FMCSA Releases Safety Measurement System to Motor Carriers

August 16, 2010 – The U. S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is pleased to announce the next step in the rollout of Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA 2010).

CSA 2010 Data Preview
Commercial motor vehicle carriers may now view their individual safety assessments on the Data Preview Website. This updated Website provides motor carriers with information on where they stand in each Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) based on roadside data and investigation findings. Each motor carrier’s BASIC assessments are visible only to them (and to enforcement staff) until December of 2010. In December, assessments will be made available to the public. Also, enforcement agencies will use these assessments to prioritize the Agency’s enforcement and compliance assistance workload. By providing carriers with this information now, FMCSA’s approach gives carriers the earliest possible opportunity to improve compliance.

FMCSA is providing motor carriers with this early look at the new Safety Measurement System (SMS) so they can see their performance data, can address safety compliance issues right away and can update and verify their data online. Release of this safety performance information underscores FMCSA’s commitment to data integrity and the motor carrier industry’s responsibility for ensuring commercial vehicle safety. This important step is designed to allow motor carriers to identify and address unsafe behaviors that can lead to crashes. What can motor carriers do now to prepare for the new system? Motor carriers should look at their assessment on the Data Preview Website, identify any data mistakes, verify and update their motor carrier census data, in particular power units (PU) and vehicle miles travelled (VMT) on the MCS-150 form, and take the necessary steps to correct unsafe driver and/or company safety practices.

More Information
Complete details on the Data Preview are available through Data Preview Guidance (FAQs), the new SMS Methodology Version 2.0 and SMS Changes Explanation. FMCSA has responded to field test results and stakeholder feedback to improve SMS. To learn more about CSA 2010, and to stay updated during the coming months, subscribe to the CSA 2010 RSS feed or email list at: http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/Stay_Connected.aspx.

Thank You,
CSA 2010 Web Team
USDOT/Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Published in today’s Federal Register is a Department of Transportation Final Rule: 

Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs 
The following is a summary of the Final Rule:

 
1)      The Department is required by the Omnibus Transportation Employees Testing Act (Omnibus Act) to follow the HHS requirements for the testing procedures/protocols and drugs for which we test.

 
2)      Primary laboratory requirements in this final rule include:
            – Testing for MDMA (aka. Ecstasy);
            – Lowering cutoff levels for cocaine and amphetamines;
            – Conducting mandatory initial testing for heroin;
 

3)      The Department brought several testing definitions in-line with those of HHS.
 

4)      Each Medical Review Officer (MRO) will need to be re-qualified – including passing an examination given by an MRO training organization – every five years.  The Final Rule eliminated the requirement for each MRO to take 12 hours of continuing education every three years.

5)      An MRO will not need to be trained by an HHS-approved MRO training organization as long as the MRO meets DOT’s qualification and requalification training requirements.
6)      MRO recordkeeping requirements did not change from the five years for non-negatives and one year for negatives.
7)      The Final Rule does not allow the use of HHS-Certified Instrumented Initial Testing Facilities (IITFs) to conduct initial drug testing because the Omnibus Act requires laboratories to be able to perform both initial and confirmation testing but IITFs cannot conduct confirmation testing.
8)      The Final Rule is effective October 1, 2010. 

You can view the Final Rule at the Federal Register’s website:  http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-20095.pdf.

The document will also be available on the ODAPC website later today at http://www.dot.gov/ost/dapc.

Jim L. Swart
Director
Office of Drug and Alcohol
Policy and Compliance

At Winter Group we are constantly striving to get you markets that provide the coverage that you need and that has been interrupted recently and for that we apologize. That is why we have worked around the clock to get new programs to help gain back what was temporarily out of reach and with that Phillip Winter, Chairman of the Board and owner of Winter Group, Inc. announced today that we have formed a relationship with Global Hawk Insurance Company to quote insurance with this company.  We are pleased to make this relationship with Global Hawk to complete the underwriting risks that WGi had been customarily writing for their broker force up until recently.  This relationship will continue to provide a viable and sound source of insurance to its brokers.

For the foreseeable future all quote requests for Global Hawk will be sent to Bonnie Coverstone at bcoverstone@wintergroupinc.com or faxed to 858-444-3261 attention Bonnie for processing.  WGi will be posting a page on their website at truckerinsofusa.com with the required applications and information that is needed to quote.  Global Hawk’s appetite for risk is as listed below:

• At Global Hawk insurance, trucking runs in the family. They provide coverage for:
• Physical Damage,
• Cargo,
• General Liability
• Workers Comp.
• Hired & Non-Owned,
• Local & 48 States,
• Dump Trucks,
• Seasonal,
• Tow Trucks

…..and more. 

They provide instant filings: ICC, MCP, MCS-90, DMV and Instant Certificates.

Their turn around time is 24 to 48 hours or sooner.

We know that his is a strong market from a strong company. The founder and president of Global Hawk began his working career as a trucker. He knows the road and the ropes. He has surrounded himself with others possessing considerable expertise in the trucking industry. They know where truckers have been and they want to help you get where you are going with a minimum of trouble and expense and a maximum level of comfort in the knowledge that your on-going business risks have been properly transferred.

