CVSA Guardian 3rd Quarter 2014 by CVSA

GUARDIAN A Publication of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

Volume 21, Issue 3 3rd Quarter 2014

Plus... Recap of the 22nd Annual North American Inspectors Championship (NAIC) Technology for Improving Highway Safety & More!

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MORE THAN SAFETY INSPECTIONS CONDUCTED DURING 27TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL ROADCHECK

GUARDIAN Third Quarter Volume 21, Issue 3 www.cvsa.org

IN THIS ISSUE

n Insight President’s Message ..............................................................................................1 Executive Director’s Message ............................................................................2 Letters to the Editor Letter of Appreciation to COHMED and CVSA ............................................3 Risk and CSA ........................................................................................................3 Have You Ever Said to Yourself, “Wow that was Close!”? ........................4 Roadability ..........................................................................................................4 Knowledge Matters The Texas Challenge ..........................................................................................5 Zero is Not Taboo................................................................................................7 A Rookie’s Perspective ......................................................................................8 Alert Driving Improves Safety for all Road Users ......................................9 It Takes More than Technology to Make Our Roads Safer ......................10

n Cover Story Results from CVSA's International Roadcheck 2014 ........................................11 n Government News Ask the FMCSA Administrator ..........................................................................13 Business or Pleasure? Regulating Entertainer Motorcoach Passenger Transportation........................................................................................14 FMCSA Implements New Adjudicated Citation Policy................................15 CVSA Attended the 2014 "Be Ready. Be Buckled." Safety Belt Art Contest Awards Ceremony ................................................16 The Truck that Brought Down the Bridge.......................................................17 New Commercial Driver Medical Examination Requirements Effective May 21, 2014 ....................................................................................18 The Legislative & Regulatory Rundown .........................................................19 n CVSA Committee & Program News CVSA’s 22nd Annual North American Inspectors Championship ..............................................................................20 CVSA Accepting Nominations for First Annual International Driver Excellence Award (IDEA) ..........................................22 Results from CVSA's 2014 Operation Airbrake One-Day Brake Check Event..........................................................................22 CVSA Launches New Association Management System and Redesigned Website ........................................................................................23 CVSA Announces 2014 Academic Scholarship Recipients........................23 International Cooperation Achieved Performance Based Brake Testing (PBBT) Training and Certification in Alaska ....................24 CVSA Heavy Vehicle Data Collection Effort ..................................................25 The Bus Stops Here ............................................................................................26 Youth Safety Leaders Learn Techniques for Safe Driving Around Commercial Vehicles for Global Youth Traffic Safety Month................................................................27 n Inspector’s Corner The Expectations as a NAIC Grand Champion Winner ..............................28 n Regional News Howard Levine Named Maryland Motor Truck Association’s Chairman of the Board ..................................................................................29 Pennsylvania State Police Motor Carrier Officers Enforce Operation Code R.E.D. ....................................................................................29 Focusing on the Driver ......................................................................................30 New Jersey Hosts Teens and Trucks Safety Awareness Event ....................31 Roadcheck 2014 in Puerto Rico ......................................................................32 Roadcheck: The Florida Highway Patrol and the Florida Truck Association Team Up to Remove Unsafe Vehicles ..................................32 GUARDIAN

