CVSA Guardian 3rd Quarter 2013 by CVSA

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GUARDIAN A Publication of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

Volume 20, Issue 3 3rd Quarter 2013

Focusing on Driver Performance to Save Lives

Insideâ&#x20AC;Ś NAIC Awards Roadcheck Results And More!

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GUARDIAN Third Quarter Volume 20, Issue 3 www.cvsa.org

IN THIS ISSUE n Insight

President’s Message ................................................................................1 Executive Director’s Message................................................................2 Letters to the Editor ................................................................................3 Knowledge Matters North American Fatigue Management Program Implementation ....................................................................................6 Do Traﬃc Violations Lead to Collisions? ..............................................7 CVSA Can Help “Spread the Word” on DVD to Help Eliminate Fire Service Water Tanker Rollovers ....................8 Placarding/Safety Marks and Their Reason for Being ....................9 Videos Help Local Jurisdictions Conduct Enforcement on Large Trucks and Buses ................................................................10

n Cover Story

Operation Safe Driver: Focusing on Driver Performance to Save Lives..........................................................................................11

n Government News

Ask the Administrator............................................................................14 Protecting Privacy and Personally Identifiable Information in the Digital Age ................................................................................15 CSA Program—A Change for the Better............................................17 Status Update on Merging the Medical Certificate and the Commercial Driver’s License ............................................................17 NTSB Culminates Year-Long Effort Focused on Problem of Substance-Impaired Driving ............................................................18 NTC’s Drug Interdiction Assistance Program (DIAP) ....................19 FMCSA Seeks Direct Feedback on MCSAP Grants Training ........19 Access Restored to CDLIS for Driver’s License Inquiries..............19 Mexico: Revision of Standard for Weight and Dimensions (NOM-012)............................................................................................20 The Legislative & Regulatory Rundown ............................................21

n Inspector’s Corner

A Year Flies By ........................................................................................22

n CVSA Committee & Program News

The Results are In for Roadcheck 2013 ............................................23 2013 NAIC Awards..................................................................................24 CVSA Scholarship Award Winners Announced ..............................26 In Their Own Words: Two Candidates Make Their Case for the CVSA Secretary-Treasurer Position....................................27 Operation Airbrake Program ..............................................................28

n Regional News

PA Inspects Motorcoaches at Hershey Park....................................30 CT Does Training During Roadcheck Inspections..........................30 Puerto Rico Participates in Roadcheck ............................................30 Kentucky to Host CARE Conference ..................................................31 Colorado Announces a New State Patrol Chief ........................……31 Minnesota State Patrol Conducts Multi-Agency HM Saturation......................................................................................32 New Mexico Program Named in Top 25 Innovations in Government ....................................................................................33 From the Roadside in Yukon Territory ..............................................33 Alberta Roadcheck ................................................................................33 CVSA Attends CCMTA Annual Meetings in Iqaluit, Nunavut......34 Local Enforcement ................................................................................35 Regional Rap............................................................................................35

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GUARDIAN A Publication of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

n Safety Innovators

Landstar’s Monthly Safety Conference Calls—21 Years and Going Strong ....................................................................................36 Theft Advisory for Roadside Oﬃcers May Boost Recovery Success ..................................................................................36 Georgia’s Covered Farm Vehicle Designation ....................................37 Technology Demonstration Sets Stage for How Jurisdictions Are Modernizing Transportation Infrastructure, Increasing Enforcement, Compliance Eﬀorts..................................39 Advances in Vehicle Safety Technologies: Electronic Brake Monitoring for Commercial Air Disc Equipped Vehicles ............40

n RAD Inspection News

Legislative Delegation Goes to Carlsbad, NM ................................42 Carlsbad Field Office Selects Office of Business Director............42 WIPP 7 Certified and Ready for Waste Disposal ............................43 MERRTT Train-the-Trainer Course Planned......................................43 Level VI Class Schedule ........................................................................43 CVSA Participates in Industry Meetings ..........................................44 WIPP Shipment & Disposal Information..........................................44

GUARDIAN 6303 Ivy Lane • Suite 310 • Greenbelt, MD 20770-6319 Phone: 301-830-6143 • Fax: 301-830-6144 Guardian is published quarterly by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance with support from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. CVSA and FMCSA are dedicated to government and industry working together to promote commercial vehicle safety on North American highways. CVSA Staff: Stephen A. Keppler, Executive Director • Collin B. Mooney, CAE, Deputy Executive Director • Carlisle Smith, Director, Hazardous Materials Programs • Adrienne Gildea, Director, Policy & Government Affairs • William P. Schaefer, Director, Vehicle Programs • Michael T. Irwin, CDS, CDT, Director, Driver & Training Programs • Lisa Claydon, Director, Communications & Marketing • Iris R. Leonard, Manager, Member & Program Services • Edgar M. Martinez, Member Services • Claudia V. McNatt, Manager, Meetings & Events • J. Craig Defibaugh, Controller • Wanica L. Foreman, Administrative Assistant Copyright 2013, CVSA. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. For comments, suggestions or information, please email communications@cvsa.org. Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

@cvsa

Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE A Changing of the Guard By Major Mark Savage, Colorado State Patrol

“I am proud to have served as your president and am honored to be a part of such a remarkable organization with such amazing people.” Before I communicate my final column as your president, I want to share a brief, but important, message about the commitment and dedication of those with whom I have the privilege of working. In August, I was in Salt Lake City to volunteer as a judge for the North American Inspectors Championship. Like all NAIC’s, this competition was a remarkable showcase for the best and brightest of all inspectors in North America. The New York State Police’s competitor was a fine example of the best and brightest and clear illustration of the commitment and dedication we see frequently in our peers. New York State Trooper Bill Keane was committed to doing his best, not only at NAIC, but throughout his 26-year career. So, while I did not know Trooper Keane before NAIC, it became evident in the brief time we spent at NAIC that he was a remarkable person and a role model for us all. Unfortunately, Trooper Bill Keane passed away in Salt Lake City while attending NAIC. I ask that you please join me in expressing our condolences to Trooper Keane’s family, friends and co-workers in this time of grief. I also want to say “thank you” to several people who not only made NAIC a success, but also gave so much to ensure that the family of Trooper Keane was taken care of while in Utah and beyond. As you may recall, a year ago, as I entered the office of CVSA president, I committed to improving the Alliance in three specific ways. I said we must: • Strengthen our current partnerships and identify new ones by maximizing opportunities to increase the effectiveness of our communication and the size of our audience. • Focus on the core principle of our work— increasing the quality uniformity and consistency of our daily enforcement activities. • Identify forward-thinking, dynamic and accountable leaders that understand the

issues and how they will impact our Alliance and all jurisdictions. I think it would be appropriate that I share with you specifically what we have done to accomplish each of these objectives in our effort to strengthen our Alliance. In regards to communication, we have worked hard to raise awareness on several issues that are important to our members. We have expanded the conversation by being more inclusive, solicited feedback from several of our partners and were proactive in addressing areas of potential conflict. During some of these discussions, we learned about our organization and where we can improve. However, what was most valuable for me was the development of an environment where we could have productive and fruitful discussions on topics in which we may not agree. This is where I, as a member, learned the most and I hope that others took the opportunity to do the same. To accomplish the second point, we reestablished a working group to address data uniformity and, as such, we re-emphasized the importance of uniform and consistent data. This group, ably led by Doug Donscheski from Nebraska, started work in January and recently presented its first finished product— a recommendation to the Executive Board on adjudicated violations. As of this writing, I am unsure how the board will decide on the matter, but, again, merely having the discussion and the end result addresses both how we communicate and improves data uniformity. Going forward, the work of this group is just beginning and I encourage you to be a part of the discussion. My third promise quickly took on the form of training and was expressed as training for the Executive Board, but also training for region committee and program leadership. Both trainings provided value to the attendees and helped to more clearly define roles and responsibilities of those in attendance. Additionally, as president, I emphasized the

importance and value of increasing the input and contributions of all members. We often need to remember that leadership is about many things, but, most importantly, it’s about mentoring and preparing those who will replace you. Given that, I encourage those members who may be reluctant to volunteer to step up to the plate and offer your assistance as we work together to accomplish our goals. This last year, we also started an important initiative to further define and review our strategic plan. I firmly believe that this is a responsibility of the Executive Board and hope that the effort continues beyond our current progress. In Louisville, we conducted an exercise that identified our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It is my hope that we take this information and use it to refine our mission, vision and strategic plan. The development of a comprehensive strategic plan is critical to guiding not only the leaders of our Alliance, but also the organization itself. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as president of the Alliance and look forward to serving with President Tom Fuller as he enters his year in office. Tom has many important objectives to accomplish and he will need your support. As I leave office, I look forward to the next year because I know that, under the leadership of Tom Fuller, the Alliance will continue to grow and improve. Finally, I have only one last word for the members of our Alliance—thank you. Thank you for what you do day in and out to make our roads safer and improve commercial vehicle safety. It is a job that requires patience, flexibility and commitment to our goals. Those of us who dedicate our careers to public safety, whether in enforcement or industry, have the same goal—to improve commercial vehicle safety. I am proud to have served as your president and am honored to be a part of such a remarkable organization with such amazing people. Thank you and stay safe! n

THIRD QUARTER 2013

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE The Evolution of the Alliance By Stephen A. Keppler, CVSA, Executive Director

“We have accomplished many things throughout our years of existence, but our core business and values remain as they were 30 years ago.”

The tragic and unfortunate passing of Trooper Bill Keane from the New York State Police at this year’s NAIC in Salt Lake City is a sad moment in the history of CVSA. We offer our condolences to his family, friends and peers. The stories I have come to learn about Trooper Keane and his dedication to his family and his job have been truly amazing. This, unfortunately, is something all of us have come to know and experience in this business we have chosen for our careers. It reminds us that what we do every day has real consequences, both good and bad. It also helps to define us, because every time something like this happens, it drives us to redouble our efforts to affect positive change and save lives. This year, 2013, is CVSA’s 30th year of formal existence. We started as an informal gathering of western U.S. states and Canadian provinces. The first recorded meeting minutes of the “Western States Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance” were from a meeting held in Portland, Oregon on February 27-28, 1980. The meeting was chaired by Paul Henry of the Oregon Public Utility Commission, who also happened to be the first CVSA President in 1983. One of the key objectives outlined in these first meeting minutes was the following: “Reciprocity Between States Regarding Equipment Inspection Activities and the Establishment of a Common Stickering System.”

In addition, the details of what would become the ﬁrst Memorandum of Understanding among the members were outlined in these minutes:

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General Agreement “In order to maximize the utilization of commercial motor vehicle, driver and cargo inspection resources; to avoid duplication of effort to expand the number of inspections performed on a regional basis; to advance uniformity of inspection; and to minimize delays in schedules incurred by industry inherent to this type of enforcement activity, the undersigned parties enter into this memorandum of understanding. Signators and their authorized representatives party to this memorandum do hereby agree to implement procedures pursuant to standards contained herein, and, in so doing, further agree to grant equal reciprocity to actions taken by all parties to this agreement except as provided herein. In order to advance uniformity in the inspection of commercial motor vehicles and their operators, parties to this memorandum agree to adopt as their minimum inspection criteria items 1 through 11 contained hereunder, and to write as a violation conditions disclosed during the inspection process as held forth under each separate inspection item.” We have come a long way from these first gatherings to the Alliance as we know it today. We have accomplished many things throughout our years of existence, but our core business and values remain as they were 30 years ago. Our success over the years has been the result of hard work and dedication by many people, who have come together—in good times and bad—to help advance our cause of safety and saving lives. The members of this incredible organization have always risen to the occasion—whether discussing changes to the North American Standard Out of Service Criteria or pulling together to help a friend and family in their time of need, as they did during NAIC this year. Whether this is your first year being involved in the organization or your 30th, I encourage you to continue to help cultivate a safety conscious culture within CVSA and in your day jobs back home. While we will always have disagreements and differences, we are unified and just in our mission. We need to pass this culture on to those who follow us to help continue our legacy in making a difference and saving lives. Thanks to those of you who have helped along the way, to those who will help lead us into the future, and those who are no longer with us—your contributions are substantive and significant. n

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Call to Action: A Mother’s Mission to Eliminate Unsecured Loads By Robin Abel, a Mom and Safety Consultant Have you ever had a rock hit your windshield? Then you know how quickly road debris and unsecured loads can cause damage, injuries or death on our nation’s roadways. In 2004, my daughter Maria was catastrophically injured because an unsecured piece of furniture fell from an open trailer onto the roadway. She was only a few hundred feet from her exit that night, but our lives were forever changed in an instant because a 40 pound board went through her windshield. A month later, the driver was found; he received tickets for littering, having an unsecured load, having no insurance and no valid Washington State driver’s license. This personal tragedy motivated me to ask the King County Prosecutor, Norm Maleng, for help in changing the laws in Washington State. Maria’s Law was passed in 2005 making an unsecured load that causes significant injury or death a crime with possible jail time/fine, and victims eligible to apply for Crime Victims Compensation. Norm Maleng told me that he would help me change the law, but that it was up to me to help educate the public on why it is so important to “securely fasten” all loads. The key to safety is education, but to get people to change, you have to get them to feel passionately, and it usually takes something personal to get their attention. From 2006 to 2010, statistics show that we have been able to reduce injuries and death by 34% in Washington State through education, but that is not enough. It is important to educate all drivers in this country so that our families will be safe. Several years ago, I approached Senator Patty Murray and Representative Jay Inslee, who is now governor, asking for help to change the laws nationwide. On November 18, 2011, President Obama signed the Transportation Appropriations Bill requesting a study by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) on unsecured loads and road debris caused by non-commercial vehicles/drivers. The GAO published their study on November 15, 2012. It’s available at http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-24. The study revealed that unsecured loads and road debris are a safety hazard causing 440 deaths, 10,000 injuries and over 51,000 incidents a year. Unfortunately, this may only be the tip of the iceberg because of inconsistent coding at the scene of the incident, which NHTSA is now addressing. Senator Maria Cantwell is working to get a hearing with the Senate Commerce Committee to review this

report and make recommendations on this serious public safety hazard. One major fact that was not included in the scope of the GAO report: the ECOS “Environmental Committee of the States has documented that this nation spends $11.5 Billion dollars on litter annually, and 20 to 40% is from unsecured loads. My goal is to have consistent laws across our nation, and, most importantly, to educate the public about the importance of load securement. I call this legislation a “Green Safety Bill.” So, what does “securely fastened” mean? “Securely” means “safely” and “fastened” means “to tie down, to restrain.” The bottom line is that all items must be securely fastened to the vehicle. Weight is not a form of securement, nor is what I call the CRAM technique. I can’t tell everyone how to secure their load, but what I do say is this: “secure your load as if everyone you love is driving in the vehicle behind you!” We put on our seatbelts and strap our children in car seats so, why is it that we think anything can be loose in the back of a truck? My good friend John Carlson often starts his safety classes by saying, “How many of you woke up today and thought this would be a good day to die or kill someone?” Safety is all about trying to prevent what you don’t think will happen. Most people think that this won’t happen to them, but, truthfully, both the driver who causes the incident and the person who gets hurt are both victims. At 55 miles per hour, a 20 pound board hits with an impact of 1,000 pounds!

“I can’t tell everyone how to secure their load, but what I do say is this: ‘secure your load as if everyone you love is driving in the vehicle behind you!’”

Would you be bold enough to nicely ask your neighbor to “please tie down that couch in the back of the truck?” By saying something, you may just save someone’s life. I need the help of all commercial drivers. You are the professionals out on our roadways. Besides always setting a good example of load securement, if you see an unsecured load or something in the roadway, please call law enforcement. Remember, it is dangerous to get out of your vehicle to pick up debris in the roadway. There have been many deaths of law enforcement oﬃcers, Department of Transportation workers and good citizens trying to clear the road of debris in traﬃc. Please call and report unsecured loads or items on the roads. You may just save the life of someone you don’t even know. n Robin Abel can be contacted at 425-430-8204.

THIRD QUARTER 2013

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Technology “Convergence of Forces” Will Transform Trucking Industry By Jay Coughlan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, XRS Corporation America urgently needs a healthy, safe trucking industry to help power the economic recovery. Every American relies on trucks. The industry transports in excess of 11 billion tons of freight annually. Now, the trucking industry finds itself at a critical juncture. The industry must improve its efficiency in order to remain competitive and profitable, plus attract a new generation of drivers while meeting increasingly rigorous federal safety requirements.

• Mobile applications feature dozens of ways to measure compliance, performance and safety—while also enabling social interaction.

A new conﬂuence of technology trends is transforming our industry and this “convergence of forces” will allow the entire industry to operate more safely, eﬃciently and competitively for many decades to come.

• Trucking companies and drivers need access to volumes of information like never before—to assure compliance with his or her hours of service (HOS) to stay in the driver’s seat and deliver the load on time—making the need for big data even more compelling.

To explain this convergence, I borrow heavily from the highly regarded Gartner organization, the global information technology research and advisory company, and apply it to the trucking industry. Gartner describes what’s happening in business and our society in general as a nexus of technology and human forces: Social—the technology linkage between people and the connectivity that enables work and personal sharing; Mobile—the technology platform that transports the world away from desks and brings applications of all kinds to the phone and tablet; The Cloud—which, whether widely recognized or not, is providing more and more of the infrastructure of everyday business and personal activity online; and Information—the ravenous appetite of business and individuals to acquire more, better information to help make smart decisions. So, why is this concept of convergence so critically important to the trucking industry? • Social connections are vital to truckers away from home for extended periods, which is a reason why years ago truckers were social media pioneers with their ubiquitous CB radios.

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• Cloud computing gives drivers and ﬂeet managers the capacity, reliability, security, ﬂexibility and availability to manage trucking and personal data in the mobile realm.

The benefits of data analysis and social interaction in the cloud, available via mobile technology, are becoming clear. First and foremost, we’re in a whole new world of regulation, and regulatory non-compliance can grind fleets and trucks to a halt before they know it. Detailed, real-time and mobile monitoring to avoid violations has become an absolute necessity. When driver behaviors and truck status are measurable and safer, the highways are safer. Safety managers are given tools to see what happens on the road. Unsafe practices can be quickly identified and the proper coaching assigned. Drivers can monitor their own safety measures. In addition, fleet operators know that data analysis can slash costs. Fleet optimization is being accomplished with automated reporting of fleet performance indicators: fuel consumption, hard braking, shift patterns, idle engine wear, trip reporting, mpg, speeding and much more. With mobile data collection and analysis applications, the expense, complexity of installation and training for out-of-date, hardware-based onboard systems is replaced by a five-minute training video, 10 minutes to plug a proprietary relay device into the truck’s computer, and a quick mobile app download onto the smart device.

Another result is that drivers gain more legal driving time per day by automating what were formerly paperwork tasks. Using an electronic log procedure on average saves 15 minutes per driver per day—more than an extra hour per week with wheels turning. Mobile applications are creating a new trucking ecosystem: governmental rule compliance, GPS route optimization, weather alerts, scheduling, fuel tax reporting, proof of delivery, truck performance indicators, and dozens more applications. It’s clear that the technological convergence of forces in the trucking industry is here—and it’s not about to slow down. The beneﬁts are many— including safer operation; reduced fuel consumption; better driver and vehicle utilization; driver and ﬂeet regulatory compliance; and driver social connection. And this is just the beginning for our industry— there will be much more to come. n

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New Brochure Aims to Improve Shale Oil and Gas Trucking Safety By John Conley, Past President, National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc. The growth of shale oil and gas exploration and development has been hailed as a major step toward North American energy independence. Successful realization of the homegrown natural resource is heavily dependent on trucking and, more importantly, on safe trucking. A new eightpage brochure from the Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), a coalition that includes CVSA Associate Members, National Tank Truck Carriers (NTTC) and the American Trucking Associations (ATA), contains basic trucking safety messages for energy producers, transporters and motorists. While there are indications that trucking safety is improving in shale areas, valid concerns about the performance of some shippers and carriers in the early days of the boom continue. A targeted shale area enforcement effort of such operations during Roadcheck 2012 confirmed concerns of both industry and law enforcement. The oilfield and natural gas operations emphasis for 2012 resulted in an out-of-service rate of 28.2 percent for vehicles and 6.7 percent for drivers, of 149 inspections conducted in ten states. This compared to rates for all inspections of all trucks of 20.9 percent OOS for vehicles and 4.6 percent for drivers. Through CEA, the American Petroleum Institute (API), NTTC and ATA have provided nearly two dozen recommendations for roadway safety and more considerate driving practices. The recommendations will be used as important reminders for member companies and to help develop informational materials on the need to provide safe and responsible trucking operations for the mutual benefit of producers, transporters and the communities in which they operate. Personnel from the Texas Department of Public Safety took part in meetings to develop the outreach program. The recommendations are available online at www.tanktruck.org and include recommendations for producers to hold frequent meetings with motor carriers to evaluate safety issues, methods for encouraging a culture of safety, techniques to promote access to safety education resources, and practices to properly inform all drivers on the delivery and removal of equipment and materials used during oil and natural gas production.

