Another from the “It’s On the Internet So It Must Be True” file
Here’s one for you motorcyclists. This was emailed to me, so I have no idea if it’s true or not. It’s on the Internet, so it must be true! Right?
The motorcyclist in the pictures was driving 120 MPH in the early morning hours in Oklahoma, when he misjudges how fast he was overtaking a Yellow Freight truck. Those Yellow trucks are pretty slow, huh? He rear-ends the truck, with the following results. The punchline is, the motorcycle fool apparently survived, mostly because he was wearing his helmet. I guess the moral of the story is, “if you’re going to ride your rice-rocket at 120 MPH on the Interstate, wear your helmet”.
Seat-Belt usage
The FMCSA issued a press-release today, proudly announcing the use of seat belts by truck drivers has risen to 65%. Risen to 65%? These kind of statsitics are embarrassing to me, as I do consider myself a member of the “trucking industry”. We in the trucking industry are supposed to be the Knights of the Road, the highest, safest, most professional drivers out there, and only 65% use seat-belts? When Mr. Mountz used to grade my math tests in high school, if I remember correctly, 65% was an F. Not that I saw too many 65′s. Still, that means 35% are NOT using their seat belts.
It is undeniable that seat-belts reduce injuries and fatalities in crashes. For a job as dangerous as truck driver, you’d think you would want to take every advantage you could get, but apparently 35% don’t think so. According to FMCSA’s statistics, 82% of passenger vehicles use seat-belts. So the unprofessional four-wheelers are using their seat-belts more than truck drivers? Embarrassing.
Unsecured load causes fatality in Lancaster, PA
On Monday, March 17, 2008, a driver was killed by a piece of wood flying off a pickup truck. The victim was driving north, while the truck was driving south, when two pieces of wood fencing flew off his truck, one of which smashed through the windshield, killing the driver. The police officer stated the wind caught the lumber, and that the load had been secured, but somehow the two pieces got loose.
My comment: No, the load was not secured. If it was, it wouldn’t have ended up inside another car. The DOT standard for load securement is that everything must be tied down. If a DOT officer turned the vehicle upside-down, nothing should fall out. This means, shovels, cones, rakes, buckets, cords, ladders, everything needs to be secured. When I teach my safety classes, many of the drivers look at me like I’m from Mars, but this is why.
The article doesn’t say how big these two pieces of wood fencing were, but they probably were not more than 5-10 pounds each. A 10 pound piece of wood, traveling 50 MPH in the southen direction, hitting another vehicle going 50 MPH in the northern direction is 100 MPH of force. Even smaller objects flying off your truck can cause other vehicles to swerve and lose control. If you look at construction, or landscaping vehicles, it is commonplace that stuff is strewn all over the bed of the truck. Tools, cones, ladders, wheelbarrows, you name it. ANYTHING can fly off a truck, and if it does, this can be the result. Use bungee cords, ropes, straps, boxes, tarps, etc., but tie down your load.
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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.
Study Shows Truckers Die Young
I found this on the Internet…. so it must be true. I like to say that, kind of a joke about some of the things you find on the Internet. Anyway, it sounds true….
The lifestyle of a truck driver is not conducive to healthy living. Job logistics lead to stressful conditions, meals on the go, and lack of exercise. But a new study by a Toronto researcher may come as a real wake-up call to drivers. Dr. Martin Moore-Ede found that truck drivers have a 10- to 15-year lower life expectancy than the average American male, who lives on average to age 76.
This statistic has served as a life-changing jolt for some drivers. One Wisconsin driver, finding himself overweight and barely able to pass his physical, decided to start a walking routine. Instead of waiting around for his truck to be unloaded, Jeff Clark would walk a mile or so into the nearest town. Eventually his walk turned into a jog. In fact, he’s currently training for the Green Bay Marathon in May. He admits that long-distance running is not for most drivers, but wherever he goes, he urges drivers to make just one lifestyle change: walk, join a gym, or quit smoking.
Because truckers are on tight schedules and are away from home, they have to be more creative in finding time to exercise than those in other professions. “When you pull in, park at the farthest stall,” a 30-year-old trainer says. “Strap on some ankle weights and jog to the rest area. Then jog back. Next time, jog around the truck stop.” Many guys will feel self-conscious jogging around with ankle weights, but “it’s about what kind of commitment will you make to yourself,” he says. “It’s not about anybody but you.”
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I also found this: A Death Clock! I did this on myself, and I was doing really well, until I got to one of the last questions, which asks you how many miles you drive a year. I drive 50,000 miles a year, so that knocked me down from 88 to 75. So apparently, the Death Clock people think that driving many miles will shorten your life considerably, whether it be from an unhealthy lifestyle, or quick death from a crash.
Logbooks…. Can I Abbreviate?
Many drivers ask, “When I’m filling out my logbook, can I use shorthand when putting in the locations in the ‘Remarks’ section?” Instead of writing, Cincinnati, can I write Cincy? Or NYC? Or STL? The rules do not provide for that. They say city, town, village, and the State abbreviation. They even say you’re supposed to write down the mile marker of the highway, followed by the nearest city and State, if you are not in a city when you stop.
In reality, most DOT cops will not give you grief if it’s clear where you are. For example, I’ve never seen a DOT person complain about something being logged as Ft. Washington, rather than Fort Washington. No doubt someone will post a comment within 15 minutes saying they got a ticket for just such a case, but I’ve never seen it. If you are only marking MM 68 on the log, that’s a problem. Which highway? Which way to the mile markers run? 0-300 or 300-0? DOT uses the cities and States to determine where you were, and whether or not your log is an accurate document. If they can’t figure out where you were, they can cite you for a false document.
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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.
