FBI raids two truck driver training schools in Memphis, TN.
Monday, February 25, 2008, the FBI raided two truck driver training schools in Memphis. Both schools are owned and operated by Swift Transportation, of Phoenix, AZ, one of the largest truckload carriers in the country. Apparently, the purpose of the raid was to investigate the illegal issuance of CDL licenses.
Swift Transportation has stated they are cooperating fully with authorities, and that the FBI has informed them they are not the target of the raid. Ri-i-i-ght. Well somebody’s the target, if not Swift, who? Anyway, this is not something new. The rules allow 3rd party training schools to be involved in the issuance of commerical driver’s licenses. The State is responsible for monitoring these 3rd party testers to make sure that all drivers are being properly tested and qualified. Some States do more monitoring than others.
There have been instances where CDLs were issued without following all the qualification and testing, or for that matter, sometimes any testing. The former Governor of Illinois was convicted for, among other things, being involved in a scam where CDLs were being sold under the table. I believe there was another case in Florida were some 3rd party testers were handing out CDLs for cash.
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Eric Arnold is a Former Enforcement Agent with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and a leading expert on USDOT compliance for small businesses. Do you have a question for Eric Arnold? Email him at eric@arnoldsafety.com.
Arnold Safety simplifies D.O.T. Compliance for commercial vehicle operators. Get Eric Arnold’s USDOT Compliance Guide, DVD, & Regulations at ArnoldSafety.Com.
Learn more about Arnold Safety compliance consulting services at ArnoldSafety.Com.
Head-On Collision on I-81 in Virginia
Wednesday February 26, on I-81, near Harrisonburg, VA, a southbound tractor trailer crossed the median and hit a northbound van head-on. Both occupants of the van were killed.
Check out the comments at the bottom of the page, particularly those of “Bill” and “Craig”. Both claim to have witnessed the crash, and stated the truck driver was forced out of control by another car. The vast majority of fatalities involving commercial motor vehicles, probably around 70-80% are caused by four-wheelers, aka cars. Sometimes a truck driver has to make some tough, split-second choices. Do I hit this idiot who just cut me off, or should I jerk the truck to the left, risking the chance of losing it altogther?
Of course, the one factor which can make all the difference in one of these bang-bang, split second events is speed. Totally speculating here, but truck traffic on I-81 generally runs pretty fast. If you’re running 70-75 mph, your chances of losing it if you’re cut off are much greater than if you’re running 60-65 mph. While the instigator of this accident was whatever car “Bill” and “Craig” were referring to, tragedy could have been averted had the truck been able to maintain control. Again, I wasn’t there so I’m just speculating.
4 Kids Dead in Minnesota School Bus Crash
Last Tuesday, February 19, 2008, a speeding minivan ran through a stop sign, and plowed into the side of school bus, tipping it onto its side, in Cottonwood, MN. 4 kids inside the bus were killed. More details are emerging about the crash. The driver of the mini-van, Alianiss Morales, 23, is an unlicensed, illegal immigrant. She has been arrested for criminal operation of a motor vehicle. If you listen all the way to the end of the video at the link, they state that the police have released the toxicology results for the bus driver, and the pickup driver who the bus landed on… both negative. They are withholding Morales’ results. Hmm. Let’s see, she’s been arrested, withholding the toxicology results, I’m guessing she was drunk. Just a guess, just a shot in the dark here.
More information can be found here (although you need to register first). Morales is apparently not her real name, and authorities are trying to sort out exactly who she is. They do know she was cited in June, 2006 for driving without a license. According to the article, she crashed onto someone’s lawn, couldn’t shift the car back into drive, the police were called, who then cited her for not having a license.
It always seemed strange to me that school buses were not required to have seat belts. 4 dead in an accident where the bus only tipped over, albeit at high speed, is bad. That being said, the best way not to kill kids in school bus accidents in to not have drunk idiots crash into them in the middle of the afternoon.
I have an opinion about illegal immigration, but I’m going to keep it to myself, as I would like to sell some DVD’s or other consulting services, and don’t want to upset anyone. It just seems to me as a group, illegals have a greater likelihood of crashing into someone, being drunk, or both. I have no facts to back that up… in the story I posted earlier this week about the 8 people killed in the drag racing incident, the driver involved was a true-blue American. Nevertheless, my gut tells me for a group that allegedly only accounts for 5-7% of the U.S. population, there sure seems to be a lot of these stories. If you’re going to sneak into the country, is it too much to ask that you learn to drive, and don’t go around with a BAC of .15?