Shale oil and gas exploration has been a boon for eﬀorts to gain North American energy independence and for trucking. A new trucking safety brochure with input from CVSA members will help educate energy trucking companies and shale producers on how to conduct safe trucking operations in challenging areas such at the Eagle Ford area in Texas pictured here.

Producers are encouraged to monitor and enforce requirements for proof of regulatory compliance by motor carriers. It is recommended for both transporters and producers to be sensitive to local impacts and, to the extent possible, “schedule deliveries and movements to minimize the traffic impact on local communities.” A link is provided to FMCSA’s website for producers to check carrier safety performance. According to carrier representatives, producers are using this website and are exercising more care today in carrier selection. Initial response to the brochure has been positive and efforts continue to spread the word that unsafe trucking operations are not acceptable in the shale oil and gas areas, any more than they are anywhere else. The next step in the project will be to track safety performance in shale areas where the brochure will be distributed and especially in the Texas Eagle Ford region. “Consumer Energy Alliance believes that North America has a tremendous opportunity to become energy self-sufficient, spur job creation and growth across the entire US economy and that developing these resources is dependent, in part, on responsible and safe trucking operations,” said David Holt, CEA President. “Trucks are the essential workhorses of our country’s ability to take advantage of our shale gas and oil resources to become energy independent. It is the trucking industry’s responsibility to provide safe, efficient, and to the extent possible, considerate truck support of

this important energy opportunity,” said John Conley, Past President of the National Tank Truck Carriers, and Trucking Safety Taskforce CoChair. “We are delighted to partner with the energy industry and the law enforcement community to provide that safe and reliable truck transportation.” Holly Hopkins, API Upstream Senior Policy Advisor, commented that, “The industry is committed to protecting our employees, the environment and the communities where we operate, all while increasing energy security by safely and responsibly developing the energy America needs to fuel its economy.” Glen Kedzie, American Trucking Associations Vice President, Energy & Environmental Counsel said, “Safety remains ‘Priority 1′ for the trucking industry. Through this collaborative eﬀort of the transportation and energy sectors, along with continued community involvement and education, ATA is conﬁdent that these recommendations will go far in improving safety in oil and gas production and exploration transportation activities.” For more information on the Consumer Energy Alliance, visit www.consumerenergyalliance.org or contact John Conley, National Tank Truck Carriers at jconley@tanktruck.org or 703-8381960. n

THIRD QUARTER 2013

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KNOWLEDGE MATTERS North American Fatigue Management Program Implementation By Roger Clarke, Management Consultant, and Chair, North American Fatigue Management Program The negative impact of fatigue on safety in industrial settings has been known for some time. Because professional drivers share the road with the general population of motorists, the effect of fatigue on safety in the motor carrier industry is of special significance. In recognition of this, a consortium of government, insurance and motor carrier agencies in the U.S. and Canada set out to develop a comprehensive approach to managing fatigue in commercial vehicle operations. At each stage of development of what became known as the North American Fatigue Management Program (NAFMP), significant research was gathered and vetted and the program was rigorously tested. After a decade-long development period, NAFMP was launched in July 2013. The program was initiated in Alberta, Canada in 2001, through a partnership between Alberta Transportation and the Alberta Motor Transport Association, with additional funding provided by the Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board. The concept was taken from a Canada/U.S. Research Project that examined the effectiveness of hoursof-service regulations in both countries, recommending, among other things, that “government and industry should develop a fatigue management program.” With little more than that to go on, the Alberta group initiated a research project to gather the available medical, technological, scientific and best-practices research on the topic. From that initial literature search, a program for mitigating fatigue in CVM drivers was developed and tested on drivers from three truck carriers and one bus carrier in Alberta. In addition to determining that the resultant program would be comprehensive in approach, the project leaders also implemented policy guidance to ensure that the program would be scientifically-validated, effective, feasible in a motor carrier operating environment, produced in English and French, free of charge, voluntary, and available to all. Soon after this first phase of research began, Transport Canada, SAAQ and CSST in Quebec and, later, the U.S. FMCSA, joined the program and carriers in Quebec and Texas were recruited to test the developing program to compare the effectiveness in different jurisdictions. A steering committee was formed to provide ongoing support and guidance that included all funding partners and their respective Industry Associations in Canada, and ATRI in the U.S.

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The initial research results proved to be very promising and provided the impetus for the steering committee to begin a second round of research in Alberta, Quebec and California and to rigorously test a refined program, with more drivers involved to ensure verifiable results. The results of the further study indicated that carrier and driver safety would be enhanced even while working within hours-of-service rules in various jurisdictions and operating environments. During this stage of development, additional research related to the impact of fatigue on highway collisions became available. This research indicated that: • An estimated 30% of fatal commercial vehicle collisions are fatigue-related (U.S. DOT); • >50% of all single-vehicle collisions involving heavy trucks are fatigue-related (NTSB); • Fatigue is a significant factor in >20% of all commercial vehicle collisions (U.S. DOT). These statistics confirmed the urgency to develop a science-based, operationally-feasible and proven-effective means of managing fatigue in motor vehicle drivers. The NAFMP that has now been developed is comprised of a series of instructional modules that serve to educate and provide guidance to drivers, driver’s families, commercial vehicle administrators and executives, dispatchers, and safety officers on all possible means of reducing fatigue in drivers. Each of the modules was developed by recognized authors with expert subject-matter knowledge and each targeted to specific audiences in the industry. The ten modules are: 1. Fatigue Management Program Introduction and Overview 2. Safety Culture and Management Practices 3. Driver Education 4. Family Education 5. Train-the-Trainer 6. Shippers and Receivers 7. Motor Carrier Sleep Disorders Management 8. Driver Sleep Disorders Management 9. Driver Scheduling and Tools 10. Fatigue Monitoring and Management Technology

In addition to providing expert knowledge on fatigue through the learning modules, the NAFMP also includes an implementation manual to provide guidance on how to implement the program in a truck- or bus-operating environment, and a return-on-investment (ROI) calculator to assist carrier executives in determining the cost/benefit of deploying the NAFMP. All material is available online, free of charge, in English at www.nafmp.com and in French at www.pnagf.com. Now that the NAFMP has been deployed and is available to all, it remains for the steering committee that has overseen the development of the program to ensure growth in acceptance as a compliment to, or perhaps an option for, hoursof-service regulations. To that end, the work now begins to focus on: • Providing support and encouragement to carriers that choose to adopt the program; • Liaison with government regulators to determine whether there may be opportunities to enhance carrier safety; • Working with insurance companies on opportunities to promote the program; • The potential of developing a certification program for drivers and carriers that have successfully completed/implemented the program; • Continual improvement of the program to keep pace with new technologies, medical advances and best practices. The development of the NAFMP has been an interesting one given that there was no one agency responsible for bringing this all together—only a commitment to the original principles has kept the participating agencies and representatives committed to keeping the program going in the decade of development. We hope that this work will prove to have been worthwhile through adoption by many stakeholders in the highway safety field. n

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Do Traﬃc Violations Lead to Collisions? By Del Lisk, Vice President of Safety Services, DriveCam, Inc.

Experience in Motor Coach and Trucking Show It Does

Trucking Traﬃc Violation Index Collision driver had “X” times more of these events in prior quarter than non-collision drivers

Using our database of risky driving behaviors captured though use of in-cab video, we looked at collision and non-collision drivers from several industries (including trucking and motorcoach) to compare the incidences of traffic violations for each in the prior quarter. We found that, overall, collision drivers did have a significantly greater number of traffic violations in the quarter prior to their collision than non-collision drivers. This was also true when we looked specifically at truck and motorcoach drivers. In the motorcoach data, speeding showed the greatest risk with collision drivers having 2.4 times more speeding events in the prior quarter than non-collision drivers. This was followed by rolling stops, running a red light, running stop signs and use of a hand-held cell phone. Motorcoach Traffic Violation Index 3.0 Collision driver had “X” times more of these events in prior quarter than non-collision drivers

2.5 2.4

2.3

2.0

2.5

1.6

0.5 0.0

1.4 Handheld Cell Phone — Risky

1.4 1.0

2.6

2.0

1.8 1.5

Ran a Red Light

0.0

Rolling Stop

0.5

Ran a Stop Sign

1.3 1.0

Summary Traffic violations are a meaningful predictor of future risk of a traffic collision. Drivers who are complacent about stop signs, traffic lights and other rules of the road are more likely to get in a collision. Law enforcement only reaches a small number of offenders and thus has a limited ability to change these behaviors. Fleets’ growing use of on-board video, GPS and other monitoring technologies will lead to fewer violations, safer drivers and reductions in frequency and severity of traffic collisions. n 1

1.5

Ran a Stop Sign

Earlier this year, I read a blog from a driver commenting on his company’s recent addition of on-board video technology. Although he did feel it was making him a better driver, he lamented that he didn’t see why his company was spending time with silly issues like doing a slow roll through stop signs. He went on to say that rolling stops was a habit he had maintained for several years and shouldn’t be expected to change in just a few months. He didn’t understand why continuing to repeat this behavior could lead to corrective action by his employer. And, he hadn’t had an accident, so what’s the big deal?

Our review of trucking data also showed collision drivers were identified with more traffic violations than non-collision drivers. Rolling stops, running stop signs and running red lights had the greatest differentiation. At the time of this study, we did not have enough data to include information on speeding or handheld cell phone use for the trucking sector.

3.0

Ran a Red Light

The same holds true for drivers whose company uses exception-based on-board video and analysis to identify traﬃc violations. There is a sense by some that rolling through a stop sign or failing to stop while turning right at a red light isn’t risky and getting coached on this issue is a waste of time. But, is it?

Research, such as ATRI’s “Predicting Truck Crash Involvement”1 study, demonstrates that drivers convicted of traffic violations are more likely to have a crash than those who don’t. But, what about drivers who commit traffic violations that don’t involve citations? Are these drivers identified as violating traffic laws through the use of on-board technologies also more likely to have collisions?

Rolling Stop

Some drivers believe that law enforcement hands out citations for traﬃc violations because they need to “ﬁll a quota” or raise revenues for the state. These drivers often believe the citation was petty and had nothing to do with improving safety.

Do Traﬃc Violations Impact Safety?

Speeding

Overview

ATRI Predicting Truck Crash Involvement: A 2011 Update

Del Lisk serves as Vice President of Safety Services for DriveCam, Inc. In this role, he is responsible for developing safety policy and procedures and overseeing training for DriveCam’s ﬂeet customers. Additional duties include developing and improving DriveCam’s driver risk analysis processes. As a byproduct of this role, he has reviewed video of several thousand risky driving events and analyzed hundreds of traﬃc collisions.

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KNOWLEDGE MATTERS CVSA Can “Spread the Word” on DVD to Help Eliminate Fire Service Water Tanker Rollovers By John Conley, Past President, National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc. On November 11, 2012, Firefighter Mark Haudenschild II, 26, was killed when the water tanker he was driving overturned while he was responding to a brush fire near Fort Wayne, Indiana. He left a wife and two young children. He was a volunteer with the Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department serving his community. Over the past several years, CVSA members have had to respond to many water tanker rollover crashes where firefighters have been killed or injured while responding to emergencies. They now can help spread information on availability of a new safety video developed to help educate water tanker drivers on the special characteristics of tank truck vehicles and the actions they can take to avoid rollovers. The DVD is a new version of the Cargo Tank Rollover Prevention video produced by the U.S. Department of Transportation with input from National Tank Truck Carriers (NTTC). The DVD features an introduction directed to emergency responders. “While this DVD was originally developed for commercial tank truck drivers, the principles of tank truck vehicle dynamics, road challenges and safe driving practices it presents are equally applicable to water tankers used in emergency response,” said Jim Shaeffer, President of McKenzie Tank Lines, Tallahassee, FL, and Chairman of National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc. “I know we will use this DVD in our outreach to firefighters and LEPCs (Local Emergency Planning Councils) in the areas in which we operate. It is especially appropriate that we introduce this material at our Annual Safety Conference in Denver. Safety is the core mission of NTTC.” Fire Department water tanker rollovers are not a new phenomenon. The Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a report on Firefighter Deaths from Tanker Truck Rollovers in 2001. That report said there had been 62 deaths from water tanker rollovers from 1977-1999. The report did not include the injuries. The ability to track media and other reports on such crashes today shows that they continue to be a real issue of concern. Firefighters continue to be killed and injured in these usually preventable crashes. The original 20-minute video was produced in 2010 by the U.S. Department of Transportation, with input from National Tank Truck Carriers, following increased industry and government concerns about the number of tank truck rollovers. It focuses on tank truck vehicle design; cargo/load factors; highway factors; and driver factors. The video features real tank truck drivers who share their experiences, different types of tank truck equipment and detailed graphics, and various highway challenges. The video has been translated into French, Spanish and Japanese. The video was based, in part, on information developed in 2007 in a detailed cargo tank rollover report prepared for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) by Battelle. The report showed that over 75 percent of rollovers are caused by a driver’s action or inaction, the majority of rollovers are single vehicle crashes that occur on straight dry roadways (not exit ramps as is often thought,) and that about one-quarter of tanker rollovers involve straight trucks where the tank sits on the truck body.

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Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) official Ryan Posten told attendees at the CVSA Workshop in Louisville in April that cargo tank rollovers remain the number one hazardous materials trucking concern of his agency. PHMSA and FMCSA both continue to focus resources on rollover prevention. They, and other agencies, also must respond to recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board on cargo tank rollover elimination. "I am delighted that we can help extend the very important safety message of the Cargo Tank Rollover Prevention Video to the fire service," said Tim Butters, Deputy Administrator of the USDOT's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and former chief fire officer with the Fairfax City (Virginia) Fire Department. "We continue to see vehicle rollovers involving fire department apparatus, particularly tenders/tankers used for transporting large volumes of water. Understanding how to safely operate these vehicles will help reduce rollover accidents. Vehicle accidents continue to be one of the leading causes of firefighter injuries and fatalities. I will strongly encourage my colleagues in the fire and emergency response service to include this training video in their emergency vehicle driver/operator safety training and driver refresher programs. Emergency responders provide a critical public safety service to their communities and we want them to return home safely." “We have been pleased with the response to the original video and hope that this version directed to the fire community will become a tool for training drivers who perform such a valuable service to us all,” said Dan Furth, National Tank Truck Carriers President. “We encourage everyone to help spread this safety outreach to anyone who can benefit from it. Many of our NTTC members already work with fire departments in their operating areas and we know that this information will help in the training they provide.” A free copy of the DVD can be obtained for review and reproduction by contacting NTTC at 703-838-1960, by email to nttcstaff@tanktruck.org, or by mail to NTTC, 950 N. Glebe Rd., Arlington VA 22203. The video also can be viewed and downloaded from NTTC’s website at www.tanktruck.org. If large amounts of copies are desired, we can put people in touch with our video company for obtaining copies. None of this material is copyright protected. National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc. is the trade association of the tank truck industry and a long-time CVSA Associate Member. n

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Placarding/Safety Marks and Their Reason for Being By Rex Railsback, Tech. Trooper, Kansas Highway Patrol.

Visibility and display of placards has consistently been the third most-written HazMat violation for the past three years, the HazMat Committee feels that this article is worth publishing again. The HazMat/Dangerous Goods placard/safety mark that we use and see today began in the 1970s due to a hazmat tragedy in Norwich, CT in the 1960s. As a result of this tragedy and others, the modern hazmat regulations in the U.S. were born in the mid-1970s. The requirements included the creation of the diamond-shaped and color-coded hazmat placards that help us identify hazardous materials shipments today.

person has the previously mentioned color chart or formula guide, and then knows to which standard the placard/safety marks were manufactured, I would be cautious before citing a violation unless that enforcement person can clearly articulate how the placard/safety mark no longer meets the required color. I am not saying to not enforce that pink shaded ﬂammable placard, but as a friend of mine once said, “no one knows your lack of knowledge, until you put it in writing.” In the end, I would say if it is supposed to be red and it still looks red, is it not performing its purpose for being and communicating the hazard it represents?

In the 1990s, HM181, and then the HM215 series of final rules, started to harmonize the U.S. hazmat regulations with the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods—Model Regulations. This harmonization further refined hazmat placards and continues to do so today. The hazmat/dangerous goods placard/safety mark’s reason for being is to be a communication device that helps communicate the type of hazard one might encounter of a dangerous good during transportation. This is true whether you’re a first responder, shipper, carrier, driver or enforcement officer. Since hazard communication is the primary purpose of the hazmat/dangerous goods placard/safety mark, let’s look at an enforcement practice that is stringent enough to ensure the placard/safety mark effectively communicates the hazards they represent without going to such extremes that an undue burden is placed on the shipper and/or motor carrier. In other words, use a common sense enforcement approach. Placarding and safety mark violations are some of the most commonly cited for hazmat/dangerous goods shippers/carriers. The most contentious violations deal with the display and color requirements. We know that citing violations for placards that misrepresent or are missing is a given, and is fairly straight forward when it comes to the question—is it or is it not a violation? However, those violations dealing with the correct color of a placard (faded) or whether the placard is displayed with the text reading horizontal left to right (square on point) are not as cut and dry, but rather in a gray area when citing for a violation. With these more contentious violations, maybe enforcement should ask the question—is it still performing its primary purpose of communicating the hazard? When looking at the color of placards/safety marks, both U.S. and Canadian regulations reference appropriate Hazardous Materials Label and Placard Color Tolerance Chart, or as an alternative, the PANTONE® formula guide coated/uncoated, as specified for the placard/safety mark colors. When looking at these color guides, one would see a variance within each color range to a point that placards from two different suppliers may appear to have different shades, hues or tones and, yet, meet the regulations. One might want to cite someone if placards appear to be different shades (see photo on the right), but unless that enforcement

Placards appear to be diﬀerent shades.

The second contentious placard/safety mark violation would be that the placard/safety mark is not displayed with the text horizontal, reading left to right or, in other words, the placard/safety mark is not displayed square on point. Once again, if we look to the strict letter of the regulations—if a placard/safety mark is not displayed with the text horizontal in reference to the transport vehicles frame, then that would technically be a violation. Now let’s stop and think, how far off horizontal/square on point would a placard/safety mark need to be to lose its effectiveness as a hazard communication device; ¼ inch, ½ inch, ¾ inch or maybe even 1 ½ inches? I don’t really start to look at this issue being a violation until the placard/safety mark is probably getting closer to 2 ½ to 3 inches off horizontal/square on point, but that is me. I know a placard/safety mark displayed on its side is definitely a violation, but if you look at the picture on the next page with the non-horizontal placard/safety mark, I don’t think many of us would guess that it measured 1 7/8 inches off horizontal. I performed the HM/DG inspection in which the picture was taken, and I did not list it as a violation. Continued on next page

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KNOWLEDGE MATTERS Continued from page 9

Some of you reading this may think I did the carrier and safety a disservice and others may agree with me for not listing the placard/safety mark as a violation. Although the regulations are printed in black and white, and often seem written without roadside enforcement in mind, we all know there is plenty of gray areas that cannot be put into the written regulation. I have always tried to look at the big picture and the purpose of CMV roadside inspections. That big picture would be to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. The roadside inspection helps to accomplish this through verification of compliance and safety education. With that in mind, I try to further apply some common sense to the enforcement equation and think at what point would education alone be as/or more effective than education and enforcement. That thought process becomes one of the biggest challenges for inspectors and is difficult to teach in the classroom and/or during the OJT phase of certification.

