For anyone with TX registered vehicles –

TX passed a new state bill and as such there are no longer inspection stickers for our annual inspection.

No inspection stickers for TX vehicles as of March 1, 2015.   Reduced inspection fees as well.   Just be sure to keep your inspection paperwork.

Catch - inspection and license renewal must be within 90 days.   Anyone needing an inspection on a commericial vehicle now will most likely have to have it re-inspected prior the September license renewal date.

Educate your drivers how to explain this to roadside inspectors in other states.

http://twostepsonesticker.com/

With the midterm elections over, we have the addition of three states that have legalized marijuana.  DC, Oregon and Alaska have now joined the ranks of WA and CO to allow their residents to legally smoke and carry marijuana on their person.   CA is slated as the next state to have this question on their ballot.

What does this mean in the workplace?   CO Supreme Court is hearing a case regarding marijuana usage by a worker.   It's outcome should set the guidelines for how companies may proceed regarding non-DOT drug testing.  CO has strict regulations that prohibit you from penalizing a worker in a random test found to have used marijuana unless they are in a safety sensitive function or the position has a bona fide occupational qualifications.  Pr-employment and reasonable suspicion is still allowed.  However, to fire an employee for marijuana usage, outside of these parameters, the worker basically has to be stoned or using on the job.   If CO has this rule in place, you can be sure that the other 4 states have similar regulations or protections for the workers as well.

DOT required drug and alcohol testing supersede these state regulations.  The concern is for companies who wish to implement an across the board testing program for all drivers or all workers.  In many cases, their hands are tied.  In an age where we are all pushing safety; this is quite the ironic twist.

Do you feel safe working next to a person who may be "stoned"?   Do you want to be on the highway with someone in a vehicle next to you who is impaired?   While that driver may be operating something under 26,000 lbs; it is still a vehicle in motion.   While placing someone in jail for having a joint on their person is not practical; neither is allowing someone under the influence to be operating machinery.

I am anxious to see the outcome of the CO case.  I know this is a hot topic with many different perspectives.   How do you think that the spread of legalization of marijuana will affect workplace safety in the long term?   Your comments are welcomed!

How have you made the roadways safer today?

Distracted driving goes beyond the vehicle class. It is an issue for all drivers but only CMV drivers, with these exceptions, are singled out and penalized. The train accident should not have happened. Following the driver's "safety" patterns, or rather lack thereof, it was not the phone that caused the wreck but the driver's habits. He does not pay merit to a train crossing and fudges on his med exams. It is likely this accident would have still occurred even if he had not been on the phone.

Cell phone usage, eating while driving, smoking with driving, laptop/iPad usage while driving and the 100 other things that can be on this list are all distractions.  How often do you see someone multitasking while behind the wheel?  They are applying makeup, shaving, having sex/performing sexual acts, changing clothes, reading a book and a myriad of other unthinkables while driving.  This is a culture and attitude change that needs to occur by all drivers to make our roadways safer.   

CMV drivers, due to the larger vehicle and weight size, come into focus more quickly.   With D.O.T. regulations, we already have a means of governance over them so they are easier targets to point the finger upon.   CMV drivers do not need more regulations.  We need a nationwide attitude and accountability change for all drivers.   For all persons!

We have become litigious society that blames the other guy.   There is no personal responsibility taught any more.  It is always someone else's fault.  People need to take responsibility for their own actions once again.  Drivers need to have real training behind the wheel and in the classroom before obtaining a license.  This is not just CMV drivers but everyone that possess the privilege to drive.  Non-CMV drivers need to be schooled and educated on how to conduct themselves around a CMV.   CMV drivers need to take pride in their profession and return to the Kings (and Queens) of the road that they once were.  We all need to stop trying to doing 100 things at once and concentrate one doing one thing to the best of our ability at a time.  This is how to make our roadways safer.  This how to end so called ADD and other distraction aliments.   We must again learn to concentrate instead of having the mindset and brain power of a gold fish.

