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.
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.
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.
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.
Big Rig Takes Off Trooper’s Door
On January 12, 2008, on I-75 in Tennesee, a tractor-trailer side-swiped a state trooper’s car, nearly knocking the driver’s side door clean off. Video footage from trooper’s car here.
Police have now located the driver and his truck in Ohio, where he will undoubted be charged with a number of crimes. From viewing the video, it appears the truck in question, operated by Western Express out of Nashville was in the right hand lane. The trooper is in the righthand breakdown lane, with his blue flashers on. His driver side door is open, probably protruding slightly into the righthand traffic lane of I-75. To the left of Western Express appears to be another truck in the left lane. Making a guess, Western Express probably boxed himself in, and by the time he realized he couldn’t move left, too late, and whammo!
This sort of accident is totally preventable. Western Express should have immediately slowed down when he saw the flashing blue lights on the shoulder, and started looking for an opening to move to the left. Drivers who aren’t looking 10-15 seconds down the road will occasionally box themselves into these type of situations. Naturally, he made it much worse by fleeing the accident scene.
And, for you movie fans….. the great scene from ‘Smokey and the Bandit’. Ah, there’s nothing like the Great One, Jackie Gleason.
FMCSA proposes mandatory behind-the-wheel training
FMCSA has issued a proposed rulemaking, which will require new drivers applying for a CDL to have behind-the-wheel training prior to the issuance of the CDL.
Presently, there is no such requirement.
If a driver can go down to the Motor Vehicles office, and pass the written and road test, they get the CDL. No longer, under the new proposal. FMCSA proposed a new driver will be required to have 120 hours of training (76 classroom, and 44 behind the wheel) for Class A, or 90 hours of training (58 classroom, 32 behind the wheel) for Class B and C.
In 2004, FMCSA issued new rules requiring some training for new CDL drivers. They were sued by the safety advocacy groups, who did not think those rules were stringent enough. FMCSA settled that lawsuit, agreeing to issue rules requiring a behind the wheel training component.
FMCSA is accepting comments on its proposed rules through March 25, 2008. If you want to read the rulemaking itself, or make a comment, it is FMCSA-2007-27748 at www.regulations.gov. FMCSA must read all comments, and depending on the volume and nature of the comments, may alter the rule. Presently, FMCSA plans to make the rule effective 3 years after issuing the final rule, which would probably be in 2011 or 2012.
My thoughts on this? This is almost certainly going to happen, probably 2012 or 2013. Not every proposed rule becomes a final rule, in fact many are proposed, and just disappear. Not this one, though. Congress is pushing this, FMCSA promised the courts it would do it, so it’ll happen in some form.
Will it improve highway safety? Maybe. I’m somewhat cynical. I have a feeling drivers who can’t drive are still going to find a way to get a CDL, training requirement or no training requirement.
One thing I do see happening soon is enforcement of the current training regulations, found in 49 CFR Part 380. It states drivers receiving a CDL after July, 2003 must be trained on driver qualification files, hours of service, wellness, and whistle blower protection. Most people don’t know there is a Part 380, as FMCSA does not enforce its new rule. However, it’s only a matter of time before John Hill, FMCSA Administrator is called to task by Congress, wanting to know why they don’t enforce their rule. When that happens, expect FMCSA to start a new wave of fines for Part 380 violations.
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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.
