DOT enforcement push coming in early May

Editor's note: Post reprinted with permission of Tal Coley, AmericanHort's director of government affairs, and the original author.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, an organization comprised of local, state, and federal motor vehicle safety officials, will be conducting their annual readiness check on May 4-6. Officials will be performing roadside inspections with the main focus on two things – lighting and hours-of-service violations.

Things could get a little tricky in the interstate realm. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) decision to include horticulture in the agricultural commodity definition (which allows drivers to use the ag exemption for determining hours-of-service) was only finalized in December. Word travels slowly, and many enforcement officials may not be aware of the change. We can’t stress enough how important it is to have a copy of the regulations in trucks in case there is a problem.