Wheel Comes Off Tractor-Trailer in El Paso
On Tuesday, February 19, on I-10 in El Paso, TX, a westbound tractor-trailer lost its left front steer wheel, which then bounced into the eastbound lanes of I-10. The wheel struck a glancing blow to at Dodge pickup pulling a camper, smashing in the driver’s door. No one was injured.
This sort of thing doesn’t happen too much anymore. It was much more prevalent 20 or 30 years ago, but the surge of Federal money to the States over the last 2 decades to hire DOT vehicle inspectors has greatly improved the quality of equipment you see on the road. It was luck that no one was killed in this incident. A truck wheel probably weighs 100 – 200 lbs, traveling 60 MPH, heading into traffic going 70 MPH, and you have a 130 MPH missile.
Why did this happen? Lack of routine maintenance. You must routinely bring your truck into the garage, even when nothing is wrong with it. This is the only way to catch little problems before they become big problems. If your maintenance program is one where you fix it when it breaks, that’s wrong, and it’s dangerous. If the truck fails to start, nobody is hurt, except your wallet, but if a wheel falls off on the interstate, you could very well kill somebody.
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Eric Arnold is a Former Enforcement Agent with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and a leading expert on USDOT compliance for small businesses. Do you have a question for Eric Arnold? Email him at eric@arnoldsafety.com.
Arnold Safety simplifies D.O.T. Compliance for commercial vehicle operators. Get Eric Arnold’s USDOT Compliance Guide, DVD, & Regulations at ArnoldSafety.Com.
Learn more about Arnold Safety compliance consulting services at ArnoldSafety.Com.
8 Killed in Drag-Racing Tragedy
Here’s a nasty little story that you might not have seen, even though it doesn’t involve commercial vehicles. Around 3-4am on Saturday morning, February 16, in suburban Washington, DC (Accokeek, MD, to be exact), 8 people were killed in bizarre fashion.
A crowd of people had gathered to watch a street drag race. As the two racers spun their tires and sped off in a cloud of smoke, ala American Graffitti, the crowd moved into the road to watch. A white Crown Victoria, uninvolved in the drag race, came driving along and plowed into the crowd standing in the road, killing 7 (the 8th died later at the hospital). This is where it gets blurry. Some witnesses say the Crown Vic didn’t have it’s lights on. Some say the 20 year old driver of the Crown Vic was blinded by the smoke, although his statement to the police was that he didn’t remember any smoke. Some say he was drunk, some say he was speeding. The police say it will take weeks to unravel exactly what happened.
I went on the Washington Post website, which should be the closest, largest newspaper to the accident scene. I did a search on “Accokeek Crash”, and came up with 31 hits on their site. I then searched under “Northern Illinois shooting” and came up with 106 hits, which really didn’t surprise me at all. Six people get killed in a shooting: national news. 8 dead in a motor vehicle accident? Pffft, who cares? If these Al-Qaeda ?#%!@s were smart, their next attack would not be via motor vehicle, because the media doesn’t care. If it goes bang or boom, you get coverage, but kill 8 people with a car? Next story.
Note: although my webmaster says I should post lots of pictures, to make the blog look good, and draw traffic, I’ll pass on this one, as the photos are pretty graphic. Go to the link, surf around, you’ll find the pictures, if you really want to.
Truck Driver Filling Out Logbook Causes Fatal Wreck
On the afternoon of February 14, a fatal wreck occurred in Ocala, FL. A conversion van was attempting to merge onto northbound I-75, when it struck a tractor-trailer which was on the shoulder of the on-ramp to I-75. The truck was partially parked in the travel lane of the on-ramp, and the van struck the back corner of the trailer. The van spun into the travel lanes of I-75, where it was immediately struck at high speed by another tractor-trailer.