Trucking companies are going to communicate with their drivers.  If it is not via cell phone, then it will be via onboard devices (texting alert) or radio.  Business people on the road are going to do the same.  Our society have moved into this "must be connected at all times" state.  The only way this will stop is if the phone manufactures place a block in the phones that render them unusable if in a moving vehicle.   Doubtful they will as this shall cost them money.  

Drivers who are concerned for safety can download apps like 'I'm Driving'.  This app informs your caller, automatically, that you cannot be reached at present due to being behind the wheel.   Some of my drivers use to use this app or a similar one.  While aggravating to the party trying to reach them; it is a welcome call to safety.  The driver who chooses this route, is a driver focused on safety.   To use this app effectively, it is a matter of learning to check the phone regularly when you stop for messages and missed calls.  Instead of killing hours behind the wheel "yacking"; you make safe, direct calls during a stop.  It is all about changing the mindset from frivolous to safety.  

We do not need more regulations to achieve this goal.  We need education.  We need people who want to be safe.   Ask yourself, "What are you doing today to improve roadway safety?"  You don't have to be a CMV driver to make a difference.

Source Story:  http://cdllife.com/2014/top-trucking-news/ntsb-recommends-fmcsa-place-stricter-restrictions-hand-held-devices

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Most maintenance violations are a direct result of poor PTI and/or lack of en-route checks.   I would caution the rewrite of a DVIR unless it is to add items.   Removal of certain items would actually invalidate the form as a "true" DVIR.  Remember, § 396.11: Driver vehicle inspection report(s) outlines what must be checked.   Adding items is fine but be sure to not remove any of the required items.

When I was GM for a Baltimore trucking company, we use to hide items on the truck and reward the drivers when these tokens were found in an appropriate time.   Drivers who failed to find their hidden tokens were reprimanded.  As usual, positive reinforcement worked better than negative.  

The main issue I find as a Safety Consultant is that companies just do not take any of this seriously.   They are operational driven and safety takes a back seat.  Small companies are clueless as to the regulations and feel they do not pertain to them.  Still many companies that I visit have no idea that the CSA site exists or what the numbers mean.   

There is much more education to be had in the industry as a whole.  Auto fail is not the answer but if we were move to a system where you had be certified to obtain your DOT number; I believe we would see change.   The "I didn't know" would be gone.   You have to pass a test to be an electrician, plumber and so forth.  Why not do so to be the holder of a DOT number?  It is a privileged to have one and not a right.   It is about safety; then let's make it so.

SOURCE:  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20141016125544-1358303-how-to-reduce-csa-maintenance-violations-by-75-percent-with-better-inspections

What saddens me is what I experience when working with my smaller clients. They have some clients with small and even tiny fleets (usually under 50 trucks and some very tiny - <10 trucks). Many are localized and/or generally operate a vehicle that is not subject to roadside inspections. These fleets have little to no interaction with DOT inspectors. As such, they rarely have enough inspections to rank in any category. Yet we see these New Entry companies being shut down before they even get off the ground. Why? Because they had 2 inspections and one was "bad" thus placing them in a percentile above the 35% limit for OOS. This triggers an audit and/or it is New Entry review time and they fail due to their scores or rather lack of scores and evidence that are compliant.

I recall when the New Entry audit was a training process instead of a punitive process. Now with auto fail; the doors are closed for 60 days. A small company like this has no course of recoupment. In 60 days, their accounts will be gone to their competitors. Yes, they need to know how to comply with DOT regulations. Totally in agreement here. Either make these companies pass a test, like our Canadian neighbors do, prior to obtaining their DOT number or return to the training process. Up the audit to 6 months instead of 18 months but don't close their doors unless they are egregious violators. We need to give small business a chance. I realize we also need to protect highway safety but we need to score a balance. We cannot allow one bad inspection from an untrained, non typical CMV driver to cost a business owner their livelihood.

I have worked with 3 clients in the past 2 months that fall into this category. Ironically, 2 of them, in opposite parts of the country, are being shut down for the same violation. They failed to connect a breakaway cable or it had come loose during transit. These are pickup truck operators, not CMV drivers for the norm. They come under scrutiny when they attach to a trailer, on rare occasions. As such a DOT number is required. Often, transport driving is the last of their qualifications. These are generally service professionals (e.g. technicians) that drive this vehicle as a means of transport to their job site. These are not commercial drivers per se. They are everyday folks that happen to be in a vehicle that occasionally become classified as a CMV due to it being used while they are generating revenue performing their skilled tasks (i.e. other than truck driving).

