Smith System, a professional driver training company, announced a nationwide series of seminars to help fleets meet the new U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) hours-of-service requirements that will be enforced beginning January 4, 2004. The DOT Compliance Seminars will be held in cities around the country from September through the end of the year. In April 2003, the DOT announced the first substantial change to the hours-of-service rules since 1939. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and its state enforcement partners have stated that they will be enforcing the final rule. Carriers and their drivers need to quickly become familiar with the new regulation and make any procedural changes necessary for compliance. “We recognize that this is a significant change for carriers. That is why we initiated an interactive, hands-on seminar to specifically address DOT compliance issues,” said Tony Douglas, president of Smith System. “For more than 50 years, Smith System has been at the forefront of driver training and serving commercial fleets, and this is an area where we have significant expertise.” In addition to the new rules, the Smith System DOT Compliance Seminars will also update attendees on general DOT regulations and interpretations. This includes accident reporting, recordkeeping, driver qualification, alcohol and drug testing, CDL, driving rules and maintenance. The seminar instructors will be Tony Douglas, president and CEO of Smith System, and Jeff Simon, facility management consultant for Performa, Inc. Douglas has more than 23 years experience in the transportation industry, including VP of safety and risk management for North America’s largest hauler of bulk hazardous materials. He has also presented DOT seminars nationally. Simon currently specializes in compliance engineering at Performa and has more than 27 years of management experience with commercial fleets. He has spent the last 13 years as a nationwide seminar presenter and is a recognized national speaker on regulatory and safety topics. The seminar fee is $229 for the first attendee, $199 for each additional, with every third attendee free. For a full schedule of classes and locations, or to enroll, call Smith System at 800-777-7648 or visit www.smith-system.com/dot. About Smith System
Smith System Driver Improvement Institute, Inc. was founded in 1952 as the nation's first fleet driver safety training organization with on-road, hands-on safety education techniques for experienced drivers. Smith System delivers behind the wheel instruction to more than 15,000 fleet drivers each year and has presented their program in 47 countries. In the past decade, Smith has provided services to more than half of the current Fortune 500® fleets and is the only company in the industry that guarantees the quality of their training. In addition to its on-road training and extensive video and DVD library, the company offers web-based education and fleet monitoring.