Volume 16, Issue 2
Second Quarter 2009
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Second Quarter 2009
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Table of Contents
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President’s Message ......................................................................................1
Published by: Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance
Letters to the Editor ........................................................................................2 Legislative Rundown ......................................................................................4 Federal News Wireless Roadside Inspection Program Moves Into Second Phase ........................................6
1101 17th Street, NW, Suite 803 Washington, DC 20036 Phone: (202) 775-1623 Fax: (202) 775-1624 www.cvsa.org
In Service Braking Research to Provide Snapshot of CMV Braking Capabilities ......................6
FMCSA Launches CMV Web-Based Driving Tips Home Page ..............................................7
Dedicated to government and industry working together to promote commercial vehicle safety on North American highways.
NTSB Warns Fatigue Continues to be a Serious Safety Problem for Motor Carriers ................8
HEADQUARTERS STAFF
SIRIS to Undergo Further Testing at the Roadside Tech Center ..............................................7
FMCSA Fields Technology in Motion Vehicle ......................................................................9 Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Tweets Away with Updates ............10 PBBT/NAS Level-I Correlations Study Compares Brake Out-of-Service Rates ........................10 Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Hosts Free Training, Emergency Guidebook and DVD ..............................................................................11 Safety Impacts of Speed Limiter Device Installations on Commercial Trucks and Buses ..........12 Ask the FMCSA Chief Safety Officer ..............................................................................13 TSA Launches First Observer Program Trucking Security Program........................................14 Brake Wear, Performance Testing Project Finishes First 12 Months of Field Operational Testing ..........................................................................................14 NHTSA Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Interim Final Rule on Air Brake Systems ........14
CVSA News CVSA Members Appointed to Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee ............................15 COHMED Names National Vice-Chair, Tackles Technology, Training Issues During Mesa Conference ..........................................................................................15
Cover Story/Feature CVSA ‘Bus Safety Summit’ Seeks to Advance Motorcoach Safety........................................16
Regional News TSA Corporate Security Review Program Expands to Colorado, Michigan ..........................17 Iowa DOT Motor Vehicle Enforcement Launches Campaign to Reduce CMV-Related Fatalities ............................................................................................17
Stephen F. Campbell Executive Director Paul M. Bomgardner Director, Administration Richard D. Henderson Director, Government Affairs Stephen A. Keppler Director, Policy & Programs Collin B. Mooney Director, Enforcement Programs Francisco J. Gomez Director, Member Services Larry D. Stern Director, Level VI Inspection Program Iris R. Leonard Program Manager Craig Defibaugh Accountant Laura Zabriskie Martin Communications Coordinator For comments, suggestions or information, please email us at communications@cvsa.org.
Washington State Patrol’s Commercial Vehicle Division Targets Volume Volume 16, 16, Issue Issue 2 2
Resource Deployment to High Collision, Rural Areas....................................................18 Ontario, Quebec First Jurisdictions in North American to Make Speed Limiters Mandatory....19
Regional Rap ..................................................................................................20
Second Second Quarter Quarter 2009 2009
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About the cover: CVSA’s first Bus Safety Summit.
Associate News NATM Continues to March and to Address Industry-Wide Issues ........................................21 Three Major Truck Crash Categories: Three Different Safety Problems ................................22 Michigan Truck Exposition and Safety Symposium 2009 Partners in Safety Awards..............24 Arizona Trucking Association Partners With CVSA on “Teens and Trucks” ..........................26 Covenant Names Frank Silio Caption of the 2009 America’s Road Team ............................27
RAD Inspection News ....................................................................................29
Guardian is a publication of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Guardian PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Recession Proofing CVSA By Darren E. Christle, CVSA President, Executive Director, Motor Carrier Division Manitoba Infrastructure & Transportation
By now, I believe it is safe to say that we all have an understanding of what a global recession is and how it impacts multiple levels of governments, industry, our agencies, and our personal well being. In 2008, and certainly in 2009, North America has been plagued by an economic crisis unlike anything that has been experienced in 80 years. Fiscal resources which were once available to individuals and governments alike have been greatly impacted. Most of us have been touched in some manner by the current economic climate. Our associate members are challenged with extremely tight margins. The federal, state and provincial governments are now faced with unprecedented deficits. Entities such as ours will undoubtedly be financially touched by the fiscal state of our membership. Those associations which are not introspective or innovative will face significant challenges in the coming months. I believe that it is necessary for the Alliance to demonstrate to the senior decision makers in our member jurisdictions, that we will remain fiscally healthy, sustainable and necessary. This is not accomplished with just words. Words alone carry less weight when times are tough…actions are not only anticipated but they are expected. The executive committee, together with the international officers have over the last number of months, been proactively examining the efficiency of the current organizational structure. We have developed a “what-if ” model and utilized the Guardian to solicit input and member participation. On behalf of the executive committee, I would like to thank all of you who have taken the time
Darren E. Christle
to share your thoughts on how the Alliance can improve itself though this introspective examination. I’m pleased to announce that the CVSA is committed to adding greater value to the outputs of our organization through capitalizing on innovation and greater efficiencies. We are committed to providing our members with as many value-added opportunities as possible without over-taxing the lean state and provincial resources and participation that is available to us. In December 2008, CVSA hosted an Electronic On-board Recorder (EOBR) Conference in Minneapolis, MN. The EOBR event successfully brought together industry, regulated stakeholders, government representatives, technology suppliers, regulators and enforcement to share meaningful dialogue in the shared pursuit of knowledge. This conference was initiated outside of the established meeting schedules of the Alliance because there was a need. This is an example of the Alliance performing a value added role in an area that was identified as time sensitive and necessary. In March 2009 CVSA hosted the
Bus Safety Summit in Crystal City, VA. Once again, this event was outside of the regular event planning cycle of the Alliance. Similar to the rational for the EOBR Conference, this Summit is also example of the Alliance performing a value-added role in an area that was identified as very necessary. This highly-successful, innovative event drew participants from throughout North America and the participation exceeded forecast by approximately 20 percent. Necessary, innovative, value-added and introspective are all adjectives critical to the goal of long term sustainability. A recession is when you don’t have much to do but too much time to do it. The CVSA has not and will not accede to this definition with respect to our organization. Through prudent fiscal management and continued delivery of highlysuccessful events such as the EOBR and Bus Safety Summit, coupled with strategic introspective adjustments, our Alliance will continue to remain resilient and sustainable. In the very near future the Alliance will initiate a number of organizational adjustments based on our self rumination. • The executive committee will reduce its pre and post-meeting practice to one post-meeting thereby reducing the travel burden and expense by one day; • The CVSA communications component will now report through the Program Initiatives Committee (PIC) thereby providing greater dialogue and resources to this critical component of our organization; • The Transportation Security Committee will be absorbed into the responsibilities of the Passenger Carrier Committee, the Hazardous Materials
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President’s Message (continued from page 1)
Committee, and the Driver Committee. The important issues previously addressed by the Security Committee will continue to be actioned however within the existing committee structure; • The Information Systems Committee and the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Committee will be broadened and will now be scheduled as back-to-back oneday sessions at the conferences. This will enable a more cost effective utilization of meeting space and support as well as enable committee members to attend more than one committee meeting thereby increasing the opportunity for value-added participation; and, • The Size & Weight Committee will condense its meeting time to one day. This will enable meeting space to be shared with a new entity — The Task force on School Bus Safety Programs (SBSP). Formed as a direct result, of feedback from the Bus Safety Summit, the SBSP will report through the passenger carrier committee but exclusively address policy development, inspection procedures, and all safety and enforcement issues exclusively pertaining to school busses. We are well on the way to recession proofing the Alliance. Even in the face of the current economic climate, CVSA has started the initial steps through introspection, innovation, and dialogue towards a path that we are confident will yield even better results than the success we have enjoyed over the last 25-years. God Bless and Stay Safe!
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Letters to the Editor
When it happens, it’s always a top story on the local news. A load of three huge coils of steel cable, headed across the country, falls off a flatbed truck. There is video of interstate traffic backed up for miles while the mess is cleaned up. Everyone has the same question: How did this happen? The driver of the truck says he doesn’t know. After all, he checked the trailer before he left and it looked tight and secure. The manager at the loading dock assured him everything was secure. So why is the trucking company being sued for something its driver had nothing to do with? The answer is found in laws developed over hundreds of years, in combination with recent federal regulations. The first laws assigning liability for improper cargo securement date to the early 1700s in England. Back then, English courts were unsure how to best prevent both the theft of cargo and carelessness in transport. Primarily as a means of economically allocating the risk of loss, courts made carriers (horsedrawn at that time) liable for any damage. A carrier could only escape liability in five instances: damage by an Act of God, a public enemy, a public authority, an act of the shipper, or because of the inherent vice or nature of the goods. Today, FMCSA regulations lay out most of the guidelines for interstate trucking, including the securement of cargo. FMCSA regulations describe, in great detail, proper methods for securing cargo, including anchor points and cargo placement. However, since those early days in England, the general liability rules for cargo securement have remained essentially the same. Under FMCSA regulations, a motor carrier is liable for any damage resulting from the improper securement of cargo. This is a strict rule that places liability on
the carrier in all but a few select situations. Even if the shipper loaded the truck without any involvement from the driver, the carrier is still liable. Likewise, if the shipper loaded the truck in a careless manner, such as allowing cargo to shift, the carrier is still liable. The policy principles behind these general rules are well established. Since the carrier will be transporting the goods, it has the final responsibility for all loads. No shipper can force a driver to accept a load the driver believes to be unsafe or insecure. FMCSA regulations place three specific responsibilities on the driver to inspect the load. These responsibilities even apply if the driver did not participate in the loading. First, the driver must ensure, before the truck pulls away from the loading dock, that the cargo is properly secured. Second, he must inspect both the cargo and the securement devices within 50 miles. If the cargo has moved, he must add more securement devices. Finally, the driver must inspect the load and securement devices periodically throughout his trip. FMCSA regulations require these periodic inspections anytime the driver changes his status, drives for three hours, or drives for 150 miles, whichever occurs first. These inspection requirements serve primarily to prevent both injuries and damages from improperly secured cargo. There are three exceptions to this general rule holding the carrier liable. First, if a driver is ordered not to inspect a sealed commercial vehicle, the carrier will not be liable. The shipper will instead be responsible for any damage resulting from improper loading. Second, the carrier will not be liable when the vehicle is loaded in such a manner that makes inspection impracticable. An example of this situation would be an oversized load, where the driver could not practically inspect all the
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devices. Instead, he must rely on the shipper’s assurance that the devices are secure. The third exception is, by far, the most litigated exception to the general rule. The shipper will be liable if the securement defect is so “latent and concealed” that it cannot be discovered by the driver’s ordinary inspection. This rule protects carriers from problems that are difficult to detect, while still requiring the drivers to inspect the load and the securement devices. For example, a driver may inspect tie-downs and straps, and find them to properly secure the load. However, unknown to the driver, the straps are worn and past their
normal age of use. In this situation, the shipper would be liable for any damages, since a reasonable inspection by the driver could not discover the defect. In situations where an accident occurs resulting from improper securement, law enforcement officials and others will follow the general rule and assign responsibility to the motor carrier. It is important in these situations to conduct a careful investigation to determine the cause of the load failure. First, an examination should be made to determine if one of the exceptions is applicable. Second, even in those situations where the motor carrier is responsible, it is
important to determine whether the shipper or others should share in that responsibility. This factual investigation is necessary to properly allocate liability among the motor carrier, shipper, and others. Ted L. Perryman and Thomas Wilmowski, Roberts Perryman CVSA’s Guardian welcomes your letters and comments. To submit a letter send an email to communications@cvsa.org or write to CVSA, c/o Guardian, 1101 17th Street, NW, Suite 803, Washington, DC 20036.
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The Legislative Rundown By Richard Henderson, CVSA, Director, Government Affairs
FY 2009 DOT Funding Now in Place Congress has finally passed, and President Obama has signed into law, the FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill which includes funding for the Department of Transportation. The Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) and the state safety grant programs are funded at the levels authorized by SAFETEA-LU for 2009. The MCSAP total increased by $7 million, from $202 million to $209 million.The other state safety grant programs remain at the same level of funding as in 2008: CDL-$25 million; Border-$32 million: PRISM-$5 million; Safety Data-$3 million; CDLIS Modernization-$8 million; and, CVISN-$25 million. Current Cross-Border Mexican Pilot Program Stopped by 2009 Appropriations Bill As expected, the FY 2009 Appropriations bill cut off all funding for this pilot program that has been operating for the past year and a half. The language cutting off the funding was inserted into this Appropriations bill when it was first drafted in early 2008. However, almost immediately after the bill was passed, President Obama issued instructions to find a way to redo the project in a way that would satisfy concerns and allow for trade between the U.S. and Mexico. The President told DOT to work with stakeholders and critics to create “a new trucking project that will meet the legitimate concerns” of Congress and U.S. commitments under NAFTA. The Obama Administration may press hard for a resolution to this issue in view of Mexico’s recent announcement that it will impose tariffs on $2.4 billion of U.S.