Global Hawk Insurance Company (RRG) is formed under the Liability Risk Retention Act (LRRA) which is a federal law passed by Congress in 1986 to help U.S. businesses, professionals, municipalities obtain liability insurance which had become either unaffordable or unavailable due to the liability crisis in the United States. In passing the Liability Risk Retention Act, Congress provided insurance buyers with a marketplace solution to the liability crisis, enabling them to have a greater control of their liability insurance programs. This control translates into lower rates, broader coverage, effective loss control/risk management programs and stability of coverage.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call your underwriter. We know you will love their great coverage and low rates

Cheap…We all hate that word and yet oddly love it. We all want things to cost us less so we want them to be “cheap,” but we want our money’s worth so we don’t want them to be “cheap” and not give us the quality we expected. I hate using the word cheap, but let’s face it: sometimes you have to say it.

Think about: the last time you were looking online for the best price did you type into Google, “most cost effective computer,” or “inexpensive TV?” If you were like millions of searchers on Google you would type “Cheap computers” or “Cheap TV.” We all do it because we want the lowest price, but we also want good quality. That is what makes Winter Group a great General Agent: We have low prices and great insurance. Insurance that will be there for you.

Winter Group as your general agent will provide you with cheap truckers insurance. We will provide you with the best in quality insurance, but the prices are so low they must be called cheap. We will look for the best coverage for your truckers at the cheapest possible price. Since we are a General Agent, Winter Group has the markets and the underwriting know how to get your clients cheap insurance.

So even if cheap is sometimes a dirty word that we just don’t like to say Winter Group does provide cheap insurance. The way we do that is by comparing markets. We have the best in truck insurance markets. Our people give you an edge because they compare rates from companies and unlike a certain commercial they actually have the ability to write with those other companies and give you that best rate.

Try our markets out. I think if you look around the program page you will learn a thing or two and maybe, just maybe you will find yourself some cheap insurance too.

Of course Winter Group writes trucker insurance. Anyone who works with us knows and understands that we are a great truck insurance General Agent.
      We are general agents who understand truck insurance better than anyone. We consider ourselves the truck insurance specialists. I would put our underwriters’ up against any underwriters in the field and believe they would be proven superior through the quality of their quotes. They know semi truck drivers, they know what they need, but…
     It seems that some people may have forgotten that Winter Group Inc. is not just a General Truck Drivers Insurance Agency, but truly a general agent that is able to give you a complete commercial transportation insurance experience. That is why our underwriting department (remember those smart people who are really good at their job I was talking about before) got together with marketing and we at Winter Group came up with a plan to help you remember all that we do. Why not give an extra 1% commission on all of our new business placed with Argonaut Midwest carriers before June 23rd, 2010. It is good for you because you get extra commission, and it is great for us because it is our way of reminding all of you about the other types of transportation insurance we can write.

Just look at this list that Argonaut is covering:

1. Apartment, Hotels & Motels (service units & Courtesy vans)
2. Appliance Delivery & Repair
3. Artisan Contractors
4. Bobtail (Non Trucking liability)
5. Boy or Girl Scout Vans & Buses
6. Canoe Rental/Rafting escort vehicles
7. Casino Shuttles

8. Church Buses and Vans
9. Courtesy Vans & Buses & Youth Center Buses/Van
10. Day Care Buses/Vans (Not adult daycare)
11. Florist
12. Head Start Buses & Vans
13. Landscape Contractors
14. Masonry Contractors

15. Outfitter Buses
16. Plumbing Contractors
17. Rafting Guide Vans
18. Religious Institution Vans/Buses
19. School Buses & Vans
20. Street Sweepers
21. Tree Trimmers

Now remember these important facts when considering this great Argonaut Midwest program: this market is in California only and with a 300 mile radius. Also Argonaut Midwest is an “A” rated company so we are offering you the best of insurances.
You can send in our quick quote application, MVR’s & loss runs and we will be happy to review this and provide you with a quote for your account. When we have received the required items to quote, we should be able to turn the quote around quickly for you. Sometimes we can get that quote back to you in as little as 24 hours.
Now just because this market is in California only does not mean we do not have a market for these types of risks in other states. A quick call to marketing or to your underwriter will help you to decide what we are able to do for. Winter Group writes all sorts of commercial lines so please do not hesitate to give us a call.

At Winter Group we are striving to be the best General Agent you will ever work with. Because of that we want to not only be innovative, but also innovators. That is why we want to bring you the “Insurer’s Exit.” It will be a blog about our industry as a whole, a place that you can come often and find out the latest and most important information about our ever changing industry.

        The past few years have seen great changes to our markets due to many stressing market factors. This blog will be a resource to help us adapt and grow in these new markets. Since we at Winter Group are general agents that means we cannot survive without your continued success. Because of that we want to not only sell you insurance but to also give you the resources to make you successful. We will help you with the latest in marketing trends and strive to give you the most useful information on trucker’s insurance possible. That is why you should always check back here for the latest info on social networks, corporate insurance, intermodal trucking, towing, prepaid legal, small fleet, large fleet and anything else that would help our brokers and their customers.

        We hope you enjoy this blog as much as I am sure we will enjoy writing it.