Videos Help Local Jurisdictions Conduct Enforcement on Large Trucks and Buses By Sarah Horn, Program Manager, International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)

Officers Learn How to Identify a Fraudulent CDL In an era of diminished resources, more law enforcement agencies are moving away from more specialized to general traffic enforcement. Given the reduction of specialized units, every trooper, officer, and deputy becomes integral to highway safety and traffic enforcement, not only for passenger vehicles, but also for commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). Nearly 4,000 people lose their lives in crashes involving large trucks and buses each year.1 Of those fatal crashes involving large trucks and buses, 90 percent were caused by operator error, such as driving at unsafe speeds, following to close and failing to yield.2 These driver-related crash factors are highly visible and detectable. Because many local law enforcement officers do not routinely stop large trucks and buses, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) partnered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to develop a video series to improve an officer’s understanding of the commercial driver’s license (CDL) and provide officer safety information about how to interact with a CMV. The video series is designed to provide law enforcement with a basic understanding of CDLs including how to examine the CDL, security features, and ways to identify a fraudulent CDL. The videos also provide officers with safety considerations they will need to know when stopping a large truck or bus.

How far oﬀ horizontal/square on point would a placard/safety mark need to be to lose its eﬀectiveness as a hazard communication device?

In the end, I am not saying, “don’t enforce the regulations,” but to think about the gray areas that cannot be written into the regulations by those who have little to no roadside experience, and try to apply common sense into your enforcement practices. Think about the purpose of placards/safety marks and the ultimate goal of reducing crashes, injuries and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. Don’t think about how many violations you can ﬁnd. Although most Hazardous Material/Dangerous Good loads do not lead to crashes, they certainly can enhance the consequences or hinder the mitigation of a crash. So, during your enforcement eﬀorts, keep in mind if that dull red or slightly crooked placard would impede the mitigation and/or heighten the consequences of a crash. n

This video series is not about how to conduct a safety inspection. Instead, it encourages law enforcement officers to include the routine traffic enforcement (e.g., driving at unsafe speeds) of large trucks and buses in their everyday activities. The videos highlight that when interacting with a CMV driver, an officer should review the driver’s documentation—license, registration and proof of insurance. Additionally, officers should take a close review of the CDL to ensure that the document the driver provides is not fraudulent. The video series provides tips to assist law enforcement officers determine if the CDL is a legal document. By conducting traffic enforcement on CMVs and ticketing those drivers who commit traffic violations, law enforcement is able to attach these violations to the CDL driver’s record, ultimately assisting in removing unsafe drivers from the roadways. The videos can be viewed at http://www.theiacp.org/Publications Guides/Projects/FraudulentCommercialDriversLicenses/tabid/1080/ Default.aspx]. For more information about this program, contact Sarah Horn, program manager at horn@theiacp.org or 703-836-6767, ext. 215. n 1

Jack Van Steenburg and Mike Edmonson, "Highly Visible Traﬃc Enforcement Drives Truck and Bus Safety," The Police Chief 80 ( July 2013): 20–22. 2 Ibid.

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CO V E R S T O R Y

Focusing on Driver Performance to Save Lives

By Brian W. Neal, Corporate Safety, FedEx Ground, and Operation Safe Driver Program Chair, and Karen Rasmussen, President & CEO, Help, Inc.â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Provider of PrePass, and Operation Safe Driver Program Vice Chair

Continued on next page

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CO V E R S T O R Y

Continued from page 11

n the last several years, there has been much more attention given to driver behavior in terms of reducing fatalities related to crashes involving large trucks and buses.

Several landmark pieces of research have contributed to this focus: ✓ In 2005, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released its study Predicting Truck Crash Involvement: Developing a Commercial Driver Behavior-Based Model and Recommended Countermeasures. ✓ In 2006, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released the results from the Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS). ✓ In 2009, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute published a study documenting the actual risks of various activities that distract CMV drivers. All three of these studies showed a clear correlation between various poor driving behaviors and crash involvement. More recently, results from several government-sponsored and independent research studies regarding FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) Program indicates the Unsafe Driving BASIC shows a clear correlation between CMV driver performance and future crash involvement. In addition, the majority (approximately three-fourths) of large-truck involved crashes are multi-vehicle crashes between a large truck or bus and a passenger vehicle. In many of these crashes, the passenger vehicle often is cited as the primary contributor to the crash. Additional data on fatalities related to large truck crashes indicate young drivers (ages 16-25) are particularly vulnerable in large truck related crashes, representing an average 26 percent of the deaths. The ATRI analysis of effective enforcement strategies indicated that successful enforcement programs for addressing problem driver behaviors are those that exhibit one or more of the following components: ✓ Center on aggressive driving apprehension programs/initiatives; ✓ Target both commercial motor vehicle (CMV) and non-CMV behavior patterns; ✓ Utilize both highly visible and covert enforcement activities; and ✓ Incorporate an internal performance-based system for managing enforcement by specific crash types, driver behaviors, and locations.

As a result of these important pieces of data, in 2007, CVSA, in partnership with the FMCSA, launched the Operation Safe Driver Program. While Operation Safe Driver is a year-round effort, the annual mobilization week occurs the third week in October each year, with this year’s effort taking place October 20-26, 2013. The mission of Operation Safe Driver is to improve commercial and non-commercial driver behavior and performance through effective enforcement, education and awareness strategies. Its objectives are:

1 2 3 4 5

Increase commercial vehicle traﬃc enforcement activity.

Increase non-commercial vehicle traﬃc enforcement activity.

Increase safety belt enforcement activity.

Increase driver roadside inspections.

Increase driver regulatory compliance.

Implement commercial driver educational and awareness programs to the motor carrier population.

Increase awareness to the motoring public about safe operations around large trucks and buses.

Increase awareness of teenage and younger drivers regarding safe driving practices around large trucks and buses.

Increase awareness to commercial drivers, younger drivers and the motoring public of the dangers of distracted driving.

There are many partners assisting us in this eﬀort, and we are always looking for additional organizations to lend their helping hand. There also are many resources and tools to assist CVSA members, associate members and the public in conducting eﬀective strategies and outreach for combating poor driving behaviors. To access these materials and resources, go to the Operation Safe Driver Tool Kit www.operationsafedriver.com.

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CO V E R S T O R Y

A few of the many resources available—all at no charge—are three educational DVDs: • Teens and Trucks—targeted at youth drivers to help them in driving safety around large trucks and buses; • Defeating Distracted Driving—targeted at truck and bus drivers educating them about the dangers of distracted driving and oﬀering helpful tips; and • Teens and Trucks, Curbing Distracted Driving—which oﬀers helpful tips to younger drivers and the consequences of the dangers of distracted driving. CVSA also has assisted members and associate members with a number of media events and outreach activities, and are available to assist you as well. So, help CVSA, FMCSA and our other partners by joining together the week of October 20—and all year long—to educate yourself and others about the dangers of aggressive and distracted driving and of some basic safe driving tips. Don’t run over the rights of others in your rush to get somewhere, because cutting it close can cut your life or the life of a loved one short. Your vehicle becomes a weapon when you get behind the wheel and drive recklessly. Driving responsibly and sharing the road respectfully is literally in your hands—don’t become a problem or a statistic, be part of the solution.

The mission of Operation Safe Driver is to improve commercial and non-commercial driver behavior and performance through effective enforcement, education and awareness strategies.

For more information about the program and tips on safe driving, visit www.operationsafedriver.org. n

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ASK THE ADMINISTRATOR Each edition, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne S. Ferro takes time to answer your questions. In this issue, Administrator Ferro discusses enforcement activities to improve bus safety.

What projects does FMCSA have underway to detect fatigued driving? A: This is a very important issue. Enforcing the hours-of-service regulations obviously makes everyone safer, but we are taking different approaches as well. Operation Safe Driver does an excellent job of focusing on the driver by preventing distracted driving, enforcing seat belt use, and educating young drivers about the potential hazards of driving near trucks and buses. On July 10, 2013, we joined our Canadian neighbors in launching the North American Fatigue Management Program (see article on page 6). A free and interactive way for trucking companies and their drivers to learn about managing fatigue, this program takes fatigue management to a higher level. The program offers a series of instructional modules to better inform drivers, their families and carrier safety officials on the best ways to prevent driver fatigue. It offers a how-to manual on what it takes to carry out a fatigue management program for a truck or bus company. You can learn more by visiting www.nafmp.org. Tell all the drivers you meet about this program. The best way to decrease the risk of fatigued driving is to increase our ability to detect fatigue before it results in crashes. Presently, FMCSA has several studies ongoing on driver fatigue. One that I would like to highlight is a multi-year study to determine whether onboard monitoring systems will reduce at-risk behaviors, such as drowsy driving among truck and bus drivers. Results from this study are expected in late 2014. This study is also collecting 30 million miles of naturalistic driving data; which is roughly ten times the size of any other commercial motor vehicle naturalistic driving study. This data will be used to assess presence of driver fatigue and how fatigue changes with long work hours. To prevent fatigue crashes, FMCSA has been working for a number of years on developing and commercializing a multi-measure fatigue monitoring and warning system. This system

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combines together many indicators of drowsiness and alertness into a composite drowsiness score. Advisory messages will be provided to drivers and supplemental notiﬁcations will be sent to ﬂeet management to help manage driver fatigue and reduce the risk of CMV crashes. This project will be completed later this year. Additionally, we are working with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health on a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project to produce reliable and practical technologies to assess fatigue in real-world settings. Technologies developed under this initiative would establish an objective fatigue measure that could be administered during a roadside inspection. Later this year, FMCSA and NIH will be awarding up to four SBIR projects to develop and prove the technical merits of such a system. In addition, FMCSA has engaged the National Academies, Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT), to form a multiyear study panel to identify research strategies and statistical techniques to evaluate driver fatigue. The National Academies will provide highly respected independent examination of the research needs, strategies and methods for analyzing the large amounts of naturalistic driving and electronic logging device data that the agency is collecting. This panel will provide expert direction and recommend priorities for future FMCSA research.

Why did FMCSA decide to implement the new hours-of-service rule for truck drivers rather than delay the implementation date until the pending court case could be decided? A: For FMCSA, there is no higher priority than safety. It would be wrong to sacrifice several months of safety benefits by delaying the July 1 compliance date. The new rule reduces excessively long work hours that increase the risk of fatigue-related truck crashes; gives drivers who have been working those hours more time off duty to obtain rest during the work week; and helps reduce both acute and chronic fatigue. We selected the July 1, 2013, compliance date to ensure that enforcement officials, trucking companies, and their drivers had adequate time for training. The new rule was published in December 2011, a full 18 months before the compliance date. We expected that all parties would proceed with their training despite the litigation. This balanced rule provides a net gain in public safety and driver health, including preventing 1,400 crashes and 560 injuries, and saving 19 lives each year. In economic terms, this amounts to savings of $280 million from fewer crashes and $470 million from improved driver health. A delay in compliance is simply not consistent with the Agency’s safety mission. n

All of this work moves us closer to identifying and addressing safety problems resulting from work hours and fatigue. Our goal is to develop and implement solutions that save lives and will make a diﬀerence in safety on our roads. Are we there yet? Are we as safe as we want to be? No, we are not, but we are moving in the right direction. We will not rest until America’s roadways are the safest they can be. Thank you for doing your part in meeting our shared safety responsibility.Together, we are improving the safety of the American people.

Have a question? Send it to AskFMCSA@dot.gov.

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Protecting Privacy and Personally Identifiable Information in the Digital Age On May 3, 2006, a data analyst at a federal government agency in Washington, DC took home a laptop and an external hard drive containing unencrypted information on 26.5 million people. The laptop and the external hard drive were stolen during a burglary of the analyst's home in Montgomery County, MD, and he immediately reported the theft to both Maryland police and his supervisor. The analyst admitted that he had been routinely taking home such sensitive information for three years. The theft included the names, social security numbers, dates of birth and disability ratings for 26.5 million veterans and spouses. Due to the sensitivity of the information lost, the agency had to pay for credit monitoring and protection for the affected individuals at substantial cost. FMCSA provides services to the American public using the power of digital technology by enabling the public and the federal and state workforces to securely access government digital information, data and services anywhere, anytime and on a variety of devices. The speed and ease in which information can be collected and exchanged in today’s digital age has made the concept of privacy more important than ever before. We share private information that personally identifies us on a regular basis to online entities such as federal, state and local governments, online stores, banks and social media. As we increase our exposure in the digital world, we also increase our chances for theft and fraud and risk exploitation from unknown sources.

How Do We Protect Privacy and PII?

Below is information that will help you safely handle sensitive information—both at home and at work.

Below are a few key points to remember when handling PII:

What is Privacy? Common conceptions of privacy include: • The ability of an individual to exercise control over the collection, use and dissemination of his or her Personally Identiﬁable Information (PII); and • The right of the individual to be protected against intrusion into his or her personal life or aﬀairs.

FMCSA is responsible for protecting the data it collects. Under the FMCSA Rules of Behavior and the terms and conditions of grant awards, state partners are responsible for protecting data collected on behalf of FMCSA.

✓ Make sure you have an approved need to handle and process the PII; ✓ Use privacy screens when viewing PII records on your monitor to perform approved tasks; ✓ Secure all PII documents (electronic and paper) using an approved protection mechanism; ✓ Shred all printed sensitive documents using a crosscut shredder before disposing; ✓ Clear your desk of all papers that contain PII data when not in use;

What is Personally Identiﬁable Information (PII)?

✓ Label sensitive documents, disks, etc., appropriately;

The Office of Management and Budget Guidance M-07-16, “Safeguarding Against and Responding to the Breach of Personally Identifiable Information” defines PII as any information that:

✓ Ensure that cabinets and drawers that store PII are locked as appropriate;

• Directly or indirectly identifies an individual; and • Can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, such as their name, social security number, biometric records and more— either alone or when combined with other personal or identifying information which is linked or linkable to a specific individual. Common examples of PII include: name, social security number (SSN), place or date of birth (DOB), mother’s maiden name, financial records, email address, driver’s license number, passport number and health information. FMCSA employees, contractors and state partners have access to, and use, PII on a daily basis to perform their duties. Examples include driver medical record information and, in some cases, driver social security numbers.

✓ Establish need-to-know rights before discussing PII with co-workers; ✓ Voice Communications: Verify the person requesting the information is authorized by requesting their name, title, reporting organization, manager’s name, contact information, requesting the purpose of collecting such information, and the intent of the information before discussing the PII; ✓ Email Communications: Protect the PII record using a password before sending it via e-mail and send the password in a separate e-mail; ✓ Don’t forward work emails with PII to personal accounts (e.g., Yahoo, Gmail). Continued on next page

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Continued from page 15

• The E-Government Act of 2002 enhances the management and promotion of electronic government services and process. The Act requires federal agencies to conduct privacy impact assessments (PIAs) for electronic information systems and collections and post the PIA on the Department of Transportation (DOT) public website.1 Conducting a PIA ensures compliance with laws and regulations governing privacy and demonstrates FMCSA’s commitment to protecting the privacy of any personal information we collect, store, retrieve, use and share.

Remember to avoid doing the following when handling PII: • Do not share the PII with anyone who does not have a need to know; • Do not print PII to unsecured printers; • Do not send PII to any unsecured fax machines; • Do not leave PII unattended on a printer or fax machine; • Do not reproduce any PII records unless it is absolutely necessary and with approval; • Do not use removable media to transport PII records (USB drive, CD, etc.); • Do not place PII in checked baggage or leave it unattended in a car.

What are the Federal Regulatory Requirements for Protecting PII? Protecting privacy is a core consideration for every federal agency, including FMCSA. Two acts govern how FMCSA collects, maintains and uses personal information: the Privacy Act of 1974 and the E-Government Act of 2002:

What is a Privacy Breach? A privacy breach is the loss of control, compromise, unauthorized disclosure, unauthorized access or any similar terms referring to situations where persons other than authorized users and for other than authorized purpose have access or potential access to personally identiﬁable information, whether physical or electronic. If you suspect a privacy incident involving the loss or misuse of FMCSA data is occurring, or has occurred, it must be reported immediately. To report an FMCSA related privacy incident, please send an email to FMCSASECURITY@dot.gov. n 1

http://www.dot.gov/privacy

• The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a) establishes a code of fair information practices that govern the collection, maintenance, use and dissemination of PII about individuals that is stored in a system of records maintained by a federal agency.

Table 1—Examples of Privacy Incidents Date

Organization

Type of Breach

# of Records

February 2007

U.S. Department of Veterans Aﬀairs

Employee reported a portable hard drive stolen or missing that might contain information about veterans including names, SSNs and medical billing codes.

535,000 (Veterans)

January 2009

Heartland Payment System

Malicious Software/Hack compromises unknown number of credit cards at ﬁfth largest credit card processor.

130,000,000

March 2009

Federal Aviation Administration

Personal data of employees and retirees was stolen from a server at the agency.

45,000

April 2011

Sony Corporation

Names, addresses, email addresses, birthdates, PlayStation Network/Qriocity passwords and logins, handle/PSN online ID, proﬁle data, purchase history and possibly credit cards numbers obtained.

77,000,000

September 2011

Tricare Management Activity, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)

The car theft of backup tapes resulted in the exposure of protected health 5,117,799 information from patients of military hospitals and clinics. Uniformed Service members, retirees and their families were aﬀected.

May 2013

California Department A reel containing birth records including names, addresses, SSNs and of Public Health some medical information was found in an unsecure location.

2,000

May 2013

Honolulu Police Department

3,500

GUARDIAN

Names, email addresses, phone numbers and passwords compromised.

Guardian_Vol20_Issue3_R7_091113_GuardianMagazine 9/11/13 8:18 PM Page 17

GOV ER NMEN T NE W S

CSA Program—A Change for the Better The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) places safety as its highest priority through three core principles:

Status Update on Merging the Medical Certiﬁcate and the Commercial Driver’s License

• Raising the bar to enter the commercial motor vehicle industry; On December 1, 2008, FMCSA published a final rule requiring CMV drivers who require commercial drivers’ licenses (CDLs) to provide copies of their medical certificates to their State Driver Licensing Agencies (SDLAs). This information would be recorded and transmitted to law enforcement officers via the Commercial Driver License Information System (CDLIS). This was the first step in integrating drivers’ medical information into their records so that driver fitness can be determined through one document—the CDL. Similar systems are used by Mexico and Canada.

• Requiring those in the industry to maintain high safety standards; and • Removing high-risk carriers and drivers from our roadways. Using these principles, we continue to strengthen our stakeholder relationships and our federal, state, and local partnerships in order to accomplish our mission of preventing crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving trucks and buses. For FMCSA, the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program is at the core of our eﬀorts to improve the safety of all motor carrier operations through improved accountability and compliance. Since the ﬁrst elements of CSA were implemented in December 2010, violations per roadside inspection are down nearly 14 percent, driver violations per inspection are down 17 percent, and safety awareness in the industry is up exponentially. Together, we can and must do more.

We Can and Must Do More To make CSA’s Safety Measurement System (SMS) easier to understand, FMCSA intends to enhance the way the data appear online. The SMS uses roadside inspection and crash data from more than 3.5 million inspections and 100,000 crash reports each year to quantify the relative safety performance of carriers. FMCSA uses that information to prioritize truck and bus companies for interventions to enforce federal safety regulations. The website housing the SMS hosted 48 million user sessions in 2012. This is good news because it shows that many people are aware of this important source of safety data. FMCSA is committed to continued improvement of the CSA platform and enhancement of the SMS display to further our safety mission. In fact, several display changes are scheduled to be announced in an upcoming Federal Register notice later this year. These website display enhancements are intended to improve the users understanding of the data being presented and will not modify or change the SMS methodology. We anticipate collecting feedback on the latest display changes to the SMS results. At this time, plans also call for a preview period of the proposed changes for our State Partners and ﬁeld staﬀ followed by a public preview.

