Transportation
HOURS OF SERVICE OF DRIVERS
FINAL New HOS Rule (*as of December 22, 2011)
Chart Comparison of New vs. Current Rules
On December 22, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published its contentious and long-awaited final Hours of Service (HOS) rule. Specifically, the rule:
- Limits the use of the 34-hour restart provision to just once a week covering “at least two periods between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.”;
- Requires divers to take a 30-minute break after at most eight hours of “on-duty” time;
- Changes the ”on-duty time” definition to not include “…any time resting in a parked CMV [commercial motor vehicle]”; and
- Permits penalties for “egregious violations of driving-time limits.” The definition of an “egregious violation” is: “A driver who exceeds, or motor carrier that requires or permits a driver to exceed, by more than three hours the driving-time limit…” Such a violation could result in a fine of up to $11,000 for motor carriers, and/or $2,750 for drivers, for each violation.
The compliance date for the 34-hour restart change and the mandatory 30-minute break is July 1, 2013. For the “on-duty time” change and the “egregious violation” provisions, the effective date is February 27, 2012.
*While NRMCA continues to review the new rule, it should be known that the HOS provisions of importance to the ready mixed concrete industry, including the 24-hour weekly clock reset for construction materials deliveries, the 16-hour short-haul exception, the 100 air-mile logbook exemption, and the current intrastate tolerance guidelines remain unchanged by the new rule.
*Although the new HOS rule applies to interstate commerce (crossing state lines), as with many other regulations set at the federal level, most states adopt the new regulations making them effective in those states as well. Some states eventually adopt the new regulations on their own terms or risk losing federal transportation money. Please check with your state association to determine if and/or when your state will adopt this new rule.
Current Rule Information (*applicable only until July 1, 2013)
Propsed Rule Information (*not all aspects of proposed rule were finalized)
NRMCA Comments on Proposed New Rule
TRANSPORTATION AUTHORIZATION
History Channel special about America’s crumbling infrastructure.
Ready Mixed Concrete Industry Position: The ready mixed concrete industry supports a multi-year surface transportation bill with increased funding for transportation infrastructure projects and upkeep, and to ensure the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund.
Background: On September 30, 2009, the current transportation bill (SAFETEA-LU) expired without a new bill poised for passage. Since then Congress has passed six extensions of the current bill, and transferred money into the Highway Trust Fund to maintain its solvency numerous times. The continued extensions are due to a stalemate between the White House, Senate, and the House over how transportation should be funded, and for how long. The current transportation bill is headed for its 7th extension.
How It Affects Our Industry: Currently, every $5 billion of federal investment leads to 1,000,000 cubic yards of placed concrete; and $1 billion of federal investment directly or indirectly supports up to 47,500 construction industry jobs. Any new, multiyear transportation bill must generate new revenue to prevent cuts in federal highway and public transportation investment and support growth in transportation programs to begin addressing the nations surface transportation needs. The most reliable and efficient method to finance surface transportation improvements in the short-term is the federal motor fuels user fee. A fuels tax increase should be the foundation of any new bill. To maintain purchasing power, the federal motor fuels tax should be indexed, and new funding mechanisms need to be explored; such as, tolls, congestion pricing, public-private partnerships (PPPs), and begin to study transitioning to a non-fuel based financing mechanism, such as a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax. NRMCA believes that sustainable practices should also be included in the next transportation bill. The benefits and advantages of transportation sustainability are largely linked to two factors – durability and longevity. Long-lasting, durable infrastructure components are inherently sustainable, because over the expected life of the infrastructure element, there is less energy consumed, lower consumption of raw materials, reduced congestion, as well as lower construction and congestion-related pollution, all related to less frequent reconstruction. These benefits translate into huge economic savings. NRMCA supports investment in infrastructure that is both environmentally and economically sustainable.
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TRUCK WEIGHTS
Ready Mixed Concrete Industry Position: Federal truck weight regulations need to be updated to increase gross weights limits on the Eisenhower Interstate System (EIS). Research shows that increased weight limits would alleviate traffic congestion, increase safety, save millions of dollars annually on pavement and bridge maintenance and increase the productivity of large trucks, such as ready mixed concrete trucks.