GUARDIAN A Publication of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

Texas DPS Inspects More Than 8,700 Commercial Vehicles during Roadcheck ............................................................................................33 Operation Safe Drive on I-95 ............................................................................33 Virtual Weigh-In-Motion: The Future Is Now................................................33 North Carolina’s Motor Carrier Enforcement Program Deploying New Tools to Improve Performance ......................................34 Pee Dee Transportation Association’s Teens and Trucks: Share the Road Safety Campaign ................................................................36 Major Paul M. Claunch Retires After More Than 39 Years in Law Enforcement........................................................................36 Drivers Urged to Use Caution When Traveling Near Trains ........................37 The Importance of Communication ................................................................37 Revised Manual: Commercial Vehicle Safety Compliance in Alberta ......38 Operation Mighty Escrow ..................................................................................38 Region V Photos ..................................................................................................39 n From the Driver's Seat What’s Your Truck’s “Personality?” ................................................................40 n Safety Innovators The Promise of Technology for Improving Highway Safety is Becoming Reality..............................................................................................41 n RAD Inspection News Level VI Program Welcomes New Chairman................................................42 CVSA Level VI Public Outreach Program in Minneapolis and Baltimore ....................................................................................................42 Level VI Classes Held in California, Illinois and New York........................43 U.S. Sterilization Services Provider Sterigenics to Purchase Canadian Medical Isotopes Supplier Nordion Inc...................................44 Mexican Oﬃcials Find Radioactive Source from Stolen Truck ....................44 A Short List of Industrial Radioisotopes and Their Uses..........................45 Level VI 2014 Class Schedule ..........................................................................45 Level VI Roadside Inspections (2014 - Fiscal) .............................................46 WIPP Shipment & Disposal Information .......................................................46

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 • Iris R. Leonard, Manager, Member & Program Services • Nicole Leandro, Manager, Communications • Edgar M. Martinez, Member Services • Claudia V. McNatt, Manager, Meetings & Events • J. Craig Defibaugh, Controller • Wanica L. Foreman, Administrative Assistant Copyright 2014, CVSA. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. For comments, suggestions or information, email communications@cvsa.org. Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Training is the Foundation of Our Future By Sergeant Tom Fuller, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit, New York State Police

We should never be satisﬁed that we know it all (or think that we do) and shut ourselves out of any new training. We have to continue our education process each and every day of our lives.

his is my last article as president of this great Alliance. In each of my previous articles I have spoken about one of the topics from my presidential platform: data quality, communications and partnerships. These topics are what I believe to be an important part of this Alliance. In this article, I would like to cover one more topic that should be an important part of our future as an organization. That important topic is training. Training is defined as, “to give or receive the education, discipline and instruction, drill, practice, etc., designed to impart proficiency or efficiency.” We all received some training when we began our careers in the transportation arena. For law enforcement, it meant attending classes taught by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) associate staff instructors in a classroom atmosphere and with additional annual in-service training provided by our respective agencies. For industry, it meant long hours of driver training to obtain your commercial driver’s license and then the additional safety and regulation training provided by your employer. With the training we received, we became knowledgeable about commercial motor vehicle and highway safety. But we cannot stop there. Schooling or classroom training, while very important, should only be the first step in learning. Once we have completed our classroom training, we need to develop the knowledge necessary to adequately perform the tasks we learned. We need experience. We develop this experience each and every day that we apply what we learned in class. It is in this area that we decide whether to be a leader in safety or just a participant.

But how do we do this? There are several ways to expand our knowledge and experience. One way is the active participation with our partners in safety. We can all learn from one another as long as we communicate and are willing to listen to other opinions with an open mind. By doing this, we can expand our knowledge beyond what we learned in the classroom and become a more knowledgeable and well-rounded safety advocate. I believe this is an area in which CVSA can help its members. I encourage CVSA to take a more active role with providing additional training for both enforcement and industry. In regards to enforcement, this training would continue the groundwork started by FMCSA’s National Training Center and supplement the jurisdictions with in-service training. This training also would help by providing uniformity, one of the founding principles of CVSA. In regards to our industry members, it also would increase uniformity, as well as helping to alleviate some of the economic burden of each company creating its own training curriculum. In conclusion, better communication builds strong partnerships. Strong partnerships help with better training through knowledge and experience. Greater knowledge and experience through training helps us collect good quality data. Good quality data helps communicate to us deﬁciencies in our procedures and allows us to amend our training to correct those deﬁciencies. This continuous circle of education makes our roads safer. And that is everyone’s goal. n

Everything we have learned so far has given us a good foundation in our safety education, but to become a leader in safety we must properly apply what we have learned along with the desire to continuously learn even more through additional training and experience. We should never be satisﬁed that we know it all (or think that we do) and shut ourselves out of any new training. We have to continue our education process each and every day of our lives. This will expand our knowledge and help us grow into a true leader in highway safety.