We all know that DOT regulations are geared towards the OTR company and the CDL driving professional. All other drivers try to fit into these rules and often with much difficulty. Yes, there are exemptions but they do not always fit either. It is this one size fits all mentality that causes non traditional use of CMVs such issues. It may also be these uses that skew the numbers. Perhaps they need a category all their own with rule sets that better apply to their application. This would allow peer group comparison against true peers and not just via size of fleet. I realize that mileage weighs into the algorithm but these non-traditional fleet (i.e. non trucking companies) need their own group(s). It would benefit fleets running locally or regionally to be thus categorized as well. Bottom-line, we need to move from this one size fits all mentality into real world scenarios. This is especially true when a person's entire business is at risk.

I look forward to seeing the outcome of this new rating proposal. Perhaps it will address some of these issues. Perhaps it will not. We need more "real people" involved in these processes and not just bureaucrats or those industry representatives that have risen so far from their humble beginnings as to forget what it takes to be a small business start up. As your own stats read the other week; most companies with DOT numbers are not the trucking giants but the small business person. Is it not time we have rules and regulations that can relate to both distinct groups?

Reference: http://www.ccjdigital.com/notice-of-new-fitness-determination-rule-in-front-office-fmcsa-safety-chief-says/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_content=10-13-2014&utm_campaign=CCJ&ust_id=bcb56a0182&

CSA Changes Effective 12/3/12

Quick overview of changes:

1. Cargo securement violations (potentially 238 violations) move to Vehicle Maintenance BASIC
2. Hazardous Material Compliance takes over Cargo section and only counts hazmat violations of which there are potentially 111 violations. The new hazmat BASIC will be live for carrier and law-enforcement view in December, but FMCSA plans further monitoring beyond that date before making it public. Focus here is on proper placarding and compliance.
3. Crashes are to be separated into injuries and fatalities instead of the current grouped category.
4. A reduction of "generic" non-tiered speeding violations; severity weight to 1 point, retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year.
5. Removal of 1-5 mph speeding violations from the Safety Measurement System altogether, retroactive two years.
6. Alignment of paper and electronic log violations to carry equivalent severity weights.
7. Inclusion of intermodal equipment violations that should be found during drivers??? pre-trip inspections.
8. Removing vehicle maintenance violations from driver-only inspections and vice versa in an effort to improve reporting quality.

All other changes announced will go into effect in the same month. Most changes are retro for the 2 years and went live 12/3/12.

Visit our CSA page to learn more - http://thedotdoctor.com/CSA_2010

On July 11, 2012, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Deputy Administrator Bill Bronrott testified about the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program before the U.S. House of Representative’s Committee on Small Business. Deputy Bronrott’s written testimony discusses CSA’s safety benefits and its impact on small businesses, and is posted on FMCSA’s Website. Some of the key points of the testimony are listed below:

• Independent analysis indicates the CSA Safety Measurement System (SMS) is a significant improvement over prior systems to effectively meet FMCSA’s Congressional mandate to investigate high-risk carriers.
• The CSA SMS is effectively monitoring the motor carrier industry. The 200,000 carriers with sufficient data to be scored in the SMS are involved in 93% of the crashes reported to FMCSA.
• The CSA SMS is not biased against small business. While carriers with 5 or less power units make up over 85% of the industry, 93% of these small carriers do not score poorly in any area of the SMS.
• Analysis of the CSA interventions model demonstrated an overall 35% increase in the number of carriers reached per Safety Investigator. CSA uses Onsite Focused Investigations and warning letters, which are effective in improving compliance and less intrusive and time-consuming for motor carriers.
• From CSA rollout in December 2010 until the end of 2011, violations per roadside inspection declined by 8% and driver violations per inspection declined by 12%. This the most significant improvement in violation rates in the last 10 years.