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products in retaliation for the U.S. failure to abide by the terms of the NAFTA Treaty signed in 1993. House Committee May Take Up Reauthorization in May/June Timeframe Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. James Oberstar (D - MN), has said his Committee will be reporting out a Transportation Reauthorization bill by May or June. Efforts to draft the bill were put aside due to the consideration of the Stimulus bill earlier this year. At the very least, an outline of the policies for the new bill should be available later this spring. But how quickly these policies can be put into legislative language and meet Oberstar’s ambitious timetable is yet to be determined. In addition, the Committee has yet to determine a formula for financing new programs at a time when the Highway Trust Fund cannot be sustained at current levels of the fuel tax. Committee staff have told CVSA they will soon be calling us for further discussions about the MCSAP program and other truck and bus safety issues. The Senate has yet to indicate a timeframe. Commercial Motor Vehicle Advanced Safety Technology Tax Act to be Introduced Soon A renewed effort to seek support for this legislation is underway. CVSA is participating with a broad-based coalition of bus and truck industry representatives and manufacturers of the technology who are working to seek enactment of this bill in the new Congress. The current strategy is to try and get the bill included in the Reauthorization bill.
The coalition worked on the bill in the last session of Congress, but there was not enough time to get the bill “scored” before adjournment. “Scoring” of the bill is done by the Joint Committee on Taxation to determine the cost of the tax credit to the Federal Government. This year the coalition is seeking to expedite the “scoring” process by enlisting the services of an economic consultant to work with the Joint Committee on Taxation in developing the necessary market and economic information to determine the net cost to the U.S. Treasury. CVSA Bus Safety Summit Determines Eight Major Issues to Pursue Stakeholders from all sides of the bus safety community convened March 5-6 in Washington and outlined eight priorities for enhancing the safety of passenger carrier transportation. They are, in order of importance: 1. Having new bus entrants pass minimum standards and receive training; 2. Mandating state annual bus inspection programs; 3. Requiring EOBRs to monitor bus driver Hours of Service; 4. Providing training for drivers and enforcement and installing technology to prevent bus fires; 5. Providing driver training; 6. Identifying and Interdicting bus companies that are “flying under the radar”; 7. Making medical certification requirements more stringent (cardiovascular, diabetes, sleep issues); and, 8. Holding passenger carriers to higher standards.
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New Bus Legislation Introduced in House and Senate Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) has introduced HR 1135 (copy attached) co-sponsored by Rep. John Mica (R-FL), ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Rep. John Duncan (R-TN), ranking member of the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee, as well as Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX). Shuster’s bill is a more moderate version of new legislation recently introduced by Sens. Brown (D-OH) and Kay Bailey-Hutchison (RTX), S. 554 (a draft copy attached; a final copy is not yet available ), and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), HR 1396 (copy attached). Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) is a co-sponsor of the Lewis bill. All of the bills deal with the issue of improved occupant protection, improved bus crashworthiness, improved enforcement and oversight of motorcoach operators and improved commercial driver training. The Brown/Hutchison/Lewis bills include a provision that a state, in order to receive its MCSAP grant, must carry out annual safety inspection programs for all commercial motor vehicles including buses and motor carriers transporting not less than nine and more than 15 passengers. It is not certain whether the issue of bus safety will be taken up separately or considered as a part of the Reauthorization bill later this year. The likelihood is that it will be considered in the context of Reauthorization, but another major bus crash could put pressure on Congress to act sooner rather than later. Major Trucking Groups Want to Abolish UCR Program The American Trucking Associations, along with the National Private Truck
Vice President Joe Biden and DOT Secretary Ray LaHood behind President Obama during his announcement of the American Recovery and Investment Act.
Council, oppose the recently recommended increase in the UCR registration fees for 2010 by the UCR Board of Directors. SAFETEA-LU required that the new UCR registrations fees generate an amount of funding for participating states equal to that of the old SSRS program which was $100 million a year. In the eighteen-month history of the new UCR program, revenues have fallen short of that amount necessitating an increase in the 2010 fees to make up the deficit. ATA President Bill Graves has sent a letter to 50 state Governors, with copies to the House and Senate Authorizing Committees, objecting to the increase and proposing that the UCR program be eliminated. They suggest that the $100 million could be made up through an increase by that amount in the MCSAP grant program. This is an unexpected and troubling development. The suggestion that the fund-
ing be made up through a $100 million increase in the MCSAP grant program may not be feasible due to the fact that in most cases, the initial recipient of the UCR money is not the MCSAP lead agency. Also, unless it is 100 percent money, which is unlikely, states would have to pay a considerably higher amount for the 20 percent match. HM Reauthorization Picking Up Steam The various stakeholders with an interest in the development of a new Hazardous Materials Reauthorization Act, along with the group, the Interested Parties, in which CVSA participates, are in the final stages of developing model legislation to present to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. It appears that the Committee is very determined about trying to move an HM Reauthorization bill in either late spring or early summer of this year.
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Wireless Roadside Inspection Program Moves into Second Phase
In-Service Braking Research to Provide Snapshot of CMV Braking Capabilities
The Wireless Roadside Inspection (WRI) Program continues to move forward with Phase II Pilot Testing. Kickoff meetings for the Universal Identification (UID) Platform and the Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) Platform were held in October and November 2008. A Commercial Mobile Radio Services (CMRS) Platform kickoff meeting will be held in Spring 2009. The goal of the WRI Program Phase II Pilot Test is to test various technology methods to wirelessly inspect a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) and thereby assess the safety status of the driver, the vehicle, and the carrier. Additionally, Phase II will further refine the WRI Concept of Operations and the WRI Systems Architecture, and provide data and analysis to support a “go/no-go” decision for a WRI field operational test. Two key WRI Phase II activities will begin in early 2009. First, the National Transportation Research Center Incorporated (NTRCI), in partnership with Battelle Corporation, will define the
From the 1940s to the 1980s, stop-
WRI Systems Functional and Performance Requirements. Starting in February 2009, NTRCI will conduct stakeholder focus groups to determine potential uses and interactions with the WRI system when it is nationally deployed. Stakeholder groups include state enforcement, motor carriers (including motor coach operators), vehicle manufacturers; technology/service providers, state and federal CMV data systems providers, FMCSA policy and enforcement decision-makers, and other federal agencies. It is expected that the sessions will be completed in April 2009. Second, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory will engage potential partners for the Phase II Pilot testing of CMRS technologies for WRI. Partners may include commercial carriers, CMV and technology manufacturers, and/or telematics service providers. The goal is to explore gratis partnerships to demonstrate the wireless inspection of CMV using CMRS technology and discuss trigger methods for the inspection data.
ping tests were required to aid the design of safe stopping distances into new roadways and assess the relative braking capability of various types of in-service vehicles and track their change over time. Today, after more than 25 years without such data, stopping capability tests and assessments of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) are being conducted at the CMV Roadside Technology Corridor. Information is being gathered to assess the condition of CMV brakes and thus give a representative snap-shot of the braking capabilities of CMVs on the road today. Vehicles from cooperative fleets passing through the Greene County, TN, inspection station (located at southbound I-81 mile marker 21) participated in 20-mph stopping tests. During the tests, drivers were asked to carry out a “best-effort” stop in trucks with a variety of loads. Four specific tests were conducted on each cooperative vehicle: • Stopping tests, utilizing the GPSbased
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acquisition system; • Performance-Based Brake Test; • North American Standard Level-1 Inspection; and, • Free stroke and push rod length measurements. The information gathered from this testing can help identify safety concerns in CMVs, be used to implement vehicle safety im-provements, and benefit highway safety.
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Smart Infrared Inspection System to Undergo Further testing at the Roadside Tech Corridor In 2006, International Electronic Machines Corporation (IEM), with support from FMCSA and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, began to develop a Smart Infrared Inspection System (SIRIS) that addresses many of the noted problems with the current thermal prescreening programs. During the summer of 2007, a first generation prototype version of the system was deployed at the Commercial Motor Vehicle Roadside Technology Corridor (CMV RTC). Out of that effort, IEM was able to derive some key preliminary observations regarding thermal properties of commercial vehicles and to make significant adjustments to the system configuration. During the remainder of 2007 and 2008, IEM made several modifications to the overall SIRIS configuration and based on this, a second generation of the SIRIS prototype was deployed for data collection and verification purposes at an inspection sites in New York and New Jersey. This data is currently being analyzed by the University of Michigan Transportation
Research Institute with the goal of generating a set of statistically-based rules for automatic vehicle evaluation. Initial analysis resulted in a rule that, when applied to actual Level-1 data, SIRIS accurately predicted nearly 65 percent of the vehicles with brake
problems with a very low false positive rate. Additional analysis will further refine the rule-based system. SIRIS will return to the Roadside Technology Corridor in 2009, this time with a prototype of the intelligent evaluation software operating.
FMCSA Launches CMV Web-Based Driving Tips Home Page Even the most well-trained, safety-conscious commercial vehicle (CMV) driver is at risk of engaging in driving behaviors that could lead to a crash on today’s crowded highways. Weather conditions or road conditions change, and suddenly “driving too fast for conditions” becomes a risk factor. Failing to look or looking and not seeing, impaired performance because of fatigue, inattention or daydreaming or an unexpected external distraction can all lead to a truck crash. FMCSA developed a new website: www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/outreach/education/driverTips, to raise the consciousness of CMV drivers about common driving errors and to provide valuable driving tips through an easily accessible tool, the internet. Fleet safety managers can also use this
website for their driver training programs. These tips offer preventative measures that CMV drivers can take to help avoid crashes. The driving tips, ideas and suggestions on this website are supported with real-world video clips (25- to 30-second video clips) recorded in a naturalistic (open roadway, non-test track) driving study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). The video clips show examples of driver errors that will serve to motivate CMV drivers to become safer drivers and thereby avoid dangerous driving situations. Also, as a training exercise, each video clip is followed by a set of questions to help encourage the driver to think about and examine their behavior.
