The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act of 2012 Act (MAP-21 Act) was passed by both the House and the Senate on June 29, 2012 and signed into law by President Obama on July 8th. The MAP-21 act is a comprehensive transportation-funding bill with provisions that affect the trucking industry.
The bill will affect the industry in the following ways:
- The broker bond requirement has been increased to $75,000 from $10,000.
- Minimum training requirements for truckers will be implemented within a year. These requirements and proof of the training will be necessary for all new commercial drivers and those seeking to upgrade to a different class license.
- A database will be established for all commercial drivers within the next two years. Driver histories as well as drug and alcohol tests will be a part of this database.
- All drivers will be required to add logging devices on to their vehicles within the next two years.
The goal of the bill is to raise the industry standard, hold drivers to the highest safety standards, and remove the highest risk drivers, vehicles and carriers from the road. However, it brings a number of new requirements and regulations that affect many trucking companies. If you have any questions, please let us know.