FMCSA Is Listening—Because Together We Can Save More Lives To help it continually improve the CSA program, FMCSA seeks input from a wide range of voices. For example, we have heard from the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee’s CSA subcommittee. This special subcommittee offers a cross-section of ideas from states, safety advocates, commercial drivers and industry organizations. FMCSA has carefully considered the subcommittee’s insight for this next round of display enhancements to the SMS. We have also heard direct feedback from state partners, law enforcement, the Field IT Steering Group, motor carriers, drivers and other safety stakeholders. In making these SMS display enhancements, FMCSA also will take into account input from web design experts. We will consider certain characteristics specific to web readers. We know, for example, that people typically read half the number of words on the web than they would in a printed publication. Furthermore, web readers look for meaningful words, sentences, headings, subheadings, lists and summaries. FMCSA also intends to define important terms in plain language, to convey their meaning in a userfriendly manner in the context of the CSA program. We want CSA’s SMS to present information so that its many users can speak the same language and mean the same thing—no easy feat! FMCSA continues to tap into the on-the-ground knowledge of our state partners and law enforcement to make the SMS a better tool. Contact FMCSA directly or post your comments online to the upcoming Federal Register notice. Let’s work together for a positive change for safety. n

This rule became effective on January 30, 2012. However, some SDLAs were unable to meet this compliance date. FMCSA, therefore, amended its final rule on November 15, 2011, extending the requirement for drivers to carry a paper copy of their medical certificate until January 30, 2014. The result is that law enforcement officers may be presented with different information regarding a driver’s medical certificate status, depending on which state issued the CDL. In some cases, the information will be on the CDLIS record; in other cases, it will not. Furthermore, if the state has not posted the most recent information to the CDLIS record, the medical card may not agree with CDLIS. Please remember that a driver carrying a current and valid medical certificate meets the current requirements, unless CDLIS indicates that the driver’s CDL has been downgraded. If the CDL has been downgraded, the driver is operating without a valid CDL and should be treated as such. FMCSA understands that this situation is not ideal and appreciates the efforts of the enforcement community and the industry to be flexible during this time of transition. For further information, please contact Selden Fritschner, Chief, Commercial Driver's License Division Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Washington, DC 20590; 202-366-0677; selden.fritschner@dot.gov. n

THIRD QUARTER 2013

Guardian_Vol20_Issue3_R7_091113_GuardianMagazine 9/11/13 8:18 PM Page 18

GOV ER NMEN T NE W S

NTSB Culminates Year-Long Effort Focused on Problem of Substance-Impaired Driving By Julie Perrot and Jana Price, PhD, National Transportation Safety Board Over the past year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) sharpened its focus on impaired driving and has recommended a number of actions to improve the safety of all drivers on our nation’s highways. Eliminating substance-impaired driving is also an advocacy priority on the NTSB’s 2013 Most Wanted List— issues that represent the most critical changes needed to reduce transportation accidents and save lives. “Most Americans think that we’ve solved the problem of impaired driving, but in fact, it’s still a national epidemic,” NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said. “On average, every hour one person is killed and 20 more are injured.” Each year in the United States, nearly 10,000 people are killed in crashes involving alcoholimpaired drivers and more than 173,000 are injured, with 27,000 suffering incapacitating injuries. Since the mid-1990s, even as total highway fatalities have fallen, the proportion of deaths from accidents involving an alcoholimpaired driver has remained constant at around 30 percent. In the last 30 years, nearly 440,000 people have died in alcohol-related crashes. In May 2012, the NTSB hosted a forum on substance-impaired driving to understand how the latest research, technology and countermeasures were being used by a range of advocacy groups as well as federal, state and local authorities to address substance-impaired driving. As an immediate result of the forum, the NTSB issued six recommendations to improve data collection on alcohol and drug impairment in crashes. In December, the NTSB issued recommendations following the adoption of its special investigation report on wrong-way driving crashes. The report cited alcohol-impaired driving as the leading cause of these collisions and recommended that states require the use of alcohol ignition interlocks for all convicted DWI offenders. Currently, only 17 states require interlocks for first-time offenders. The NTSB also endorsed the continued development of a passive alcohol-detection technology. The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) would prevent alcohol-impaired individuals from operating their vehicles by detecting alcohol in the driver's system through breathand/or touch-based sensors.

GUARDIAN

The investigation found that of the approximately 260 fatal wrong-way collisions that occur each year in the United States, most happened at night and on the weekends, and were in the lane closest to the median. In addition to reducing the number of alcoholimpaired drivers on the road, the NTSB recommended mitigation eﬀorts to prevent wrong-way accidents including better lighting, enhanced signage and roadway markings, and GPS devices that could provide a warning to alert drivers of wrong-way movements. Because older drivers are over-represented in wrong-way collisions, the NTSB asked all states to implement a comprehensive older driver safety program modeled on one developed by the National Highway Traﬃc Safety Administration (NHTSA). In total, the NTSB issued 16 safety recommendations as a result of that special investigation report. The investigation included data from NHTSA, recent research on this safety issue, and a review of nine wrong-way collisions investigated by the NTSB that occurred in California, Colorado, Kentucky, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. Then, in May 2013, the NTSB adopted a safety report that considered a wide range of countermeasures that, if used together, have the potential to eliminate alcohol-impaired driving. In the report, the NTSB issued 10 safety recommendations and reiterated nine others calling for stronger laws, swifter enforcement, and expanded use of technology to eliminate alcohol-impaired driving crashes.

At the Board Meeting, investigators cited research that showed that impairment begins with the first drink, and by the time a driver’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) reaches 0.05, most drivers experience declines in drivingrelated cognitive skills, which significantly increases the risk of a serious crash. Currently, over 100 countries on six continents have BAC limits set at 0.05 or lower. The NTSB has asked all 50 states to do the same. Among the other findings, investigators said that high-visibility enforcement efforts, such as sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols paired with media campaigns, deter alcoholimpaired driving. To increase the effectiveness of these programs, the NTSB recommended that police use passive alcohol sensors to help better detect alcohol vapor in the ambient environment during law enforcement contacts. The NTSB also recommended that the states employ measures to improve ignition-interlock compliance rates and to improve the effectiveness of administrative license suspension by requiring offenders to have an ignition interlock on their vehicles before licenses could be fully reinstated. The NTSB recognized the effectiveness of specialized state DWI courts in addressing the particular challenges represented by repeat offenders. The NTSB recommended that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration assist states in maximizing their effectiveness by providing the courts with current best practices. The full reports, including a complete list of findings and safety recommendations, are available on the NTSB’s website: www.ntsb.gov. n

Guardian_Vol20_Issue3_R7_091113_GuardianMagazine 9/11/13 8:18 PM Page 19

GOV ER NMEN T NE W S

NTC’s Drug Interdiction Assistance Program (DIAP) The Drug Interdiction Assistance Program (DIAP) is a safety program of the FMCSA National Training Center (NTC). It was established in 1988 to assist Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) partners in meeting the Part 350 requirement of the FMCSRs, specifically, to aid law enforcement officials in detecting and apprehending transporters and/or users of illicit drugs involving a commercial motor vehicle. The focus of the program today is on developing and training techniques for rapidly assessing and identifying in-transit drivers and commercial motor vehicles engaged in a wide range of criminal activity, such as: • Drug trafficking • Drugged driving • Terrorism • Human smuggling and trafficking • Abducted and missing persons • Currency and tobacco smuggling • Stolen property • Cargo theft • Counterfeit goods

In 2011, the DIAP Commercial Motor Vehicle Criminal Interdiction (CMVCI) course was accredited by the Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation Board. NTC is nearing the end of a year-long project to enhance CMVCI training. Since its inception, DIAP has trained over 155,000 federal, state and local officials. Illicit drug seizures, impaired-driver arrests and criminal apprehensions routinely increase after DIAP training, which is available at no tuition cost to MCSAP partners. It is recommended that interdiction officers in each state work closely with their MCSAP lead agency to ensure DIAP-related training and information-sharing events are included in their Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan (CVSP). Where this is in fulfillment of the Part 350 requirement of the FMCSRs, the associated costs of travel and attendance are MCSAPreimbursable expenses. n

FMCSA Seeks Direct Feedback on MCSAP Grants Training Earlier this year, Guardian reported that FMCSA planned to hold Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) regional planning meetings instead of a traditional National Leadership Meeting. FMCSA has been pleased with the positive feedback received from those who attended. Participants told us that the information was helpful and informative. We also were glad to receive helpful recommendations for future meetings. FMCSA released a new Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan (CVSP) template for Fiscal Year 2014. You can see it at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/ safety-initiatives/mcsap/mcsapforms.htm. In June, FMCSA hosted webinars to review the new template section-by-section. We continue to listen to you in order to receive feedback. What did you like? What would you like to see improved for next year? We are already hard at work developing the next agenda for upcoming meetings and are looking at ways to provide more hands-on guidance for working with the CVSP template.

Access Restored to CDLIS for Driver’s License Inquiries

Finally, over the coming months, we will look for more ways to provide helpful information to you, based on direct feedback. This includes more information about monitoring MCSAP activities to ensure efficient and effective practices, targeted training on overcoming specific challenges faced by grantees, and ways to jointly establish better program-level goals and objectives. Input is essential to the effectiveness of FMCSA’s grant programs. To provide feedback or suggestions for future training, please contact State Programs Division Chief Brandon Poarch at brandon.poarch @dot.gov. n

FMCSA is pleased to let you know the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) access has been restored. Each state and federal user who is authorized to perform driver’s licensing inquiries on a driver’s status and history is able to do so again through the FMCSA Gateway. Federal and state personnel should now be utilizing CDLIS to check real time commercial driver licensing (CDL) status and history during their roadside inspection activities, safety audits and compliance reviews. The function within Query Central to make CDL inquiries is still under development and has yet to be turned on. In order to make an inquiry on a driving record, personnel must have CDLIS access, even if they use Query Central to perform the inquiry. If individual access to prior users has not been restored, the OC (Office Coordinator), or AOC (Alternate Office Coordinator) should contact the local FMCSA Division Office. The cdlis.dot.gov help desk is available to assist previous and current users and can be reached at fmcsasupport@obxtek.com. The URL for CDLIS is https://cdlis.dot.gov/. n

THIRD QUARTER 2013

Guardian_Vol20_Issue3_R7_091113_GuardianMagazine 9/11/13 8:18 PM Page 20

GOV ER NMEN T NE W S

Mexico: Revision of Standard for Weight and Dimensions (NOM-012) Report from the Federal Motor Carrier Administration | Dirección General de Autotransporte Federal

On May 17, 2013, the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT) of Mexico, in agreement with chambers and associations of the transport sector of the country, created an expert panel to revise and to issue technical recommendations regarding the Mexican Oﬃcial Standard NOM-012-SCT-22008, which regulates the maximum weight and dimensions that can move by federal motor vehicles that travel on federal roads. The panel is comprised of 10 academics specializing in several ﬁelds, such as statistics, economics, structural engineering, act, environment, and vehicle dynamics. The chambers and associations who supported the formation of this panel are: the National Trucking Chamber (CANACAR); the Chamber of Motor Carriers for Tourism and Passage (CANAPAT); the National Confederation of Mexican Carriers (CONATRAM); the National Association of Private Transport (ANTP); the National Association of

Manufacturers of Buses and Trucks (ANPACT); the Confederation of Industrial Chambers (CONCAMIN); the National Chamber of the Transformation Industry (CANACINTRA); and the National Association of Chemical Industry (ANIQ). The expert panel will provide the technical support on the deﬁnition of the standard reforms, or the creation of a new one, if necessary. The technical recommendations of the panel will ensure an objective revision of the weight and dimensions regulation of Mexico, keeping away any impartial opinions, or particular interests from the transportation actors. Secretary Ruiz Esparza declared that the revision of the standard NOM-012 will address road safety, safe transfers and environment. The results of the expert panel are expected to be ready by the end of this summer. n

DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN READ GUARDIAN AND SAFETY EXCHANGE ONLINE? GUARDIAN A Publication of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

Volume 20, Issue 3 3rd Quarter 2013

Focusing on Driver Performance to Save Lives

Inside… NAIC Awards Roadcheck Results And More!

www.cvsa.org/guardian

www.cvsa.org/safetyexchange

It’s easy to share the links with your colleagues so they, too, can stay up to date on the latest CVSA and industry news. 20

GUARDIAN

Guardian_Vol20_Issue3_R7_091113_GuardianMagazine 9/11/13 8:18 PM Page 21

GOV ER NMEN T NE W S

THE LEGISLATIVE & REGULATORY RUNDOWN By Adrienne Gildea, CVSA, Director, Policy & Government Aﬀairs

House and Senate Take Up FY2014 Appropriations Bills Prior to the annual August recess, both the House and the Senate took up their FY2014 Transportation Appropriations measures. Both chambers have moved their Transportation Appropriations measure out of committee and the bills headed to the floor in both houses in late July for consideration. However, the outlook for passage in both chambers and then resolving the differences between the two bills prior to the end of FY2013 is bleak. While the House and Senate funding levels for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration are close enough to be reconciled (see table), the overall funding levels are far apart and the ideological difference between the two are unlikely to be resolved. The House is holding to a lower overall cap for spending, which has resulted in dramatic cuts to programs like Amtrak and infrastructure grant programs, which are popular with the leadership in the Senate, along with cuts to nontransportation programs in the House and Urban Development portion of the bill. The Senate began consideration of their bill the week of July 22 and more than 50 amendments were offered. The House had also planned to consider its Transportation Appropriations bill on the floor the week of the 22nd, however, procedural delays and a lack of support for the legislation prevented it from reaching the floor. Even if both the House and Senate had been able to pass their bills prior to the August recess, however, it is unlikely that the two chambers would be able to come to a final agreement prior to the end of the fiscal year. As noted above, the two chambers are simply too far apart on funding and policy direction. Instead, many expect the House and Senate to use their respective appropriations bills as a starting point for negotiating a Continuing Resolution in September to temporarily fund transportation programs while Congress and the Administration continue to grapple with the larger fiscal issues. However, the September calendar is filling with a number of non-transportation related issues, such as consideration of military action in Syria and, as a result, the House and Senate may quickly agree to a full, short term CR in September, which will keep the government functioning and allow Congress to focus on more pressing matters.

House and Senate FY2014 MCSAP Funding Program

House

Senate

MCSAP Basic MCSAP New Entrant High Priority

$218 mil. $171 mil. $ 32 mil. $ 15 mil.

$222 $171 $ 36 $ 15

mil. mil. mil. mil.

CDL Improvements

$ 30mil.

$ 30 mil.

Border Enforcement

$ 32 mil.

PRISM

$ 5 mil.

CVISN

$ 25 mil.

Safety Data Improvements

$ 3 mil.

Motor Carrier Safety Program

$ 19 mil.

House Continues to Prepare for Highway Bill On July 23, the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure’s Highways and Transit Subcommittee held a hearing on the outlook for the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), which funds most transportation programs, including FMCSA and MCSAP. The hearing was yet another step in the Committee’s work to begin preparing to debate the issues surrounding reauthorization of the next transportation bill. Central in this discussion with be the funding issue, as investment needs continue to outpace revenue. The hearing featured two administration oﬃcials: US DOT Under Secretary for Policy Polly Trottenberg and Kim Cawley of the Congressional Budget Oﬃce. Both witnesses advised the Subcommittee that the current funding model for the HTF is not sustainable and that dramatic spending cuts will be necessary if additional revenues are not found. The account is expected to begin running low on funds in late 2014, just as the current transportation bill, MAP-21, expires. The witnesses and Members of the Subcommittee discussed possible funding options, such as a gas tax increase and shifting to a vehicle miles traveled system, but there was no clear consensus on a path forward, other than that leadership is necessary on the matter. While not asked to testify, CVSA submitted comments for the record, outlining for the Subcommittee the role the HTF plays in motor carrier safety enforcement and the impacts a reduction in funding would have on the States.

DC Delegate Named Ranking Member of Highways & Transit Subcommittee Former Senator John Kerry’s departure from the Senate to serve as Secretary of State has resulted in a seat shuffle impacting the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s Highways & Transit Subcommittee. Congressman DeFazio (D-OR) has given up his seat as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee in order to fill the same post for the Natural Resources Committee. Democrats have elected DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton to fill the Ranking Member position. Norton is the highest ranking Democrat on the Committee eligible for the position.

Major Regulatory Developments Expected Meanwhile, there are a number of major regulatory developments expected in the coming months. FMCSA is slated to release its report on the impact of incorporating crash accountability into the CSA methodology either late this summer or early Fall. That report will likely prompt an energized debate on the program and may even result in Congressional hearings or legislation. Two reports on the CSA program, one from the Inspector General and one from the Government Accountability Oﬃce, are also due this Fall. FMCSA published its Final Rule on the Uniﬁed Registration System in August. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Commercial Driver's License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, which was mandated in MAP-21, is expected shortly as well. The much-anticipated Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on electronic logging devices (previously referred to as EOBRs), which will incorporate additional requirements from MAP-21, is expected to be published in November of this year. Meanwhile, the agency’s Safety Fitness Determination rulemaking has been delayed yet again, and is now scheduled for publication in May of 2014. n

THIRD QUARTER 2013

Guardian_Vol20_Issue3_R7_091113_GuardianMagazine 9/11/13 8:18 PM Page 22

T HE ROA DSIDE INSP ECTOR

INSPECTOR’S CORNER A Year Flies By By Christopher Smithen, a CVSA-certiﬁed North American Standard inspector from Nevada

“I would encourage anyone that attends NAIC to be willing to help each other because there is no telling what you can learn from all the inspectors that attend. The amount of knowledge and experience that comes from all over North America is hard to beat.”

GUARDIAN

The last year has gone by in such a blur. I can hardly believe how fast time flies as I write this last installment for Guardian magazine. I cannot help but reflect on the things that have happened in my life over the last year. My main goal with this last article is to try and generate as much interest as I can to get inspectors all across North America to want to attend and participate at the North America Inspectors Championship (NAIC). A year ago, I won our state competition and earned the privilege to go to Minneapolis and represent the State of Nevada at NAIC. I talked with other competitors from my state and they all said that going to NAIC was an amazing experience. They encouraged me to relax, get to know other inspectors, have fun and just enjoy the experience. Once you arrive at NAIC, the first thing that the NAIC committee does is break you up into teams and these are the inspectors that you will be collaborating with over the course of the week. It is very interesting how each jurisdiction within your own team has very similar and yet very different laws that always keep the discussions interesting and entertaining. You develop very close bonds and friendships within this tight knit group of inspectors that extend well beyond NAIC. I would encourage anyone that attends NAIC to be willing to help each other because there is no telling what you can learn from all the inspectors that attend. The amount of knowledge and experience that comes from all over North America is hard to beat. NAIC is a challenging experience to any inspector. It challenges your knowledge and experience, and it helps hone your skills. It made me a better inspector. It made me desire to continually learn and improve on my own knowledge and abilities. The training that I have experienced at NAIC is some of the best training and information that I have received. Last year, NAIC provided the most up to date information

concerning EOBRs (Electronic On Board Recorders) and AOBRDs (Automatic On Board Recording Device). My understanding of electronic logs prior to NAIC was lacking to say the least. This information is critical to us and our jobs as we continue to move forward in the information age and more and more trucking companies are converting over to electronic log books. To have and know the expectations and the limitations that are presented to us when it comes to electronic logs is extremely helpful in the ﬁeld. One of the things that I had the privilege to help with this year was the setting up of our state challenge competition to select our state champion. I was able to see, understand and experience the amount of hard work that goes into developing the violations and setting up the inspection courses for a challenge competition. I would really like to thank and commend all of those that volunteer and participate at NAIC. Your hard work and dedication to prepare everything that goes into this very challenging week makes it the best experience possible for all the competitors. Congratulations to all the inspectors who attended NAIC this year in Salt Lake City. n

Guardian_Vol20_Issue3_R7_091113_GuardianMagazine 9/11/13 8:18 PM Page 23

C V S A CO M M I T T E E & P R O G R A M N E W S

The Results are In for Roadcheck 2013 Commercial vehicle inspectors across North America completed 73,023 truck and bus inspections during 72 hours of Roadcheck 2013, CVSA’s premier annual enforcement and safety outreach campaign. Of those inspections, a total of 47,771 were North American Standard Level I inspections. Of the Level I inspections conducted in Canada and the U.S., 24.1% were found with Out-of-Service (OOS) violations. There were total 71,630 driver inspections, including those conducted during Level I inspections, from which 4.3% were found with OOS violations. Roadcheck 2013 included special emphasis on motorcoach safety, including traffic enforcement, and proper cargo securement. Jurisdictions inspected a total of 825 motorcoaches. CVSA also enlisted support from the International Association of Chiefs of Police to request enforcement of traffic safety laws on bus and motorcoach drivers. Inspectors also watched for improperly secured loads such as inadequate number of tie downs, damaged webbing or chain, missing blocking or bracing in van trailers, and other load securement violations. Brakes routinely stand out in the mix of OOS violations. This year, 49.6% of vehicle OOS violations were related to brake adjustment and other brake system violations. As part of Roadcheck 2013, jurisdictions equipped with performance based brake testers or PBBTs conducted 287 PBBT enforcement inspections, of which 36 vehicles or 12.5% were found OOS for inadequate braking efficiency.

