Coronavirus | Covid-19 & Law Changing Circumstances for The Trucking Industry Delivering Goods

Coronavirus COVID-19 Update Courtesy of Coleman Vacuum Systems Inc. 
The most dreaded event of the year for many truck drivers has been put on hold for the first time ever, thanks to increasing demand for them as the Coronavirus pushes shoppers to panic buy and hospitals to load up on more supplies.

The International Roadcheck, typically scheduled for early summer, has been postponed "to later in the year," the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance announced recently. The CVSA is an intergovernmental agency with local, state, and federal commercial-driver safety officials from Mexico, Canada, and the United States.

Each year, the CVSA conducts a 72-hour "blitz" in which 13,000-plus inspectors pull over truck drivers and assess them for following key points of safety laws for commercial drivers. In the US and Canada, the CVSA said the 2019 blitz saw 67,072 inspections uncovering 12,019 critical vehicle problems and 2,784 driver violations.

Truck Driver Update & Status via Coleman Vacuum Systems Inc.

Those drivers and trucks were put out of service until the problems were resolved. An out-of-service order pushes a truck company's federal safety score lower, and it means a short-term loss of income.

The time spent during the inspection — and the downsides from potentially being placed out of service — encourages many truck drivers to just not work during International Road check, industry publication Freight Waves reported last year. Some take vacations, while others make necessary repairs to their trucks.

Laws are changing due to COVID-19 | Coronavirus pandemic - Coleman Vacuum Systems Inc.

In recent weeks, truck drivers have hustled to fulfill orders for retail goods and medical equipment, forcing the federal government to lift an 82-year-old trucking safety law earlier this month. That law requires truck drivers to drive no more than 11 hours in a 14-hour period — and the unprecedented lifting of that for certain loads was hailed as a win by drivers, many of whom detest the law.

As stores rush to restock shelves impacted by panic buying, freight-analytics company Project44 said loads to grocery and discount stores popped by more than 50% last week from the same week last year. Trucking jobs posted on freight marketplace DAT last week are up 66% from the beginning of the month.

Across the country, US sales of hand sanitizer jumped by 228% during the four weeks ending on March 7, compared to the same period last year, according to the most recently available data set from retail sales tracker Nielsen.

Traffic & Safety Laws for Trucking Industry Suspended - Coleman Vacuum Systems Inc. 
The federal administration that oversees regulations for America's six million professional drivers has temporarily suspended a trucking safety law that's been in place since 1938.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said Friday evening that truck drivers who are moving goods "in support of emergency relief efforts related to the COVID-19 outbreaks" will temporarily not have to follow the hours-of-service laws, which mandate how many hours a truck driver may work.

Trucking Food, Fuel & Medicine - COVID - 19 | Coronavirus - Coleman Vacuum Systems Inc. 

This is the first time since 1938, when the rule was developed, that it's been suspended on a national level. It's common for states and local governments to lift the rule amid natural disasters, when consumers "panic buy" household goods and hospitals need medical supplies.

"Waivers of this type are a common response by FMCSA to natural disasters and crises because trucks delivering food, fuel and medicine are a critical part of the response," America Trucking Associations spokesperson Sean McNally said in a statement to Business Insider. "This waiver will help keep loads of medicine, supplies and food moving as the country manages this current pandemic."