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U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao swears in Raymond P. Martinez as Administrator of the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration. From left: Raymond Martinez, his wife Marin Gibson and Secretary Elaine L. Chao. Photo credit: USDOT

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao swore in Raymond P. Martinez as the sixth Administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

“Ray’s years of experience promoting traffic safety at the state level, as well as his knowledge of the commercial motor vehicle industry, will help FMCSA fulfill its critical mission of improving truck and bus safety,” said Secretary Chao.

Martinez most recently served eight years as the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission’s Chairman and Chief Administrator where he oversaw the agency’s 2,500 employees and a $330 million annual operating budget with more than $1 billion in annual revenue. Martinez advised the governor and state legislature on all areas of motor vehicle transportation and traffic safety and was responsible for developing the agency’s regulatory and legislative agenda and all project prioritization.

“It's an honor and privilege to serve my fellow Americans in this capacity and, under Secretary Chao's leadership, I look forward to working with all commercial vehicle stakeholders to effectively reduce the number of truck and bus crashes on our nation’s roads,” said Martinez.

Martinez is a former Commissioner of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, and also served at the U.S. Department of State. 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has updated their website to provide clarification on when farm, ranch, and agriculture haulers are subject to FMCSA’s rules and regulations. The update includes information on the following:

• ELD Agriculture Exceptions and Exemptions
• Hours of Service
• Commercial Drivers’ License

Sign up for updates and alerts regarding agricultural operations information here.

If you have additional questions, email us at agricultural@dot.gov.

Early last year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued federal motor carrier number 999999.  During the remainder of 2017 and for the first months of this year, the agency will be issuing new motor carrier applicants with 6-digit MC numbers that were either never issued or were unused.  

Later this year, however, new 7-digit MC number will start to issue.  FMCSA cautions that some systems may need to be changed in order to accommodate the new longer MC numbers, and has asked us to spread the word.  

We add that the change to MC numbers DOES NOT affect either already existing MC numbers or any DOT numbers.  For more information, contact Ken Riddle at FMCSA, kenneth.riddle@dot.gov.

Source: The State Laws Newsletter

The PA Turnpike Commission (PTC) advises that gas and diesel fuel will not be available at the Sideling Hill Service Plaza in Fulton County, eastbound and westbound, from 8 a.m. Monday, Feb. 26 through 5 p.m. Friday, March 2.

“We are replacing the underground components of the plaza’s fuel pumps and will need this five-day period for safe installation and proper testing,” said Turnpike Facilities Director Jack Christensen.  “We greatly regret this inconvenience to our customers and are advising motorists to plan accordingly.”

Motorists should not stop for fuel at Sideling Hill during this period but should travel onto the next service plazas. All other services will be available. The plaza’s fuel pumps will be operational for the weekend of March 3. 

For more information on Turnpike service plazas click here: https://www.paturnpike.com/travel/service_plazas.aspx

NOTICE:
***Between February 5th and 6th the National Registry system sent email notifications to certain Medical Examiners that they would be removed from the National Registry because system records indicated their credentials are expired or due to expire shortly. The notification was an error. FMCSA is not currently planning to remove any Medical Examiners from its National Registry based on out-of-date information.

Medical Examiners are required by the State(s) in which they practice to maintain a current license at all times and examiners with valid credentials may continue to conduct the DOT physical exams and issue medical certificates to truck and bus drivers, irrespective of the status of the National Registry website. FMCSA will notify all Medical Examiners when the National Registry website is restored.***

Although the National Registry is currently under construction, certified medical examiners can continue conducting physical qualification examinations of CMV drivers and issuing paper Medical Examiner's Certificate (MEC), Form MCSA-5876 to qualified drivers. Medical examiners should segregate all examinations completed during the outage and be prepared to upload them to the National Registry system when it is back online, with no penalties.

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/medical/national-registry-certified-medical-examiners  

As a part of its 2017 budget package, Pennsylvania enacted a new requirement that those making payments to nonresident independent contractors must withhold a part of the payment to cover potential liability of the contractors for Pennsylvania state income tax.  

HOWEVER, this requirement does NOT apply to payments by motor carriers to owner-operators.  Federal law, 49 US Code 14503, says a state can’t require a carrier to withhold income tax on an interstate employee - or require such an employee to pay an income tax - except the state of the employee’s residence.  And the statute’s definition of “employee” includes independent contractors.  

The Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association says the state’s revenue department is aware of the federal restriction and will not be enforcing the requirement on motor carriers with respect to owner-operators that don’t live in Pennsylvania.

Source: The State Laws Newsletter

The federal tax reform package that passed Congress December 20 changes the rules for some truck drivers on the expenses they incur for meals and incidentals while they’re away from home on travel.  

