compliance

Under the Department of Transportation's Compliance Safety Accountability (CSA) program, the Safety Measurement System quantifies the on-road safety performance of carriers and drivers to identify candidates for interventions. The system relies heavily on data from roadside inspections, so every vehicle and driver violation counts. Fortunately, proper maintenance and driver training can prevent nearly all of the most frequent violations private fleets receive.

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Thorough pre- and post-trip inspections help drivers and carriers meet federal safety standards and improve safety — and the results of roadside inspections can hurt or help carriers' safety scores depending on what law enforcement finds.

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New regulations affecting fleet operations are increasing, and carriers must comply with existing requirements while keeping up with the latest changes. The federal government, as well as states, are creating stricter emissions requirements. California often takes the lead at the state level, and several measures the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has adopted are being introduced or implemented in other states.

Keeping up with federal, state, and local regulations and record-keeping requirements can be a full-time job. Penske closely tracks regulatory requirements and works with equipment manufacturers to stay current on new and upcoming rules to ensure its customers are prepared.

Here are four regulations shaping the future of trucking:

Advanced Clean Fleets Rule

The Advanced Clean Fleets Rule (ACF) applies to companies that purchase equipment and mandates a 100% zero-emissions transition for on-road vehicles with GVWRs of 8,501 or more, yard tractors, and some light-duty package delivery vehicles between 2023 and 2042. Fleets are divided into drayage, public, and federal and high-priority fleets. California adopted the measure this year, which has been introduced in the Senate in New York.

ACF reporting requirements differ depending on the fleet type. Drayage fleet requirements, for example, apply to drayage vehicles that deliver to port and railyard facilities, and only zero-emission vehicles can be added to CA drayage operation starting January 1, 2024. Legacy diesel trucks must be removed when the engine reaches 18 years or 13 years and 800,000 miles. In California, trucks must visit a seaport or railyard at least once a year starting in 2024 to remain on the registry.

Requirements for high-priority and federal fleets apply if a company owns or dispatches 50 or more vehicles under common ownership or controls more than $50 million in gross annual revenue with at least one vehicle operating in the state. The federal fleet requirement applies to federal government fleets, hired affected fleets or subsidiaries, or fleet combinations with 50 or more trucks. They must only add zero-emission vehicles to their fleet after January 1, 2024, but may purchase near zero-emission vehicles if no zero-emission vehicle is available until 2035.

The ACF drayage truck reporting deadline is December 31, 2023. CARB said it is developing the online system to ensure access before the deadline.

Advanced Clean Truck Rule

While the ACF applies to companies that purchase equipment, the Advanced Clean Truck Rule (ACT) applies to manufacturers and sets a zero-emission vehicle sales requirement and a one-time reporting requirement for large entities and fleets.

In California, the rule begins with the 2024 model year. In Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington, the rule begins with the 2025 model year. It starts with the 2026 MY in Vermont and the 2027 MY in Colorado. The rulemaking is in progress in Washington, D.C., Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina, Maryland, Maine and Rhode Island.

ACT impacts the manufacturers who sell more than 500 vehicles over 8,500lbs GVWR, along with businesses that have a gross revenue greater than $50 million (beginning in 2019), operated a facility in the state in 2019, and have at least one vehicle with a GVWR more than 8,501 pounds. It also applies to fleets and brokers with more than 50 vehicles with a GVWR of more than 8,501 pounds and operating a facility in the state.

The rule created requirements for retailers, manufacturers, and brokers to submit information about shipments and fleets operating or dispatching 50 vehicles or more and report their existing fleet operations. CARB said the information will help identify future strategies to ensure fleets purchase available zero-emission trucks and place them in service where suitable to meet their needs.

Transportation Refrigeration Unit Requirements

Transportation refrigeration units (TRUs), which provide essential refrigeration needs for consumer products, are also subject to state and federal regulations. California established new requirements on TRUs beginning in 2022. Under the rules, all TRUs manufactured after December 2022 must use a refrigerant with a global warming potential value of less than 2,200 or no refrigerant. They also must have an OEM-supplied label.

Starting with the 2023 model year, new TRUs, except truck TRUs, must meet a preventive maintenance (PM) emission standard of 0.02 g/hp-hr or lower. By December 2023, TRU owners must register their CA-operated TRU, including out-of-state based TRUs, with CARB and pay a fee every three years.

Compliance extensions are available if delivery or installation is delayed through no fault of the owner, such as manufacturer or installer delays or delayed processing of financing. To qualify, applicants must show that they made a good-faith effort to comply by December 31 of the applicable compliance year. Additionally, trucks with TRUs must transition to zero-emission technology by the end of 2029. CARB has established a phase-in period, beginning in 2023, for fleets operating four or more TRUs.

CARB is also offering extensions for zero-emission truck TRU requirements due to unforeseen, temporary, or extenuating circumstances outside of the TRU owner’s or owner/operator’s control that prevent the installation of zero-emission fueling Infrastructure at the facility where the truck TRU fleet is domiciled. TRU owners must apply at least 12 months before the zero-emission truck TRU compliance deadline for delays due to utility infrastructure upgrades and at least three months prior for other delay types.