Percent of Total OOS Violations

OOS Violation Data

Roadcheck 2013 Results-at-a-Glance Driver Results: • All Level I inspections: 95.7% of drivers passed, and 4.3% were placed out-ofservice (4.6% were out-of-service in 2012). • HazMat: 97.6% of drivers passed, and 2.4% were placed out-of-service (2.3% were out-of-service in 2012). Vehicle Results: • All inspections: 79.4% of vehicles passed, and 20.6% were placed out-of-service (20.9% were out-of-service in 2012). • All Level I inspections: 75.9% of vehicles passed, and 24.1% were placed out-of-service (22.4% were out-of-service in 2012). • HazMat: 83.5% of vehicles passed the inspection, and 16.5% were placed out-of-service (15.6% were out-of-service in 2012). • Passenger carrying vehicles: 91.0% of vehicles passed the inspection, and 9.0% were placed out-of-service (8.6% were out-of-service in 2012). The speciﬁc Out-of-Service (OOS) violation percentage distributions (numbers indicate a percentage of the total OOS violations discovered) from 2011-13 are shown below. n Niagara Falls, Ontario was the site of one of CVSA's Roadcheck media events.

Percent of Total OOS Violations

OOS Violation Data

Vehicles

2013

2012

2011

Brake Adjustment

19.5%

17.5%

Brake System

30.1%

Tires/Wheels

Roadcheck 2013 included special emphasis on motorcoach safety.

Percent of Total OOS Violations

OOS Violation Data

Drivers

2013

2012

2011

Hazardous Mat.

2013

2012

2011

23.0%

HOS

51.8%

50.2%

52.5%

Shipping Papers

17.0%

24.2%

29.7%

27.8

29.2%

False Logs

13.2%

15.0%

14.9%

Placards

17.7%

17.6%

28.2%

10.1%

12.8%

10.9%

Suspended

5.2%

4.7%

5.3%

Bulk Pkging

2.7%

N/A*

6.2%

Lights

12.6%

12.5%

12.3%

Expired Lic

0.7%

N/A*

1.5%

Marking

13.9%

2.0%

11.0%

Safe Loading

11.7%

12.3%

9.1%

Cancelled Lic

1.0%

N/A*

0.2%

37.4%

34.4%

24.9%

Steering

2.3%

2.2%

DQ’ed

10.2%

4.7%

6.1%

Pkg Integrity

14.6%

N/A*

14.7%

Frame

1.5%

1.6%

Revoked Lic

0.0%

N/A*

0.4%

Suspension

5.8%

1.9%

4.5%

Endorsement

4.9%

N/A*

3.1%

Coupling Devices

0.8%

0.7%

0.9%

Age

0.6%

N/A*

0.5%

Fuel System

0.6%

0.8%

Drugs/Alcohol

1.5%

N/A*

1.0%

Exhaust System

0.4%

0.1%

0.4%

*the Roadcheck 2012 summary included certain violation totals combined in an 'Other Violations' category THIRD QUARTER 2013

Guardian_Vol20_Issue3_R7_091113_GuardianMagazine 9/11/13 8:18 PM Page 24

C V S A CO M M I T T E E & P R O G R A M N E W S

SALT LAKE CITY

2013 NAIC Awards

Inspectors’ Dedication to Commercial Vehicle Safety Recognized A group of 52 of the best of the best roadside inspectors representing jurisdictions across North America gathered in Salt Lake City, August 19-23, 2013, to compete in CVSA’s North American Inspectors Championship (NAIC). This year, Cpl. Derek Canard of the Arkansas Highway Police, was awarded the Jimmy K. Ammons Grand Champion Award for his combined performances in six competition elements: 1. North American Standard Level I Inspection; 2. North American Standard Level I Inspection Procedures; 3. North American Standard HazMat/ Transportation of Dangerous Goods Inspection; 4. North American Standard Cargo Tank/Other Bulk Packagings Inspection; 5. North American Standard Level V Passenger Vehicle (Motorcoach) Inspection; and, 6. North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria Exam. According to Stephen A. Keppler, CVSA’s Executive Director, NAIC is much more than a competition. “This event goes a long way to support CVSA’s overall mission to promote commercial motor vehicle safety and security by providing leadership to enforcement, industry and policy-makers. In a nutshell, NAIC develops our industry’s future leaders, strengthens the industry and enforcement partnerships, and promotes camaraderie and cooperation between

inspectors, jurisdictions and countries,” he said. “The contestants’ enthusiasm and passion goes a long way in advancing commercial vehicle safety and saving lives. What’s more, the information, techniques and experiences they will share with others help improve uniformity in the enforcement of highway safety standards throughout North America,” said Keppler. n

Jimmy K. Ammons Grand Champion

Trooper William Keane New York State Police May 30, 1957-August 23, 2013

Cpl. Derek Canard Arkansas Highway Police

Team Award: Yellow Team

(from L to R) Lane Murphy, Yellow Team Leader, Utah Dept. of Transportation; Tom Forbes, Ohio; Brad Yates, Louisiana; Darren Kennedy, British Columbia; Richard Moore, Vermont; Derek Canard, Arkansas; Jorge Antenucci, New Jersey; Lance Bonney, Illinois; Charles Shaver, Tennessee; Scott Hill, Lewisville Police Department; and award presenter Mark Savage, CVSA President, Colorado State Patrol

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John Youngblood Award of Excellence

NAIC contestants bestow this special award on a fellow NAIC inspector who exemplifies the high standards and unwavering dedication to the profession. The 2013 honor was awarded posthumously to Trooper William Keane of the New York State Police, who tragically died of a heart attack on Friday, August 23, 2013, while attending this year’s competition. Trooper Keane spent his 26-year career in Troop A, first assigned to SP Fredonia. He had been a member of the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit (CVEU) since 1995. Prior to entering the Division of State Police, Trooper Keane served in the United States Navy for four years. He is survived by his wife, Sharon, his seven children and his five grandchildren. He was 56 years old. n

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High Points United States

North American Standard Level I Inspection

First Place—Derek Canard (C), Arkansas; Second place—Joshua Anderson (L), North Dakota; Third Place—J.W. Watlington, Arizona (R)

North American Standard Level V Passenger Vehicle (Motorcoach) Inspection Derek Canard Arkansas

High Points Canada

First Place—Derek Canard, Arkansas (C); Second Place—Brad Yates, Louisiana (L); Third Place—Michael Robson, Alberta (R)

North American Standard Hazardous Materials/Transportation of Dangerous Goods and Cargo Tank/Bulk Packagings Inspection

Darren Kennedy British Columbia

NAIC is hosted by CVSA, however, it is successful due to strong industry participation and sponsorship. For the past 21 years, the championship event has been held in partnership with the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC). NAIC 2014 will take place August 11-15 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. See cvsa.org for more details.

See more NAIC photos at www.cvsa.org/programs/ naic_program_overview.php#. Simply click on “Event Photos” in the right navigation bar.

First Place—Derek Canard, Arkansas (C); Second Place—Joshua Anderson, North Dakota (L); Third Place—J.W. Watlington, Arizona (R) THIRD QUARTER 2013

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C V S A CO M M I T T E E & P R O G R A M N E W S

CVSA Scholarship Award Winners Announced Casey Ausloos graduated with an academic achievement status of Cum Laude. He was a starting player of the varsity baseball team, which earned him a trip to the Division 2 State Championship Tournament his senior year. Ausloos was an active member of the student council and performed community service through his church youth group. He is attending University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point and pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry. He is the son of Brian Ausloos, a lieutenant with the Motor Carrier Section of the Wisconsin State Patrol. Brittney Railback attended Shawnee Mission West High School through her senior year. While there, she was a part of the track and ﬁeld team for all four years and competed on the varsity team for three. Brittney also managed the cross country teams, played the violin in the orchestra for four years, was the vice president of the French club, and was a member of the National Honor Society. She also participated in summer track teams for three years and was a Girl Scout for 11 years. She is currently a member of the Kansas University women’s rowing team and is majoring in exercise science at the University of Kansas. She is the daughter of Rex Railsback of the Kansas Highway Patrol.

Hannah Shelton attended Connersville High School for four years. While there, she was involved with various sports and clubs. She participated in tennis for four years, volleyball for three years and archery for one year. In volleyball, she received the Best Mental Attitude Award two years in a row. She was a member of the class council for four years and held the oﬃce of treasurer her junior year. She was vice president of the class council her senior year. She interned with the Fayette Regional Health System through the Professional Career Internship program at her school. Hannah was a member of Key Club and National Honor Society. Through those organizations, she took part in a variety of community service activities. Hannah was also a member of 4-H Club for 10 years. She was involved with a youth group at her church and remains active by helping with fundraising dinners, the children’s Sunday school classes, and cantoring during church services. She is the daughter of Mindy Shelton who is with the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division of the Indiana State Police.

Elizabeth Weiss graduated from Bethlehem Central High School in Delmar, New York. She took her ﬁrst college class at age 14 and continued a rigorous academic workload by taking advanced placement and honors level classes. She graduated with honors one year early, completing her high school career in three years instead of four. She participated in Junior Class Council, Senior Class Council and was Treasurer of the Latin Club. Elizabeth worked as a dietary aid at the Good Samaritan Assisted Living Care facility where she enjoyed working with the senior citizens. Elizabeth dedicated her free time to volunteering with many causes including Bethlehem Students Who Care, The Bethlehem Public Library Summer Youth Reading program, and the New York State Museum Children’s Discovery Center. Additionally, she designed and stitched quilts for the Hurricane Irene ﬂood victims. Elizabeth was accepted to the Honors College at the State University of New York at Albany where she is majoring in forensic chemistry. Her goal is to pursue a career in forensic chemistry at the New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center. She is the daughter of Sgt. Raymond Weiss of the New York State Police. n

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In Their Own Words: Two Candidates Make Their Case for the CVSA Secretary-Treasurer Position Chief David Lorenzen Iowa Department of Transportation

Captain Jay Thompson Arkansas Highway Police

My name is Dave Lorenzen and I am running for CVSA Secretary-Treasurer.

For those who don’t know me, I am Jay Thompson, a captain with the Arkansas Highway Police. I am extremely honored and excited to have been nominated for Secretary-Treasurer of CVSA. I truly appreciate the nomination and look forward to working with each of you in the future.

I currently serve as chief of the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Office of Motor Vehicle Enforcement. I have been in law enforcement 35 years, with 30 of those being in commercial vehicle enforcement. Iowa Motor Vehicle has been the lead MCSAP agency since 1983. I have a staff of 135 with 127 of those being sworn law enforcement officers. This agency has a budget of $13 million annually. I have had the opportunity to serve for a period of time in each of the ranks of our agency—officer, sergeant, lieutenant and captain. This has given me the opportunity to view issues from a 360-degree view from roadside to administration. I have also had the opportunity to serve as a NTC Part A Instructor for eight years, and a TSI presentation skills instructor for nine years. In addition to my duties as chief, I currently serve on the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy and the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Council. I am also the president of the Iowa Peace Officers’ Association, a board member with HELP, Inc., and have a seat on the Iowa DOT Freight Advisory Council. I have also served on a local school board for 15 years.

I have been a law enforcement officer in the state of Arkansas for the past 23 years. I am very fortunate to be the husband of my wife Terri. We have been married for the past 23 years and have two kids, daughter Lindsey and son Jake. God is, and has been, very good to me! I am a goal-oriented person who understands most, if not all goals, are achieved by a team rather than by an individual. If you elect me as your next Secretary-Treasurer, I truly believe my history with CVSA, my experiences as an enforcement officer in Arkansas, leadership skills, commitment to safety and enthusiasm will be beneficial to our alliance.

An alliance by deﬁnition is an association to further the common interest of its members. This model serves the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance well and keeps the focus on the core mission to achieve uniformity, compatibility and reciprocity of commercial vehicle inspections and enforcement activities throughout North America by persons dedicated to highway safety and security.

It is difficult to articulate all of my experiences, but I would like to share with you my “CVSA” path, as it is a direct reflection of my commitment to the alliance. My first CVSA experience was in 2003, where I competed in the North American Inspector Competition (NAIC) and was awarded the John Youngblood Award of Excellence in Columbus, Ohio. This was one of the most enjoyable, eye-opening events I have ever participated in. From there, it has been fast and furious; I have served CVSA as Region II president for COHMED, vice chair for CVSA Region II and vice chair for the CVSA Size & Weight Committee. I am currently serving CVSA as Region II president and chair of the Size & Weight Committee. I will be extremely honored if my next CVSA position is that of secretarytreasurer.

The committees and assigned task force groups take their assignments seriously, and, although participants in those committees may not agree on everything, they do work for a resolution that ensures highway safety is not compromised.

Again, I look forward to working with each of you in the future and would very much appreciate your vote. If you would like to discuss any issues with me prior to the election in Denver, please feel free to reach me by email at jay.thompson@arkansashighways.com .

CVSA has a strong partnership with federal government and is recognized as the respected authority on commercial motor vehicle safety and security.

Thank You! n

The Alliance’s statement of values, integrity, professionalism, leadership and team work are critical in the behavior of the Alliance if it wishes to remain a strong organization. If elected to Secretary-Treasurer, I assure you that I will work to preserve those values and represent your organization in a professional manner. This is an exciting time to be involved in transportation. Technology is constantly evolving and providing tools to conduct eﬀorts and collect data that was not available previously. Thank you for your support.

THIRD QUARTER 2013

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C V S A CO M M I T T E E & P R O G R A M N E W S

Operation Airbrake Program By William P. Schaefer, CVSA, Director of Vehicle Programs CVSA’s Operation Airbrake program is a multitiered effort to promote commercial vehicle brake safety. These efforts includes several activities and events conducted with significant and well appreciated support from our member jurisdictions, associate members and others from industry, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s MCSAP grant program. The program is organized through the efforts of volunteers who meet to discuss and plan all of the programs efforts for the year. The program’s brake safety centered activities include public outreach and education, inspector training and awareness, inspection data analysis and focused enforcement. All of these activities are intended to promote better understanding of the importance of properly maintained brakes on commercial vehicles. Operation Airbrake features two major enforcement and outreach events each year, including its unannounced Brake Check day each spring and Brake Safety Week each September.

Brake Safety Week Takes Place September 8-14, 2013 Brake Safety Week is one of two enforcement and outreach campaigns dedicated to promoting truck and bus brake safety held by CVSA each year, with the unannounced Brake Check held each spring and Brake Safety Week each fall. The fall campaign, on September 8-14, involves inspectors from nearly every CVSA member jurisdiction, as well as FMCSA inspectors, plus additional outreach efforts by participating motor carriers and others in industry. Inspections conducted during Brake Safety Week consist primarily of brake specific Level IV special study inspections, though some Level I inspections are also conducted. Carriers are encouraged to be involved by helping educate drivers and mechanics about the importance of pre-trip inspections and proper brake maintenance. Organized and supported by CVSA’s Operation Airbrake program, Brake Safety Week’s success rests on the hard work and volunteer support of CVSA member jurisdictions and their inspectors, associate members and other industry participants, plus the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. According to CVSA Executive Director Stephen A. Keppler, the essential message of Brake Safety Week is clear. “Properly functioning brake systems are crucial to safe vehicle operation and improperly installed or poorly maintained brakes must be kept off the road. This unified enforcement effort brings about a greater awareness throughout the industry and that saves lives.”

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Despite its name, Operation Airbrake is not strictly limited to promoting safety of vehicles with air brakes, but rather the brake-related safety of all commercial vehicles—including those with hydraulic, electric, mechanical, or air brakes, and also brake-related technologies. Brake inspections conducted during Brake Safety Week always include a visual inspection of brake system components to look for loose or missing parts, air or hydraulic ﬂuid leaks, worn linings or pads, drums, rotors, or other faulty brake system components. Antilock braking systems (ABS) malfunction indicator lamps are checked. In roadside enforcement, inspectors evaluate only what they can see—they do not remove wheels or take brake systems apart. For vehicles with visible brake actuator pushrods—including brakes on the vast majority of heavy trucks, inspectors measure pushrod stroke at every wheel on the ground. The maximum allowable pushrod stroke limit is established in 49 C.F.R. 393.47, with reference to pushrod stroke limits established in Society of Automotive Engineers standard SAE J1817, as summarized below. Canada jurisdictions use the same standard. If brake stroke is beyond the maximum allowable stroke, it is considered by inspectors to be out-ofadjustment and eﬀectively inoperative—a violation and potentially contributing to a vehicle out-of-service condition. CVSA’s Out-of-Service Criteria provides that a vehicle is OOS when 20% of brakes are defective.

Vehicles with hydraulic, electric, and air disc brakes without visible actuator pushrods also are inspected per specific additional system specific procedures. CVSA recently published a new Inspection Bulletin that outlines procedures for inspecting various hydraulic brake systems. All CVSA Inspection Bulletins can be found on the CVSA website. An additional element to promoting brake safety—including during Brake Safety Week but used any day of the year by participating jurisdictions—is the use of Performance Based Brake Testers (PBBTs) to measure vehicle braking efficiency. These systems are one of a number of tools available to enforcement for assessing vehicle roadworthiness. U.S. federal regulations require a minimum vehicle braking efficiency of 43.5% for vehicles with GVWR or GCWR of 10,000 lbs. or more. This same threshold was adopted by CVSA in its North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria. Ten jurisdictions (including Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Georgia, Kansas, New Jersey, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin in the U.S., as well as Alberta, Canada) are equipped or will soon be equipped to use PBBTs to measure and enforce these minimum braking efficiency requirements. Additional information about PBBT use in enforcement is featured on the next page.

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“Properly functioning brake systems are crucial to safe vehicle operation and improperly installed or poorly maintained brakes must be kept oﬀ the road." available on a limited basis for loan for educational purposes. The models are designed to be used as a pair to illustrate key safety concepts relating to installation, maintenance, and compliance with the regulations applicable to S-cam type air brakes.

Performance Based Brake Tester (PBBT) Advancement Program CVSA and its members are integral to the growing use of Performance Based Brake Testers (PBBTs) by safety enforcement agencies for brake inspections. Used throughout the world for periodic required maintenance inspections, diagnostic evaluations, and assembly line quality control, but also for roadside enforcement, PBBTs are a viable tool for assessing a vehicle’s braking capability. PBBTs can be used on many types of vehicles and, based on significant research and support by FMCSA and CVSA, they can be used to deem a vehicle an imminent hazard per the CVSA North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria. Depending on the particular PBBT make and model, or design, PBBT systems can installed at fixed facilities or be Various PBBT systems are available, with some designed to be installed at a fixed facility and others available as mobile units. Prior to establishing use of PBBTs in enforcement, FMCSA worked extensively with a research team from Battelle Memorial Institute, led by Dr. Steve Shaffer, to establish a functional specification for the PBBT equipment used in enforcement. The functional specification was established in February 2003. CVSA and FMCSA maintain a list of manufacturers who sell PBBT systems that meet the functional specification requirements. U.S. federally required braking efficiency for inuse, property or passenger carrying CMVs with GVWRs over 10,000 lbs., per 49 C.F.R. 393.52, is 43.5%. This threshold is relatively conservative— many well-maintained brakes on appropriately loaded vehicles (i.e., not overloaded) can achieve 60–70% braking efficiency in optimum conditions. If a vehicle cannot meet 43.5% it has very poor braking capability. Most other countries around the world require higher minimum vehicle braking efficiency. As a result, enforcement in the U.S. and Canada can use the 43.5% criteria with a high degree of confidence to place a vehicle out of service. Most recently, the CVSA Operation Airbrake program, with support from Battelle and funding from FMCSA, established inspector training course materials, minimum training requirements, and a proficiency examination for PBBT use in enforcement. These resources, along with the opportunity to interact with fellow PBBT users through our Operation Airbrake program, give current and prospective PBBT user jurisdictions comprehensive support. Becoming a PBBT user jurisdiction does require a capital

Here is an example of an in-ground PBBT system. Photo courtesy of Maha-USA.