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE Are We Going Down the Right Path? By Stephen A. Keppler, Executive Director, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

There are a number of ideas and multiple ways to solve problems, and we need to be part of participating in a collaborative community for safety.

know that most of you reading Guardian are “in the know” and have probably been saying to yourselves, “When will the regulatory actions stop coming?” Every few weeks it seems like there is something else coming at us, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking here, a Final Rule there, and regulatory guidance in between. It is enough to make your head hurt. I was wondering to myself whether we are going down the right path. It seems as though we are constantly trying to play catch up and track all of these regulatory actions rather than focusing on what we can do to make our roads safer. The current environment makes it difficult for the members to effectively develop and execute their safety plans. The constant changes create upheaval and impact resource allocation and operational plans. I sometimes think that all of you are like weathermen (or weatherwomen) trying to predict the future, which, as we know, is not easy. The last several months I have seen a growing frustration by both government and industry about this issue, whether it is in meetings, congressional hearings or in the press. At the same time, we have, unfortunately, seen a number of horrific crashes continue to grab the headlines, resulting in a number of people calling for even more regulations. It is times like this that call for a re-baselining of the situation and evaluating the outcomes of our actions with the proper frame of reference. With pressure to act coming from all directions, we need to remain grounded in what we know and not be deterred by those who don’t have this firsthand knowledge. Now, I am not saying that we push back on new regulations. What I am saying is we need to ensure that they are constructed to help increase safety on our roadways and enhance compliance and enforcement, not complicate it. On a parallel path, we also need to evaluate the existing regulatory framework to determine whether it is operating under the same premise, that being to increase safety and enable effective compliance and enforcement. It is pretty evident that the job of being an inspector and a commercial driver is not getting any easier. They are who we need to be focusing on, as they are the ones that truly make the difference for safety. If we are not providing the proper environment for them to excel

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in their jobs and to increase safety, then we are not doing our jobs effectively. The policies and regulations that are enacted need to be grounded in practical reality. The more difficult and complicated regulations are, the more difficult they are to comply with and enforce. While they need to be based on sound data and research, they also need to be simple and enforceable. To the extent they are not, it can and will impact on realizing the safety benefits that are projected in the rules. The recent debate in the U.S. regarding the hours-ofservice (HOS) regulations is an example of the difficulties in trying to balance competing interests. With HOS, we have a set of rules that sit at the confluence of safety and productivity. They also garner a serious amount of attention with the public and our elected officials. The answer in my mind is not to sway from the basic fundamentals of the rules, which is, are they increasing safety on our roadways, and do they enable increased compliance and effective enforcement? If we do not hold true to these tenets, then we will continue to have arguments and emotion will dominate the conversation until we are blue in the face, rather than what is the right thing to do for those who can most impact safety. Along the way, our attention will be diverted from other important aspects of doing our jobs. As we think about this issue and the other regulatory actions on the table, we need to also keep in mind that we are all safety professionals. There are a number of ideas and multiple ways to solve problems, and we need to be part of participating in a collaborative community for safety. The answers to our safety challenges can come from many places, and we need to listen to those who can contribute in a positive manner to the conversation and also be respectful of others’ views. We are all striving toward the same goal — a safer environment on the highway for our families, friends, employees and the public. While HOS is today’s challenge, tomorrow it will be something else. We can only make progress by working together. n

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letter of Appreciation to COHMED and CVSA

Risk and CSA By Jim Daulerio, CDS, CDT, Senior Risk Consultant, Envirun

By Tom Snyder, DOT Field Specialist, Austin Powder Company

Tom Snyder of Austin Powder Company (pictured right) accepts the 2014 COHMED Industry Award of Excellence for his dedication and years of service to COHMED.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members responsible for determining recipients of the Industry Award of Excellence that is presented each year during the Cooperative Hazardous Materials Enforcement Development (COHMED) Conference. I was very fortunate to have received this distinguished award at the 2014 COHMED Conference. I was very humbled by the selection and was left speechless for probably the ﬁrst time in my life.

