internet to be a powerful low-cost recruiting tool. The Internet is changing the way companies do business.

In this session, you will learn:

• How Internet and phone recruiting differ.
• The top 10 things your corporate website needs to be.
• How to get yourself in position for success.
• Criteria to consider when choosing an Internet Recruiting service.
• The 6 things you need to know about your Internet applications.
• How to win the battle for professional drivers.
• How to properly manage your Internet presence.
• The 3 most important words in Recruiting.

Don't miss this valuable session. Click here for more information and to register.

Truckload Carriers Association