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Lessons Learned from Highway Crashes NTSB WARNS FATIGUE CONTINUES TO BE A SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM FOR MOTOR CARRIERS By The National Transportation Safety Board Recent motor carrier accidents investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) continue to uncover operator fatigue as a major safety risk prompting the agency’s Acting Chairman to again call for action. “The government has spent millions of federal dollars researching this insidious human condition in all modes of transportation, but too little progress has been made because the solution requires a fundamental change in habits and culture,” said NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker. “It’s time to realize that combating fatigue is a shared responsibility of government, industry, and employees.” “The facts are clear,” he said. “Operator fatigue is one of the most widespread safety issues in the transportation industry, and presents an unnecessary risk to the traveling public. Often a company’s culture or policies can produce an environment where fatigue is considered to be just part of the job.” “Motor carrier operators need to be aware that limited sleep can degrade alertness, vigilance, and judgment; mar performance, and impair information processing,” he said. “It can also increase reaction time, and elevate the probability of errors.” Last year, the NTSB determined the probable cause of the collision of an overturned truck-tractor semitrailer and a motorcoach in which the driver and four passengers were killed and 35 passengers were injured. The accident report uncovered numerous safety deficiencies including driver fatigue. The accident happened just before 2 a.m. on October 16, 2005, when a trucktractor semitrailer traveling on I-94 near Osseo, WI, departed the right-hand lane and traveled along the earthen sloped roadside before re-entering the highway,
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where it overturned. It came to rest on its side and blocked both westbound lanes. About a minute later, a chartered 55-passenger motorcoach, carrying members of a high school band and traveling at highway speeds, crashed into the underside of the overturned truck. The motorcoach driver and four passengers were killed, and 35 passengers received from minor to serious injuries. In its final report on the accident, the NTSB said the driver of the truck-tractor semitrailer was fatigued and had fallen asleep at the wheel because he had not
Operator fatigue is one of the most widespread safety issues in the industry
used his off-duty time to obtain sufficient sleep to safely operate the vehicle. The truck driver was asleep at the time of the accident because of the reduced quantity of his sleep; the reduced quality of his sleep due to alcohol consumption the previous night; and the circadian desynchronization he experienced from operating the truck in the early morning hours, when the body is predisposed to sleep. As a result of the accident, the NTSB is urging the FMCSA to develop and implement a plan to deploy technologies to reduce fatigue-related accidents and to continually assess the effectiveness of the fatigue management plans implemented by motor carriers, including their ability to improve sleep and alertness, mitigate performance errors, and prevent incidents and accidents. Fatigue was also cited in the NTSB’s investigation of a 2004 accident. About noon, on July 16, 2004, near Chelsea, MI, a tractor towing a semitrailer was part of a slow moving traffic queue on I94; the tractor-semitrailer combination
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was behind a station wagon approaching an overpass. At the same time, another tractor towing a semitrailer was traveling behind the queue on I-94, approaching the overpass at a witness-estimated speed of 60 mph. The driver of the second truck applied the brakes and swerved to the right almost immediately before his truck collided with the semitrailer of the first truck. The left front of the second truck struck the right rear of the first truck’s semitrailer, compressing the second truck’s cab about 6 feet to the rear, trapping and killing the second driver. The impact propelled the first tractorsemitrailer into the station wagon in front of it. During the investigation, the NTSB found that the accident driver, the driver of the second truck, had driven almost 14 cumulative hours during the 19.75-hour on-duty period, nearly 3 hours beyond the time permitted by federal regulations. The NTSB said the probable cause was the accident driver’s failure to stop upon encountering traffic congestion in a temporary traffic control zone, likely because of a reduced state of alertness associated with failure to obtain adequate rest. Contributing to the accident were the operator’s insufficient regard for and oversight of driver compliance with federal commercial motor vehicle hours-of-service regulations, which endangered the safety of its drivers and the traveling public. Fatigue is not a new issue for the NTSB. It has been an issue of great concern for more than a quarter of a century. The NTSB has investigated over 50 fatigue-related accidents in all modes of transportation and has addressed this problem through accident investigations, safety studies, and safety recommendations. In 1995, the NTSB co-sponsored,
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with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a symposium on fatigue countermeasures. Since 1972, the NTSB has made 115 recommendations on fatigue, addressing rest periods, scheduling practices, fatigue awareness training, and hours of service, to the U.S. Department of Transportation and modal agencies, transportation operators, associations, and unions. Operator fatigue has been on the NTSB’s Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements since the list’s inception in 1990. NTSB investigations have shown that steps can be taken to prevent fatiguerelated accidents. • Employees can each take responsibil-
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ity to adjust their personal schedules and allow for 8 hours of continuous sleep, preferably at night. • Employers can establish schedules that provide employees with enough off-duty time to allow them to obtain eight hours of sleep, and avoid schedules that result in irregular or unpredictable work-rest cycles. • Both employees and employers can learn more about the risks posed by sleep disorders, the indicators and symptoms of such disorders, and the available means of detecting and treating them. The full accident reports can be found on the NTSB website: www.ntsb.gov.
FMCSA Fields the Technology in Motion Vehicle FMCSA’s Southern Service Center (SSC) has purchased a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe that will be used to promote heavy vehicle enforcement and safety technologies and systems with the goal of increasing end-user acceptance, adoption, and use. This vehicle has been named the Technology in Motion Vehicle (TMV) and is planned to visit venues of local, state, and national interest, as well as serve as a tool for education, outreach, and research. The TMV will be equipped with technology as a part of the CMV Roadside Technology Corridor and is scheduled to be fully operational in about nine months. In the interim, the TMV has been attending venues as a safety outreach vehicle. Enforcement technologies within the TMV will include license plate readers, US DOT number readers, and FMCSA software systems (e.g., ASPEN, ISS, PRISM). CMV safety systems within the TMV will include electronic on-board recorders, lane departure, communications, and collision avoidance technologies. The TMV will also be equipped with a flat panel monitor for presentations. Ultimately, by allowing highway safety personnel “hands on” access to this technology, the ease of its use can be demonstrated and more readily implemented by the law enforcement community to increase efficiency and productivity.
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Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Tweets Away with Updates By David L. Sargent, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Initiatives and Training To help the regulated community comply with the requirements of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR), the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) Training and Outreach staffs provide publications, self-training products, and in-person training opportunities. The Hazardous Materials Safety Assistance Team (HMSAT) is responsible for face-to-face outreach and compliance assistance in the field of hazardous materials transportation. Wherever you live in the U.S., a HMSAT member in your region, and is available to address your hazardous materials transportation training concerns. One of PHMSA’s objectives under President Obama and DOT Secretary Ray LaHood is to make government operations more transparent. To meet this objective PHMSA established a “Twitter” account under the username
HMSAT. Our current plan is to post “Twitter” updates that list daily outreach operations being presented by HMSAT members and other public information relevant to hazardous materials safety. The post will list the region conducting the event, a description, and it encourages people to attend if it is an “open” event such as a MultiModal training seminar. If you wish to read PHMSA’s “Tweets,” sign up at www.twitter.com. You will need to create a user account and then search for our user identity “HMSAT.” Once you find our account you can sign up as a follower to HMSAT which will keep you updated. Our account was created late yesterday afternoon and last night our first member of the public signed up as a follower. Please feel free to take a few minutes and check out the Twitter website, your suggestions are appreciated!
PBBT/NAS Level-I Correlations Study Compares Brake Out-of-Service Rates The Oak Ridge National Laboratory conducted a broke inspection correlation study on 647 CMVs tested on a Performance Based Brake Tester (PBBT) and undergoing subsequent North American Standard (NAS) Level-I vehicle inspection, which were conducted November 2007 through November 2008 at the CMV Roadside Technology Corridor. The purpose of this study was to compare the brake-related out-of-service rates between the NAS Level-I inspections and the PBBT measurement. The NAS Level-I inspection requires an inspector to measure the difference in stroke length of each airbrake from the at-rest condition to the full brake application condition. The PBST machine measures the actual brake force that can be produced by each individual wheel end during a full brake application. This study has determined that 69 percent of the time the results match between
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the Level-I brake inspection and the PSBT test. Twenty-one percent of the time the vehicle “passed” the PBBT test, but “failed” the Level-I brake inspection, meaning that the vehicle developed sufficient brake force to stop the vehicle, but the measured brake stroke length exceeded the maximum measured. Most concerning, however, is that the study showed that 10 percent of the vehicles “passed” the Level-I inspection and failed the PBBT test, meaning that the physical inspection showed that the measured stroke length of each airbrake system met the requirements but the vehicle failed to develop sufficient brake force to effectively stop the vehicle. This correlation study is planned to continue, as resources allow, gathering data to confirm the differences between a physical inspection of the brake system and measuring system performance using a PBBT.
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Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Hosts Free Training, Emergency Guidebook, DVD The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is offering several two-day seminars and one-day workshops throughout the year that are free for anyone who offers or transports hazardous materials in commerce or has a desire to learn more about DOT’s Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR). Training Calendar The following are the next upcoming meetings, seminars, and workshops focused on training and training topics. Space may be limited, so verify if preregistration is required. • May 5, 2009 - May 6, 2009 Multimodal Hazardous Materials Transportation Two-Day Seminar, Seattle, WA • Jun 2, 2009 - Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety One-Day Workshop , Pittsburgh, PA • Jun 4, 2009 - Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety One-Day Workshop , Charleston, WV • Jun 16, 2009 - Jun 17, 2009 Multimodal Hazardous Materials Transportation Two-Day Seminar , Detroit, MI • Jun 23, 2009 - Hazardous Materials Transportation One-Day Workshop , Salt Lake City, UT “One of the things we’ve done is work with fire chiefs to create a DVD on the emergency DOT guidebook. Our goal is to put on in every vehicle and put together a DVD on how to use the guidebook,” said David L. Sargent, PHMSA’s Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Initiatives and Training. The Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG2008) was developed jointly by the
DOT’s goal is to place one Emergency Response Guidebook in each emergency service vehicle nationwide. U.S. DOT, Transport Canada, and the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation of Mexico (SCT) for use by firefighters, police, and other emergency services personnel who may be the first to arrive at the scene of a transportation incident involving a hazardous material. It is primarily a guide to aid first responders in (1) quickly identifying the specific or generic classification of the material(s) involved in the incident; and,
(2) protecting themselves and the general public during this initial response phase of the incident. The ERG is updated every three to four years to accommodate new products and technology. The video is available by streaming video from PHMSA’s website and will also be available on CD ROM. Also, a guidebook is available on electronic download for PC desktops and Pocket PC and PHMSA is finalizing a smart phone version of the DVD. PHMSA will be speaking with a number of organizations that produce software that will provide real time information to emergency vehicles, interfacing the electronic emergency guidebook with that software to help responders know what they’re dealing with when they arrive at a location and need to set up details to reroute traffic and set up protective action areas.The next version is scheduled for 2012. DOT’s goal is to place one ERG2008 in each emergency service vehicle, nationwide, through distribution to state and local public safety authorities. To date, nearly eleven million copies have been distributed without charge to the emergency response community. Copies are made available free of charge to public emergency responders through State Coordinators in the U.S. In Canada, contact CANUTEC at 613-992-4624 or via email atcanutec@tc.gc.ca for distribution information. In Mexico, call SCT at 525-684-1275. Copies are also available commercially through the GPO Bookstore and other commercial vendors. Link to web page that gives listing of multimodal seminars coming up and workshops can be found at http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/ training/seminars
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Safety Impacts of Speed Limiter Device Installations on Commercial Trucks and Buses By Russell Houston, Senior Communications Officer, E-Newsletter Editor, Transportation Research Board
There is controversy within the trucking industry as to the safety effectiveness of speed limiters. This controversy has been heightened by an initiative to mandate the use of speed limiters in Ontario, Canada, as well as other Canadian provinces, and by the advocacy of a speed limiter mandate in the U.S. by the American Trucking Associations and other organizations. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is exploring the issue as well. Many truck fleets use speed limiters both for their safety contribution and to reduce fuel use and tire wear, with the speed set at a level optimum for these factors. From a safety perspective, the premise is that slowing down large trucks may result in lower travel risks for all motorists, reducing collisions and mitigating the severity of collisions that do
including measurable safety impacts, metrics, and degree of benefit. The CTBSSP, which is managed by TRB, is sponsored by FMCSA. According to the report, there is adequate literature on the role of large-truck speed in terms of crash severity, but less empirical data relating the use of speed limiters to meaningful reductions in total crashes because the percentage of crashes that occur above 65 mph is relatively small. Published studies indicate that traveling above the posted speed limit and speed variance among vehicles both increase crash exposure. Speed limiters, by restricting speed at or near the speed limit, also create such variances in speed relative to other traffic; however, the report finds little published data addressing the safety impacts of speed limiters on commercial motor vehicles.
Survey results provide strong anecdotal evidence that speed limiters were beneficial…however, results suggest cost reductions…and high-severity crashes were greater…. occur. The counter-argument is that safety can be compromised, because speedlimited vehicles cannot accelerate to avoid traffic conflicts (for instance, in merging situations) and the slower speed of these vehicles relative to the surrounding traffic creates speed differentials that have been correlated with increased crash risk. A recent Transportation Research Board (TRB) publication, Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 16: Safety Impacts of Speed Limiter Device Installations on Commercial Trucks and Buses, explores issues associated with speed limiters,
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The most definitive results on this issue come from the United Kingdom, where the crash involvement rate for speed-limited heavy trucks fell 26 percent between 1993 (when mandated) and 2005. U.K. authorities noted that other contributing factors may have influenced the decline, but concluded that speed limiters at least played a significant role. Industry-wide, about 65 percent of U.S. fleets use the engine control module speed limiter functionality. Overall, a positive picture emerges from speed limiter users who participated in the written survey used to help develop the CTB-
SSP report. Fifty-six percent of respondents indicated speed limiters were either “successful” or “very successful” in reducing crashes, and 64 percent reported speed limiters were either “successful” or “very successful” in reducing speeding violations. In operational terms, speed limiter users believed that limiters were either “successful” or “very successful” in reducing tire wear (44%) and increasing fuel economy (76%), whereas 84 percent indicated that “seldom” or “very seldom” was on-time delivery reduced. Fleet safety managers reported driver attitudes toward speed limiters as largely neutral (64%), with 23 percent positive. The survey results provide strong anecdotal evidence that speed limiters were beneficial to fleet operations; however, the results suggest cost reductions associated with fleet operations and high-severity crashes were greater than those associated with the frequency of large truck crashes. CTBSSP Synthesis 16 does not provide a methodological comparison of before and after results applied uniformly across predefined truck and bus fleet operations. An in-depth, empirical study is needed to collect objective and subjective data in the commercial truck and bus industry with regard to the safety effectiveness of speed limiters. TRB is a division of the National Academies, which include the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council. The mission of TRB is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal.
