Author Archive for: Joe

Joe Rajkovacz

About Joe Rajkovacz

Joe Rajkovacz is the former Director of Governmental Affairs and Communications for the WSTA. He joined the association in 2012 after having spent six years as Director of Regulatory Affairs of another trucking association, and has now retired as of December 2024 after over 50 years in the industry. Prior to working with the associations, Mr. Rajkovacz spent 29 years as an active trucker and owner-operator.

Mr. Rajkovacz has extensive experience working with many government agencies and non-governmental organizations such as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), California Air Resources Board (CARB), US EPA, and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA). He is also a frequent guest on Sirius XM Radio’s Road Dog trucking (channel 147).

Mr. Rajkovacz attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI.

Entries by Joe Rajkovacz

Governor Newsom Press Office: “The Facts are Plain and Simple — California Commercial Driver’s License Holders Had a Fatal Crash Rate Nearly 40% LOWER than the National Average”

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Where did that stat come from? The “whizzing match” between Governor Newsom and the Trump Administration (specifically Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy) over crashes involving California commercial drivers license (CDL) holders has exploded into a disgusting display of political gamesmanship. After deadly crashes involving some California licensed CDL holders, U.S. DOT demanded California quit issuing non-domiciled […]

New Partnership Program for Members

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WSTA has recently partnered with Regulis to help members save 10+ hours per week and thousands per year by automating compliance and safety and all the related tasks – things like DQ files, state / federal filings, and maintenance schedules. WSTA assists members directly with many regulatory requirements of being a motor carrier such as […]

OPINION: Truck OEM’s Made a Deal with CARB They Likely Regret

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If you have attempted to purchase a new diesel powered truck in California (or even states that eagerly adopted CARBs ACT rule), you have probably run into a roadblock where the dealership cannot sell you the truck you want or need. This is directly the result of a deal struck between CARB and the Truck […]

CARB Retracts ACF Guidance to Small Fleets and Those that Hire Them

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As a result of the Western States Trucking Association (WSTA) litigation in the Superior Court of California challenging CARB’s Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation, we have reached a partial settlement on how the ACF applies to small fleets and the entities that hire them. Last November, CARB staff posted a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document […]

Don’t Fall for Employee Retention Credit Scams

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A growing number of employee retention credit scams are afoot, and you’ve maybe gotten some aggressive calls.  Scammers are employing creative means of bilking businesses out of excessive fees or engaging in outright fraud. This is leading to employers (including owner-operators) begging the question of, “is ERC a scam?” Yes and no. The ERC is […]

“Ghosting” Your US DOT Number: What it Means

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Don’t Wait till Your Insurance Company Notifies You By Joseph Rajkovacz “Broker fraud” is a subject most everyone is familiar with, but what about “ghosting” of a motor carrier? With all the emphasis over the past couple of years on all kinds of broker fraud that ultimately leaves the trucking company holding worthless accounts receivable […]

CHP Issues Final Rule Mandating ELD’s

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On November 13th, the California Highway Patrol dropped their final rule mandating Electronic-on-Board (ELD) recorders for hours-of-service compliance for California only motor carriers. The effective date of the rule for effected motor carriers is January 1, 2024. As soon as the final rule was published, the Association began to receive calls from members who were […]

California Petitions DOT to Reverse Previous Determination Prohibiting the State from Enforcing its Unique Meal & Rest Break Rule on Interstate Drivers

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After years of our members being legally extorted by trial lawyers for actual and alleged non-compliance with California meal & rest break (MRB) rules, in 2018, the WSTA was the first organization to petition the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to pre-empt California from enforcing its MRB rule on truck drivers subjected to hours-of-service […]

CARB Litigation Update – November 2023

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Opening Salvo in Legal Filings: WSTA et al v. US EPA Currently, there are three legal challenges to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulations mandating the sale of only zero-emissions trucks and that fleets can only add zero-emissions trucks to their fleet, the WSTA has two of those legal challenges. Below is a brief […]