This is a portable PBBT system in use. Photo courtesy of Link Engineering.

The ﬁrst model highlights the importance of maintaining actuator pushrod stroke within the limits deﬁned by U.S. and Canadian regulations. The model shows what happens when components are excessively worn or when automatic brake adjusters are for some reason not able to properly adjust for wear, resulting in excessive free stroke and limiting available brake force capability. The second model illustrates several possible causes for S-cam type air brakes to become out-of-adjustment— even when equipped with a working automatic brake adjuster. In addition to a loan program for these models, the program conducts demonstrations using these models at a few events each year, and also has available the drawings and schematics for building your own models. For information about applying for a safety model loan or building your own models can be obtained from CVSA. The Operation Airbrake program developed the models jointly with generous support from its program volunteers and from Battelle Memorial Institute.

Outreach Materials, Videos and Webinars Here is a portable PBBT system. Photo courtesy of Vehicle Inspection Systems, Inc.

investment and training, but CVSA is supportive and for U.S. jurisdictions the systems and their use can be eligible for MCSAP funding. CVSA observes that its members who have made the investment are ﬁnding PBBTs a worthwhile addition to their enforcement toolboxes.

Brake Safety Demonstration Equipment Loaner Program One of the signiﬁcant achievements of the Operation Airbrake program is the successful development and fabrication of two sets of brake models for use in educating inspectors, drivers, technicians, and other industry personnel about brake adjustment. CVSA’s second generation full scale S-cam Brake Safety Demonstration Models (the pair of models are designed to be used in tandem) are now

Finally, the program is working to expand its menu of available educational and training outreach materials. With each enforcement event, such as Brake Check or Brake Safety Week, as well as throughout the year, the Operation Airbrake program and CVSA make available informational brochures for distribution by inspectors, drivers, technicians, and the general public. Operation Airbrake also is developing new video and audio messages to educate and inform. These have come in the form of training videos, online webinars, and radio interviews regarding the importance of proper brake maintenance and use. Many of these materials are available at www.operationairbrake.com. n

THIRD QUARTER 2013

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REGION I

PA Inspects Motorcoaches at Hershey Park On May 30-31, the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) coordinated a multi-agency motorcoach inspection detail at Hershey Park in which more than 40 inspectors from the PSP, FMCSA, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Philadelphia Police Department and Pittsburgh Police Department participated. During the two-day detail, 115 motorcoaches were inspected resulting in 24 vehicles and eight drivers being placed out of service. n

REGION I

CT Does Training During Roadcheck Inspections Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles Inspectors who recently attended the Passenger Vehicle Inspection Course held at the Region 1 Training Academy, located at the Massachusetts State Police Academy in New Braintree MA, worked on their ﬁeld training inspections during a destination inspection detail at one of Connecticut's casinos. n

REGIONAL MAP Region I Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, US Virgin Islands and Vermont. Region II Alabama, American Samoa, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Region III Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Region IV Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Mexico, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Region V Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, NewBrunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Yukon.

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REGION I

Puerto Rico Participates in Roadcheck Puerto Rico’s Public Service Commission under its Motor Carrier Safety Administration (MCSAP) Division actively participated during the “Roadcheck 2013: Enhancing Truck and Bus Safety and Security Throughout North America.” As a result, its inspectors conducted over 97 inspections in which multiple violations were identiﬁed. Drivers were also educated about federal and state regulations during the enforcement eﬀort. n

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REGION II

Kentucky to Host CARE Conference Louisville will also be the host city for the 36th annual C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) Conference this October 6-9. Like the Kentucky Derby, the conference will feature a full field of top-notch speakers and programs designed to provide best practice ideas for highway safety. In the race to save lives and reduce highway fatalities, there is no finish line, but there are front runners. So saddle up now and make plans to join us at the front of the pack in Louisville for this unforgettable ride. Details: http://www.kentuckystatepolice.org/kycare/ index.htm. n

REGION III

Colorado Announces a New State Patrol Chief On Friday, July 12, 2013, Gov. John Hickenlooper announced the appointment of Scott G. Hernandez as Chief of the Colorado State Patrol. The appointment was immediately. “Scott Hernandez has a tremendous record of service in ensuring the public’s safety,” said Gov. Hickenlooper. “He is known to be tough on crime while, at the same time, building inclusive and diverse partnerships to enhance our public safety eﬀorts. We are thankful to have Scott, who was raised in Alamosa and has strong statewide knowledge, along with a distinguished career in public safety, lead the State Patrol.”

Scott G. Hernandez

Hernandez served as the Interim Chief of the State Patrol and began his service with the state of Colorado in 1987 as a Port of Entry oﬃcer. He became a State Patrol trooper in 1991. Hernandez attained the rank of lieutenant colonel with the State Patrol in December 2008. Hernandez is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. The Colorado State Patrol is part of the Colorado Department of Public Safety. n

CALL FOR GUARDIAN SUBMISSIONS CVSA is always looking for interesting, relevant content for its quarterly magazine. We would be happy to consider your news, ideas, insights and articles on the issues facing the commercial vehicle safety community for upcoming editions of Guardian! Deadline for fourth quarter issue: October 1, 2013 Questions? Please contact Lisa Claydon at lisac@cvsa.org or 301-830-6152.

THIRD QUARTER 2013

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REGION III

Minnesota State Patrol Conducts Multi-Agency HM Saturation By Randy Zahn, Commercial Vehicle Inspector, Minnesota State Patrol On June 12 and 13, 2013, the Minnesota State Patrol, PHMSA, TSA and MnDOT conducted a hazardous materials enforcement saturation on the Minnesota—Iowa border. The operation took place on northbound Interstate 35. Our purpose for the saturation was two-fold. The primary focus was vehicles transporting fireworks in the furtherance of a commercial operation and the secondary focus was to use the saturation as a training opportunity. We screened vehicles and did inspections on those vehicles transporting hazardous materials. While we were conducting the saturation in Minnesota, Major Evans from the Iowa Office of Motor Vehicle Enforcement had three officers working the Iowa side of the border. This multi-agency event provided great opportunities to draw on the knowledge from each of the agencies involved. During most inspections, the agencies worked together to evaluate compliance with the regulations. Interstate 35 between the Iowa border and Interstate 90 has a large volume of truck traffic. During the saturation, all trucks on northbound I-35 were directed into a large rest area. These vehicles were then screened to see if they were transporting any quantity of hazardous materials. Primarily vehicles transporting non-bulk quantities of hazardous materials were inspected. We screened more than 800 commercial vehicles during the 16-hour event. A total of 80 Level I or II inspections were conducted. Two vehicles were found to be transporting fireworks. Twenty-five vehicles and six drivers were placed out-of-service. Eleven of the out-of-services were for hazardous materials-related violations. Along with violations being written up on inspections, PHMSA will be developing cases on some of the hazardous materials loads. The majority of the hazardous materials out of service conditions were load securement related. There were issues with the transportation of new and used batteries, securing products to pallets, improper securement of drum in transport vehicles, improper closure of drums, and fireworks packages not properly secured. Communication violations included improper shipping description on shipping paper, labeling, marking, and placarding issues. Overall, the saturation worked well. It is a great opportunity to work with the other agencies to verify compliance with the hazardous material regulations. From a training standpoint, a variety of hazardous materials were found. The screening process identified those loads that were not obviously placarded. We also identified that some of the larger carriers were not always transporting hazardous materials properly. There is still work to be done in verifying compliance with the hazardous materials regulations. n

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REGION IV

New Mexico Program Named in Top 25 Innovations in Government On May 1, 2013, New Mexico’s Smart Roadside Inspection System was named by Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University as one of the Top 25 programs in this year’s Innovations in American Government Award competition. Four ﬁnalists and one winner of the Innovations in American Government Award will be announced in the fall. “These Top 25 innovations in government oﬀer real, tangible ways to protect our most disadvantaged citizens, educate the next-generation workforce, and utilize data analytics to enhance government performance,” said Stephen Goldsmith, director of the Innovations in Government

REGION V

From the Roadside in Yukon Territory

program at the Ash Center. “Despite diminishing resources, these government programs have developed model innovations that other struggling agencies should be inspired to replicate and adapt to their own communities.” The Smart Roadside Inspection System identiﬁes high-risk trucks without interfering with the ﬂow of commerce by integrating specialized roadside imaging systems with multiple back-end data networks that instantaneously synthesize disparate pools of data into valuable information. n

REGION V

Alberta Roadcheck Motorcoaches are inspected during Roadcheck 2013 in Columbia Iceﬁelds in Alberta. n

This photo was taken by Oﬃcer Roxanne Brady at the Watson Lake Weigh Station, where the load arrived as you see it. Not sure how the bag stayed on the trailer….

The fender brackets on this tractor must have been super strong to act as safety chain anchors. Photos taken by Oﬃcer Carol Bates at the Whitehorse Weigh Station.

These shots of broken spoke wheel wedges were taken by Oﬃcer Michael Kasprzak at the Whitehorse Weigh Station during Roadcheck. THIRD QUARTER 2013

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REGION V

CVSA Attends CCMTA Annual Meetings in Iqaluit, Nunavut By Reg Wightman, Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation, CVSA Region V President When I was told that I would be representing CVSA Region V in Iqaluit, Nunavut, at the Spring CCMTA conference I was full of excitement. Although I had been above the Tree Line while canoeing on the Hanbury and Thelon Rivers in the North West Territories, I had never been that far north and east, and I had never spent any amount of time with the Inuit people of the North. But, nothing prepared me for what I was about to experience as I climbed on board a First Air jet headed to Nunavut. As I boarded the First Air jet (with the polar bear on the end tip of the plane), I soon realized this was going to be a flight like none other. First off, the plane was barricaded off so that the first two thirds of it were dedicated for cargo only. The last third of it had seats and it didn’t matter what your ticket said, you sat wherever you felt . As we approached Rankin Inlet, NU the pilot came on and said that we may not be able to land because of the high winds and that there was the distinct possibility that we would have to return to Winnipeg. But, we got lucky and were able to land....halleluyah. Unfortunately, as I walked off the plane and felt that Arctic wind rip right through my sweater and sports jacket, I was mortified by the realization that I had forgotten to pack my parka, mitts and some sort of hat. That wind came back to haunt me on several occasions over the week, but none more so than when I had to deplane on the “milk run” where our plane made stops in Chesterfield Inlet, Coral Harbour and Cape Inlet before landing in Iqaluit. By the time I arrived in Iqaluit, it was 4:00 pm and then it was a six dollar cab ride to the Arctic Hotel on roads that make our infrastructure in the City of Winnipeg look absolutely fantastic. Maybe that is why I saw so many beat up half tons, snowmobiles and all terrain vehicles.

The land itself was desolate, yet beautiful. A look from town over roof tops onto Frobisher Bay provided one of the most scenic views I had ever seen. The ruggedness of the terrain and snow capped rock outcrops everywhere was like a picture out of a magazine. For miles and miles, all one could see was rock, snow and ice. All I could think of was how hearty the Inuit must be to live in this environment. I wondered what would bring non-Inuit people to this northern community. What I found out was surprising. Most of the younger people I spoke to said that it was money or adventure that brought them up to Iqaluit, and it was the land and the lifestyle that kept them there. It was almost like there was a sense of calmness to the people that one doesn’t feel in a major urban centre. Mind you, a large portion of the youth that I met had designer clothes and iPhones…which indicted to me that they were not impervious to southern inﬂuences. On the way home as I gazed on the window of the plane, I could see stretches of open water, and I wondered what a summer would be like up there. As I landed in Coal Harbor I saw a huge white rabbit sitting near the terminal…the ﬁrst sign of any kind of wildlife I had seen all week (except for ravens similar to the size found in Thompson, MB). It made me wonder how this land would come to life in the Spring and sustain the likes of wolves, muskox, caribou, polar bears, foxes, lynx and the like. When I landed back in Winnipeg, I couldn’t help but think that of all the trips I had been on as part of my work at CVSA, this was the one I would most likely remember the most. n

After spending my first night eating chicken wings ($18.00) and having a couple of beers ($7.00 each) I realized how expensive meals were going to be up there. It seemed like every breakfast was at least $20.00, lunch $25-30 dollars and dinner $40-50 dollars. To further complicate things was the fact that there was no cell phone service up there, and I (later) learned that every call I made back home to my wife and kids came at a huge cost. The conference itself was unlike most others in that the meetings took place in different hotels. Thankfully the two days of meetings that were the most important to me were located in the Arctic Hotel where I was staying, so I didn’t have to brave the elements for a couple of days. President Savage wasn’t quite as lucky, as he had to attend meetings in both hotels. Mind you, he was smart enough to bring outerwear sufficient enough to brave the elements. And, lucky for him, because it seemed that (except for Monday) winds were up in the 50-70km range every day. Walking outside was difficult on the crusty gravel roads and almost everywhere you went, a local was trying to sell you a soap stone carving, local jewellery or some sort of charcoal print. As a collector of Inuit art, I did break down and buy two small soapstone carvings and one print…but I had to bargain with the locals that were selling them. This was kind of fun, as the Inuit people are good natured and very warm in spirit. And, wow, do they love their hockey. Watching the Leafs play in a packed beverage room full of Inuit people (many wearing Leafs jerseys) was one of the highlights of my trip. If anybody dared root for the Bruins they were threatened with being cut off.

GUARDIAN

CVSA Region V President Reg Wightman and CVSA President Mark Savage made the trek to Iqaluit, Nunavut.

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R EGIO N A L NE W S

LOCAL ENFORCEMENT North Texas Local Agencies Hold Regional Challenge Competition By Oﬃcer Wes Bement, Grand Prairie Police Department On Monday, April 15, the Grand Prairie Police Department hosted the third annual North Texas Regional Inspectors Challenge Competition. Eighteen competitors from 11 agencies competed for the right to compete at the State Challenge to be held in June at College Station, Texas. This is the largest number of competitors that have ever competed. The competition was supported by several industry leaders and their sponsorships. These included: First Choice Transport, Pollock Paper, Trimac Transport, Lonestar Coaches, Select Energy, Dave’s Hi-Way Wrecker, Chalk

Mountain, John Wright & Associates, Shale Tanks, and the DFW Safety Council. Competitors were subjected to a written test and had to conduct four inspections that were organized similarly to the NAIC competition. At the end of the day, Scott Hill from Lewisville PD and Alexis Crocket from Carrollton PD took ﬁrst and second place, respectively.

oﬃcers from the Houston Area. Scott Hill of Lewisville proudly took ﬁrst place among the four competitors and will travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, to test his skills against competitors from all over North America. On behalf of all local agencies, we want to wish Scott the very best at NAIC and thank all of our industry sponsors for making this possible. n

These two oﬃcers travelled to College Station, Texas and competed in the State Challenge the week of June 12, along with two other local

REGIONAL RAP ON THE MOVE

RECOGNITIONS

New Commander for the Indiana State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division

Officer Tom Mueller (shown on the right) of the Reno Police Department was recently awarded its agency’s Chief’s Commendation Certificate. The award was presented by Chief Steve Pitts and Deputy Chief Tom Robinson. Officer Mueller was identified for this award due to his ongoing efforts with regards to the Reno Police Department’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit. Officer Mueller originated the unit in 2006 and was one of the first officers that the Nevada Highway Patrol trained that year. Since then, he has been both active with MCASP administration as well as serving a term as the Locals Vice President of CVSA. Officer Mueller has been with Reno Police Department for 20 years and is currently assigned to the traffic division, where he is an accident investigator as well as a commercial enforcement inspector. n

On Monday, June 17, 2013, Indiana State Police Superintendent Douglas G. Carter promoted Captain Michael J. Eslinger to Major. Major Eslinger is now the Commander of the ISP Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division. As the commander, Eslinger is responsible for the supervision of all ISP scale facilities throughout Indiana, serves as the ISP liaison to the Indiana Department of Revenue and Indiana Department of Transportation, and oversees the day-to-day operations of the nearly 190 subordinate civilian and sworn Commercial Vehicle Enforcement staﬀ. Eslinger is a 19 ½ year veteran of the ISP having started his career as a trooper on the Indiana Toll Road, then as a Squad Sergeant and Lieutenant at the former Terre Haute Post, and was promoted to Area V Captain in 2010. He was also instrumental in forming the ﬁrst ISP Meth Lab Team in the State of Indiana at the former Terre Haute Post. Eslinger is a native of Parke County and a graduate of Indiana State University. He and his wife and two daughters reside in rural Sullivan County. “Major Eslinger is a hard-working and dedicated veteran of our department. His proven leadership skills, compassion for his fellow employees and his desire for the commercial vehicle enforcement division to be the best it can be, make him the right choice for this position,” commented Indiana State Police Superintendent Douglas G. Carter. n

THIRD QUARTER 2013

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S A F E T Y I N N O VA T O R S

SAFETY INNOVATORS Landstar’s Monthly Safety Conference Calls—21 Years and Going Strong

Theft Advisory for Roadside Oﬃcers May Boost Recovery Success

By Shelley Conklin, Inspection Services Coordinator, Landstar

By Karen Rasmussen, President and CEO of HELP Inc. on behalf of PrePass and CargoNet

For the past 21 years, on the third Thursday of each month at 12 Noon, Landstar holds its traditional safety theme conference call with 500 open phone lines and over 1,000 participants. Landstar chairman, president & CEO, owneroperators, agents, employees, customers, industry partners and law enforcement listen in as guest speakers and many others contribute their experience on the safety topic of the month, including a question/answer session. Topics can range from distracted driving, accident avoidance, winter weather safety, cargo securement, federal inspection and roadside performance. Each month is sponsored by a different department at Landstar, along with off-site regional sales staff. To help promote clean inspections, a monthly clean inspection steer tire winner is announced on the call. In addition, all operators participating on the call are given an entry for an opportunity to win a free truck. This year, May’s theme was sponsored by Landstar’s Equipment Compliance department on the topic of BLTs—no not the delicious sandwich—Brakes, Lights & Tires. Information provided during the call included performance of proper daily vehicle inspections to reduce CSA points in the Vehicle Maintenance Basic. With ROADCHECK in full force the following month, this was a timely subject to discuss to help reduce roadside violations. Guest speaker, Lt. Brian Ausloos, Wisconsin State Patrol and vice chair of the CVSA Vehicle Committee, spoke on inspection procedures for spotting chaffing brake hoses, measuring push rod travel, the dangers of adjusting automatic slack—including inspection of the foundation brakes if brakes are out of adjustment, continuous checking for inop lights, and correct measurement of tire tread depth, PSI—including inspecting for slick spots. To further promote the BLT theme, there were BLT sandwich giveaways, special BLT t-shirts, a major brand truck stop giving free BLTs with purchase of a “pre-trip” inspection, and Equipment Compliance team members dressing the part to bring BLT awareness to Landstar employees with informational hand-outs as they arrived to work that Thursday morning at the Jacksonville, Florida office. On Thursday, May 16, with hundreds listening in on the call, BLTs became a well-known phrase and awareness on Brakes, Light & Tires took center stage. The next month, the Landstar Safety Conference Call theme was cargo securement, marking the calls’ 22nd year. Feel free to join Join Landstar’s Safety Conference Call in on the third Thursday of each month at 12:00 Noon ET/11:00 CT. The dial in number is 877-717 -5921. n