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Ask the FMCSA Chief Safety Officer Answers by Rose A. McMurray, FMCSA Chief Safety Officer and Acting Deputy Administrator
Question: What have been the most surprising aspects of CSA 2010 now that we are approaching the first year anniversary of the operational model test? Answer: Overall, I am very pleased with the success we have seen in testing the overall concept of a new enforcement business model for commercial vehicle safety. One such success is the positive reaction we have seen from motor carriers that received a very low cost intervention, namely the warning letter. Part of the operational model test includes sending these letters to carriers that have safety problems. Over the last 12 months, over 2,500 warning letters have been issued to carriers in the four test states — Colorado, Georgia, Missouri and New Jersey — to let them know about a safety deficiency in their performance. As a result, nearly 50 percent of these carriers have accessed their data online to check their records in the CSA 2010 seven Analysis Safety Behavioral Improvement Categories (BASICs): Unsafe Driving, Fatigued Driving, Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances and Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance, Improper Loading / Cargo and Crash Indicator. We have also received many letters from carriers requesting additional information and reporting the corrective actions and plans they have taken to address the safety deficiencies. I was hoping that carriers would respond in this way. It tells me that carriers are becoming more educated about their safety records and becoming more
aware that FMCSA is reviewing their safety performance. Overall, it appears that carriers in test states have become more proactive and are understanding that FMCSA is monitoring more closely their safety records. Question: How are the "lessons learned" being integrated into the ongoing field test? Answer: The CSA 2010 Federal and State Working Group (FSWG) was developed to support the operational model test. This group includes federal and state managers from the participating states, as well as members of our Agency’s CSA 2010 development team. The FSWG meets regularly to identify and resolve issues and share best practices as they implement the CSA 2010 operational model in their states. The FSWG provides a mechanism for early feedback, correction, and implementation of “lessons learned.” From its beginnings, CSA 2010 has relied on the insight of the federal and sate safety investigators since they have a major responsibility for implementing the model. For example, during Phase 1, it became clear that the Fatigue BASIC is not the best candidate for offsite investigations because of the large amount of documentation required to perform the investigation. Based on feedback from FSWG, operational guidance and policies were updated to reflect the need for these types of investigations to occur onsite at a carrier’s place of business. Question: What should states expect to see in 2009 regarding CSA 2010?
Answer: We will be rolling out the operational model test in several additional states throughout 2009. Also, preliminary test results, looking at the efficiency and effectiveness of the CSA 2010 operational model should become available this year. We will also be expanding a national outreach and education campaign to make sure all the stakeholders in industry, our state partners and the public know about and understand the changes coming to our enforcement program. Look for informational materials and special presentations at CVSA events and workshops. The MCSAP Leadership Conference in Louisville, KY in early April will host a panel discussion on the experiences of test states implementing CSA 2010 thus far. We are also continually updating our CSA 2010 website. I encourage everyone to bookmark www.fmcsa.dot.gov/CSA2010 and refer to it frequently. Finally, FMCSA plans to publish a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on Safety Fitness Determination of motor carriers. The provisions in this NPRM would revise the current safety rating process and incorporate roadside inspection data as major factors in determining the safety fitness of carriers, making the role of roadside safety inspectors more critical than at any other time to the mission of saving lives.
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TSA Launches First Observer Program Trucking Security Program The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently selected the HMS Company to receive a $15.5 million grant to provide program management, planning, training and support services for its Trucking Security Program (TSP). Under this three-year cooperative agreement, HMS will support the TSP with participant identification and recruitment, planning, training, communications and information distribution support and management. The grant is to administer an anti-terrorism and security awareness program for highway professionals in support of the National Preparedness Guidelines. This training and awareness program will develop and launch training modules for differ-
ent communities and different threats as they emerge Additionally, HMS will create and manage a 24/7 call center and a Highway Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC), where truckers, toll operators, bus drivers, port workers, and other motor carriers can improve their situational awareness by sharing information in a collaborative way with state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies and other first responders. “Our goal is to serve as a conduit and resource for the entire highway community - from the entities that comprise it to the agencies that support it,� said Charles Hall, President and Founder of the HMS Company.
NHTSA Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Interim Final Rule on Air Brake Systems On
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Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) [Docket No. NHTSA-20090038] issued an interim final rule, request for comments to extend for six months (to September 1, 2009) a requirement
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Brake Wear and Performance Testing Project Finishes First 12 Months of Field Operational Testing The Brake Wear and Performance Testing (BWPT) project being conducted at the Greene County, TN, commercial motor vehicle (CMV) inspection station (southbound I-81 mile marker 21) recently completed the first 12 months of the 14month field operational test (FOT). The FOT is scheduled to finish in February 2009. Eight CMVs from four different vocations are being testing in the BWPT. The vehicles are receiving monthly Performance-Based Brake Tests (PBBT) and will undergo drum, rotor, and lining measurements at the end of the FOT. An analysis of performance vs. wear, performance vs. mileage and wear vs. mileage will be conducted for each of the eight vehicles. Additionally, for certain vehicles with drum brakes, ovality measurements will be taken to analyze the growth in ovality over time and mileage. The analyses and final report are expected in the summer of 2009.
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tion indicator lamp. This requirement, which is included in the Federal
Motor
Vehicle
Safety
Standard (FMVSS) that governs vehicles equipped with air brakes, was scheduled to sunset on March 1, 2009. NHTSA also issued an NPRM to extend by an additional 18 months (to March 1, 2011) that trailers with antilock brake systems be equipped with an external antilock malfunction indicator lamp. The NPRM also considers making the requirement permanent. The rulemaking is in response to a petition from CVSA, which asked that this requirement be made permanent. To submit comments to the docket go to http://www.regulations.gov.
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COHMED Names National Vice-Chair, Tackles Technology, Training Issues During Mesa Conference By Rex Railsback, COHMED National Chair
I would like to start with a big thank you to all of you who attended our 2009 conference in Mesa, AZ. Without the support and input of our attendees, COHMED would not be what it is today. Another big thank you goes out to those who helped support the conference in a financial way which includes both private industry and federal agencies. Your support shows that even in difficult economic times, you are committed to the advancement and promotion of the safe transportation of hazardous materials and dangerous goods throughout North America and beyond. During the conference, COHMED leadership worked at filling leadership vacancies due to retirements and advancements, both inside and outside of COHMED. I’d like to congratulate Lt. Bill Reese, Idaho State Police, for becoming COHMEDs National Vice-Chair, who will then move into the National
Chair position in 2011, which will be COHMEDs 25th year. With the help of presenters from the U.S. and Canada, the conference had a variety of training and panel discussion sessions for all in attendance. These sessions dealt with current issues, future technologies, and afforded opportunities for enforcement, industry and regulators to ask questions of each other. The value one obtains by attending exceeds the cost as the information everyone obtains is taken back to their home jurisdictions or companies and disseminated throughout their HazMat programs. Once again, thanks to all for your past, current and continued support in making COHMED the successful organization it is today. I hope those who attended will pass the word on the value one obtains from interaction with attendees and the educational opportunities offered during every COHMED conference. This is truly an organization with a future.
CVSA Members Appointed to Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee Congratulations to Lt. Col. Scott Hernandez and M/Tpr. R.C. Powell on their appointments to the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC). The MCSAC was established by the Secretary of Transportation on September 8, 2006, and is charged with providing advice Lt. Col. Scott Hernandez and recommendations to the FMCSA Administrator on motor carrier safety programs and motor carrier safety regulations. The Secretary renewed the charter of the MCSAC on September 8, 2008. The MCSAC membership is balanced and is comprised of fifteen experts from the motor carrier industry, safety advocates, and safety enforcement secM/Tpr. R.C. Powell tors. The members are appointed by the Administrator and serve two year terms and were chosen from a field of many qualified candidates who possess a wide range of motor carrier experience and expertise
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COVER STORY
CVSA ‘Bus Safety Summit’Seeks to Advance Motorcoach Safety Two-Day Session Identifies Problems, Solutions for the Bus Transportation Community By Stephen Keppler, CVSA, Director Policy and Programs Stakeholders from all sides of the bus safety community convened March 5-6, 2009 during CVSA’s first-ever “Bus Safety Summit” and outlined eight priority areas for enhancing passenger carrier transportation which included: An increased focus on new entrants that would require them to receive training and pass minimum standards; Statemandated annual bus inspection programs; and, possibly requiring electronic on-board recorders to monitor bus driver hours of service. “While the industry is generally safe, we still need to focus on reducing risk and this clearly confirms there are a number of things we need to work on,” said CVSA Executive Director Stephen F. Campbell. “This provides all stakeholders more focus and direction on where we need to put our efforts. We can never be complacent about safety” “It is important that all parties continue to work together to improve safety,” said FMCSA Acting Deputy Administrator Rose A. McMurray. “Though it is true that interstate motor coach travel remains one of the safest modes of transportation, we must never let our guard down for one moment. We must continually strive to eliminate safety vulnerabilities and help protect lives.” During the two-day work session, held in Arlington, VA, representatives from CVSA, FMCSA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and transportation operators, manufacturers, provincial, state and local government, brokers and insurers participated in the dialogue. The latest passenger carrier research, statistics and updates on relevant programs, projects, crash investigations, regulatory, leg-
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islative, research and policy activities were provided, and recommendations were debated as to where the focus should lie. “I commend CVSA for their leadership in the area of improving bus safety,”
With Special Thanks to our Sponsors:
American Bus Association Greyhound Lines ABC Companies Brush Hill/North Shore/Plymouth & Brockton/McGinn Bus Companies Bus & Motorcoach Academy Coach USA DATTCO, Inc. Lancer Insurance Company New World Tours Peter Pan Bus Lines
said NTSB Board Member Debbie Hersman. “With the number of fatalities in bus accidents reaching unprecedented levels last year, we need commitment and follow-through from all involved in the Summit to make progress.” The information below is the result of a breakout session at the end of the CVSA Bus Safety Summit where the attendees were asked to identify and prioritize issues/concerns regarding Bus/ Motorcoach Safety. They include, in order of priority: • Having new bus entrants pass minimum standards and receive training; • Mandating State Annual Bus Inspection Programs; • Requiring EOBRs to monitor Bus Driver Hours of Service; • Providing training for drivers and enforcement and install technology to prevent bus fires; • Providing Driver Training; • Identifying and Interdicting bus companies that are flying under the radar; • Making Medical Certification requirements more stringent (Cardiovascular, diabetes, sleep issues); and, • Holding Passenger Carriers to higher standards. The outcomes from the Summit are being used to formulate an action plan for CVSA to work with its partners in putting into place practical and real solutions to address the most pressing needs for enhancing bus safety. The event drew 151 attendees. CVSA would like to especially thank the sponsors, planning committee members and speakers, without whom the event would not have been a success.
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TSA Corporate Security Review Program Expands to Colorado and Michigan By Capt. Robert R. Powers, Michigan State Police, Commanding Officer
In October 2008, the Colorado State Patrol and the Michigan State Police signed on to participate in the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Corporate Security Review (CSR) program. The expansion of the program to Colorado and Michigan followed a very successful pilot conducted in the State of Missouri. The Corporate Security Review (CSR) was developed in 2003 by the Transportation Security Administration and initially focused on the pipeline mode. In 2005, the CSR program was expanded to include highway, mass transit, and rail modes. In 2006, the Missouri Department of Transportation launched a CSR pilot that resulted in the completion of more than 2,400 CSRs on
Missouri based motor carriers. The purpose of the CSR is to gather data pertaining to industry security practices and to share security best practices with carriers during the CSR visit. During the CSR, which is normally completed in conjunction with a Compliance Review auditors ask a series of questions related to: • Threat Assessment • Vulnerability Assessment • Critical Infrastructure • Management and Oversight • Personnel Security • Training • Secure Areas • Physical Security Countermeasures • Cyber Security • Security Preparedness Exercises
Following a one-day training session in October 2008, auditors from Colorado and Michigan began conducting CSRs which are voluntary on the part of the carrier. A typical CSR takes only one hour to complete and if conducted in conjunction with a hazmat carrier compliance review is reimbursable under MCSAP. CSRs conducted on other carriers, both intra and interstate are encouraged but not MCSAP eligible. TSA is seeking additional states to participate in the CSR program. Interested states should contact Mr. Michael Filiaggi of TSA at (571) 2274262 for more information. Motor carriers or passenger carriers interested in scheduling a CSR can do so online at highwaysecurity@dhs.gov.