Warehouse Actions and Investments to Reduce Emissions Regulation

Warehouses are also subject to new requirements in California. The Warehouse Actions and Investments to Reduce Emissions (WAIRE), sometimes called the Indirect Source Rule, is a truck traffic-based credit and deficit system impacting Class 2B to Class 8 trucks.

Under the rule, facility operators within some regions of the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s jurisdiction must monitor and submit accurate vehicle travel data, and they must earn a specified number of points through emissions-reducing activities or pay mitigation fees. Penske has several solutions to help companies secure point-earning opportunities, such as using electric yard hostlers and tractors.

The regulation requires warehouses with more than 100,000 square feet of indoor space within a single building to complete emission mitigation actions and investments. Those within the specific areas must comply even if they only employ a portion of their facility for storage if they occupy at least 50,000 square feet of that area. There are compliance phases based on the size of the warehouse. Warehouses 250,000 square feet or more must comply beginning in 2022, while warehouses 150,000 feet or larger must comply this year. Warehouses 100,000 square feet or more will have to comply beginning January 1, 2024.

Contact your local sales representative to learn more about Penske’s equipment and the regulatory support we offer customers.

Federal law has required professional truck drivers to wear seat belts since 1970, and a record 86% of professional drivers use safety belts, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reported. According to FMCSA, safety belt use remains one of the cheapest, easiest and most important means to protect commercial motor vehicle drivers.

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New standards on lease accounting take effect for private companies and non-profit entities with fiscal years beginning in 2022, requiring them to recognize operating lease assets and liabilities on the balance sheet.

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Penske's Fleet Services and Operating Tax groups take the complexity out of the regulatory requirements commercial fleets encounter, enabling motor carriers to focus on their core business while remaining compliant with their federal, state, provincial and local tax obligations. Plus, Penske is always working behind the scenes to stay abreast of tax and vehicle legalization requirements in the U.S. and Canada so customers can remain in compliance even as the regulatory landscape changes.

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Live diagnostic reporting systems have a number of benefits for carriers, including minimizing delays associated with breakdowns and reducing the risk of Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) violations, but unless the systems are managed properly, carriers may be overwhelmed with fault codes that leave them with more questions than answers.

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The compliance deadline for new lease accounting standards took effect in January for calendar-end public companies. That means public companies, whether they report under International Financial Reporting Standards or current Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), are now required to recognize operating lease assets and liabilities on the balance sheet. Private companies have until 2020 to comply.

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Fleets have data coming at them from multiple sources, including electronic logging devices and the engine.

When managed properly, information can be used to improve operations and increase efficiency. Otherwise, the vast amount of data can be overwhelming to private fleets.

“You have to be wary of paralysis by analysis,” said Mike Hasinec, vice president of maintenance support at Penske Truck Leasing.

Fortunately, Penske Truck Leasing can help private fleets monitor and organize data to make it accessible and usable.

ELD Data

Electronic logging devices became mandatory in 2017, and data obtained from the devices can help private fleets become more efficient and improve safety. Fleets could use data to examine the productivity of individual drivers and make decisions regarding their loads.

In addition, ELDs could make it easier to track miles traveled in each state. ELDs could also change conversations with shippers by making it easier to identify which shippers are detaining drivers and drive discussions regarding loading and unloading.

Engine Communications

Live diagnostic reporting systems have a number of benefits for carriers, including minimizing delays associated with breakdowns and reducing the risk of CSA violations. But unless the systems are managed properly, carriers may be overwhelmed with fault codes that leave them with more questions than answers.

“There are so many fault codes. You need to work with an OEM to determine which codes are important,” Hasinec said.

Penske Truck Leasing has taken more than 1,000 fault codes and categorized them into red, yellow and green to help technicians, carriers and drivers understand which codes require immediate attention.

For private fleets, the important element is to be able to decipher what the fault codes mean. “If you have identified what is important, you can manage a phone call from the driver to let them know not to worry about it, write the code up that night or pull over at the first safe opportunity,” Hasinec said, adding that Penske has identified 12 critical codes.

Penske can also analyze fault codes and adjust preventive maintenance schedules if certain items are failing prematurely. This minimizes the risk of an over-the-road failure and increases a vehicle’s uptime.

Financial Information

Full-service leases through Penske Truck Leasing can help consolidate information, including billing and financial data, so it can be pulled up with the click of a mouse. Having the information in a central location makes it easier for chief financial officers to access the data when they need it.

Regulatory Compliance

Penske Truck Leasing compiles information related to regulatory compliance of Class 8 trucks and carefully tracks information related to maintenance. Proper maintenance not only minimizes the risk of roadside inspection violations but also ensures information on maintenance is readily available in the event of a Department of Transportation (DOT) audit. Penske can also assist with licensing, further reducing the regulatory burden on private fleets and improving record keeping as it applies to critical data.