Cargo theft isn’t new. Think pirates like Blackbeard and Barbarossa. Stage coach and Pony Express hold-ups. And great train robbers like Jesse James and Butch Cassidy. However, cargo theft has become a lot more sophisticated and international in scope since the days of Jesse James. To combat theft, the trucking industry and enforcement agencies have also had to become more sophisticated. One solution to the increased incidence of cargo theft in modern times is the use of information-sharing technology. Cargo theft prevention services currently deliver information to retailers, manufacturers, logistics, insurance companies and others. The most sophisticated of these systems apply a synchronized, layered approach that exploits the weaknesses of cargo thieves at multiple points and increases the likelihood of cargo recoveries. Cargo theft recovery efforts may be improved by delivering theft alerts to roadside officers through truck pre-clearance systems. Today, with cargo theft alerts being delivered to fixed station officers in 31 jurisdictions at over 300 sites, the chances of early detection and recovery are increased. Cargo theft statistics show that the chance for recovery drops sharply once criminals remove cargo from the truck. Consequently, alerts through the truck pre-clearance system will enhance recovery efforts and reduce the carrier costs associated with cargo thefts. “Providing truck inspectors with cargo theft alerts adds yet another checkpoint to the network already in place to catch cargo thieves,” said Doug Donscheski of the Nebraska State Patrol. “Leveraging truck-screening systems using national databases and an information-sharing systems staffed by crime analysts and subject matter experts is a logical next step.” Theft alerts provided to site officers may include incident tractor and trailer descriptions, location and cargo details and investigating agency contact information. Cargo theft can be reported directly to the CargoNet Command Center at 1-888-595-2638. n

GUARDIAN

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Georgia’s Covered Farm Vehicle Designation By Captain Bruce Bugg, Georgia Department of Public Safety

On July 6, 2012, President Obama signed into law H.R. 4348, the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act” or “MAP-21.” This was the 2012 version of a bill that is sometimes known by the phrase “Highway Reauthorization” or “the Highway Bill.” Every few years, Congress will pass legislation that “reauthorizes” various federal programs. Normally, these bills contain a five- or six-year reauthorization cycle. MAP-21 is unusual in that it generally contains a two-year program reauthorization. Along with highway construction, the highway bill often contains program legislation that affects size and weight programs, hazardous materials transportation, as well as the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP). For example, Section 1510 of MAP-21 raises the weight variance for idlereduction technology (sometimes called “auxiliary power units”) from 400 pounds to 550 pounds, and Section 1522 makes permanent the 24,000 lb. axle-weight for motorcoaches. MAP-21 also authorizes a pilot program for paperless hazardous materials shipment information (“electronic shipping papers”) in Section 33005. In the commercial vehicle safety arena, MAP-21 creates a new definition for “covered farm vehicle,” and a new set of exceptions for those vehicles and their drivers. A “covered farm vehicle” (defined in Section 32934 of MAP-21) is one that is (1) operated by a farmer or rancher, a family member of the farmer or rancher, or an employee of the farmer or rancher, (2) used to transport agricultural commodities, livestock, machinery or supplies to or from a farm or ranch, (3) not used “for-hire” except a tenant hauling the land-owners products under a crop-share arrangement, and (4) “ is equipped with a special license plate or other designation [emphasis added] by the State in which the vehicle is registered to allow for identification of the vehicle as a farm vehicle.” FMCSA also must report to Congress on the safety of Covered Farm Vehicles. The Covered Farm Vehicle (CFV) exceptions took effect on October 1, 2012. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published a Final Rule amending the FMCSR on March 14, 2013, which was also effective on that date. Georgia adopts the FMCSR by reference, and the Georgia General Assembly adopted the CFV

designation into law in the 2013 legislative session. This Covered Farm Vehicle exception applies to both straight trucks and combination vehicles, and the distance involved depends on the size of the vehicle. For vehicles 26,001 pounds or less1 (what we might think of otherwise as “non-CDL” vehicles), the CFV designation applies anywhere in the United States. In other words, a 25,500 pound straight truck with the Covered Farm Vehicle Designation based in Georgia is eligible for the exceptions in Washington State and anywhere in between. The weight in MAP-21 is the greater of the Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) or Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR). For vehicles over 26,001 pounds (again, the greater of GVW or GVWR), the distance limits are (1) anywhere in the registration state or (2) in interstate commerce within 150 air-miles (172.6 statute miles) of the farm. In large states, the 150 air-mile radius might not get a farmer or rancher to a state line; in smaller states, that 150 air-mile radius could encompass several states. The other key issue is the “special license plate or other designation.” Many states already issue “farm” license plates. Georgia has never issued a farm license plate, although arguably the state could have done so. The Georgia Department of

Public Safety (DPS) is the lead agency for the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program and also has the rulemaking authority for commercial driver, vehicle and hazardous materials transportation regulations. The Georgia DPS, in coordination with the General Assembly and the Georgia Farm Bureau, has taken an “other designation” approach. In exploring our options, we looked at Iowa’s method of allowing farmers and ranchers to “self-declare” their Covered Farm Vehicles, and have taken a web-based approach. In 2012, DPS picked up responsibility for the registration and administrative regulation of for-hire passenger and household goods movers, and we established a new website to support that function (http://www.gamccd.net/). Effective June 1, 2013, Georgia began using that same website to register Covered Farm Vehicles. To register and print their registration certificate, the farmer or rancher goes to the website and starts with the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) of the vehicle. The VIN will also become the certificate number. Once the on-line information is entered, the website will produce a printable (in Acrobat .pdf format) certificate that the farmer carries on the CFV. By using the Continued on next page THIRD QUARTER 2013

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Continued from page 37

VIN, Georgia can supply its CFV database to FMCSA to cross-reference crash reports. Covered Farm Vehicles and their drivers get several exceptions from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations under MAP-21. Controlled substance and alcohol testing programs (Part 382) do not apply, nor do medical qualification and medical card requirements (Subpart E of Part 391). Drivers of CFVs are not subject to hours-of-service limits, nor do they have to maintain a record of duty status (Part 395). CFV’s are not subject to the daily post-trip, annual periodic inspection or vehicle maintenance record-keeping requirements of Part 396. Drivers of CFVs do not need a Commercial Driver’s License, but the state can require a license of appropriate class or type based on vehicle configuration. Georgia previously issued a “Class A” and “Class B” license, and both licenses were available as either a CDL or “Regular (nonCDL)” license. Georgia now issues a “Class E” license for articulated vehicles over 26,000 pounds that do not require a CDL (such as farm vehicles and articulated fire apparatus) and a “Class F” license for large straight trucks over 26,000 pounds that do not require a CDL. A driver of a Georgia Covered Farm Vehicle would have to possess both the CFV Designation Certificate and the correct class of license. Inspectors and Enforcement personnel from any jurisdiction can use the gamccd.net website to check the VIN of a Georgia based vehicle to see if a CFV registration already exists for that vehicle. While Covered Farm Vehicles and their drivers enjoy several exceptions, we are engaged in an

education and outreach program to inform and remind farmers that they are still subject to several requirements. The Georgia Farm Bureau is actively helping us with this outreach. CFV drivers must have a valid driver’s license (as discussed above). The vehicle must have a valid license plate, and if fuel tax registration is required, a valid International Fuel Tax Agreement registration. MAP-21 does not exclude farmers from Uniﬁed Carrier Registration nor our Georgia intrastate equivalent.

The MAP-21 concept of Covered Farm Vehicle creates several challenges for motor carrier enforcement personnel, not the least of which is the myriad of “farm vehicle” designations. For more information on Georgia’s CFV designation, contact Capt. Johnny Jones at jjones@gsp.net. n Captain Bruce Bugg recently retired from his position as Region Commander for the Georgia Department of Public Safety Motor Carrier Compliance Division. He is a past CVSA Region II President and chaired the Hazardous Materials Committee from 2003-2011.

The CFV is subject to being stopped and inspected to verify the CFV designation is valid. The CFV must follow basic equipment safety requirements, and they remain subject to traﬃc law and size and weight regulation. The drivers must still enter our inspection and weigh stations when they are open.

It is generally recognized that the “26,001” number in MAP-21 is a drafting error, that the intent was to mirror the weight used to divide CDL and non-CDL vehicles.

Georgia Driver’s License Types Vehicle

CDL License Class

Non-CDL License Class

Combination 26,001 lbs. or more with a trailer 10,001 lbs. or more

Single unit 26,001 lbs. or more, or with trailers 10,000 lbs. or less

F **

Single Unit 26,000 lbs. or less, or with trailer 10,000 lbs. or less

C ***

Restricted License—same vehicles as Class C

None

D ****

Motorcycle

* Formerly “Class A Regular (non CDL)” ** Formerly “Class B Regular (non-CDL)” *** Class C CDL issued for those requiring HazMat or Passenger/School Bus Endorsement for vehicles that do not meet Class A or B ****Class D is issued as part of Georgia’s Graduated Driver Licensing Program for new drivers

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Technology Demonstration Sets Stage for How Jurisdictions Are Modernizing Transportation Infrastructure, Increasing Enforcement, Compliance Efforts By Capt. Norman Dofflemyer, Commander, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, Maryland State Police All of us, from law enforcement to commercial vehicle carriers and fleets, are continuously looking for the most effective and efficient ways to increase commercial vehicle safety. We have no choice. Consider that there are more than 4.5 million registered trucks required to report to weigh stations across North America, but there are less than 13,000 inspectors certified by CVSA to conduct vehicle inspections. Current conditions leave front line commercial vehicle enforcement agencies increasingly constrained by limited resources against an everincreasing population of trucks. Our industry is at risk of a leveling-out of inspections at a time when freight volume is expected to expand 60 percent by 2040. As a result, jurisdictions that struggle with budget and resource constraints are actively pursuing solutions that offer benefits to advance their enforcements needs and objectives into the future. That is why a number of these jurisdictions are pursuing innovative technologies that can potentially revolutionize what happens roadside. You can count the Maryland State Police among those jurisdictions turning to innovative technology solutions to manage our resources as effectively as possible. We chose a smart roadside solution where the technology creates a transparent prescreening inspection process. On June 17, 2013, we hosted a live, drive-by demonstration at our West Friendship Weigh Station and Inspection Facility with industry stakeholders and government leaders from FMCSA and FHWA. Together, we observed for the first time trucks and buses electronically communicating with weigh station systems as they approached the facility. Critical safety data

In June, Maryland State Police hosted a live demonstration of an electronic bypass system.

on both the vehicle and driver—including driver ID, electronic logging information and the weight of the vehicle—were transmitted to our facility using the next generation technology system developed by Drivewyze. With this technology, we are able to make real-time decisions based on diﬀerent pieces of data we have never seen before.

Particularly deserving of recognition is the Maryland Motor Truck Association, which has been at the very front of our eﬀorts to modernize to the extent it beneﬁts both enforcement and industry equally. Knowing driver, vehicle and carrier information enables us to reward responsible carriers and be more surgical in how we do conduct our operations.

Drivewyze and technology partners PeopleNet, XRS and Zonar demonstrated the ﬁrst vehicle-toinfrastructure solution for commercial trucks and motorcoaches that leverages GPS and telematics to improve highway safety and eﬃciency. In an unprecedented display, prototype e-inspections were shown to integrate vehicle, carrier and CDL information, along with real-time hours-of-service and weigh-in-motion data.

In addition, we commend our federal partners, both FMCSA and FHWA, for their vision and support of this type of technology. Both spoke at the event, as did CVSA Executive Director Stephen A. Keppler, ATA President & CEO Gov. Bill Graves, ITS America’s Thomas Kerns, and Drivewyze’s Brian Heath.

This bypass system was implemented last September and it’s allowing us to see information on the vehicle in real time, then bypass the safe owner-operators and fleets, allowing us to concentrate our efforts on the vehicles and drivers needing our attention the most. Of our 15 state patrol-operated weigh and inspection stations, all are equipped to utilize Drivewyze. There was no cost to us since the system uses GPS and the data is cloud-based. We simply utilize the computer monitors already at the stations. As the system does not require any roadside sensor hardware, there were no installation, construction or infrastructure delays. An added bonus is that our agency has 100% control of the bypass system, pull-in rates and owns the data. The Maryland State Police determines where we have it located and sets the bypass rules. Some facilities have a carrier flagged because they are always overweight. We have geo-fencing in pull-off areas that can activate the system and work as a fullyfunctioning scale house. Additionally, the bypass system can integrate with weigh-in-motion systems already deployed on the highway. We even have it working at roadside pull-off areas where we can activate the system at any time to provide bypass opportunities for temporary mobile operations. We operate Drivewyze as a reward-based program that incentivizes carriers to participate and enjoy time and fuel-saving benefits. This is a partnership between our agency and industry where we work cooperatively to make highways safer and more efficient for everyone.

FHWA Administrator Victor Mendez affirmed that we all need to be looking for ways to collect and share data to make freight movement safer for all of us. “We need to look at underutilized technologies that can bring to the table solutions today. Drivewyze is a technology that already exists. It’s not something we are researching. So, why, as an industry, are we not utilizing something that is already out there? We need to focus on how we can make freight move more efficiently. That is very important when it comes to improving our economy,” said Administrator Mendez. As the lead law enforcement for commercial vehicle activities, we want to remove the unsafe carriers off the roads. We also want to keep the roadways and commerce flowing so that people are not stuck in queues and creating traffic jams, which increase the likelihood for crashes. In Maryland, we get over-the-road trucks, but, most of the time, we get the small, intrastate carriers that come through three or four times a day. Seeing the same carriers come through the inspection weigh station is inefficient and restrains our ability to focus on those vehicles of a greater safety priority. With federal support we can be more effective screeners and get more done. Clearly, technology is the way to support and promote our resource issues. n

THIRD QUARTER 2013

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Advances in Vehicle Safety Technologies: Electronic Brake Monitoring for Commercial Air Disc Equipped Vehicles By Thomas Wallace, Vice President,Electronic Braking/GM Transit Indian Head Industries, Inc./MGM Brakes

1. Commercial Vehicle Air Disc Brakes Overview Commercial air disc brakes are quite different from the more well-known s-cam (or drum brakes) that have been quite common in North America for many years. Air disc brakes, while offering many advantages to the fleet operator, also present unique difficulties and challenges when it comes to inspection and subsequent maintenance of these brake systems. Below are two illustrations showing a typical s-cam (drum), and a typical air disc application for modern commercial vehicles. Brake Drum Slack Adjuster

Adjusting Nut

Axle Shaft Return Spring

Brake Cam Cam Roller Brake Shoe Lining

Drum (s-cam) Air Brake

Proper brake chamber stroke is essential in order to ensure full braking capability. If, for example, the brake chamber is a 2.5” stroke actuator, once the pushrod stroke exceeds 2.0”, the output force of the actuator drops rapidly resulting in reduced braking forces being available. Since most daily brake applications are typically between 10-30 PSI, the driver has no idea his brakes are out of adjustment until they are needed in panic situation. During a panic stop, 100 PSI or more is suddenly applied to the actuator and the brake actuator simply runs out of stroke. This could result in vehicle instability, excessive stopping distances and increased risks of collision. This is illustrated in the graph below. When vehicles brakes are in adjustment and properly operating, a fairly linear relationship between the brake pressure applied by the driver and deceleration of the vehicle exists (shown by black line). If, on the other hand, vehicles brakes are out of adjustment, the driver may not realize this until it is too late (shown by red line). Max. Available Brake Pressure

Air Disc Brake

On the left you see a typical drum (s-cam) application that includes a brake chamber with an exposed pushrod, an automatic brake adjuster (ABA), a s-cam tube and bushings, a brake s-cam and cam rollers, linings and a drum. In this application, all parts are basically “exposed” which allows the fleet operator or inspector to visually check and inspect s-cam equipped vehicles using standard industry inspection criteria as defined by CDL requirements. Major component malfunctions can be checked and inspected visually by placing the vehicle on a lift (or over a pit) and actuating the brakes. The same process can also be accomplished through the use of electronic brake monitoring. CVSA has standard procedures for checking brake function and brake stroke for these applications. On the right, you see a typical air disc application that includes a brake chamber with a fully enclosed pushrod, a brake caliper with an internal adjuster mechanism, a rotor and brake pads. This type of braking system poses unique challenges to the fleet in terms of visual brake inspections. There is no exposed pushrod in order to check brake chamber stroke, and the internal adjuster mechanism (designed to keep pad clearance constant like an ABA on s-cam systems) is fully enclosed, sealed and not possible to visually inspect. In addition, the pads and outboard rotor face are nearly hidden from view, making it difficult to check pads or rotor conditions visually without wheel removal for subsequent detailed inspections. The industry has long known that a visual inspection of air disc brakes for proper operation is impractical, and this has been acknowledged by CVSA as a serious concern. The most common visually inspection method employed is simply to “check the rotor for rust” which would indicate the brake is inoperative (can require wheel removal). Thus, with air disc brakes the fleet operator does not truly know with a visual inspection any of the following:

Vehicle Deceleration

Brake Drum

2. Why is Air Disc Brake Adjustment and Operation so Important?

Brakes Properly Adjusted

Brake pressure range during typical operation Brakes Out of Adjustment

Brake Pressure Applied

Relationship Between Brake Adjustment and Vehicle Deceleration

Just as critical in air disc applications is the internal adjuster mechanism inside the caliper itself. This adjuster mechanism is designed to maintain constant pad clearance as the pads (inner and outer) wear during vehicle use. If this adjuster fails, it can result in either under adjustment which leads to loss of braking force at the wheel end, or over adjustment which leads to a partially or fully dragging brake. In addition, internal adjuster mechanism failure can result in increased pad wear during normal vehicle operation. Without knowing the state of the caliper adjuster mechanism, the fleet operator (and enforcement inspector) does not know if the brake caliper is operating within specification. Finally, the foundation brake system is critical to the proper performance of advanced technologies—such as ABS, Traction Control, Vehicle Stability Control and Collision Avoidance. These technologies all assume that the foundation brakes are fully operational when they attempt to intervene. If the foundation brakes are not properly operating, then these advanced technologies will not be fully effective when needed.

• The brake actuator (or brake chamber) is operative. • The caliper internal adjuster is operative and maintaining pad clearance under all conditions. • The wheel end is providing full braking, partial braking or no braking. • The brake actuator (or brake chamber) stroke is within acceptable operating limits. • The brake is lightly dragging (warning of other serious problems).

GUARDIAN

Vehicle Stability Roll Stability Adaptive Cruise Control Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) Foundation Brakes (Drums, Linings, Actuators, Slack Adjusters) Tires & Suspension (Contact with the Road)

Safety Technology Pyramid

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S A F E T Y I N N O VA T O R S

This is illustrated in the “Safety Technology Pyramid” shown below. Vehicle braking and stability is ﬁrst determined by the tires and suspension, which determine the how much of the tire is proper contact with the road, followed by proper foundation brake operation and so on. The technologies further up the pyramid are dependent on the technologies below them to be properly operating in order for the more advanced technologies to be fully eﬀective.

3. Current Air Disc Electronic Brake Monitoring Technology Advances in electronics and integration into vehicle mechanical systems continue to evolve. Over the past several years, innovations in electronic brake monitoring have produced viable product offerings that withstand the rigors of commercial vehicle operation. Below is an illustration of an Air Disc Electronic Brake Monitoring sensor installed at the vehicle wheel end. With this technology, an infra-red (IR) sensor is installed between the brake chamber and the caliper. This technology uses infra-red LED to send a light beam towards the brake chamber push rod, which is reflected back to the infra-red receiver in the sensor. The brake chamber push rod is coated with reflective (red areas) and non-reflective (black areas) materials. When the brake chamber pushrod moves back and forth under the IR sensor, a varying amount of light is reflected back to the sensor. This IR signal, when processed by the system Electronic Control Unit (ECU), can determine if the brake actuator and caliper are properly adjusted and working. This Electronic Brake Monitoring System can detect the following brake conditions at each wheel end. • Non Functioning Brake: The driver depresses the brake pedal but the brake chamber is not properly activating (caused by air system valve problems, ice in the air system, brake chamber failure, broken air lines etc.). This condition can lead to increased stopping distances and potential vehicle instability. • Over Stroke Brake: The driver depresses the brake pedal, but the brake chamber is stroking beyond its acceptable limit (caused by missing brake pads, missing rotor sections or brake caliper internal adjuster failure, etc.). This condition can lead to increased stopping distances and potential vehicle instability. • Dragging Brake: The driver has released the brake pedal, but the brake chamber or caliper lever arm has not fully returned (caused by air system valve problems, ice in the air system, brake chamber parking spring failure, caliper internal adjuster failure, etc.). This condition can lead to hot wheel ends and potential wheel fires.