Iowa DOT Motor Vehicle Enforcement Launches Campaign to Reduce CMV-Related Fatalities By Maj. Lance Evans, Iowa Department of Transportation, T101 Office of Motor Vehicle Enforcement
The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Office of Motor Vehicle Enforcement has introduced a campaign to significantly reduce commercial vehicle-related fatality crashes. This campaign was introduced by Chief David Lorenzen and is called “24 in 5.” The goal of the campaign is to reduce the number of commercial vehicle-related fatality crashes by 24 over a 5-year period. Since January 2008, Iowa has experienced 67 commercial vehicle- related fatalities. When examining crash data, we have found that 64 percent of these fatal accidents involved commercial
vehicles over 26,000 pounds. Of these crashes, 79 percent occurred when road conditions were normal and 71 percent occurred during daylight hours. Maj. Lance Evans has been asked to oversee this campaign and has been examining commercial vehicle-related fatality crashes that have occurred over the past 12 months to determine the cause, time of day that these crashes occurred, and the events that led up to the crash. “We believe that through active enforcement of Iowa laws and the federal regulations, accidents can be
greatly reduced,” stated Maj. Evans. The Office of Motor Vehicle Enforcement will be actively patrolling Iowa roadways to enforce speed, seatbelts and driver-related traffic violations to reduce the likelihood of crashes. “Through our efforts with roadside and scale enforcement, we believe this campaign can be successful. We’ve developed a marketing campaign to get the message out to the commercial vehicle industry that Iowa is taking a serious role in reducing commercial vehiclerelated crashes.”
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Washington State Patrol’s Commercial Vehicle Division Targets Resource Deployment to High Collision, Rural Areas By Fred Fakkema, Washington State Patrol, Commercial Vehicle Division
In 2007 Washington State experienced the effects of high-profile collisions involving commercial motor vehicles on rural roads in areas that were not high traffic areas that would see considerable patrol time. The Washington State Police (WSP) experienced an increase of fatal collisions on rural roads; in 2006 44 percent of the 57 fatalities were on rural roads; and, in 2007, 69 percent of the 68 fatalities were on rural roads. To combat the trend of increasing fatalities two supervisors, CVEO 3 Gary Park and Sgt. Scott Essman, of the WSP Commercial Vehicle Division (CVD) reviewed collision data and determined resource deployments for the high collision areas. A statewide strike force was created utilizing the eight top performing CVD troopers and commercial vehicle enforcement officers in the state, along with two supervisors and a lieutenant. The mission of the strike force was to conduct special emphasis patrols targeting unsafe equipment, overweight vehicles, and drivers that maybe impaired. Additional objectives focused on moving violations utilizing the TACT’s (Ticket Aggressive Cars and Trucks) philosophy of focusing on collision causing viola-
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tions by CMV’s and cars around CMVs on the rural roads and Interstate. The purpose was to conduct strike force emphasis patrols in targeted areas around the state that have been identified as having a high collision rate and areas where the strike force emphases could augment regularly assigned personnel to achieve the mission of the WSP’s CVD. The objective of the strike force is to conduct specific emphasis patrols statewide, in partnership with local agencies, to help reduce commercial vehicle collisions and fatalities, improve driver and vehicle safety, protect the infrastructure and help CVD achieve its overall mission of making Washington State’s roadways the safest in the nation. The strike force focuses its efforts in two major areas: CMV Crash Reduction and CMV Safety Improvement. The personnel assigned to this strike force focus on the following activities: • Impaired and unsafe drivers including fatigue and drug/alcohol impairment; • Vehicle safety violations; • Commercial motor vehicle moving violations; • Non-Commercial motor vehicle violations in the vicinity of commercial motor vehicles;
• Size, weight and load violations; • Seatbelt enforcement; • Inappropriate use of off-highway dyed fuel; and, • Appropriate level inspections/ enforcement. The strike force is to conduct a Level I, II, or III CVSA inspections on each truck contacted and the appropriate level of enforcement. If a driver/company meets compliance review criteria, the information is then forwarded to the compliance review Section. To monitor and evaluate each strike force emphasis, a detailed statistical sheet combining all participants’ activities are completed by the strike force supervisors and forwarded to CVD headquarters. In 2008 the strike force conducted five emphases throughout the state and performed 1086 CVSA inspections including: 65 Level I inspections, 464 Level II inspections, and 557 Level III Inspections. From those inspections 150 vehicles were placed out of service for safety violations representing an out of service rate of 28 percent (Level I and II inspections) and 48 drivers were placed out of service representing an out of service rate of 4 percent.
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Ontario, Quebec First Jurisdictions in North American to Make Speed Limiters Mandatory By Peter Hurst, Ontario Ministry of Transportation Director, Carrier Safety & Enforcement Branch
The strike force found 257 weight violations resulting in 120 citations and $61,711.00 in over weight fines and 113 commercial motor vehicle drivers were contacted for load securement violations. Of those, 29 citations were issued and 60 vehicles were placed out of service. There were 392 vehicles checked for offroad highway dyed fuel resulting in two positive tests. There is more to the story than inspecting and weighing commercial motor vehicles. The strike force found one commercial motor vehicle driver transporting an “oversize load,” this person was arrested for possession of methamphetamines, cocaine, and marijuana. In addition to the 1086 commercial motor vehicles inspected, 157 passenger vehicles were contacted. Of those passenger vehicles, 118 infractions were written including 34 for aggressive driving. There were also 85 seatbelt citations issued including 78 commercial motor vehicle drivers and 7 to passenger vehicle drivers. The success of the strike force can truly be measured through the lives saved. In 2008 there were 58 fatalities involving commercial motor vehicles in Washington, 10 less fatalities than in 2007. Of those fatalities, 60 percent occurred on rural roads compared to 69 percent in 2007. There were 1,517 collisions involving commercial motor vehicles in 2007, this was reduced in 2008 to 1,387 collisions, a 9 percent reduction. The difference we make can be found in the lives we all save each and every day by the hard work of the men and women enforcing commercial motor vehicle laws and by ensuring the roadways are safe for our families and friends to travel on.
On January 1, 2009 Ontario and Quebec became the first two jurisdictions in North America to implement a mandatory speed limiter program for commercial vehicles. Based on an independent review of mandatory speed limiters conducted by Transport Canada; Ontario has determined that electronically limiting truck speeds will promote safer roads, a cleaner environment and save the trucking industry money. Transport Canada’s study concluded that the mandatory use of electronic speed limiters set to 105 km/h (65 mph) would: Create a significant safety benefit for Ontario’s highways; Reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 280,000 tonnes each year; Save over 100 million litres of diesel fuel annually; and, make trucks up to six per cent more productive than ‘non-limited’ trucks, even though the speed limited trucks might travel fewer kilometers each year. Ontario and Quebec have worked closely to harmonize the enforcement, communications and implementation of our speed limiter requirements that took effect on January 1, 2009 in both provinces. A six month educational period began in January and will allow carriers, particularly those from other
Canadian jurisdictions and the U.S., the time to bring the vehicles they operate in Ontario and Quebec into compliance with the new speed limiter rules. Speed limiter requirements will apply to vehicles that were manufactured since 1995 with a manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating of 11, 794 kg (26,000 lbs) or more. Only commercial motor vehicles with an electronically controlled engine are subject to the regulatory requirements. The speed limiting system of these commercial motor vehicles shall be properly set to no more than 105 km/h (65 mph). Buses, mobile cranes, mobile homes, ambulances, cardiac arrest emergency vehicles, fire apparatuses, and other emergency services vehicles will be exempt from the regulation. MTO enforcement officers and police are training on devices that plug into a truck’s electronic control module to determine speed limiter settings and tampering. This technology is being used at strategic roadside locations. The legislation also allows the police to charge a vehicle driver or operator for not having an activated speed limiter, if the vehicle is observed travelling at or over 115 km/h without the need to plug into the engine’s computer for verification.
N E W C V S A A S S O C I AT E M E M B E R S ATS Professional Truck Driving School BestLight Co., Ltd. Bradco Supply Corporation Columbia Fleet Service, Inc.
GandyDancer Railroad & Excavating Services Harmony Grove Trucking & Repair, Inc. Highway Technologies, Inc. Illinois Portable Truck Inspection
Drayer Trucking
Schlumberger Technology Corporation
Economy Motor Coach, Inc.
Truck Manufacturers Association
Forensic Collision Consulting Services
Universal Truckload Services
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Second Quarter 2009
www.cvsa.org
REGIONAL RAP
STATE POLICE CORPORAL AND CADET RESCUE WOMAN FROM BURNING VEHICLE MARCH 11 IN PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY By Greg Shipley, Sgt. Arthur Betts, Office of Media Communications, Maryland State Police Col. Terrence B. Sheridan is commending a Maryland State Police corporal and a cadet for their decisive and courageous actions that saved the life of a woman whom they pulled from a burning vehicle in Prince George’s County March 11. Shortly before 6:30 a.m. today, Cpl. John P. Griffin and Cdt. Andrew Neall, of the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, were on-duty in the Upper Marlboro Scale House on Rt. 301, when they were contacted by a Prince George’s County Department of Corrections officer. The officer reported a vehicle had driven off the road on southbound Rt. 301 near Leeland Drive. Cpl. Griffin and Cdt. Neall immediately responded to the scene. As they approached, they could see fire leaping six feet above the Hyundai. The engine compartment was fully engulfed in fire as were both front tires. Fire was also seen coming from the undercarriage of the vehicle as far back as the middle of the passenger compartment. Witnesses told the trooper and cadet they had not seen the driver. Cdt. Neall attempted to open the driver’s door, but found it locked. Cpl. Griffin broke in the driver’s window and observed the passenger compartment to be completely filled with smoke. After a few seconds, the smoke cleared enough for Cpl. Griffin to see the driver slumped over the center console. Cpl. Griffin unbuckled the incoherent driver and began to remove her
from the burning vehicle. He said he could feel the heat from the fire at his feet and legs. Cpl. Griffin and Cdt. Neall rescued the driver from the vehicle and began to carry her up the hill. They were less than 15 feet from the vehicle when the entire interior of the Hyundai erupted and was totally consumed in fire. Cpl. Griffin began to assess the driver for injuries when Prince George’s Fire Department and EMS units arrived on the scene. Once treatment was initiated by EMS personnel, the driver became coherent and later refused any further medical attention. The driver was identified as Melody Grimm, 57, of Crofton, MD. The cause of the single-vehicle crash remains under investigation by State Police at the Forestville Barracks. The cause of the fire is also unknown at this time. Back at the scale house, Cpl. Griffin noticed that his boots and the legs of his uniform pants were singed from the fire. Rescuing people from fires is not something new to Cpl. Griffin. He is a volunteer firefighter at the Church Hill Volunteer Fire Department. “I commend Cpl. Griffin and Cdt. Neall for their heroic actions today that uphold the highest standards and traditions of the Maryland State Police,” Col. Sheridan said. “Their decisive and unselfish actions clearly resulted in a life being saved, for which we are all grateful.”
IN MICHIGAN, CENTURIONS HOLD CURRENT COMMERCIAL DRIVERS’ LICENSES By Capt. Robert R. Powers, Michigan State Police, Commanding Officer Have you ever wondered how old the oldest holder of a commercial driver’s license is? The answer might surprise and maybe even scare you. In Michigan it is older than 90. I was recently approached by the owner of a Michigan-based trucking company who told me that his father just turned 90 years old and had successfully renewed his CDL. This brought up the question, is he the oldest current CDL holder in Michigan? A little research quickly answered the question with a no. A query revealed that there are at least six other CDL holders in Michigan older than 90. The oldest of those checked was born in September 1912 making him 96! Whether he is actually out there driving a commercial motor vehicle is not known. With this information in mind I would not be surprised to find that there are CDL holders throughout the U.S. that are also centurions.
