Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, June 25, 2020:
FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee to discuss aging workforce, hemp legalization
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC) will hold a meeting in mid-July to discuss various issues in the trucking industry and how they impact safety, including the legalization of hemp and trucking’s aging workforce.
The meeting will be held via videoconference on Monday, July 13, and Tuesday, July 14, from 9:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern each day.
MCSAC will focus on the impact of the aging demographic of commercial truck and bus drivers and whether that trend will exacerbate the industry’s perceived driver shortage. The committee will look at how this could impact carriers’ ability to deliver goods and services safely in interstate commerce.
FMCSA will also brief the committee during the meeting on the impact of the legalization of hemp on the safety oversight of truck drivers. The agency says it is looking at any actions it should consider “to ensure motor carriers, drivers and enforcement officials have appropriate guidance concerning hemp and what happens if drivers test positive for tetrahydrocannabinol.”
Advanced registration for the meeting is not required, but it is encouraged. FMCSA asks that those wishing to attend email Shannon L. Watson, FMCSA senior advisor to the associate administrator of policy, at [email protected] to register.
Firm warns of heightened cargo theft activity in Memphis
Cargo theft recording firm SensiGuard has noted an increase in the last week in the rate of pilferage cargo thefts in a small area of southeast Memphis, Tennessee. The firm says a variety of product types have been targeted while waiting to deliver goods outside a customer, typically overnight.
“These pilferages have been relatively large scale, typically involving multiple pallets of merchandise rather than a few cases or boxes,” the firm notes.
SensiGuard offers the following recommendations for drivers delivering to the Memphis area:
- Minimize overnight waits as much as possible
- Try to park inside the facility lot instead of the street, if possible
- Use high-security seals or hardened padlocks that require more than bolt cutters to remove
- Place a heavy-gauge wire seal at the top of the trailer that is inaccessible from the street level
- Report to law enforcement any suspicious vehicles or individuals seen outside of distribution centers
- Be alert for vehicles following you, and report any such activity