I would very much like to take this opportunity to thank everyone responsible for this, on behalf of Austin Powder Company and myself. I follow a list of very worthwhile previous recipients. Austin Powder and I will continue to support CVSA and COHMED in any way possible and continue your eﬀorts in providing safer highways, accident reductions and motor carrier industry compliance and safety. The information and training made available through the COHMED and CVSA conferences continues to provide both law enforcement and industry with the necessary tools to maintain a compliant and safe industry. n

Risk management is a major component when keeping your scores below the threshold concerning Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA). Effective policies and procedures are crucial in any safety program. Everyone is a key player in ensuring your CSA scores are in check. There are a lot of moving parts to CSA and minimizing your risk will most definitely help reduce those scores. I recommend you take stock in your programs and training areas, as well as your hiring criteria. Make sure to: • Evaluate the associated roles within each department. • Qualify the proper candidate for the driving position. • Engage in steady communication with your driver force. • Ensure data is accurate on your roadside inspections. • Take action to achieve higher goals. Each part of your risk management cycle hinges on elements being in place and working smoothly in order to be successful. Envirun has established a “gap analysis” which reveals areas of concern pertaining to risk. We examine policies and procedures assessing not only the quality of programs in place, but the areas requiring improvement as well. Those areas of improvement are what we refer to as “gaps.” We then use our proprietary rating basis to determine a carrier’s gap score compared to the results of the best-in-class risk management programs. The results take company size into consideration to avoid putting a lager truck fleet against a much smaller operation. By utilizing this method, we have been able to help carriers not only minimize their risk, but also reduce their CSA scores. For more information, contact jim@envirun.com. n

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Have You Ever Said to Yourself, “Wow that was Close!”? Roadability By Bill Beaty, CDS, Director of Safety and Security, Earl L. Henderson Trucking

By Sam Farruggio, President, Farruggio’s Express, Inc.

In light of the June crash in New Jersey involving a tractor-trailer driver and a van carrying people, let’s continue to keep the families touched by this tragedy in our minds, hearts and prayers. It is sad for everyone involved.

Dear CVSA,

Of course, this accident put our industry into the spotlight again and some of the implications are alarming. Our industry was the target of an advertisement in a national magazine for an attorney who represents those injured or killed in serious vehicular accidents, some of which involve members of our industry. The advertisement showed the front end of a tractor with the heading, “Serial Killer.” As you can imagine, our industry associations demanded this advertisement be removed and a public apology be given immediately. The ﬁrm using this advertisement for its services did respond to this outcry with a lukewarm apology (in this author’s opinion) for the advertisement. The publisher of the magazine responded as well with an apology and asked its distributors to remove the remaining issues of this magazine from their shelves. They also oﬀered our industry associations a free advertisement in the next issue of their magazine.

I bring this accident up to share with all of you these messages: • Speeding in construction zones can be a deadly situation. • Speeding down a hill or mountain can be a deadly situation. • Speeding in town can be a deadly situation. • Speeding at all can be a deadly situation. How do we, as drivers, get into these potentially deadly situations? Ask yourself one thing, have you ever had to say “Wow that was close!”? Was your heart pounding in your chest? Or was your pulse racing so much that you couldn’t catch your breath? Close calls like that should be a wakeup call to any driver that you are distracted. What was your distraction? • GPS? It will lead you down the wrong road. “I didn’t see that detour sign.” • Cellphone? Distraction, even with Bluetooth™. “Wow, I went through downtown already?” • Fatigue? It just appears out of thin air. “Whew, I thought that was a dog in the road.” • Texting? Likened to drunk driving, causing 1,600,000 accidents per year (National Safety Council). Distracted driving kills. It would be terrible if you are talking on your cellphone with your loved one when suddenly, you cry out, “Oh No!” Or maybe it was the text you stopped typing that your loved one recalls from that horrible day. Nothing you need to say is worth causing that type of pain. It can wait. Be your safest. n