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NATM Continues to March and to Address Industry-Wide Issues By Clint Lancaster, Technical Director, National Association of Trailer Manufacturers
The National Association of Trailer Manufacturers (NATM) wrapped up their 2009 Annual Convention in Charleston, SC hosting nearly 1,000 attendees. NATM represents the light and medium duty trailer industry with a focus on trailer safety. The predominant theme this year was government affairs. Highlights included keynote speaker, economist and entertainer, Ben Stein, a government focused financial round table, and an update from Larry Minor, Associate Administrator, Policy and Program Development, FMCSA. NATM President Travis Eby moderated the finance panel that included keynote speaker Ben Stein; Matthew Martin, Senior Vice President and Charlotte Regional Executive, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond; Curt Myers, President and Chief Operating Officer Fulton Bank, Lancaster, PA and Stuart May, a longtime floor plan financier. The Q & A session following the panelist presentations was vigorous and enlightening for the manufacturers as they discussed ways to open credit markets in our industry. Like most industries, the trailer industry has been experiencing the burden of the current economic decline. Tightened credit has affected all segments of the trailer market and manufacturers across the country are tightening their belts for the slow market. Data on new registrations of the lightand medium-duty trailers reveal the industry was down 21 percent in 2008 ( January through October) from the previous year. Statistical Surveys, Inc. (www.statisticalsurveys.com ) report horse trailers having the highest decline at 27.9 percent, with boat and enclosed trailers following at a 25 percent decline. Livestock trailers were below the industry average, declining 19 percent, while open utility and flat bed trailers saw the least decline at 16 percent. These
declines are leading manufacturers to make tough strategic decisions regarding their business model. With virtually no credit to help dealers with floor plans or consumers with loans, manufacturers are looking to new business models and improved supply chain management techniques. Trailer manufacturers around the country have been dealing with many issues the past year. Two sessions during the convention were devoted to addressing NATM’s “Taking it to Congress” initiative. The panel for these sessions included Larry Minor, FMCSA; Darrel Conner, K&L Gates; and NATM Government Affairs Committee members Carl Maxey and Andy Gehman. They addressed the continuing relationship with FMCSA, NHTSA and other related agencies. They also discussed the NATM plan to become proactive rather than reactive in addressing legislative and regulatory issues. The association will continue to participate in the annual Trailer Regulatory Round-up in Washington, DC hosted by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), May 5-6, 2009. Other workshops during the convention included a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) industry standards update and Trailer Compliance Trends and Issues, both presented by Clint Lancaster,
NATM Technical Director. Present during the SAE update was SAE Trailer Committee Chairman Jim Fait from UHaul International. His insight was invaluable during the session. NATM has worked to improve the trailer industry through the promotion of compliance with Federal Safety Regulations and selected industry standards. This has been accomplished through education, the publication of the Guidelines for Recommended Minimum Manufacturing Practices for Light and Medium Duty Trailers (Guidelines), and the compliance program. NATM members voluntarily participating in the Compliance Program have passed a consultation assessing whether they are building trailers with manufacturing processes designed to meet federal regulations and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards covering certification labels, tires & wheels, brakes, lighting, reflectors & conspicuity, underride protection, Early Warning Reporting, tire placarding information, and cargo securement. In addition, the consultation examines whether the trailer manufacturing process in place can meet industry accepted manufacturing standards and practices covering safety chains, couplers, electrical components, warning labels and consumer information. The mission of NATM is to unify the light and medium duty trailer manufacturing industry by: improving trailer safety and performance; proactively addressing regulatory issues; enhancing the image of the industry; providing educational tools and events; and offering membership benefits and services. It is estimated that nearly 800,000 new light and medium-duty trailers enter our highways each year with over half of those being placed into commercial service.
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www.cvsa.org
Three Major Truck Crash Categories: Three Different Safety Problems By Ronald R. Knipling, Ph.D., Traffic Safety & Human Factors Consultant
The public may think of “truck crashes” as one safety problem, but in fact truck crashes involve many different risk factors, causes, and countermeasures. Perhaps the most basic classification of large truck crashes is to separate singlevehicle crashes from multi-vehicle (two or more vehicle) crashes. Multi-vehicle (MV) crashes can be further subdivided into two categories: those caused primarily by the truck (or, more likely, its driver!), and those caused primarily by the other vehicle. There’s a gray area between these two, such as when both drivers make errors contributing to the crash. But we can learn a lot by simply classifying truck crashes into these main categories and studying their causes and countermeasures. Based on this classification, we have three major categories of large truck crashes: • Single-vehicle (SV); • Multi-vehicle, truck at-fault (MV Trk AF); and, • Multi-vehicle, other vehicle at-fault (MV OV AF). In the FMCSA Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS), a Critical Reason (CR) was assigned to one vehicle in each crash. The CR was the human error or other failure leading to the crash. FMCSA didn’t use the words “fault” or even “cause.” But the CR was, in effect, the principal or proximal cause of the crash. By “proximal cause,” we mean the human or vehicle failure that triggered the crash. Other factors may have been associated with the crash, but the CR was the only designated reason for the crash. “CR” was intended as a scientific term, not a legal term. Nevertheless, the driver assigned the CR would almost
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truck CR percentage was somewhat higher in less severe LTCCS MV crash involvements; it was 37 percent in “A” (incapacitating injury) crash involvements and 46 percent in “B” (non-incapacitating injury) involvements.
always be legally at-fault for the crash. In this article, we’ll use the simple phrase “at-fault” (AF) to indicate the driver/vehicle assigned the CR in an LTCCS crash. How Many Crashes? Figure 1 shows an approximate breakdown of the three categories for fatal crashes. Of the roughly 4,400 fatal truck crashes annually, about 800 per year are SV, 900 are MV Trk AF, and 2,700 are MV OV AF. These numbers are approximate. They vary somewhat each year, and the fault breakout for MV crashes is based on separate studies. Every year the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) counts the numbers of fatal SV and MV truck crashes. Within the MV crash category, the breakout between Trk AF and OV AF is estimated here based on studies of driver factors cited in FARS and also on fatal crashes in the LTCCS. In the LTCCS, for example, trucks were assigned the CR in only 23 percent of their MV fatal crash involvements. The
Principal Crash Causes The exact numbers and proportions in Figure 1 are less important than the idea that we can learn more if we break the truck crash problem down into distinct categories. It also tells us something about the benefits we can expect from different kinds of safety interventions. Let’s first explore the principal causes (mostly, different types of driver errors) for the three categories. SV crash causes are dominated by driver misbehaviors like speeding and impairment – usually of the driver but sometimes the vehicle. The top six LTCCS CRs for SV crashes were: 1. Too fast for conditions or curve/turn (30%) 2. Asleep-at-the-wheel (13%) 3. Vehicle failure; e.g., cargo shift, brakes, tires, suspension (13%) 4. Inattention, including distraction and daydreaming (13%) 5. Performance/response execution error; e.g., overcompensation (8%) 6. Heart attack or other physical impairment (6%). MV crash causal profiles are quite different from those of SV crashes. Both may involve driver misbehaviors like speeding, but MV crashes involve a lot more transient mistakes made in traffic, such as “looked but did not see.” The top six LTCCS CRs for MV Trk AF crashes were: 1. Inattention, including distraction
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and daydreaming (19%) 2. Inadequate surveillance; e.g., looked but did not see (19%) 3. Too fast for conditions or curve/turn (13%) 4. Illegal maneuver (8%) 5. Following too closely (8%) 6. Vehicle failure; e.g., cargo shift, brakes, tires, suspension (7%). Errors made by other motorists causing LTCCS MV crashes were generally similar to those made by truck drivers in MV crashes. Here are the top six errors made by “4-wheelers” in MV OV AF crashes: 1. Inattention, including distraction and daydreaming (20%) 2. Inadequate surveillance; e.g., looked but did not see (10%) 3. Driver error, type unknown (10% 4. Too fast for conditions or curve/turn (10%) 5. Asleep-at-the-wheel (9%) 6. Performance/response execution error; e.g., overcompensation (9%). While the top errors made by “4wheelers” are similar to those made by truckers in MV crashes, some are also found in the truck SV crash CR list. One surprise was the large number of MV crashes caused by the other driver falling asleep at the wheel. In these MV crashes, only 1% of at-fault truck drivers were asleep, versus 9% of at-fault other drivers. Risk Factors Crashes don’t just happen. The CR is the trigger, but various other factors – carrier, driver, vehicle, and environmental – combine to make crashes more or less likely to occur at any point in time. Figure 2 shows a conceptual crash time-
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line. Risk factors set up a situation where driver errors or other failures are more likely to occur. Some risk factors are common to all at-fault crashes. Examples include younger drivers, drivers with aggressive personalities, sleep disorders, safety belt non-use, vehicle deficiencies, adverse weather, undivided highways, and construction zones. Some factors selectively increase the risk of SV crashes. They include early morning driving (4 am -7 am), freeway entrance and exit ramps, roadway curves, and freeways with posted speed limits of 70 mph or more. Factors increasing the risk of MV crashes, and specifically MV Trk AF crashes, include dense traffic, rush hours, urban driving, and intersections. As shown in Figure 1, about 3,500
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of 4,400 annual fatal crashes (80%) are multi-vehicle. One of the most important MV crash risk reduction strategies is to minimize driving during rush hour or other high-traffic situations, especially on undivided roads. Three safety watchwords for commercial drivers are Comply, Behave, and Beware. Comply with regulations and with traffic laws. Behave in a responsible and courteous manner, apart from what is required by regulations and laws. Beware of factors that increase crash risk, including your own mistakes and the misbehaviors and mistakes of other motorists. Understanding different kinds of crashes is like understanding different health threats and diseases. A safe truck, like a healthy body, takes into account all contributing factors. Figure 1. Three fatal truck crash categories and their approximate U.S. annual numbers based on recent years and crash causation studies.
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n Multi-Vehicle Truck At Fault n Multi-Vehicle Other Vehicle at Fault
Figure 2. Timeline of risk factors and proximal cause(s) before a crash.
PROXIMAL RISK FACTORS
CRASH CAUSE(S)
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Michigan Truck Exposition and Safety Symposium 2009 Partners in Safety Awards By Michael Irwin, CDS, CDT, Director, and Lisa Atwell, Director of Media, Michigan Center for Truck Safety
The seventh annual Michigan Truck Exposition and Safety Symposium (MTESS) was held on February 17 and 18, 2009 at the Sheraton Hotel in Lansing, MI. The Expo is a joint effort between the Michigan Trucking Association and The Michigan Center for Truck Safety. The MTESS is designed for commercial motor vehicle drivers, safety professionals and company officials in the trucking industry. This year’s Expo was well attended with over 200 participants. The format for this year’s Expo was also different than in the past. The first day of the Expo was geared toward the professional truck driver. Driver presentation sessions were: • The Basics of Michigan Weight Law • Entry Level Driver Overview • Hours of Service, and • What Does a SafeStat Score Mean to You? Presentations were made by Michigan Center for Truck Safety staff. Ron Edwards presented the Entry Level Driver session and Jan Charles presented the Hours of Service session. State and
federal officials were also present during the Expo and presented sessions; John Wallace, FMCSA, presented the session on SafeStat; and Sgt. Steve Pascoe, Michigan State Police Traffic Safety Division presented the session on Michigan Weight Law. Officer Bill Brent, Michigan State Police, Traffic Safety Division was available during both days of the Expo to assist those in need of a USDOT Number. The second day of the Expo was geared toward company officials. Management presentations were offered on: • The Latest in Trucking Research: The View from the Road • New Year - New Administration How New Labor Issues May Affect You • Idling Technology • Transportation Operations and Freight: What Should MDOT Know? • Overview of CSA 2010 • Driver Wellness • Being an Unpaid Carrier in Tough Times • Driving Has Changed
Pictured L to R: Michael Irwin, MCTS Director; James Parrinello, Teamsters Joint Council #43; Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land; and Chuck Simmons, Mobility Resource Associates.
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• Sleep Disorders in Truckers and Impact on the Trucking Firm • Hair Testing in Ground Transportation Industry professionals that presented management sessions were Pat Muinch, FMCSA, Dwayne Johnson, Transport for Christ; Ray Lawrence, Espar of Michigan; Ian Hunter and Jim O’Brien, Dean & Fulkerson; John Bryant and Neill Riddell, Dean and Fulkerson; David Whiteside, J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc.; Jason Gutting and Jason Firman, Michigan Department of Transportation, Gary Bubar, AAA Michigan; Steve Baugh, Sleep Well Centers, LLC, Charles Maffei, Philips Respironics, Inc., and Dr. Yatin Patel, Board Certified Pulmonologist and Sleep Physician and Rebecca Brewster, The American Transportation Research Institute. Each year the Expo is attended by individuals from the trucking industry. In addition, commissioners from the Michigan Truck Safety Commission also attend the Expo. Commissioners in attendance at this year’s Expo were
Pictured L to R: Glen Merkel, Davis Cartage Company; David Childers, Spartan Stores, Inc.; Michael Irwin, MCTS Director; Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land; Mark Rieger and Derek Carey representing Gertsen Interstate Systems, Inc.