How It Affects Our Industry: Ready mixed concrete trucks have heavy empty (or tare) weights. This is attributable to structural design or specialized equipment installed on the vehicle for handling the load. Due to the heavy weight of the empty vehicle, the limits imposed by federal weight laws, especially the Federal Bridge Formula (FBF), leave little extra weight for carrying payload. For example, under federal weight limits a three-axle ready mixed concrete truck could weigh a maximum of 48,000 lbs. Only 18,000 lbs. (out of a potential 40,000 lbs.) is productive payload; 30,000 lbs. is the tare weight of the truck.
Federal weight laws force fully loaded ready mixed concrete trucks off the EIS and onto local and state roads that are generally built to lower standards. This causes congestion, makes for potentially unsafe driving conditions, prematurely degrades secondary roadways and drastically cuts industry efficiency. Increasing federal truck weight limits will allow ready mixed concrete trucks to be more productive, will help reduce congestion and will decrease the amount of fuel needed to carry the same amount of concrete to jobsites.
Background: In 1956 Congress passed legislation aimed at protecting the pavement and bridges on the EIS. Those protections came in the form of axle and gross weight limits. The federal law also authorized states to allow operation on the EIS beyond the specified limits, but only if operation was legal in the state prior to July 1, 1956. In response to energy use concerns, the Federal Aid Highway Amendments of 1974 increased the weight limits to allow larger and heavier trucks to utilize the EIS. As a balance to this concession, Congress created the FBF, which limits the size and weight of trucks by calculating the gross weight over the spacing and amount of axles; the heavier the weight, the greater the required spacing between axles.
Federal weight limits are set at 20,000 lbs. for a single axle, 34,000 lbs. for tandem axles, and 80,000 lbs. gross weight. In addition, the current FBF is overly cautious and no practical basis is given for the overstress criteria used to limit weights and configurations. These limits are the most restrictive of any developed nation. By comparison, though comparable U.S. trucks are limited to a maximum 80,000 lbs., the maximum weight for a six-axle truck in Canada is 95,900 lbs., in Mexico it is 106, 920 lbs., and the European Commission has set the limit at 97,000 lbs.
POWER TAKE-OFF (PTO) TAX CORRECTION
Ready Mixed Concrete Industry Position: Power take-off (PTO) tax correction for concrete mixer trucks would help to stimulate growth in the ready mixed concrete industry, which has been hit hard by skyrocketing fuel prices and the worst downturn in the housing market since 1991.
How It Affects Our Industry: In 1951, Congress imposed an excise tax on diesel fuel used to propel highway vehicles. In 1953, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Excise Tax Ruling Branch issued a Private Letter Ruling (PLR) clarifying that the fuel used for PTO operations of concrete mixer trucks is eligible for an excise tax credit. The PLR confirmed Congress’ intent that non-propulsive fuel use, such as PTO fuel use, should be statutorily exempt as an “off-highway business use.” However, nine years later, in 1960, the IRS made the determination that allowing a tax credit for PTO operations was administratively burdensome.
In 2005, Congress enacted the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act – A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). Section 11144 of SAFETEA-LU directed the IRS to study and report on PTO fuel usage and to propose options for exempting such use from the highway fuel excise tax. The recently completed report determined that 30.2 % of fuel consumed by a concrete mixer truck is used to perform the PTO function of turning the mixer drum. The study also identified five options for allowing a PTO fuel excise tax credit for concrete mixer trucks, which would amount to approximately $279 per truck per year for a total annual industry credit of roughly $21,500,000.
Background: IRS regulations regarding federal fuel taxes, written almost 50 years ago, allow for a tax credit for fuel used by equipment powered by a separate engine. However, the regulations disallow the credit for engines that perform both a PTO function and also propel the truck on-road. In essence, owners of modern trucks have been penalized for advancing technology that ultimately saves fuel by having a single more efficient engine perform both functions. Indeed, by the mid-1960s using a second engine to perform concrete mixer operations was obsolete technology.
Moreover, at least 29 states already offer some form of fuel tax relief for tax paid on PTO fuel!
The unwarranted and inequitable PTO tax burden on the ready mixed concrete industry must be rectified immediately. NRMCA is working on legislative language that will direct the IRS to initiate a rulemaking providing for a credit for the excise taxes paid on the PTO fuel use of concrete mixer trucks.