We need your help. The intermodal industry is growing and the need is greater than ever to improve safety and responsibility for the intermodal fleet, both tractors and trailing units. ATA worked to help us set up new rules known as Roadabilty to help law enforcement define the responsible party on equipment failure, and I believe we have come a long way. We have some of the largest railroads in the United States providing a very high-quality intermodal chassis, with new radials, auto air, LED lights and the full current standard of today’s technology, and we applaud those companies. However, we have those still trying to operate older equipment, using bias ply tube type tires, 99 percent recaps and old bulb type lighting and no auto slack adjusters, and no anti-locking systems – anything to keep the costs down. And who suffers? The public, the truckers and the owners who do not realize that cheap is expensive in the end. In the industry today, we are put out of service for lights on the trialing units. If you look, the lights are the old bulb style that can burn out or short out going over one bump in the road. Due to the industry trying to push the blame on the driver, the driver has gone to a cottage industry of buying a junk tire instead of calling for road service. This is not a cause but the result of some other cause of failure, nothing to do with the driver. We need your help to change the pointing of out of service to the IEP for the failure of today’s equipment and stop them from using 1950 technology. Again, we, the drayage community, want the safest transportation possible. We need everyone to be on the same playing field to help us become better at what we do. Would you help us improve the equipment? For more information, contact sam@farruggio.com. n

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KNOWLEDGE MATTERS The Texas Challenge By Major Chris Nordloh, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Programs, Texas Highway Patrol Division, Texas Department of Public Safety

We each have our own unique problem sets with varied resources to deal with them.

here has been quite some discussion recently across the nation about enforcement disparities between the states. The knee-jerk assumption among some is that this disparity is a bad or inappropriate observation. The state of Texas has been mentioned speciﬁcally several times. The statistics cited, such as average number of violations per inspection, do show varying ratios across the states. Before jumping to conclusions, one has to look at a larger picture than what can be gleaned from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) statistics. So, why do states have disparity? I can’t tell you about acute problems in, say, Vermont, Ohio or Nevada, but I can speak about what Texas deals with. Before I get started, let me reinforce that my goal here is not to talk about other states or make comparisons between them. We each have our own unique problem sets with varied resources to deal with them. Instead, my point is to give the reader insight into what goes on in Texas and to show a bigger picture than the narrow one typically drawn when citing CSA data. There should not be presumption that a truck is more likely to have

an inspection with more violations recorded in Texas versus another state. Texas is just different. Let me tell you how different: The state of Texas has 254 counties with a geographic range from coastal plains to desert mountains, Rio Grande Valley farmlands to east Texas piney woods and panhandle grasslands. Texas makes up 1,254 miles of the 1,900 mile U.S./Mexico border and we have 367 miles of coastline. There are about 300,000 miles of public roads that intersect Texas borders in over 50 locations with more than 26 million people using them. Texas has more than 880 miles of Interstate 10 alone. We have seaports, major metropolitan areas, massive oilfield operations, agriculture year round, timber harvesting, construction and, on top of that, 3.65 million truck and bus crossings from Mexico (2013). The interstate regulations are designed to be fairly consistent and the North American Standard Roadside Inspection is meant to make the inspection process uniform. That’s to say a Level II Inspection in state A is the same process as state B. The difference is the unique problems between the states – unique traffic patterns, manpower abilities, geography, etc.

Sleepy Towns to Boom Towns The Eagle Ford Shale Play of South Texas brought new challenges as thousands of oil and gas leases popped up in very rural areas with few public roads and few enforcement personnel. More than 1,000 trucks are needed to bring one hydraulic fracturing well into service; so sleepy towns, known for the trophy whitetail deer hunting, suddenly became oil boom towns. Man camps to house workers popped up. Two-lane highways with no shoulders, built decades ago, began falling apart from the extensive usage. Crash rates spiked tremendously. Surge operations were employed to bring troopers in from all over the state. At ﬁrst, we saw vehicle out-of-service (OOS) rates approaching 50 percent on every operation. Across South Texas, and after six years of surge operations, that rate is down to about 30 percent – still way above the state and national average. In the Panhandle of North Texas, one sergeant area of seven troopers covers a 15 county area which contains part of the Anadarko Basin, another oil and gas ﬁeld. Because of the rural nature of the area and the shortage of Continued on next page THIRD QUARTER 2014

