Question About EOBRs
I recently received a question from a good customer. He came across information about the Commerical Driver Compliance Improvement Act, which is a Senate bill, S. 3884. It was introduced by Senators Mark Pryor (D-Ark) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn). If made law, it will require all commercial motor vehicles to have electronic on-board recorders.
So what do we know about this bill? Well, reaching back into my high school civics knowledge, all bills not made law by the end of a 2 year Congress die. This Congress ends in less than a month, thank God. So, this bill would have to pass the Senate before the end of next month. Not likely, seeing as they are trying to pass some kind of regulatory overkill law about food safety, give illegals free college, and maybe extend the current tax rates. Then a matching bill must be passed by the House. I don’t think there is any matching legislation pending in the House, and it is very unlikely there will be any before the end of the Congress. So, it’s very unlikely it will happen in this session of Congress.
What about in future Congresses? Maybe. It would have to pass the Republican House, where I would like to think this kind of job-killing legislation would be DOA, but you never know. I note that Lamar Alexander, one of the co-sponsors in the Senate is a “Republican”. I put that in parenthesis, because as anyone who follows politics knows, Alexander is a RINO, that is, Republican In Name Only. So, if a bunch of RINOs in the House, join the Democratic minority, it could happen.
What makes it more likely to happen is, a number of mega-carriers, like US Xpress (from Tennessee, hence Alexander’s involvement), JB Hunt, Schneider, Maverick, and Knight are pushing this. They are doing so, of course, because they have all installed the EOBRs, and they want to force everyone else to do the same. I do not believe ATA has come out in support of this mandate yet, but that is only a matter of time.
My comment to the smaller carriers is, unless you want to be forced to pony up for EOBRs, you’d better pay attention, and make sure you let your Senators and Representatives know how you feel. The big carriers want to force you to have them, and they have the politicians on speed-dial. You’d better involve yourselves, or write a check for equipment you don’t want. Don’t think the mega-carriers already have this won. Despite the huge size of these mega-carriers, the smaller carriers vastly outnumber the mega-carriers.
More CSA 2010 Thoughts
Well, this isn’t totally related to CSA 2010, but I’ve discovered if you use the words CSA 2010 a lot, it makes you show up higher on the search engines. So CSA 2010, CSA 2010, CSA 2010. Anyway, I’ve noticed that some of my customers’ Out of Service rates are staying fairly steady over the past 30 months, yet their Safestat scores are going up. Safestat and CSA 2010 operate on the principle of comparing you against all the other motor carriers with DOT numbers. The worst performers in terms of violations and accidents gets audited. CSA 2010 is just like Safestat in this regard; it’s just using a new methodology.
If my Out of Service percentages are staying the same, but my Safestat score are going up, it can only mean one thing: everyone else is getting better. It means I’d better get better too. For example, if I’m hitting .300, and the rest of the team is hitting .250, I’m the best hitter on the team. If next year everyone else is hitting .350, and I’m still hitting .300, I’d better pick it up, or I’m going to be benched or cut.
This could make sense. In the area of logbooks, more carriers are utilizing the electronic logs, which drastically cut down on the number of logbook violations a carrier receives. Also, with the advent of EZPass technology, and scanning kiosks at truckstops, there is probably less paperwork for a DOT cop to inspect in the truck at the time of a DOT roadside stop. Less paperwork means less chance of being nailed for a false log. All this means, there are less driver violations being cited on the roadside. This means you have to get your drivers to be cited less, too, to keep up with the Joneses.
Another analogy (I love analogies) is driving on the road. You are running at 75 mph, with a pack of other cars. You are with the flow of traffic, your chances of getting stopped are small. Suddenly the pack slows down, but you’re still going 75. Your chances of getting nailed have now increased greatly. You do not want to be nailed with a DOT audit.
State of New Jersey to Issue Traffic Texts
The State of New Jersey will begin issuing “traffic prediction” texts to motorists on the Turnpike and Garden State Parkway starting next year. The State is spending $650,000 to use advanced technology which will predict traffic bottlenecks and jams, which will then be emailed or texted to motorists, in effort to allow the motorists to avoid the backups. This technology is already in use in Singapore and Stockholm.
Well, two things. One, I thought texting was dangerous. I mean, how are you going to get this information to me where it’s useful? I’m in the car. So, I guess they’re going to text me…. POTENTIAL TRAFFIC JAM BETWEEN EXIT 15 AND 16. But I can’t read the text, because Ray LaHood tells me it’s dangerous. And then, two, I thought the State of New Jersey was bankrupt? Well, I guess they have money for this, though.
NYC To Spend $27.5 million Replacing Signs
Apparently, New York City is being required by the Federal Highway Administration to replace its street signs. It seems the Federal regulations require the street signs to be in both Capital Letters and Small Letters. New York City’s signs are in all CAPITAL LETTERS. So, the Feds are going to force NYC to spend $27.5 million to replace the signs.
Insane. Absolutely insane. Hey, it’s not like the government’s a gabillion dollars in debt or anything. Or that we have 15-20% unemployment. By all means, let’s print another $27.5 million to replace perfectly good street signs. Well, I guess NYC has to cough up the money, but they don’t have it, so they’ll come right back to the Feds…. that is, you and me, to get it. Could I at least get some of the old signs I’m replacing??
Texting Ban Causes More Crashes?
This just in from the Highway Loss Data Institute: the texting bans may be causing more crashes than it prevents. The HLDI compared insurance claims in California, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Washington before and after their text bans went into effect. According to the HLDI, in 3 of the states, the rate of collisions went up slightly.
The HLDI attributes this to people now hiding their texts while driving. Apparently, the preferred method of texting while driving is holding your phone at eye level. Since it’s now illegal to text and drive in these places, the HLDI surmises people are texting in their laps, thus taking their eyes off the road for an even longer time.
