How can DOT compliance software help you meet upcoming annual safety and compliance deadlines?
With the first day of fall officially behind us, it’s time to look ahead on the calendar to see what’s happening in the safety and transportation industry in October. Here are this month’s DOT compliance and safety events:
- Unified Carrier Registration
- Pedestrian Safety Month
- National School Bus Safety Week
- Halloween
Important DOT Compliance Reminders
Annual Unified Carrier Registration Has Begun
The 2024 Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) season opened yesterday, October 1st. If you’re an interstate motor carrier who will operate next year, you’ll need to file your 2024 UCR by December 31st.
Have questions about UCR? We recently covered a few UCR FAQs on the Foley blog, including:
- What is Unified Carrier Registration?
- What if I didn’t purchase a UCR last year?
- What happens if I don’t update my UCR?
- How much does it cost?
Find out the answers to these questions (and more!) by reading this Foley blog post.
Our UCR experts are also here to guide you through the UCR registration process. It’s easy to file your 2025 UCR when Foley is your DOT compliance partner.
Industry Safety Initiatives & Events
Pedestrian Safety Month
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reminds drivers everywhere that everyone is a pedestrian, and we all deserve to walk safely in our communities.
There were 7,388 pedestrians killed in crashes throughout the United States in 2021 (source). It’s time to think about what we can do to increase awareness of pedestrians on our streets and reduce — or even better, eliminate — the number of pedestrian deaths that occur on our roadways.
The NHTSA has helpful resources to encourage your drivers to be mindful of pedestrians along their routes.
If your drivers need a reminder to drive safely during Pedestrian Safety Month and throughout the year, try Foley’s MVR Monitoring program. It can help reduce up to 34% of driver violations, so your fleet doesn’t become part of the statistic above.
ATA Management Conference & Exhibition
Join trucking industry leaders October 12-15 in Nashville, TN is the ATA SMC and TSC Policy Conference, which offers a platform for industry experts to discuss important issues regarding trucking safety and security.
The theme for this year's event is Nothing Without Trucking. A handful of the featured speakers include Abhishek Gupta, VP of Product Management at Motive; Chris Spear, President & CEO of American Trucking Associations; and Jason Rickman,
Hazardous Material Specialist at the FMCSA.
You can visit the MCE website for more details on the event and register here.
National School Bus Safety Week
Promoting efforts to keep those on, off, and around school buses safe, National School Bus Safety Week (NSBSW) is held every year during the third full week of October.
We rely on school bus drivers to get our children to and from school every day of the week. Making smarter and safer decisions on the roadways, especially when school buses are present, can help ensure our kids and bus drivers get to their destinations safely.
If you operate a school bus fleet, an MVR monitoring program can keep track of your drivers’ habits and keep our students and staff safe. You’ll also want to make sure your driver qualification files are up-to-date, ensuring your company can pass a DOT audit.
Here are some great school bus safety tips to share with anyone before, during, and after this annual event:
- Encourage children to wear bright, contrasting colors so they can be seen easily by bus drivers.
- Stop and look left, right, and then left again if you must cross the street to get on or off a bus.
- Warn children that if they drop something getting on and off the bus, they should never pick it up. Instead, they should tell the driver and follow the driver’s instructions.
- Ensure the use of electronic devices does not distract the bus driver.
You can also see the winners of this year’s NSBSW poster contest here.
Halloween 2024
The biggest night for frightening fun and spooky shenanigans is almost here! Although this holiday is all about sharing candy (or not), we also need to remember one more thing we all share on Halloween: the roadways.
Now is the time to remind your employees that buzzed driving is drunk driving. If they’re planning on partying the night away, they also need to plan ahead and ensure they have a designated driver. No one wants the nightmare of a deadly accident to come true.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) offers free promotional materials you can use to encourage safe and sober driving on Halloween.
Worried about your employees driving impaired on the job after Halloween or the rest of the year? Foley offers DOT drug and alcohol testing for pre-employment, random, and return-to-duty needs so you can ensure your fleet is operating safely.
Plus, what’s scarier than witches, monsters, and goblins? Unorganized, paper driver qualification files. It’s time to switch to 100% digital driver files, and Foley can help you get started.
DOT Compliance Software for Peace of Mind All Year-Round
Foley’s DOT compliance platform, Dash, features all the programs you need to meet FMCSA requirements, including MVR monitoring, driver qualification files, and background checks. Get a free demo of our platform with one of our compliance specialists now to avoid any scary violations this October!
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