NCAA Final Four Predictions
Well President Obama has filled out his bracket, so here is mine. I have in the Round of Eight, Louisville vs Wake Forest, Purdue vs Memphis, Villinova vs Florida State, and UNC vs Michigan. Out of that, I have Wake Forest, Memphis, Villinova, and UNC going to the Final Four in Detroit. From there, I have Memphis beating Wake, and UNC beating Nova in the semis. Memphis beats UNC in the final. These year, I don’t think there is one dominant team, so I highly doubt you see 4 #1 seeds advance, like happened last year.
My claim to fame in bracket predictions, is I correctly predicted in 1985 that Villinova would beat Georgetown for the title. Of course that was 24 years ago………..
Head of Illinois trucking company indicted for fraud, kickbacks
Well, what do you know, not all the crooks run banks. Thomas Buske, head of Buske Lines, Inc. of Illinois, has been indicted for submitting inflated invoices to S.C. Johnson & Son, where they were approved by an inside man (also indicted). The amounts involved are alleged to be in the millions.
I read somewhere once that 1/3 of all small businesses that fail is because of employee theft. That seemed ridiculous to me at the time, but when you read stories like this, you wonder. Makes you wonder how much some of these employees at Citigroup, AIG, etc. have been stealing.
On second thought, I take back the “crook” statement. It looks like he’s only been charged with these crimes, and Lord knows, the government often makes charges which are not true. Still, since about half-a-dozen people have struck plea agreements, no doubt all rolling on Buske, it doesn’t look good for him.
Authorities find body of missing trucker
Here is an article about a 74 year old driver who got lost in NW Ohio, and ended up drowning. Apparently, he was unfamiliar with the area, which was undergoing flooding at the time. To make matters worse, it was nighttime. The driver drove his truck into some high water flooding a local road near Lima, OH. The water was deep enough, and the current strong enough that it carried the truck off the road, bringing it to rest in about 4 feet of muddy, rushing water. There are good pictures at the link.
The driver then made the mistake of getting out of the truck, at which point he was overcome by the current and cold water, and washed 900 feet downstream, where he was found dead 2 days later.
I’m not sure there is a moral to this story. You try to use your maps, and stay out of unfamiliar areas, but who expects a road to have 4 feet of water running over it? Apparently, the authorities had not yet been able to put out “Road Closed” signs. The driver probably couldn’t see how deep the water was when he got out of the truck. Bizarre accident.
More Traffic Tickets in Michigan
I received this on the Internet from a colleague. It was on the Internet, so it must be true, right? Anyway, apparently, the State of Michigan is holding a strikeforce in March, looking to raise a bunch of money off of unsuspecting motorists. Of course, I wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t going on everywhere, as nearly all State and Local governments are broke. Gee, that’s funny, when my stocks tank, when the phone doesn’t ring, when funds are low…. I slash my spending and conserve. Government, well, they just write a bunch of speeding tickets, or raise taxes. I came across these guys on the Internet, the National Motorists Association. In looking at their mission statement, etc. it seems like a group every motorist should support, as they fight unfair traffic enforcement, red-light cameras, and other examples of government run-amok.
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“Watch your speed in Michigan Gov. Granholm NEEDS some quick cash!
Spring is Coming!
Operation Yellow Jacket
Look out for MI-DOT trucks parked along the road or suddenly appearing behind you pacing you – it could be a Trooper driving the truck. Called ‘Operation Yellow Jacket’, each Michigan State Police District has a truck cleaned up and ready to go! These trucks have specially modified engines that can virtually catapult the truck from snow-plow speed to intercept speed in seconds. And when the engine boost kicks in, the warning lights automatically change from flashing yellow to the dreaded red and blue!
Starting March 1, 2009, Michigan will launch a 31 day speeding ticket frenzy. The state estimates that $9 million dollars will be generated in speeding tickets, with an additional $3.5 million in revenue for failure to wear a seatbelt. $1 million will go to pay state troopers overtime. There will be 47 state troopers on duty at all times patrolling the main intersections and highways with the highest rates of speeding.
They are the following:
I-75, especially from the Ohio line north to Woodhaven, and again from Auburn Hills to Flint
I-96 east and west in its entirety
I-275 north and south
I-675 north and south
I-94 east and west from Battle Creek to Jackson
I-696 east and west in its entirety
I-196 east and west
US-131 north and south
I-69 east and west from Lansing to Flint and again from Flint eastward to Port Huron.