According to the article, the driver of the parked truck had pulled over when he realized that he had not completed his logbook after just fueling his truck. Well, this goes in the category of “best intentions gone wrong”. It’s great that you want to comply with the law, and not be placed Out of Service, but you cannot pull a tractor-trailer over just anywhere. There’s a reason the police give tickets to trucks for parking on ramps. Usually, they give them out for parking on off-ramps, as traffic is moving at a high rate of speed onto the ramp. However, many states also ticket trucks on on-ramps as well, and this is an example of why. Apparently, the truck had only been parked for less than a minute, but sometimes that’s all it takes.
DVD Compliance Package for Sale
Let me say a few words about our DVD Compliance Package we have for sale. There are a whole series of safety regulations out there that apply to you because you operate trucks on the road. My package is designed to teach you what you need to keep the government happy in a few short hours, rather you spending a week laboring through a huge regulations book, trying to figure out what’s important and what’s not. Your time is better spent doing whatever it is you do to make money. The package features a 100 minute DVD of me talking, taking you step-by-step through the most important safety regulations, a copy of the rulebook for reference, a smaller book which is a transcript of what I said on the DVD, and a set of forms you will need to set up your driver qualification files.
Now here’s the good part. As part of the $275 purchase, you get access to me. If you have a specific question, or something you didn’t understand about the safety regulations, call me on the phone, and I will answer your questions. 95% of your questions will probably be answered by the DVD package, but it’s nice to have a human you can call on the phone for information. Believe it or not, I do return phone calls. I used to think that went without saying, but after being in business for 5 years, I have come to realize that most businesses do NOT in fact return calls. Well, I do. Finally, if you buy it, and really hate it, we offer a money-back guarantee (which I’m proud to say no one has yet requested). So if you’re looking to figure out fast what you need to stay on the straight and narrow with DOT, don’t waste another minute, buy today!
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Eric Arnold is a Former Enforcement Agent with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and a leading expert on USDOT compliance for small businesses. Do you have a question for Eric Arnold? Email him at eric@arnoldsafety.com.
Arnold Safety simplifies D.O.T. Compliance for commercial vehicle operators. Get Eric Arnold’s USDOT Compliance Guide, DVD, & Regulations at ArnoldSafety.Com.
Learn more about Arnold Safety compliance consulting services at ArnoldSafety.Com.
Fatigue and Rubbernecking
Early Wednesday morning, a westbound tractor-trailer on I-40 near Shawnee, OK hit a bridge abutment, bursting into flames, and incinerating the driver, who may have been dead already from the impact. This has all the earmarkings of a classic fatigue wreck. Single vehicle, losing control for no reason. Maybe the tractor blew a steer tire, or maybe the truck swerved to avoid something in the road, but more than likely, this was a driver nodding off behind the wheel for a few seconds. Fatigue is one of the top factors in fatal, at-fault truck wrecks. If you nod off, you’re a passenger in an 80,000 pound unguided missile, traveling at 70 MPH. That’s a lot of force if you come to a sudden stop, probably more force than your body is designed to withstand.
A professional driver will always recognize the early warning signs of fatigue, and pull off the road for a nap. If you are yawning uncontrollably, or your eyelids drooping, you’d better think about a break. If you are weaving, or hitting the rumble strips on the shoulder, it’s time to pull off NOW! It’s just a matter of time before you’re in the median (or up against a bridge abutment).
Check out the video at the link. As the reporter is describing the tractor-trailer wreckage, a white van rear-ends a black car who had slowed down to rubberneck. POW! Caught on tape, too. I guess you’ll never stop people from rubbernecking, it’s just human nature, but any time you are on the road, pay attention to your driving. Driving a motor vehicle should command your full attention. If you want to see accidents, go on the Internet, or come here to the Arnold Safety Blog. Don’t watch them up close, as if you’re doing that, you’re not watching what you should be, which is the road.
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Eric Arnold is a Former Enforcement Agent with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and a leading expert on USDOT compliance for small businesses. Do you have a question for Eric Arnold? Email him at eric@arnoldsafety.com.
Arnold Safety simplifies D.O.T. Compliance for commercial vehicle operators. Get Eric Arnold’s USDOT Compliance Guide, DVD, & Regulations at ArnoldSafety.Com.
Learn more about Arnold Safety compliance consulting services at ArnoldSafety.Com.
Household Goods Regulations
FMCSA has a whole set of ‘other’ regulations, which really have nothing at all to do with safety. These are holdovers from the defunct Interstate Commerce Commissioin (ICC), and they protect the public from unscrupulous moving companies. The fines attached with these regulations are outrageously high, done so intentionally by the Congress, as they try to get at the moving companies who are nothing more than scam-artist criminals.