Infra-Red Sensor Sends and Receives IR Light

Infra-Red Sensor Pack

Push Rod with Reﬂective Target

4. Advantages of Electronic Brake Monitoring Technology The vehicles in your fleet are one of your most valuable and costly assets, not to mention the liability implications if an accident or wheel fire does occur. Keeping your vehicles on the road—and ensuring they are operating safely—is critical in today’s environment. Add the complexity of being able to fully visually inspect and maintain your vehicles air disc brakes, and a strong case can be made for electronic brake monitoring technology. The cost of one vehicle total loss, or associated liability costs of a vehicle collision, can quickly become a major expense. Electronic Brake Monitoring not only provides real-time brake system status, but also can significantly reduce maintenance costs by taking the repair technician straight to the problem, and finding brake problems before they become more extensive and costly. Some advantages of Electronic Brake Monitoring are as follows: • Allows for quick and accurate brake checks in conjunction with the vehicle pre-trip inspection • Can save the fleet operator maintenance downtime and unnecessary maintenance costs • Gives the fleet operator peace of mind knowing that the vehicles brakes are properly operating • Can provide early warning of a thermal issue at the wheel end before it becomes serious

5. A Note about Brake Pad Wear Indication There is often confusion in the industry about disc brake pad wear indication and what it can provide. Brake pad (or lining) wear detection will only report the thickness of the brake pads and cannot provide any information about brake status. Brake pad wear sensors simply report either the end of life of the brake pad or relative pad wear information (i.e. 50% of the pad remains etc.). These pad wear sensing systems, while beneﬁcial, cannot provide any indication as to the status of the vehicles air system, brake chamber or caliper operation.

6. Conclusion Significant technological advances in Electronic Brake Monitoring are occurring in the industry and these systems can provide significant benefit to the fleet operator and vehicle inspector. Being able to properly inspect and maintain your vehicles air brake system is one of the most important factors in making sure your vehicles are operating safely and to their maximum potential. CVSA is committed to working with fleet operators, vehicle inspectors and vehicle manufacturers in exploring new advanced technologies that can keep us all safe while we are on the road. n

Brake Caliper Brake Chamber

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RAD INSPECTION NEWS Legislative Delegation Goes to Carlsbad, NM By Major Lance Evans, Iowa Department of Transportation/Chair, Hazardous Materials Committee On June 18-19, 2013, the Council of States Governments Midwest hosted a Legislative delegation to Carlsbad New Mexico; this event was attended by 16 representatives from across the Midwest. Those in attendance represented legislatures, officials from departments of energy and law enforcement, along with state Homeland Security representatives and state departments of natural resource staff, all of which are stakeholders when it comes to shipments of transuranic waste. The purpose of the trip was to tour the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and hear from officials directly involved with the handling and safety of shipments as they transverse our nation’s highways.

followed by stops at aboveground locations— such as the waste handling building and the Central Monitoring Room, where WIPP personnel keep track of site-based events, as well as those involving trucks carrying transuranic waste to the site. Once the topside tour was finished, the participants headed 2,150 feet underground into the mine for a tour of the underground disposal areas. Upon completion of the tour, the participants headed back to Carlsbad for an afternoon filled with briefings from representatives from state legislatures, the State of New Mexico and DOE. They also learned how CVSA plays a vital role when it comes to safety of the vehicles involved.

The trip started oﬀ with an informal supper so everyone could have the opportunity to visit with other attendees in a casual, relaxed environment. Much of the discussion focused on how each state handles shipments and what laws are in place to govern the safe and secure transportation of transuranic waste.

The delegation tour was well-received; the eye opening experience will, hopefully, pave the way for more tours like this to give stakeholders a better understanding of WIPP and the transportation of transuranic waste. The questions I received from the participants in regard to our Level VI program showed that safe and secure transportation of radiological waste is of vital importance and the role of CVSA with this endeavor was much appreciated by those in attendance. n

On day two, the attendees got on a bus and headed to WIPP, the world’s only operating deep geologic repository for radioactive waste. The tour started with an intense safety brieﬁng,

Carlsbad Field Office Selects Office of Business Director The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) announced the selection of William “Bill” Mackie as the Director of the Office of Business (OOB). Mackie’s responsibilities for CBFO will include finance, contracting, human resources, security, information management and government information/records to ensure that all federal requirements are being met. “Bill brings a great deal of experience and expertise to the position,” said CBFO Manager Joe Franco. “I’m pleased to announce his selection and look forward to working with Bill in his new position beginning mid-July.” CBFO has responsibility for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and the National Transuranic (TRU) Program. Mackie has served as the CBFO Institutional Affairs Program Manager for the past seven years. Prior to joining CBFO, Mackie spent several years working with WIPP while at the Western Governors’ Association. He also served in the U.S. Navy for more than 30 years as a hospital corpsman and a medical service corps officer specializing in health care administration. He then joined the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department where he held positions as the Director of Administrative Services and as a Planning and Program Development Chief, which involved the transportation of radioactive waste in the state. Bill has been a great asset to CVSA’s Level VI Program and Program Committee. His guidance and camaraderie will be missed by all involved in the Level VI Program. n

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WIPP 7 Certified and Ready for Waste Disposal In mid-July 2013, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) approved the use of Panel 7 for disposal of defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste at the Department of Energy (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Approval by NMED for each underground waste disposal panel prior to use is required under the WIPP Hazardous Waste Facility Permit (Permit). A panel consists of seven waste disposal rooms and each room is approximately 13 feet high, 33 feet wide and 300 feet long. Mining and outfitting of a panel, which includes installation of electricity, monitoring equipment and air regulating bulkheads, takes about two to two and a half years. Once the mining and outfitting are completed, the panel is certified by a professional engineer registered in New Mexico. The permit requires the certification and submittal of related documentation to the NMED Secretary for review and approval. The NMED then conducts an inspection to verify that the panel is constructed in compliance with the permit requirements. “We’re very pleased by the NMED documentation review and its timely approval of Panel 7 for use,” DOE Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) Manager Joe Franco said.

CBFO has responsibility for WIPP and the National TRU Program. “We may begin using the panel in August,” Franco said. “Timing on the NMED approval is important because it allows for WIPP to start using Panel 7 to continue to provide defense-related TRU waste cleanup for the nation,” he emphasized. A panel naturally begins to close in at a rate of about three to six inches a year, which is the salt rock behavior anticipated to facilitate permanently encapsulating the waste and removal from the biosphere. WIPP is currently emplacing TRU waste in Panel 6. When Panel 6 is full, WIPP will begin emplacing shipments of waste in Panel 7. Panel 7 approval allows WIPP to continue to fulﬁll its regulatory commitments, including: the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) framework agreement with the State of New Mexico to remove the above-ground TRU waste currently stored at Area G at LANL by June 30, 2014; and the settlement agreement between the DOE, U.S. Navy and State of Idaho for the disposition of mutually agreed-upon CH- and RH-TRU waste stored at the Idaho National Laboratory by Dec. 31, 2018. n

LEVEL VI CLASS SCHEDULE Under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy, CVSA has scheduled the Level VI Classes for 2013 and 2014 to certify inspectors to conduct Level VI inspections on motor carriers and their drivers transporting 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.

REMAINING CLASSES FOR 2013 Reno, NV—September 30-October 3 Denver, CO—October 14-17 Austin, TX—November 4-7

SCHEDULED CLASSES FOR 2014 Annual Train the Trainer—TBD Meridian, ID—March 24-27 SC—April 28-May 1—Location TBD Sacramento, CA—May 12-15 Springﬁeld, IL—June 16-19 Austin, TX—November 3-6 Any jurisdiction that needs inspectors trained and/or can host a Level VI Class in 2014 is asked to contact Carlisle Smith at 301-830-6147 or email him at carlisles@cvsa.org by September 30, 2013.

NEED MORE LEVEL VI INFORMATION? The CVSA website is the place for the most MERRTT Train-the-Trainer Course Planned State, tribal and local hazardous materials instructors are encouraged to save the date for an upcoming Modular Emergency Response Radiological Transportation Training (MERRTT) Train-the-Trainer course. The October 15-17 course in Carlsbad, New Mexico will provide the tools that instructors need to teach the MERRTT course to emergency responders.

The course has been reviewed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and is approved by the Department of Homeland Security and the Continuing Education Board of Emergency Medical Services. For more information or to sign up, call David Lewis at 575-234-8486 or e-mail him at david.lewis@wipp.ws. n

up-to-date information regarding the Level VI Program. You’ll ﬁnd the minutes of the Level VI Program Committee Meetings, Level VI reports, Level VI training and public outreach schedules and more. Also, you can ask questions concerning the Level VI Inspection Program on the Level VI online forum (blog). To reach the Level VI website, go to www.cvsa.org, click on “Programs,” then click on the Level VI radiation symbol to enter the Level VI website.

THIRD QUARTER 2013

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RA D INSP ECT IO N NE W S

CVSA Participates in Industry Meetings NTSF Meeting

NNSA Symposium

On May 15, 2013, Carlisle Smith addressed the National Transportation Stakeholders Forum (NTSF) in Buﬀalo, New York. Director Smith spoke on the North American Standard Level VI Inspection Program and the topic of “Ensuring Safe Transportation of Radioactive Material.” Presentations were also given by the Federal Railroad Administration, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Agency. Director Smith provided CVSA updates during breakout sessions for individual regional groups, including the Southern State’s Energy Board Radioactive Materials Transportation Committees meeting, the Council of State Governments Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee, and the Western Governors’ Association, Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), Transportation Safety Technical Advisory Group.

On June 4-5, 2013, Carlisle Smith attended the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), annual Global Threat Reduction Initiative meeting held in Washington, DC. The two-day meeting covered the topic of safe and secure transportation of radioactive materials by promoting information exchange among companies involved in transporting signiﬁcant quantities of radioactive materials within or through the U.S., and the U.S agencies which regulate and monitor these shipments. Presentations were given by representatives from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Admiration, Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, and the International Atomic Energy Administration. Director Smith provided a presentation on CVSA and its role in hazardous materials transportation, as well as radioactive materials transportation safety and security.

National Conference of State Legislatures Meeting On July 23, 2013, Carlisle Smith participated via teleconference in the National Conference of State Legislators meeting on the Alliance for Uniform Hazmat Transportation Procedures’ annual Governing Board Meeting. Director Smith provided an overview of CVSA’s activities related to hazardous materials transportation. Topics of discussion were CVSA’s position on the Uniform Hazardous Materials Registration Program, as well as the key issues in Map-21 related to hazardous materials transportation and enforcement. Director Smith also provided an update on the Level VI Program and the COHMED program, encouraging NCSL members to attend the 2014 COHMED meeting. n

WIPP Shipment & Disposal Information As of July 29, 2013

Site

Shipments

Loaded Miles

174

298,653

10,955

44,800

5,649

7,860,624

1,236

422,712

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

24,804

Nevada Test Site

57,312

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

131

175,933

2,045

1,446,444

572

1,034,176

2,200

1,561

2,348,324

11,479

13,726,937

Argonne National Laboratory Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory GE Vallecitos Nuclear Center Idaho National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory

Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site Hanford Site Sandia National Laboratories Savannah River Site Total to WIPP 44

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Save the Dates!

THIRD QUARTER 2013

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CVSA LEADERSHIP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE PRESIDENT Maj. Mark Savage Colorado State Patrol VICE PRESIDENT Sgt. Thomas Fuller New York State Police SECRETARY-TREASURER Capt. William “Bill” Reese Idaho State Police PAST PRESIDENTS Asst. Chief David Palmer Texas Department of Public Safety Asst. Chief Steve Dowling California Highway Patrol Francis “Buzzy” France Maryland State Police

REGION PRESIDENTS Region I Sgt. Raymond Weiss New York State Police Region II Capt. Jay Thompson Arkansas Highway Police Region III Alan Martin Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Region IV Capt. Chris Mayrant New Mexico Department of Public Safety Region V Reg Wightman Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation

REGION VICE PRESIDENTS (Non-Voting) Region I Shari Leichter New Jersey Dept. of Transportation Region II Capt. Troy Thompson Florida Highway Patrol Region III Maj. Lance Evans Iowa Department of Transportation Region IV Lt. Ken Roberts California Highway Patrol

LOCAL VICE PRESIDENT (Non-Voting) Oﬃcer Wes Bement Grand Prairie TX Police Department ASSOCIATE MEMBER (Non-Voting) Rob Abbott, Chair, Associate Advisory Committee American Trucking Associations FEDERAL GOVERNMENT (Non-Voting) William “Bill” Quade, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) William “Bill” Arrington, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Mauricio Hinojosa, Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT)

Region V Pierre Pratte Contrôle Routier Québec

Ryan Posten, Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)

LOCAL PRESIDENT Robert Mills Fort Worth Police Department

Darren Christle, Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA), CRA Chair

COMMITTEE AND PROGRAM CHAIRS COMMITTEE CHAIRS Associate Advisory Committee Rob Abbott American Trucking Associations

Program Initiatives Committee Alan R. Martin Public Utilities Commission of Ohio

Driver-Traﬃc Enforcement Committee Lt. Thomas Fitzgerald Massachusetts State Police

Size & Weight Committee Capt. Jay Thompson Arkansas Highway Police

Hazardous Materials Committee Maj. Lance Evans Iowa Department of Transportation

Training Committee Capt. Rocco Domenico Colorado State Patrol

Information Systems Committee Capt. William “Jake” Elovirta Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles

Vehicle Committee Kerri Wirachowsky Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Passenger Carrier Committee Lt. Don Bridge, Jr. Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles

PROGRAM CHAIRS Level VI Inspection Capt. William “Bill” Reese Idaho State Police COHMED Sgt. Thomas Fuller New York State Police International Driver Excellence Award Vacant Operation Safe Driver Brian Neal FedEx Ground Corp. Operation Airbrake Sgt. Scott Hanson Idaho State Police Shelley Conklin Landstar Logistics

GUARDIAN

Roadcheck Captain Tim Pullin Alabama Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol Division North American Inspectors Championship (NAIC) Paul Tamburelli Checkmark Vehicle Safety Services, Inc.

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2013 CVSA SPONSORS ALLIED

PREMIER

DIAMOND

PLATINUM

GOLD

THIRD QUARTER 2013

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2013 CVSA SPONSORS SILVER Austin Powder Company Cargo Transporters, Inc. Colorado Motor Carriers Association FoxFury, LLC Great West Casualty Company

Groendyke Transport, Inc. Intermodal Association of North America JNJ Express, Inc. Landstar Transportation Logistics

Mercer Transportation Company Perceptics, LLC Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association STEMCO Brake Products Sysco Corporation

BRONZE ABF Freight System, Inc. Academy Express, LLC American Bus Association American Pyrotechnics Association Arizona Trucking Association ATCO Electric Bridge Terminal Transport, Inc. Brown Line, LLC Cambridge Systematics, Inc. Coach USA Code Corporation

DATTCO, Inc. DriveCam, Inc. EQT Corporation Frontier Transport Greyhound Canada Transportation Herzig Hauling, LLC HoďŹ&#x20AC;man Transportation, LLC J. B. Hunt Transport, Inc. Michels Corporation NATC, Inc. National Tank Truck Carriers

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. Praxair, Inc. Schneider National, Inc. Swift Transportation United Motorcoach Association Usher Transport, Inc. Vogel Safety & Risk, Inc. Wal-Mart Transportation, LLC Warren Transport, Inc. Werner Enterprises, Inc.

FRIENDS OF CVSA American Coatings Association, Inc. Anderson Trucking Services, Inc. Bork Transport of Illinois Brake Tech Tools Canadian Association of Oilwell and Drilling Contractors Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) Compliance Safety Systems, LLC Currie Associates, Inc.

Dibble Trucking, Inc. Ergon Trucking, Inc. Gateway Distribution, Inc. Greg Neylon Greyhound Lines, Inc. Horizon Freight System, Inc./ Kaplan Trucking Co. J.E.B. Environmental Services Kinedyne Corporation LabelMaster

Linde North America, Inc. MANCOMM, Inc. Miller Transporters Mississippi Trucking Association Quick Transport Solutions, Inc. The Trucking Attorneys Thomas Petroleum Transport Canada Utah Transit Authority

NEW CVSA ASSOCIATE MEMBERS A C M International Travel, Inc.

Probuild Holding, LLC

Academic Carrier Education Services, LLC

RFNX Management, Inc.

Alexandria Technical & Community College

Schlumberger Canada, Ltd.

Big Road

Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company

Dyno Nobel Canada, Inc.

Volvo Construction Equipment Rental, LLC

Kinedyne Corporation Martz Group

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as of June 25, 2013

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Are You as Prepared as You Should Be? Get the Resources You Need from the CVSA Store PRACTICAL CARGO SECUREMENT The most complete reference on the new cargo securement regulations available anywhere! This easy-to-understand book is a “must-have” for drivers and enforcement staﬀ. It covers general cargo requirements and the 11 speciﬁc commodities addressed in the regulations. Appendix includes current regulations for the U.S. and Canada. 600+ illustrations, 406 pages. Enforcement Member Cost: $20 Single Copy Cost: $25

PRACTICAL AIRBRAKES—HANDBOOK & STUDY GUIDE The industry standard for driver training—providing all of the knowledge drivers need to operate their vehicles safely and in compliance with the law. It exceeds the minimum CDL requirements and covers system operation, testing and inspection, and includes review exercises at the end of each chapter. Instructor support materials also available. 100+ illustrations, 104 pages. Enforcement Member Cost: $15 Associate Member Cost: $20 Non-Member Cost: $25

BRAKE INSPECTION TOOL Developed especially for the CVSA Inspector! This "all-in-one" stainless steel tool includes a soap stone with adjustment slide, ruler and brake lining gauge, plus a clip keeps it from falling out of your pocket. Cost: $25

CHAMBER TECH TOOL This handy caliper tool measures an air chamber size from a type 6 to type 36, including long stroke chambers. You can use quickly with only one hand, even in those hard to reach installations. The back of tool includes a quick reference to the CVSA roadside inspection limits. Cost: $44.95

CHAINSAFE GAUGE This helpful tool measures chain thickness and wear tolerance…perfect for determining whether or not chains meet out-of-service criteria. Cost: $18

PRACTICAL AIRBRAKES—BRAKE ADJUSTMENT This book expands on the content of the Practical Airbrakes Handbook and thoroughly covers brake adjustment issues—from the importance of keeping brakes properly adjusted to proper inspection procedures. It explains the function, operation and proper inspection of self-adjusting brake adjusters—and gives you step-by-step procedures on how to re-adjust manual and self-adjusting brake adjusters. 45 pages.

CVSA BRUSHED TWILL CAP Show your commitment to the CMV safety and enforcement! Navy blue, 100% cotton, one size ﬁts all. Cost: $14

Enforcement Member Cost: $15 Associate Member Cost: $20 Non-Member Cost: $25

Order these and other CVSA products today! www.cvsa.org/store

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6303 Ivy Lane, Suite 310 Greenbelt, MD 20770-6319

View the magazine online at www.cvsa.org/guardian

CALENDAR OF EVENTS Operation Safe Driver Week 2013 October 20-26, 2013 2014 COHMED Conference January 27–31, 2014 | Sarasota, FL Budget Committee Meeting January 28, 2014 | Sarasota, FL Winter Executive Committee Meeting January 29, 2014 | Sarasota, FL Budget Committee Meeting April 6, 2014 | Los Angeles, CA Executive Committee Meeting April 6, 2014 | Los Angeles, CA North American Cargo Securement Harmonization Public Forum April 7, 2014 | Los Angeles, CA 2014 CVSA Workshop April 8-10, 2014 | Los Angeles, CA

Learn more at www.cvsa.org/events

Save the Dates!