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KNOWLEDGE MATTERS Continued from page 5

enforcement personnel, surge operations are used here too. The results? The last two surges resulted in 52 percent vehicle OOS and 6.7 percent driver OOS rates. Then there’s the border. Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) conducted 134,000 inspections with 3.65 million commercial crossings. One assertion when looking at CSA data is that there needs to be more traﬃc enforcement. An analysis of Texas crash data shows that approximately 70 percent of all commercial crashes are caused by passenger vehicles. Of the 30 percent attributable to commercial vehicles, the causes are similar to those of passenger vehicles: driver error. The major factors here, as they are elsewhere in the United States, are aggressive, distracted, inattentive, fatigued and impaired driving.

Typical traﬃc backup in the Eagle Ford Shale Play.

The Texas DPS has always maintained an aggressive traﬃc enforcement program, utilizing unmarked cars and aircrafts in conjunction with patrol operations to spot aggressive drivers. DPS troopers issued more than 1 million speed warnings and more than 392,000 speed citations in 2012 alone. Total arrests, citations and warnings (not including inspections) for 2012 totaled almost 3.34 million. That’s a lot of traﬃc enforcement. Add to that 393,000 inspections (DPS alone) and it helps gain perspective on our program. Keep in mind that, like any state police agency, this is done in conjunction with border enforcement, criminal interdiction, emergency management, natural disaster response, etc.

Trooper with 3,274 pounds of marijuana found in false ﬂoor of a hay trailer.

In Texas, we partner with more than 50 local jurisdictions who obtain MCSAP certifications for CVE function officers. These officers assist DPS efforts in maintaining safe roadways in more urban settings. They contributed more than 68,000 inspections to our commercial vehicle enforcement program. To sum up, state programs are not measured accurately when only looking at a CSA summary. When looking at a state’s overall efforts, look at how many inspections are conducted with roving patrol vs. at inspection facilities. Examine how much enforcement is long-haul and regional in nature vs. local, or the number of inspections that are conducted on vehicles driven on smooth highways vs. rough oil field or timber harvesting roads. These are just some of the issues that can affect the violation ratios often cited regarding state disparity. n

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A crash caused by driver error.

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KNOWLEDGE MATTERS Zero is Not Taboo By Lieutenant Rex C. Railsback, Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program, Kansas Highway Patrol

ver the years, numerous times I’ve heard motor carrier enforcement personnel say, “If you don’t ﬁnd a violation the ﬁrst time around, keep looking," or “I can’t have a Level I with no violations” or “If you don’t have at least two or three violations per inspection, you’re not doing your job,” and so on. I’d like to state that each one of these statements is incorrect and inspectors should not be afraid of a zero violation inspection. Now, I’m not saying that an inspector with only one violation in 50 inspections doesn’t possibly have training or other administrative issues that should be dealt with accordingly, but the occasional inspection with no violations is not a bad thing. In fact, it’s the ultimate goal of commercial vehicle safety: 100 percent compliance. If you really want to get down to the basics, the ultimate goal of industry, regulators and enforcement consist of four zeroes: 1. Zero fatality crashes 2. Zero injury crashes 3. Zero non-injury crashes 4. Zero violations I know we won’t reach these goals during my career, but I have seen a substantial reduction in all types of crashes, and even critical inspection violations, since I started inspecting commercial vehicles in 1993. CVSA even has a reward program for commercial vehicles that have no critical inspection item violations. That program provides CVSA decals, with the purpose to assist inspectors on deciding which vehicles should or should not be selected for inspection. If CVSA chooses to reward vehicles with clean and/or no critical inspection item violations, why can’t some inspectors do the same and list, “no violations detected,” instead of stretching to list something to avoid that zero violation inspection? If an inspector's supervisor is evaluating them based on violations per inspection, that can push inspectors to reach for violations. In fact, evaluations based on violations per inspection could be looked at in the same light as a quota for citations issued.

inspector think, “When in doubt, pen it out,” but instead he or she should think, “When in doubt, punt,” or “The tie goes to the runner.” There is nothing wrong with calling other inspectors for guidance either. Even calling instructors you’ve had in the past can help if you’re in doubt. If an inspector can’t get guidance to help avoid the doubt, then let it go. Do the research and get the violation next time. Just eliminating the mindset of always having to have an inspection with violations could reduce the total number of DataQs a state has to investigate. As a long-time instructor, I’ve taken numerous calls and emails over the years to help conﬁrm if something was or was not a violation and I know other instructors have done the same. There is no shame in asking if you’re not sure. Just remember the only dumb questions are the ones not asked. Citing a violation that you’re not sure of would be the same as citing someone for speeding when you weren’t sure you had the correct vehicle.

