Extra Enforcement for Hwy 43 Bridge in Winona
Courtesy MTA
The Minnesota Department of Transportation is seeking assistance in reminding the users of Mn/DOT Bridge 5900 (carrying Highway 43 over the main channel of the Mississippi River) that the bridge is posted at 40 tons gross weight per vehicle. Mn/DOT's Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) sensors and camera have detected a number of overweight vehicles are still illegally using this bridge.
Please advise users that Mn/DOT has requested additional enforcement efforts of the gross weight posting on this bridge. The posting was put into effect last June to reduce stresses on certain bridge members and reduce the need for repairs and associated traffic interruptions. More frequent repairs may be needed if Mn/DOT continues to see loading above the posted limits. The Highway 43 Bridge is posted at 40 tons gross weight per vehicle, regardless of the nature of the load (no exceptions for timber or agricultural products) or winter weight increases.
Seasonal Load Limits
Courtesy MTA
Spring truck weight limits in the central frost zone will end at 12:01 a.m. on May 4. On May 8, weight limits will be lifted in the north central and north frost zones as well, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced.
When the limits end for the north central and north zones, spring weight limits will end statewide. Mn/DOT lifted weight limits in the south, southeastern and Twin Cities metropolitan area frost zones on April 27.
Spring load restrictions dates and the six frost zones in Minnesota are listed on the Mn/DOT Office of Materials' Web site: www.mrr.dot.state.mn.us. Click on "seasonal load limits," then click on "spring load restrictions." This Web site contains the most up-to-date information on spring load restrictions.
The ending dates for spring restrictions are based on how weather affects roadway strength. These dates are established by monitoring roadway strength as weather conditions change. All changes are made with a minimal three-day notice.
For the most current information, please go to Mn/DOT's automated message center for a taped message at 1-800/723-6543 for the U. S and Canada; call 651/366-5400 for information about the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.
Barbara Kopka Promoted
Barbara Kopa has been promoted to Vice President of Drug and Alcohol Programs at Midwest Compliance Inc.
As a DATIA certified DER and CPC, Barb oversees all aspects of our federal and workplace drug and alcohol testing programs.
Midwest Compliance Opens New Site
We're excited about the opening of our new exam facility in the north metro area.
When your drivers need a DOT physical or a drug test, give us a call at 800-656-1396 to schedule an appointment.
We are located in the Truck Writers building in Blaine, on the west side of the 35W Service Road.
If you have questions, or would like additional information, give us a call we’d be happy to set up a consultation for you. Until then….take it one load at a time!
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Thursday, March 24, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
When a Positive is a Negative
Educate your drivers about the federal drug testing pitfalls!
by Sandra Brakstad, CEO
Midwest Compliance Inc.
Our industry has been testing drivers for controlled substances nearly seventeen years and carriers are still telling us “it’s not really a positive because the driver only took a couple of their spouses pain pills for a sore back…or the driver only took a spoonful of his son’s prescription cough syrup because they both have the same cold symptoms.”
Sorry, but in the above examples the test result will be deemed a positive test because the prescription drug ingested by the driver was not prescribed to the driver.
As you know, a positive result can set off a long chain of events;
1) The carrier must now direct the driver to a Substance Abuse Professional, (SAP), for an evaluation - usually at the driver’s expense.
2) Once evaluated, the driver may be directed to enroll in some type of therapy or at the very least an educational class, once again at his expense.
3) The therapy/education may take several weeks during which time the driver is not permitted to work in the capacity of performing a ‘safety-sensitive’ job. See 49CFR Part 382.107 for the definition of safety-sensitive function.
4) Once class time is completed, the driver must pass a return-to-duty drug/alcohol test, at his expense.
5) And if the carrier’s policy allows the driver to return to work or requires the driver to find another carrier to hire him; now the employing carrier must conduct the follow-up program prescribed by the SAP, which could run out over a 60 month period, and most likely the driver will have to pay for each follow-up test.
We live in a noisy, busy world and many of us do not want to take time from work for a doctor’s visit for an annoying back ache, or head cold. That’s understandable, but if you are enrolled in a controlled substance testing program, do not take someone else’s prescribed drugs! You might also suggest to your drivers they weigh the consequences of getting ‘caught’ and the time and money it will cost vs. a visit to the doctor ~ just saying.
As carriers, whether you are private or for-hire, most of you are required to have a federal testing program. You are also required to have a controlled substance testing policy written to the federal regs. (If you do not have one, visit www.midwestcompliance.com and customize your own policy.) You must ensure that each of your applicable drivers has read and signed an acknowledgment of understanding of this policy. The problem, as I see it, is many drivers do not read the policy and fail to understand the consequences of a simple act of medicating their symptoms with a family member’s prescript. To take it a step further, many of the people involved in qualifying / orienting their drivers have not read the companies policy either; or if they have, they fail to communicate the controlled substance no-no’s to the drivers.
Making certain your drivers are familiar with what constitutes a positive test result can save your company and your driver’s time and money. Below are the most common situations that will result in a positive test or be of a type that will carry the same consequences as a positive result:
• controlled substances in their system, not prescribed to them
• leaving the testing site before completion of the collection process once the process has begun
• obstructing the testing process in any way, (failing to cooperate)
• failing to appear for any test (except a pre-employment test) within a reasonable time period
• failing to permit a directly observed or monitored collection, when required
• failing to provide a sufficient amount of urine, when it has been determined through a medical evaluation that there was no medical explanation for the failure
• declining to take an additional drug test the employer or collector has directed
• possessing or wearing a prosthetic or other device that could be used to interfere with the collection
• adulterating or substituting the specimen
If you have questions, or would like additional information, give us a call we’d be happy to set up a consultation for you. Until next month….take it one load at a time!
by Sandra Brakstad, CEO
Midwest Compliance Inc.
