Trucking news and briefs for Tuesday, July 30, 2024:
Covenant/Landair get pre-CDL waiver
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has granted a waiver to Covenant Transport and Landair Transport, jointly doing business as Covenant Logistics, to allow a commercial learner’s permit holder who has passed the CDL skills test to operate a Covenant Logistics truck without a co-driver in the passenger seat.
As with other similar exemptions granted to C.R. England, CRST, and other fleets, the waiver allows CLP holders who have passed the CDL skills test but not yet returned to their home state to obtain their CDL to essentially drive in team operations with another driver in the truck, but not necessarily in the passenger seat as required by federal regulations.
Covenant said that granting the waiver would allow these drivers to “begin immediate and productive on-the-job training” and allow them “to improve their recently acquired driving skill set and put them to work immediately at an income that meets or exceeds industry standards.”
FMCSA said it received 27 comments on the waiver request – 25 of which were opposed to granting the exemption. Only two were in favor of it.
“The premise of comments opposing the exemption is that CLP holders lack experience and are safer drivers when directly observed by a CDL holder who is on duty and in the front seat of the vehicle,” FCMSA said. “However, CLP holders who have passed the CDL skills test are eligible to obtain a CDL without further training. If these CLP holders had obtained their training and CLPs in their state of domicile, they could immediately obtain their CDL at the in-state [licensing agency] and begin driving a CMV without any on-board supervision.”
The agency added that it has no record of any of the other fleets operating under the exemption experiencing a deterioration of their safety records or an increase in involvement in crashes.
International trucks recalled over tie rod issue
Navistar is recalling another batch of trucks due to an issue related to tie rod assemblies used in the trucks, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents.
The company previously recalled approximately 116 model year 2025 International HV, LT, MV and RH trucks.
Another recall reported July 25 affects approximately 532 model year 2025 International HV, HX, LT, MV, and RH vehicles in which the tie rod assemblies may contain ball studs that have been incorrectly heat-treated, which can cause them to break, and possibly result in tie rod failure.
The recall documents note that certain ball studs supplied to Meritor by a third-party supplier, USK International, and which Meritor incorporated into certain steer axles and replacement tie rod assemblies, did not meet case hardening specifications, and there is a risk that the ball studs could be more brittle than intended.
Navistar dealers will replace the tie rod end and re-align the front axle, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed Sept. 9. Owners can contact Navistar customer service at 1-800-448-7825 with recall number 24511. NHTSA’s recall number is 24V-556.
Trade associations urge Congress to delay small-business reporting requirement
A group of more than 130 trade associations across numerous industries are urging members of Congress to delay a small-business reporting requirement created as a result of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).
As reported back in February, the United States Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) requires any newly established LLC, corporation, LLP and some other business types, including any owner-operator or small fleet who's filed with their Secretary of State to establish the business, have 90 days to report Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) to FinCEN and the Treasury.
A federal district court in March ruled that the CTA was unconstitutional with its new reporting requirements for small businesses, issuing a permanent injunction blocking the government from enforcing the CTA against the plaintiffs. However, FinCEN interpreted the ruling to only apply to the plaintiffs in the case and subsequently appealed the ruling.
A letter sent on July 25 to Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), leaders of the Senate Committee on Banking, asked the senators to support amending the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act to delay the CTA filing deadline of Jan. 1, 2025, by a year. The coalition said this would “provide the business community and federal regulators additional time to educate millions of small business owners regarding the CTA’s new reporting requirements and the onerous penalties resulting if they fail to comply,” as well as “allow time for the ongoing legal challenge to work its way through the courts while restoring Congress’s original intent to give covered entities a full two years to comply with the statute’s reporting requirements.”
Despite filing under the CTA beginning at the beginning of this year, “only a few million businesses have registered, while an estimated 28 million covered small businesses have yet to file. This compliance rate of less than 10 percent is a direct result of the general lack of awareness among business owners regarding the new rules.”