Tanker Crash Creates Major Jam in Wichita
In the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 11, a Groendyke Transport tanker truck hit a bridge abutment, flipping his trailer over the railing onto the roadway below. The driver sustained minor injuries. The highways were shutdown nearly all day while cleanup crews pumped off the 8,000 gallons of butane into another tank.
Check out the video at the link. It is being reported that the driver fell asleep. The Groendyke official stated the driver had only been on-duty 6 or 7 hours at the time of the crash. Fatigue can strike at any time, not just when you are at or over your 14 hour shift. Any company with any brains at all will encourage its drivers to PULL OVER if they feel too ill or sleepy to continue. Sometimes just getting a 20 minute nap can refresh a driver, and make him able to continue safely. It is not uncommon to see fatigue related accidents occurring at the beginning or in the middle of a driver’s work shift.
Many drivers are embarrassed to call a dispatcher and say, “I don’t feel well, or I’m falling asleep at the wheel, I need to pull over for an hour”, when they’ve only been on-duty for a few hours. You’ll be more embarrassed if your trailer ends up in a ditch.
A note on these truck accident stories: Some of you probably think that’s all I post is truck wrecks. Well, I try to make a safety point with the wrecks, not just posting them for fun. I think they’re a little more interesting than just talking about the ins-and-outs of filling out a driver vehicle inspection report, or a logbook. Besides, it’s hard coming up with new material every week.
Mexican Standoff in Congress Continues
At a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday, March 11, Senator Byron Dorgan (D – ND) continued to fight the Department of Transportation on their plan to allow Mexican trucks full access to the U.S.
If you haven’t been following this story, here it is in a nutshell. Back in the 1990′s when NAFTA was passed, the U.S. was supposed to allow Mexican trucks full access to the U.S. Canadian trucks have had full access for many years. However, this has been held up for over 10 years, as Congress and DOT debated back and forth over how safe the Mexicans were, among other economic concerns. Finally, the Bush Administration has allowed the entry of the Mexican trucks. Congress protested. Congress passed a bill which prohibited DOT from spending any money on “the establishment of” a cross-border Mexican truck program. DOT looked at the authorization law, and said, “hey, man, the program’s already established, we’re just continuing it”, and went on spending the money.
I am not going to discuss the merit of the Mexican program. It has good points and bad. My main concern is it may allow an unlimited supply of cheap truck driving labor into the U.S., which I presently think is a bad thing. Maybe some trucking executive who is hurting for drivers could convince me otherwise.
My point is this: it is a ridiculous argument DOT is making. This smacks of Bill Clintonism, what’s the meaning of the word “is” nonsense. DOT is pretty good at writing rule after rule after rule, and then hammering anyone who has a DOT number if they miss a handful of drug tests, or fail to file an MCS-150 update form. If the law applies to them, though, they ignore it. Law for THEE, but not for ME. DOT’s job in enforcing the safety regulations would be easier if they didn’t give up the moral high ground so easily.
Traffic Accidents Cost You $1,051 per Year
The American Automobile Assoication (AAA) released a research report this week, which concludes that traffic accidents cost American motorists $160 billion a year. That breaks down to $1,051 per year, per motorist. This includes such things as property damage, lost earnings, medical costs, emergency services, legal costs, and travel delays.
I think there’s a saying, “there’s liars, damn liars, and statistics”. I’m sure this report included numerous SWAG’s (Scientific Wild-Ass Guesses). Nevertheless, I have no doubt that what they are saying is true. Accidents are expensive in many unforseen ways, and often impact people completely uninvolved in the accident. For example, last year, I was on my way to Kentucky for vacation, and I was scheduled to meet up with a buddy for a 2pm tee time. I got trapped in a huge, road-closure type accident in Charleston, WV for 4 hours. Needless to say, by the time I got to Kentucky, it was too late to play golf. So, the golf course owner did not get our two greens fees that day due to a traffic accident. That’s an economic example, to say nothing of the emotional pain and suffering if a loved one is injured or killed in an accident.
The article also states that 43,000 people are killed every year on the roads. Whoa, that’s a lot of people. I played around with the calculator. I SWAGged that you therefore have a 1 in 5,000 chance of getting killed on the road every year. You probably have a 1 in 1,000 chance of being injured.
AAA’s solution is more and more restrictive laws. I’m not sure I agree with that. In a free society, sometimes accidents are the price of freedom. Still, driving on the road, whether it be a truck, or just an ordinary car is serious business. Anyone who forgets that might become a statistic.
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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.
Fuel truck flips, burns, in Queens, NY
On Monday afternoon, March 3, a fuel truck flipped going around a curve, slid down an embankment, and burned, in Queens, NY.
The driver was killed, and it took 280 firefighters to put out the fire. This is another speed related accident. Vehicles with higher centers of gravity, such as tankers or hopper-type vehicles are more susceptible to rolling over. Sudden steering maneuvers will cause liquids to slosh, creating forces which can carry a trailer right over onto its side. Easy does it, particularly if you’re driving a tanker.
Motorist Killed During Roadside Truck Inspection
On Tuesday afternoon, March 4, 2008, a motorist travelling southbound on I-95 just south of Baltimore, MD, was killed when his car collided with a parked tractor-trailer. The truck was on the shoulder of the highway, where it had been pulled over by the Maryland State Police, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division for an inspection.
The State Police stated the truck was safely parked on the shoulder, and the trooper was standing on tractor’s step, talking to the driver when the collision occurred. The trooper was airlifted to hospital, but was in good condition.
I question whether or not the truck was ‘safely’ on the shoulder. I’ve gotten a flat on I-95 south of Baltimore before, and there’s not much room on the side of the road. If it was safe to park on the shoulder, then trucks would be allowed to park on off-ramps for the night, which they are not allowed to do. I guess we file this one under, “unintended consequences”.