Employee truck drivers whose carrier does not pay them a per diem allowance will no longer be able to take the costs of meals and incidentals as an itemized deduction, as they have in the past.  

Although this will be hard on some drivers, it may not make a difference to many, since the new tax law also doubles the standard deduction for taxpayers, so that fewer drivers will be itemizing at all.  

This change is effective now, for 2018 taxes.  

Note that owner-operators will still be able to deduct their costs for meals and incidentals, just as they have in the past, since owner-operators are in business for themselves, and those costs are deductible business expenses.  

Finally, some carriers pay their employee drivers a separate per diem allowance to cover meals and incidentals.  The rules for carriers and drivers in that situation do not change.  

We might caution, however, that the rules pertaining to per diem programs are complicated and somewhat tricky to implement.

Source: The State Laws Newsletter

The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) recently announced the launch of two state-of-the-art mobile agency vehicles that will increase customer convenience by bringing essential MVC services directly to motorists all around the state.

The mobile units can be used to help augment customer processing at existing brick and mortar agencies during peak transaction periods.  They are currently being used in Middlesex County at the Edison Agency and also in Union County at the Rahway Agency to help offset increased demand due to the closure of the South Plainfield Agency (the MVC expects to open a new and expanded agency in South Plainfield in 2018).  In the future, the mobile units also can be deployed statewide to meet the needs of underserved communities, senior centers and any location impacted by natural disasters where the immediate replacement of identification documents might be needed.  Additionally, these mobile units can also be used, on a scheduled basis, to process transactions at universities, office campuses, government centers and shopping areas or any location where a substantial amount of transactions can be anticipated. 

“As part of our ongoing efforts to improve the customer experience, our new mobile agency vehicles will give customers yet another option to conduct their motor vehicle business,” said MVC Chairman and Chief Administrator Raymond P. Martinez.  “New Jersey now joins the ranks of other states that have been able to offer this service to their residents, with great results.”

The new units are truck-style vehicles that contain most of the features present in a traditional MVC agency.  Customers can use them to renew or obtain duplicate driver licenses, obtain a non-driver ID, renew their vehicle registration, or even obtain a Person with a Disability, Purple Heart, or Disabled Veteran parking placard.

“I am confident that our mobile agencies will become very popular public outreach tools, especially at events where there is a large concentration of potential customers or for groups where mobility is an issue,” added Martinez. “With upgraded technology and improved customer service, these units make the MVC more accessible.  Quite simply, this program is another positive step to expand services and offer more convenience for our customers.”

For more information about the MVC mobile agency units, contact us at mvc.mobileagency@mvc.nj.gov or (609) 633-9456.

Jacobs Vehicle Systems®, the world’s leading manufacturer of diesel and natural gas engine retarding systems and valve actuation mechanisms, has been honored by Cummins Inc. with the Category Partnership Award.

During a recent joint-leadership meeting, Cummins Inc. presented Jacobs Vehicle Systems (Jacobs®) with the Category Partner Award to recognize Jacobs as a world leader in engine braking technology.

“In 1961, our first engine brake sold was for the Cummins NH engine,” said Dennis Gallagher, President of Jacobs Vehicle Systems. “Since then, we have collaborated with Cummins to deliver innovative products that bring high performance, quality, and reliability to the fleet owners and truckers who rely on our products. We proudly accept this award and look forward to continuing our relationship with Cummins in the future.”

For over five decades, Jacobs has partnered with Cummins Inc. to deliver industry-leading valvetrain technologies for on- and off-highway vehicles. Domestically, Jacobs designs and manufactures engine brakes for Cummins Inc. for the ISL, ISX-12, and ISM engines as well as the ISX-15/X15 platform which offers the highest performance of any engine brake in North America. Across the globe, Jacobs Engine Brakes® are installed in the Cummins ISZ, ISM, and ISL engines in China and the ISL engine in India, Brazil, and Europe. In addition, aftermarket up-fit kits continue to be produced for legacy engine platforms.

Jacobs Vehicles Systems is a NJMTA Member

Brooklyn Center, Minnesota – With America’s biggest game of the year headed to U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota this weekend, millions of Americans are already planning their gameday parties. While planning the menu, have you thought about how all those classic football foods get to your table? The answer is simple: trucks.

To illustrate just how big of an impact the trucking industry has on the big game, the Minnesota Trucking Association and American Trucking Associations created an infographic to show the role trucking will play in delivering perhaps one of most important parts of the game… the snacks. On February 4, Americans will consume over 100 truckloads of popcorn, 350 truckloads of potato chips, 668 truckloads of avocados, 1,562 truckloads of chicken wings, and over 36,166 truckloads of beer. That’s a lot of food!