Insights - March/April 2018 - 31

GOVERNMENT NEWS
that will surely
assist him in
his oversight
duties.
Martinez,
with a background as a
regulator, joined
FMCSA from
the New Jersey
Motor Vehicle
Martinez
Commission,
where he was chairman. Prior to that post,
he was a commissioner at the New York
State Department of Motor Vehicles and
served in the U.S. Department of State.
"There are many issues facing our industry - from implementation of the electronic
logging device rule to needed reforms to
[Compliance, Safety, Accountability], the
hours-of-service rules and much more," said
American Trucking Associations Chairman
Dave Manning, president of TCW Inc. "We
trust Ray to be fair and safety-conscious in
this new role."
At the Surface Transportation Board,
President Trump nominated Patrick Fuchs
and Michelle Schultz to become commissioners. Like the administrators, the nominations require Senate confirmation, which had
not occurred as Intermodal Insights went to
press.
In addition, Commissioner Ann Begeman
was appointed by President Trump as chair
of the STB.
STB nominee Schultz is currently deputy
general counsel at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. Fuchs is a senior staff member of the Senate Commerce,
Science and Transportation Committee.
The two nominations are additional
commissioner positions that were created
in 2015 by the STB Reauthorization Act and
have been not been filled previously.
In other federal news, FMCSA clarified
on Feb. 7 in a Federal Register notice how to
request a review of crash accountability.
Separately, a DOT Office of Inspector
General's report recommended that the motor carrier agency work more closely with the
industry to determine how driver detention
affects safety.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
released a study relating to drowsiness for
drivers of all types of motor vehicles. The
study of 3,500 people measured drowsiness

based on percentage of time a driver's
eyes are closed, finding that about 9
percent of all crashes and 11 percent of
crashes with injuries, airbag deployment or
significant property damage were related
to drowsiness.
On the state level, the issue of driver
classification was being reviewed in the
Alaska, Georgia, New Jersey and West
Virginia legislatures. Motor carrier contract
indemnity clauses were the subject of

Louisiana and Rhode Island activity, while
weight limit increases were under consideration in Oklahoma and West Virginia.
Maine legislators are weighing a state
bond issue to support infrastructure and
Utah's legislature approved the creation of
an inland port.
The latest state legislative activity
is available on the IANA website at
www.intermodal.org/resource-center/
government-affairs/legislative#stateleg.

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March/April 2018 | Intermodal Insights

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Insights - March/April 2018