I-69 north and south from I-94 to Lansing
M-14 east and west from I-94 to I-275
M-39 from I-94 to I-96
M-59, especially from Pontiac to Utica, and from Utica east
US-10 from Midland to Bay City
US-23 from I-96 to Flint
US-27 from Lansing to Mt. Pleasant
Quotas:
5 mph above the limit can justify a ticket and every state trooper is supposed to pull a car over and write a ticket every 10 to 20 minutes. They have issued 30 brand new unmarked Dodge Charger Police cruisers and canceled all vacation time. In addition, they are bringing in all of their part timers on full time for the month. This nonsense will conclude on April 1.
Driving Ticket fine increase in MI:
Starting on January 15th, the price of a ticket for violation of MI Law 39:3-29 (failure to show your driver’s license, registration, or proof of insurance card at the time you are stopped) went from $44.00 to $173.00. Please make sure your vehicles have the proper documents in them. If you jump in the car to run to the store and forget your wallet with your license in it and you are stopped…. Oh well… you just spent $173. And the fine for not having all three documents is $519!!!”
Training is Important
I am a member of the Outdoor Amusement Business Association. This is an association of the traveling carnivals, fairs, and shows, which travel the countryside from March to October, in a tradition as old as the hills. I write the occasional article for their trade magazine. Below is my latest submission, on the importance of training. It will make more sense to you if you are a seasonal operator, but there are larger points there which apply to everyone. Enjoy.
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This year, among other goals, you should be striving for a successful DOT season. That means, no accidents, no roadside tickets or Out of Services, and no DOT audits. If you can do that, it will increase your chances of having a successful year, dollars and cents-wise, as well.
There are some things you can do in the office to comply with the DOT rules. You should review your driver files, making sure they are complete. Check that all your drivers have current medical certificates before the season starts. Run all of your drivers’ license histories through the DMV. If you are hiring any new drivers, do your background checks. Make sure all of your CDL drivers have a pre-employment drug test, and double-check that you are properly set up to conduct random drug and alcohol tests throughout the season.
However, there is a limit to what you can do in the office. The primary personnel, who are going to determine whether or not you have a successful DOT season are your drivers. Therefore it is crucial they understand what you expect of them. If you simply toss them the keys, and say, “Stay safe out there”, you are going to have DOT problems.
Training is the key to getting your drivers following the rules. Many drivers do not know what the rules are, because no one has ever told them, and that includes those who have had their license for 30 years. Yes, it is true that some employees will not take direction, no matter what you do. However, the majority of your employees want to do the right thing, and do what you ask. They just need direction as to what that is.
Prior to the season, you should gather as many of your people as possible, and go over the DOT rules. This should take a few hours. The more time and effort you put into it, the more seriously your drivers will take it, and the more successful you will be.
How to do a proper pre-trip inspection is definitely one topic you should cover. Many of you in the carnival management are old drivers yourselves, so you should know the correct way to do a pre-trip inspection. JJ Keller, www.jjkeller.com, sells any number of training aids dealing with pre-trip inspection, including a video training package. One of their post-trip inspections, which itemizes all the parts of the truck is a good training aid, as it serves as a checklist for doing the inspection. The checklist is key, to make sure the driver does not forget anything. Pilots use pre-flight checklists, so should your drivers.
Logbooks are another area you should cover in your pre-season training. More OABA members get in more trouble over logbooks, and it is all very avoidable. Your drivers are very rarely in violation of the hours of service limits, so there is no excuse for getting in trouble with DOT over the logs. The drivers just need to understand what’s expected of them.
Each time a driver goes on the road, his log must be current to his last change of duty status. The driver must have his previous 7 days worth of logs with him at all times. Those previous 7 days should not say “off-duty”, if the driver was working on the show for a week. If a driver is taking tickets, or operating rides, that is on-duty time, and the log should reflect as much. Drivers must show at least 10 hours off-duty before starting their driving shift. Drives cannot work more than 14 hours. For example, if a driver starts his shift at 4am, he must be done by 6pm, regardless of whether he had any breaks in between. The only thing, which extends the 14 hour clock, is 8 hours in the sleeper berth. One thing you can use for training are properly completed logs. Make some copies of correct logs you have from a good driver, and give them to all the drivers to use as a guide.
Finally, you should cover accidents, or more specifically, how to avoid accidents. Defensive driving should be part of every training session you have. Many insurance companies have defensive driving videos they will let you use for free. JJ Keller has numerous safe driving videos. At a minimum, you should cover obvious tips such as not speeding, leaving enough space between your truck and the vehicle in front of you, and proper use of mirrors.
Taking the extra time to spell out for your drivers your expectations of them while they are driving the truck will pay dividends. You will have less DOT tickets, less fender-benders and accidents, which means more money for you.
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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.
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