For example, a common scam is a mover sets up a website. You get a free quote on your move, based on where you’re going, how much stuff you have, etc. The scammer purposely gives you a lowball estimate. The naive customer says, “wow, that’s half of what everyone else is charging me, what a deal, aren’t I clever?” Then the mover comes along, packs up the mark’s things, and down the road he goes. When it comes time to deliver the furniture, the mover tells the mark there’s been an unexpected snag, and it will now cost 3-4 times as much to complete the move, and he won’t get his stuff back until he comes up with the cash. The mark is now stuck, basically ransoming his own stuff which is being held hostage.
FMCSA has all sorts of rules prohibiting this. Unfortunately, FMCSA’s main remedy in these situations is a monetary fine, which is almost 100% useless against hardened criminals. A true scammer will simply throw DOT’s fine in the trash can, and by the time the government gets ready to take real action against the scammer, he’s already moved across town, is calling himself something else, and the scam continues.
The problem is, there are legitimate Mom-and-Pop moving companies out there who are honest businessmen, who simply are not all that well versed on the household goods regulations. As I said, the penalties associated with these regulations are exorbitant, whether you are a criminal or an honest man who’s paperwork wasn’t exactly right. I was contacted a few weeks ago by an attorney who represents a small 2-3 truck operation. His client took a shipment from PA to NJ, something he normally doesn’t do, as a favor to a customer. Somehow, FMCSA found out about it, and discovered he is not registered as an interstate household goods mover. The fine? $25,000!!!! And FMCSA tells him there’s nothing he can do about it, as that’s the statutory minimum set by Congress. So now this poor guy is out of business, simply because he failed to file some paperwork with DOT.
While most of us are not household goods movers, probably at some point you, or someone you know will hire a mover. NEVER do business with a fly-by-night company you find on the Internet. Myself, I’m happy to pay the extra money for a reputable company who actually has an office with people in it, so if there’s a problem I’ve got somewhere to go, not just a cellphone number. Do some research on who you’re giving all your lifetime possessions to…. it could save you some real headaches.
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Eric Arnold is a Former Enforcement Agent with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and a leading expert on USDOT compliance for small businesses. Do you have a question for Eric Arnold? Email him at eric@arnoldsafety.com.
Arnold Safety simplifies D.O.T. Compliance for commercial vehicle operators. Get Eric Arnold’s USDOT Compliance Guide, DVD, & Regulations at ArnoldSafety.Com.
Learn more about Arnold Safety compliance consulting services at ArnoldSafety.Com.
Super Bowl Post-Mortem
WOW, what a game. Probably the best Super Bowl I’ve ever watched. Of course, I wouldn’t be saying that if the Patriots won, but they didn’t so, GREAT GAME! It looks like the Giants put to rest any talk of the “best team ever”, as they beat the Patriots up and down the field. The Pats had their big chance, and the Giants went the length of the field with under 2:00 on the clock for the win.
How about Belichick running out with :01 seconds left on the clock? The defense had to stay out there and finish, but not the coach. I guess he needed to compose his post-game remarks…. what little there were. Whatta jerk. One of the most classless, joyless individuals ever to grace the sidelines. It’ll be interesting to see if Senator Specter forces the NFL to divulge the extent of the Patriots video cheating throughout the past 6-7 years. I think it’s pretty clear 1) they were cheating, 2) some type of advantage was obtained, and 3) the NFL desperately wants this to go away. What is not clear is were other teams cheating as well, and how big of an advantage was gained.
Anyway, I think the Patriots with this Super Bowl loss, and the cheating, have been relegated to the 2nd tier of great NFL teams. They do not belong in the same category as the Troy Aikman Cowboys, or Joe Montana 49′ers, or Chuck Noll Steelers…. none of which ever lost a Super Bowl. Maybe if that 4th wide receiver doesn’t catch the ball against his helmet they would be in that group…. but he did, and they’re not.
For me, this wraps up the worst year I’ve ever had predicting football. Maybe I’m spending too many hours at my day job. For the record, I predicted before the season that the Giants would go 3-13. Hee-hee! That sucks. Well, this is why I gave up gambling.