Our industry has been testing drivers for controlled substances nearly seventeen years and carriers are still telling us “it’s not really a positive because the driver only took a couple of their spouses pain pills for a sore back…or the driver only took a spoonful of his son’s prescription cough syrup because they both have the same cold symptoms.”
Sorry, but in the above examples the test result will be deemed a positive test because the prescription drug ingested by the driver was not prescribed to the driver.
As you know, a positive result can set off a long chain of events;
1) The carrier must now direct the driver to a Substance Abuse Professional, (SAP), for an evaluation - usually at the driver’s expense.
2) Once evaluated, the driver may be directed to enroll in some type of therapy or at the very least an educational class, once again at his expense.
3) The therapy/education may take several weeks during which time the driver is not permitted to work in the capacity of performing a ‘safety-sensitive’ job. See 49CFR Part 382.107 for the definition of safety-sensitive function.
4) Once class time is completed, the driver must pass a return-to-duty drug/alcohol test, at his expense.
5) And if the carrier’s policy allows the driver to return to work or requires the driver to find another carrier to hire him; now the employing carrier must conduct the follow-up program prescribed by the SAP, which could run out over a 60 month period, and most likely the driver will have to pay for each follow-up test.
We live in a noisy, busy world and many of us do not want to take time from work for a doctor’s visit for an annoying back ache, or head cold. That’s understandable, but if you are enrolled in a controlled substance testing program, do not take someone else’s prescribed drugs! You might also suggest to your drivers they weigh the consequences of getting ‘caught’ and the time and money it will cost vs. a visit to the doctor ~ just saying.
As carriers, whether you are private or for-hire, most of you are required to have a federal testing program. You are also required to have a controlled substance testing policy written to the federal regs. (If you do not have one, visit www.midwestcompliance.com and customize your own policy.) You must ensure that each of your applicable drivers has read and signed an acknowledgment of understanding of this policy. The problem, as I see it, is many drivers do not read the policy and fail to understand the consequences of a simple act of medicating their symptoms with a family member’s prescript. To take it a step further, many of the people involved in qualifying / orienting their drivers have not read the companies policy either; or if they have, they fail to communicate the controlled substance no-no’s to the drivers.
Making certain your drivers are familiar with what constitutes a positive test result can save your company and your driver’s time and money. Below are the most common situations that will result in a positive test or be of a type that will carry the same consequences as a positive result:
• controlled substances in their system, not prescribed to them
• leaving the testing site before completion of the collection process once the process has begun
• obstructing the testing process in any way, (failing to cooperate)
• failing to appear for any test (except a pre-employment test) within a reasonable time period
• failing to permit a directly observed or monitored collection, when required
• failing to provide a sufficient amount of urine, when it has been determined through a medical evaluation that there was no medical explanation for the failure
• declining to take an additional drug test the employer or collector has directed
• possessing or wearing a prosthetic or other device that could be used to interfere with the collection
• adulterating or substituting the specimen
If you have questions, or would like additional information, give us a call we’d be happy to set up a consultation for you. Until next month….take it one load at a time!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
FMCSA Drops Cargo Insurance Requirement
According to the FMCSA, after March 21, 2011, freight forwarders and for-hire carriers will no longer be required to maintain cargo insurance for freight lost or damaged in transit. The Federal Motor Carrier agency said it is removing the minimum insurance requirement, which provides cargo coverage up to $5,000 per vehicle or $10,000 per incident. “FMCSA does not believe it is necessary to mandate cargo insurance requirements for the benefit of most commercial shippers,” the agency stated in a notice published in the Federal Register last year.
"Regardless of whether a carrier has insurance, for-hire carriers can be held liable for any loss or damage to cargo under existing statutes", FMCSA said. "The law also allows carriers and shippers to negotiate a limit on the value of a load for insurance purposes. And shippers can purchase insurance directly, rather than rely on motor carriers or forwarders to provide such coverage." "The current cargo insurance requirement applies to less than half of regulated for-hire carriers", the agency noted.
Minimum cargo insurance requirements will remain in effect for carriers and forwarders of household goods. “The only shippers that FMCSA considered in need of the protection provided by the cargo insurance requirement are individuals who arrange to move their own household goods,” the agency said. “Such individuals are less knowledgeable about carrier liability requirements and need the protection afforded by the existing regulations.”
"Regardless of whether a carrier has insurance, for-hire carriers can be held liable for any loss or damage to cargo under existing statutes", FMCSA said. "The law also allows carriers and shippers to negotiate a limit on the value of a load for insurance purposes. And shippers can purchase insurance directly, rather than rely on motor carriers or forwarders to provide such coverage." "The current cargo insurance requirement applies to less than half of regulated for-hire carriers", the agency noted.
Minimum cargo insurance requirements will remain in effect for carriers and forwarders of household goods. “The only shippers that FMCSA considered in need of the protection provided by the cargo insurance requirement are individuals who arrange to move their own household goods,” the agency said. “Such individuals are less knowledgeable about carrier liability requirements and need the protection afforded by the existing regulations.”
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