The Agency is committed to continuous improvement of the CSA program. In fact, five proposed enhancements to SMS are currently being previewed by motor carriers based on specific industry and enforcement personnel feedback since SMS rollout in December 2010. These proposed enhancements are outlined in the Federal Docket Management System and were the topic of a recent public webinar series held by the Agency. Overall, 670 participants listened in, many of whom have expressed positive feedback. The presentation is now available to everyone on the CSA Website.

 

My thoughts -

There are also reports that companies who run team drivers are being inappropriate sanctioned due to the driver/truck ratio.   Teams run so many miles vs. solo drivers that the miles vs. truck vs. incident ratio is disproportionate.   I know that does not concern us but just an update to the CSA ordeal.  

I am sure you have heard that the government is trying to force mandatory EOBR in all vehicles.   Many trucking groups are opposing and fighting this at the moment.  If it passes, it would mean each of our O/Os would have to have a "black box" put in their truck.   The cost to a small business will force many of them to close.   Most O/Os can't afford such a thing on their shoe-string budgets.  It would also decrease the productivity of daily work due to firm compliance.  Great for the "big boys" like Schneider, JB Hunt, CRST, etc... due to all the info these boxes return about the driver and the equipment but not so good for the rest of us.

What are you thoughts and opinions on these matters?

Thirty-eight states now ban texting while driving.  Does your state?   Know the rules and save yourself fines.   Texting while driving is dangerous.  Anything that distracts you from driving is potentially dangerous to you, your passengers and all others on the roadways.  No text is worth your life of the live of another.   Use a headset to talk and text if needed but stop trying to punch the keys and navigate the roadway.  It just can't be done safely.

Here is an article from the latest issue of CCJ regarding texting and driving:

Alabama on Tuesday, May 8, became the 38th state to prohibit texting behind the wheel by all drivers. The new law signed by Gov. Robert Bentley takes effect on Aug. 1, and violators will be fined $25 for a first offense, $50 for a second offense and $75 for a third or subsequent offense.

“With Governor Bentley’s signature, now more than three-quarters of all states outlaw one of the riskiest behaviors behind the wheel – texting and driving,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Alabama roads and motorists will be safer as a result of this law, which reminds everyone that we cannot ignore the potentially life-altering dangers associated with text messaging and driving.”

Alabama and 37 other states, the District of Columbia, Guam and the Virgin Islands ban text messaging by all drivers. Ten states, the District of Columbia, Guam and the Virgin Islands prohibit all handheld cell phone use while driving.

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The trucking industry states that they are 100k short in driver count for Q2.  Unemployment is at its highest in over 30 years and we have a driver shortage.  That speaks volumes for the messed up situation this country is facing.  The new regs, company restrictions and the insurance companies have made being hired as a driver a highly difficult task. 

In a position where you once needed a pulse and a desire to make money, the Gov. have now regulated to death.  Don't get me wrong, I am a strong advocate for safety but this is crazy.  We have an antidote for unemployment and yet we can't fill the roles.

I considered returning to behind the wheel after my lay-off.  I train drivers to drive.  I have taken more driving courses than most drivers know exist.  All but two companies that I contacted, and I ran the gambit of what is in the magazines as well as personal contacts, said I would have to come on board as a student driver since I had not held the title of OTR driver in the past 2-3 years.  For real!???  There is no way I am sitting in the cab with a 6-month green driver who is going to tell me how to drive.  What is wrong with this picture?  Add on the "work fitness" testing, sleep apnea testing and so forth...what you get is good drivers who are capable out of work so that under 25 year olds fresh out of driving school can hold a steering wheel.

If you hire your driver to driver, there is no need for the "work fitness" tests.  If you wish a free lumper service along with a driver, so that he/she is worn out to drive, then you need such a test.  Companies are still not getting it.  They are buying the Kool-Aid that the shippers and receivers are selling with no regard for THEIR drivers.  Drivers - drive.  S/R - ship (load) and receive (unload).  Stop expecting someone else to do YOUR job.

This so-called driver shortage just fired me up this morning.  With millions out of work, here could be an answer yet we will "import" drivers, just as we did before, to fill these spots instead of figuring out how to get an unemployed American back to work.

 

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