Is this true? Who the hell knows. As Mark Twain said, “there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Which means you can make statisitics read any way you want them to read. That being said, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if it was true. The government is the king of unintended consequences. Maybe it means you can only regulate human behavior so far before people ignore the rules.
More CSA 2010 Thoughts
Well, as we get closer to this thing, I learn more about it. I talked to two DOT people last week. One swears it’s going to revolutionize how the DOT does business. The other says its not much different from the system they’re using now. I sort of agree with the 2nd person. One thing I learned this past week is DOT is focusing even more intensely on the roadside inspections, including citations which were not Out of Service. This is a departure from the current system. For example, even if your logs at the office are in compliance, if you have a bunch of “log not current” cites on your roadside inspections, DOT is going to harass you.
It is important to take every DOT roadside inspection, and address every last citation on every one of them in writing. For example, your driver is written up for not wearing his seatbelt. Make a note that you made the driver watch a video on the importance of seatbelts. Or that you talked to the driver. Or that you pointed him to page 32 of your company manual which says seatbelts must be worn. Or that you fined him $50. Etc.
It might not be a bad idea to come up with a disciplinary policy geared specifically for roadside inspections. Maybe something like for every violation, you get a warning letter…. if you get too many, we suspend you, or fine you. If you pass a roadside inspection, we give you $25 or $50. More on this later….
Some More Thoughts About CSA 2010
While I’m thinking of it, there are a few differences in the CSA 2010, and how DOT is going to do their business. For the uninitiated, DOT means the same as FMCSA, which is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. They’re the group that regulates anyone who has a truck. They are the government, and they’re not there to help you. In fairness to the FMCSA, I do not believe their agents say that anymore.
Anyway, DOT is planning to conduct many more “interventions” (their word) under CSA 2010. Seriously, where do they come up with these words? If I had to guess, they probably had a meeting, which may have taken multiple days, and decided they need a new, non-threatening word for “audit”. Boom, we have “intervention”! After all an intervention is where your friends (like the DOT!) sit around in a circle and force you change your behavior. So, maybe they still are thinking they’re here to help you.
These interventions are mostly going to take the form of them sending you threatening letters, and then you will have to send them many pages of documentation, showing you are in compliance with the rules. Then they may go away. They might not. They might come out and do an audit, they might send another threatening letter, or they might actually just send you a fine. I doubt they’ll start fining motor carriers without doing an audit immediately. It will probably take them a year or so, until they feel comfortable with their system, but that’s definitely where they’re going with this.
There are still many unanswered questions about CSA 2010, so I wouldn’t get too worked up over it. DOT wants to expand their footprint, expand their outreach by fining more motor carriers, but the problem is, they don’t have the auditors to do it. Even if they do issue more penalties, even by mail, they don’t have the people to process them. I doubt they’ll be able to hire more people, because in November the $$$ spigot is going to be shut off. Ok, it won’t be shut off, I’m not dumb enough to think the GOP will actually bring back any sort of fiscal sanity to government. The $$$ spigot will be partially shut off, how’s that?
Driver in 2009 Oklahoma Wreck Likely to Plea Bargain
This photo and article comes from the Tulsa World. Donald Creed, the 76 year old man who crashed into a line of stopped traffic on June 26, 2009 near Tulsa, OK, killing 10, is expected to take a plea bargain in his negligent homicide case. The driver has not said what happened. His only comment has been he doesn’t remember what happened.
Investigators have determined he was on-duty since 3am. The accident happened approximately 1pm. Creed’s cruise control was set at 71 MPH. The speed limit was 75 MPH. Also, Creed concluded a 22 minute cellphone call 8 minutes prior to the crash.
It is unknown exactly what happened, but witnesses have stated there were no brake lights, and the truck changed lanes without signaling right before impact. Did the driver fall asleep? Maybe, but if he did, he hasn’t admitted it yet.
Advocacy Groups Want an 8 hour rule
In the ongoing war over the number of hours truck drivers can legally drive, the “safety advocacy” groups have filed their idea of what the rules should be. This article comes from the June 28 written issue of Transport Topics (which is written by the American Trucking Association). If you want to read the whole article, seek out the written June 28 Transport Topics.
Public Citizen, which apparently includes the Teamsters, wants to limit driving to 8 hours a day, no more than a 12 hour on-duty day, and then a mandatory 12 hour off-duty period in between on-duty shifts. Hey, why stop there? Let’s not let them driver at all. That will stop the accidents.
ATA criticized the proposal, stating it’s just a bargaining position, throwing out a ridiculous starting point, and then hoping for a compromise. They also stated an 8 hour rule will create MORE accidents and deaths, as in order to move the same amount of freight, the trucking companies will have to use more and more trucks, which will lead to more congestion and accidents.
I agree 100% with ATA on that one. I would think exposure causes more accidents than anything else. Why do most accidents happen with 15 miles of your home? Because that’s where you do most of your driving, of course. If we have to put on 50% more trucks, to move the same amount of freight, that’s going to jam the already crowded highways even more, and cause even more traffic jams and crashes.
The current rules, which have been in place for about 4-5 years, have been successful. There has not been a surge in truck deaths. In fact, crashes have declined. The “safety” groups tell me that’s because of the poor economy, and reduced truck miles. You want to see a poor economy? Put this idiocy in place.
FMCSA Allows Scanned Logs
I think FMCSA is somewhat behind the curve on this one, but it is now officially issued guidance allowing a carrier to accept scanned logs, rather than the original paper copies. Here is a link to a Truckinginfo.com story. I know many carriers already do this, but I guess this makes it official. You never know when that DOT agent who prides himself on playing “gotcha” says, “where’s the original? Section 395.whatever says you have to have the original.” Good, one less thing to worry about.