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Capt. Robert Powers, Michigan State Police Traffic Safety Division; James Parrinello, Teamsters Joint Council #43; Michael Prince, Office of Highway Safety Planning and Thomas O’Brien, Muskegon Community College. Comments from the commissioners concerning the Expo were, “very impressed, the sessions were excellent, lots of valuable information.” “In the past we have had a large number of student truck drivers attending and they weren’t getting the topics they needed. With this new format the topics were targeted toward specific areas of the industry (driver/management). This format was well received by all those attending this year. Next year we hope to provide topics for the maintenance side of the industry as well,” said Center director Michael Irwin. A special part of the Expo is the annual Michigan Trucking Association Safety Awards Banquet. During the banquet the Michigan Center for Truck Safety acknowledged its 2009 Partners in Safety. Each year the Center presents its “Partner in Safety” award to those individuals and/or companies that take the extra step in helping the Center achieve its goal of increasing truck safety in Michigan. This past year the Center partnered with Mobility Resource Associates and the Teamsters to host the first “Truck Safety Day”. The goal of the safety day was to help educate drivers of all ages about how to safely share the road and reduce accidents. Participants were given the opportunity to sit in a big rig to be able to see what truck drivers can’t see and to learn about the no zones. Participants were also given the opportunity to use the mobile truck driving simulator using the scenarios based on the “Are You Truck SMART?” program. After several years of hard work the Michigan Mobile Truck Driver Simulator became reality. The Center was then faced with making the simulator available yet keeping operational costs down. Center staff member Erik Jamison worked with the trucking industry to find host locations
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for the simulator. These hosting partnerships have provided electrical hookups and security for the simulator. The simulation training has been well accepted by drivers and is being utilized as part of company training programs. The Center gratefully acknowledges Davis Cartage Company of Owosso, Gertsen Interstate Systems, Inc. of Galesburg and Spartan Stores, Inc. of Grand Rapids as 2009 Partners in Safety for hosting the Michigan Mobile Truck Driver Simulator. The Michigan Center for Truck Safety is a non-profit organization funded by the Michigan Truck Safety Commission. Under the guidance of the Michigan Truck Safety Commission, the Michigan Center for Truck Safety is responsible for meeting yearly goals such as increasing participation and awareness of fatigue driving issues, strengthening CDL programs through education and training and increasing the knowledge and education of sharing the road and “Are You Truck SMART?” To meet these goals the Center offers several programs such as the safety management program, professional driver coaching, defensive driving course, decision driving course (skid pads), fatigue management program, the Michigan Mobile Truck Simulator and periodic inspection training. In addition, the Center publishes and distributes many safety publications. These publications include the Truck Driver’s Guidebook, Commercial Motor Vehicle, Truck SMART and Sharing the Road (teen and adult versions) brochures. These publications are distributed free of charge to truck drivers, motor carriers, and the public. All of the Center’s publications are also available on the Michigan Center for Truck Safety website. The Center also offers a toll-free information hotline for those that have questions regarding the trucking industry. For information about the Center’s services and publications, call our toll-free hotline (800) 682-4682 or visit the Center website at www.truckingsafety.org.
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Arizona Trucking Association Partners With CVSA on“Teens and Trucks” By John E. Backowski, Arizona Trucking Association, CDS and Director of Compliance and Training
At the Arizona Trucking Association’s Annual Leadership Conference in October 2009, then FMCSA Administrator John Hill participated in the announcement of a partnership with the Arizona Trucking Association and CVSA to teach teen drivers how to drive safely around large commercial vehicles. The announcement was made in conjunction with the joint FMCSA and CVSA “kick-off ” of Operation Safe Driver. Across the country, there is a clear need for a program focused on educating teenagers on the skills needed for driving around large trucks. The program envisions a series of concise training modules that can conveniently be inserted in an existing defensive driving class focused on teenagers, or can be used as a training session in a high school driver’s education class. According to the National Safety Council’s (NSC) 2007 Injury Statistics Report, licensed drivers nineteen years of
age and under are disproportionately involved in injury and fatal motor vehicle accidents. The 9.4 million drivers in this age group represent just 4.7% of the total number of licensed drivers, but are involved in 10.1% of fatal accidents and in 13.5% of all accidents. Out of 45,800 motor vehicle accident fatalities, 19,200 involved collisions with other motor vehicles, including large trucks. In Arizona in 2006 (the latest year of data available), there were 160 motor vehicle fatalities and 9,204 injuries involving 15–19-year-old drivers. It is reasonable to assume that inexperienced teen drivers represent a higher risk when operating around large commercial motor vehicles. Many teen driver training classes lack instructional materials that focus on sharing the road with trucks and do not understand the operating characteristics of big rigs or the risks associated with driving around them. Since late 2003, the Arizona Trucking Association (AzTA) has pro-
vided high school driver education students and other motorists with periodic demonstrations on trucks’ operating characteristics and how to drive more defensively around big rigs. These presentations, part of Arizona’s own “Share the Road” program funded through an annual grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, reach thousands of motorists each year through schools, community safety days and other public venues. In addition, AzTA has produced a Power Point presentation, as well as a bilingual pamphlet. The CVSA/FMCSA partnership will allow AzTA to develop a curriculum for teen drivers focused on driving safely around large trucks but also promoting safety belt use and other safe driving practices. The “Teens and Trucks” project will: • Develop a classroom teaching module, including classroom material and instructor presentation kit for high school age teen drivers; • Educate high school age driver edu-
CVSA Executive Director Stephen F. Campbell announcing the partnership of CVSA and the Arizona Trucking Association’s Teens and Trucks Program. Standing in the background from left to right is Loretta Lehan of the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, Ray Koontz - Past Chairman of the American Trucking Association, John Hill - Past Administrator of the FMCSA, David Williams - Vice President of Knight Transportation and Chairman of the Arizona Trucking Association, Commander Roger Vanderpool – Commander in Chief of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and Scott Barker – Corporate Director of Safety for Swift Transportation.
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cation students on how to drive safely around large trucks, using case studies and other media; and • Provide a good addition to any existing teen driver training program, whether classroom or behind-thewheel, with a final product that will be generic enough for use in any other state. In December 2008, AzTA hosted the first meeting of a “Teens and Trucks” partnership group, including FMCSA, AAA of Arizona, ADOT’s Motor Vehicle Division, Department of Public Safety, Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, teen driver educators and others. The partners agreed upon a series of focus groups involving teen drivers to help determine the style and method of approach that would most appeal to how teens learn. The results of those focus groups, held in January and February, are currently being reviewed and AzTA expects to soon start building the foundation for the curriculum. Stephen F. Campbell, Executive Director of CVSA, made the following statement: “I want to congratulate the Arizona Trucking Association and the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety on their highly successful 5-year partnership showing motorists how to safely drive around large trucks. The Governor’s Office helps fund AzTA’s program, which includes extensive outreach at safety events, freeway dedications, fairs and other large public events, along with presentations to schools, seniors’ organizations and other higher-risk populations. In trying to satisfy the many requests for presentations to high school students, AzTA became aware of a real need for specific materials geared to teen drivers, whose inexperience and inattention on the road put them at higher risk for crashes, including those involving large trucks! “Today, we are proud to announce that CVSA is becoming part of a new initiative launched by the Arizona Trucking Association to target new driv-
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Then FMCSA Administrator John Hill making the announcement of the kick off of Operation Safe Driver at the Arizona Trucking Association's Annual Leadership Conference in Tucson, AZ
ers on the dangers of driving around large trucks. This segment of the driving population is in its formative years of developing driving habits and, thus, presents a greater safety risk than more
experienced drivers. The sooner we can get to these teen drivers and help them learn proper driving techniques for operating around commercial vehicles, the better off they and our highways will be”.
Covenant Names Frank Silio Captain of the 2009 America’s Road Team Covenant Transport, Chattanooga, TN is pleased to announce that Mr. Frank Silio has been selected as Captain for the 2009-2010 America’s Road Team. The Road Team is a national public outreach program sponsored by Volvo Trucks of North America and the American Trucking Associations. The screening process was held for three days in Washington, DC, and all the finalists were subject to intense oversight and judged on their character, poise and ability to think on their feet. The Road Team is considered to be a team of elite, professional men and women who have remarkable safe driving records and a strong desire to spread the word about safety on the highway. One of the Team’s roles is to represent the industry at events around the country and to be
spokespersons for highway safety and trucking. Frank will be one of 15 Road Team Captains. He has been employed with Covenant Transport since 2003 and is a Master Trainer, a member of the company’s Executive Council and has competed in several state truck driving championships. In addition, Frank assists the Covenant Safety Department in training and education.
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CVSA Executive Committee and Committee Chairs PRESIDENT
VICE PRESIDENT
SECRETARY/TREASURER
Darren E. Christle Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation
Francis (Buzzy) France Maryland State Police
Capt. Steve Dowling California Highway Patrol
REGION PRESIDENTS
REGION VICE PRESIDENTS (Non-Voting)
PAST PRESIDENTS
Region I Capt. William ( Jake) Elovirta Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles
Region I Sgt. David Medeiros Rhode Island State Police
Region II Maj. David Palmer Texas Department of Public Safety
Region II Capt. Bruce Bugg Georgia Department of Public Safety
Capt. John E. Harrison, Georgia Department of Public Safety Lt. Donald Bridge, Jr., Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles Maj. Ron Cordova, New Mexico Department of Public Safety
Region III Capt. Robert (Bob) Powers Michigan State Police
Region III Maj. Thomas Melville Indiana State Police
Region IV Lt. Commander Bruce Pollei Utah Highway Patrol
Region IV Vacant
Region V John Meed Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure
Region V Perry Therrien British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
LOCAL PRESIDENT
LOCAL VICE PRESIDENT
Sgt. Ronald Klein St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department
Vacant
GOVERNMENT NON-VOTING MEMBERS
William (Bill) Quade, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) William (Bill) Arrington, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Benoit Cayouette, Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA), CRA Chair Gerardo Michel, Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) Crispin Aguilar, Secretarìa de Seguridad Publica, Policìa Federal Preventiva ASSOCIATE NON-VOTING MEMBER
Rick Craig, Chair Associate Advisory Committee, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Associate Advisory Committee Rick Craig Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
Intelligent Transportation Systems Committee Tpr. Rick Koontz Pennsylvania State Police
Driver-Traffic Enforcement Committee Capt. Gerry Krolikowski Nebraska State Patrol
North American Inspectors Championship Committee M/Tpr. R.C. Powell Virginia State Police
Hazardous Materials Committee Capt. Bruce Bugg Georgia Department of Public Safety Information Systems Committee Capt. William ( Jake) Elovirta Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles
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Passenger Carrier Committee Timothy Davis Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities Program Initiatives Committee Vacant
Size and Weight Committee Capt. Gary Albus Texas Department of Public Safety Training Committee Sgt. Raymond Weiss New York State Police Transportation Security Committee Capt. Robert (Bob) Powers Michigan State Police Vehicle Committee Kerri Wirachowsky Ontario Ministry of Transportation
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Basic Level VI Classes Scheduled
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September 28-October 1 n Vaughn, NM – October 19-22
November 16-19 Any state interested in sending inspectors to a scheduled class is asked to contact Larry D. Stern, Director Level VI Program, at larrys@cvsa.org or 304-292-1601.
RAD Inspection News is made possible under a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy.
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U.S. Department of Energy Seeks Public Comment on National Transportation Plan for the Proposed Repository at Yucca Mountain, NV
Under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. DOE, CVSA has scheduled the Level VI classes for 2009 to certify inspectors to conduct Level VI inspections on all transuranic waste and Highway Route Controlled Quantities (HRCQ) of radioactive materials. CVSA provides Level VI training to inspectors who meet the prerequisite of being Level I and HAZMAT certified. The following are the classes scheduled for the remainder of 2009:
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The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) is seeking public comment on a National Transportation Plan that outlines DOE’s current strategy and planning for developing and implementing a system to ship spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW) safely and securely from where the material is generated or stored to the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. “This Plan provides a framework for a safe, secure, and efficient transportation system, and builds upon more than four decades of national and international experience in safely transporting spent fuel,” said OCRWM Director Ward Sproat. “We are engaging in advance planning for shipments to Yucca Mountain because experience has shown us that early, collaborative planning with
our stakeholders is critical to mission success. We welcome comments on the Plan and look forward to working stakeholders as we move forward.” Sproat said actual shipments are not expected to begin before 2020, but the transportation planning process has begun well in advance to ensure the concerns and input of state, tribal, and local officials as well as other interested stakeholders are taken into account. The plan will be updated as appropriate to reflect progress in the development and implementation of the transportation system, accommodate changes to the waste management system, and incorporate stakeholder and public comments. The OCRWM Director said he also anticipates that detailed implementation plans will be developed in the future in collaboration with stakeholders. Pursuant to the Nuclear Waste Policy ACT of 1982, as amended (NWPA), Yucca Mountain has been designated as the site for the Nation’s first SNF and HLW repository. DOE has submitted a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for approval to construct the repository. As part of its obligations under the NWPA, DOE is also responsible for developing and implementing a system to transport SNF and HLW to the proposed repository. The OCRWM National Transportation Plan is available on the OCRWM website at www.ocrwm.doe.gov. Comments are being sought by electronic posting on the website, or via regular mail to Mr. Frank Moussa, U.S. Department of Energy, OCRWM Office of Logistics Management, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0001. Comments should be submitted no later than April 30, 2009.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Transporting Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level Radioactive Waste To Yucca Mountain
This is the tenth in a series of articles that will answer questions for transportation of spent nuclear fuel to Yucca Mountain.
accident involving spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste?
In an emergency, state, tribal, and local governments are responsible for the safety of their residents and responding to accidents in their jurisdictions. In accordance with Section 180 c of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA), DOE will provide technical and financial assistance to states and tribes for training public safety officials in procedures for safe, routine transportation and emergency response situations. Doe will apply the experience derived from existing emergency preparedness programs within the DOE and other federal agencies. DOE will also support exercise programs to test and validate state, tribal, and local officials’ transportation emergency response plans.
In the event of an accident, state, tribal, and local emergency responders would have federal resources available, if requested, to help them with emergency response activities. In addition, carriers have response programs and plans in place to assist local officials with emergencies. Specialty contractors are maintained by carriers to assist with response and recovery efforts, and carrier insurance defrays and costs of a response by state and local officials. The federal government has its own experienced teams of emergency responders. DOE special-response teams from eight regional coordinating offices are available to assist with any transportation accident involving radioactive materials. These special-response teams assess the emergency situation, advise decisionmakers on actions that could be taken, and provide expertise in assessment, area monitoring, air sampling, and exposure and contamination control.
Q: Who will help state, local, and tribal safety officials respond to an
Q: Who would pay for damages in the event of an accident resulting
Q: How will public safety officials be prepared for an emergency involving a shipment of spent fuel or high-level radioactive waste?
from the transportation of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste? In the unlikely event of an accident that results in a release of radioactive materials, any resulting damages would be covered under the Price-Anderson Act, which establishes a system of financial protection for the public in a nuclear accident, regardless of who causes the damage. The Price-Anderson Act provides for indemnification of liability up to $10 billion to cover claims that might arise from an accident in which radioactive materials were released, or one in which an authorized precautionary evacuation occurred. If the damage from a nuclear incident appeared likely to exceed that amount, the Price-Anderson Act contains a congressional commitment to thoroughly review the particular incident and take whatever action is determined necessary to provide full and prompt compensation to the public. In addition, motor carriers who transport nuclear materials will have minimum of $5 million in private insurance coverage. This insurance coverage will be available in the event of an accident that does not involve the release of nuclear material or a precautionary evacuation. Rail carriers are self-insuring for accidents other than nuclear incidents of precautionary evacuations. Q: Where can I find more information about spent nuclear fuel, high-level radioactive waste, and the transportation of these materials? Many opportunities exist for people to
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learn more about spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste issues, and about the transportation of radioactive materials. Access to scientific and technical information is available online through the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management website at www.ocrwm.doe.gov, and at public reading rooms located throughout the country. DOE also operates three public information centers in Nevada (in Beatty, Las Vegas, and Pahrump) and provides a speakers bureau that arranges for project experts to speak at public events. Citizens can discuss their concerns and receive answers to their questions about the Yucca Mountain Project by contacting: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Repository Development 1551 Hillshire Drive Las Vegas, NV 89134 (800) 225-6972 www.ocrwm.doe.gov For more information on DOE’s transportation programs, contact: Office of National Transportation Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management U.S. Department of Energy 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, DC 20585 (202) 586-9117 www.ocrwm.doe.gov Transportation Resource Exchange Center ATR Institute University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87106-4342 (877) 287-TREX (8739) www.trex-center.org
The U.S. DOE’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) was honored by the U.S. Transportation Council (USTC) with an award for transportation safety. James Rispoli, former DOE Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management, was in Carlsbad to present the award and to recognize WIPP transportation system personnel for the achievement. The USTC is the leading voice of the U.S. nuclear materials transport industry, whose membership includes the country’s most prominent transportation companies, customers and associated industries. The WIPP transportation system was recognized for its record of safety since 1999, when the first waste shipment arrived at WIPP from Los Alamos National Laboratory. To date, the project has received over 7,000 shipments and WIPP drivers have logged more than 8 million loaded miles. “Public safety is a priority at WIPP,” said Dr. Dave Moody, DOE Carlsbad Field Office manager. “We are honored that the Transport Council has recognized the efforts of our entire transportation team, from the staff who load the waste at generator sites, to the schedulers, drivers and other professionals who safely get it to WIPP.” The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is a U.S. Department of Energy facility designed to safely isolate defense-related TRU waste from people and the environment. Waste temporarily stored at sites around the country is shipped to WIPP and permanently disposed in rooms mined out of an ancient salt formation 2,150 feet below the surface. WIPP is located 26 miles south east of Carlsbad, NM.
WIPP SHIPMENTS TO CARLSBAD, NM as of Februrary 02, 2009 Site Argonne National Laboratory Idaho National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Nevada Test Site Oak Ridge National Laboratory Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site Hanford Site Savannah River Site Total to WIPP
Shipments 25 3,147 421 18 48 3 2,045 432 949 7,088
Loaded Miles 42,273 4,377,840 143,982 24,804 57,312 4,029 1,446,444 781,056 1,459,700 8,337,540
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Second Quarter 2009
CVSA’s Guardian With RAD Inspection News Available on CVSA Level VI Website Starting with the April 2009 edition, CVSA’s Guardian with RAD Inspection News will not be mailed to the Level VI certified officers, WIPP drivers, or DOE officials. It will be available on the CVSA’s website www.cvsa.org – click on the Level VI radiation symbol and then look under RAD Inspection News
CVSA Level VI Online Forum Goes Live On February 23, 2009 the CVSA Level VI Program’s “Level VI Forum” went on line. The Level VI Forum was created to give the general public and our state partners the opportunity to inquire about the Level VI Program and receive feedback from the Level VI Team. The Level VI Forum is a direct result of the Level VI Peer Review recommendations to have an online communications that the states and the public could have their questions answered on the Level VI Program. To access the Level VI Forum just go to www.cvsa.org, click on the Level VI Radiation Symbol, and then you are in the Level VI website then go under Level VI Forum. If you have any questions contact Larry D. Stern, Director Level VI Program, at larrys@cvsa.org or Carlisle Smith, RAM Subcommittee Chairman and Lead National Level VI Instructor, at carlisle.smith@puc.state.oh.us.
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Implementing Level VI Peer Review Recommendations Carlisle Smith, Chairman of the CVSA RAM Subcommittee, established a workgroup headed by Rion Stann, Pennsylvania State Police and Level VI Instructor, to develop ideas to implement the Level VI Peer Review recommendations. Members of the work group are Bill Reese, Idaho State Police, Tom Fuller, New York State Police, and Rex Railsback, Kansas Highway Patrol. They are working on the implementation of the Level VI Peer Review recommendations in the following manner: • Develop a “Lead Level VI Inspectors” state list and post it on the CVSA Level VI website to facilitate sharing information on the best practices for the Level VI Program found in the Peer Reviews. • Enhance guidance to the Level VI state refresher instructors on the Level VI training materials updates/additional, other requirements for the refresher course, and program updates and highlights. • Develop a “blog” to the Level VI website where the states and public can go to for FAQ and to get feedback on the Level VI Program from the Level VI team. The full Level VI Peer Review Report is on CVSA’s website www.cvsa.org -click on the Level VI radiation symbol and then go to reports on the Level VI website.
Special Note Carlisle Smith, Chairman of the CVSA RAM Subcommittee, announced that the committee met at the CVSA Workshop & 4th Annual FMCSA/MCSAP Leadership Conference at the Galt House Hotel and Suites, Louisville, KY, April 4-7 and the meeting minutes are posted on the Level VI website www.cvsa.org, select the Level VI radiation symbol, and click on committee minutes.
Visit CVSA’s Level VI Website for the Latest Program Information For the most up-to-date information on CVSA’s Level VI Inspection Program and the activities of the RAM Subcommittee, and the Level VI training and other program information. Visit www.cvsa.org click on the Level VI radiation symbol, then North American Standard Level VI Inspection Program.
2009 CVSA Sponsors DIAMOND
American Trucking Associations
BENEFACTOR
FedEx Corporation
Manitoba Public Insurance
RSC Equipment Rental
Randall Publishing / CCJ
U-Haul International
PLATINUM A&R Transport, Inc. ANPACT - Asociaci贸n Nacional de Productores de Autobuses, Camiones y Tractocamiones, A.C. ExxonMobil Chemical Co. Great West Casualty Company
J.J. Keller & Associates, Inc. May Trucking Company Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association Tyson Foods, Inc.
GOLD ABF Freight System, Inc. Ace Doran Hauling & Rigging Co. AMBEST, Inc. Austin Powder Company Cambridge Systematics, Inc. Coach USA Continental Corporation Covenant Transport, Inc.
Daecher Consulting Group, Inc. Greyhound Lines, Inc. Groendyke Transport, Inc. HELP, Inc. Intermodal Association of North America International Road Dynamics, Inc. (IRD) Landstar Carrier Services
Mercer Transportation Company Moore Freight Service Ohio Trucking Association Oilfield Services Schlumberger Technology Corporation SYSCO Corporation TML Information Services, Inc. Transport Service Co.
SILVER Boychuk Ventures, Inc. Boyle Transportation Brown Line, LLC Compliance Safety Systems, LLC
DiSilva Companies Greatwide Truckload Management Greyhound Canada Transportation Corporation Lynden, Inc.
New Jersey Motor Truck Association Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. Universal Truckload Services, Inc. Vehicle Inspection Systems, Inc.
BRONZE Herman R. Ewell, Inc. Midwest Specialized Transportation, Inc. Mid-West Truckers Association Milton Transportation, Inc.
Motor Transport Association of Connecticut, Inc. Pitt Ohio Express, LLC Transport & Distribution M.T.L. Inc.
United Global Logistics, Inc. Wal-Mart Warren Transport, Inc. YRC Worldwide, Inc
CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2009 CVSA WORKSHOP April 4–7, 2009 Louisville, Kentucky
NORTH AMERICAN CARGO SECUREMENT HARMONIZATION PUBLIC FORUM April 8, 2009 Louisville, Kentucky
4TH ANNUAL FMCSA MCSAP LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE April 8–9, 2009 Louisville, Kentucky
ROADCHECK 2009 June 2–4, 2009
NAIC 2009 August 17–23, 2009 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
SUMMER EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING August 18, 2009 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
BRAKE SAFETY WEEK 2009 September 13–19, 2009
MONDAY
AUGUST 17 to
SUNDAY
AUGUST 23
2009 PITTSBURGH PENNSYLVANIA
2009 CVSA ANNUAL CONFERENCE September 19–24, 2009 Baltimore, Maryland
OPERATION SAFE DRIVER 2009 October 18–24, 2009
NORTH AMERICAN CARGO SECUREMENT HARMONIZATION PUBLIC FORUM November 23, 2009 Montreal, QC, Canada
SPONSORED BY THE FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION AND THE COMMERCIAL VEHICLE SAFETY ALLIANCE
VISIT WWW.CVSA.ORG FOR EVENT DETAILS ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR CONTESTANTS, JUDGES AND ATTENDEES WILL BE AVAILABLE ON JUNE 1, 2009.