Citing a violation that you’re not sure of would be the same as citing someone for speeding when you weren’t sure you had the correct vehicle.

I’ve been inspecting commercial vehicles for 20 plus years and I’ve even made note of possible violations without listing them on the inspection report, and researched said possible violation(s) later. After I found the answer, I called the carrier and advised them of my finding on what I had questioned, and whether it was a violation. If this research was completed after the vehicle was released, but before the inspection was uploaded, I’ve even added notes to the inspection report about my findings. No matter how you notify a carrier of what your findings were, you’re still helping the motor carrier obtain compliance. Again, isn't that our ultimate goal? So, after all of the above, I hope inspectors continue to do the outstanding job of helping to reduce crashes, the operation of unsafe commercial motor vehicles and non-compliant motor carriers. By always remembering that occasionally you might run across a commercial vehicle without any violations, you should not be afraid to note it as such. Just remember that “zero is not taboo” and, in fact, is the ultimate goal of all of us in the commercial vehicle field. n

In this day and age of DataQs, inspectors need to be more articulate and sure of a violation than ever before. No longer should an

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KNOWLEDGE MATTERS A Rookie’s Perspective By Captain Mike Saunders, Commercial Vehicle Division, Washington State Patrol

A message we must relentlessly deliver to motorists in passenger vehicles is how diﬃcult it is for even the best CMV driver to maneuver 80,000+ pounds when forced to react in an emergent situation.

ep, I'm that guy. That's right, I can admit it to all you hardcore commercial vehicle enforcement folks who have dedicated your lives to addressing commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety. I'm the guy who spent 27 years in field operations hoping someone else would take care of the big rigs. Out of service – of course I knew the term. That's when I would advise my communications center I've ended my shift. The Code of Federal Regulations? Can we enforce those? Also, can somebody please explain what a motorcoach is? Oh, you mean those tour buses running up and down our highways? Got it. Well, the jig is up. I now find myself with the privilege of leading the Commercial Vehicle Division, and I am continually impressed by the quality of people this enforcement field attracts and the level of service they provide.

Dedicated In 31 total years in law enforcement, I have never encountered a more dedicated work force. These men and women in CMV enforcement make daily contact with CMVs – crawling under trucks, completing inspections on narrow roads and stopping large rigs which present so many unknowns, often with limited ability to identify the dangers which may exist within the cab. But they love it. When called away to other duties they often find their way back to work in this field to which they are so loyal. There is a level of commitment among these officers I am just beginning to understand.

Why do we do that? As dedicated as they are, I know I’m making my staff crazy with this query I am constantly asking. It is getting better, but only because they have learned to anticipate the question. As the new guy attempting to better understand my most recent assignment, I am continually making inquiries in search of process improvements. The officers providing the standard "because-that'sthe-way-we’ve-always-done-it" answer should probably rethink their response. Hopefully, this will result in our staff working smarter,

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maximizing our resources and improving eﬃciency. In today's economy, it is the only way we will reach our goals.

A Common Goal One common theme I find, not just among law enforcement, but in every entity related to the commercial vehicle industry, is the desire to protect and save lives on our roadways. The partnerships among industry and enforcement are impressive. Although there may be differences in the approach, we can all agree on the desired outcome. I recall the reaction from a CMV driver involved in a collision where the driver of a passenger vehicle was fatally injured. The CMV driver was not at fault. He was operating good equipment, with a legal load, doing everything right when the other vehicle entered his lane. I sensed the feeling of helplessness he must have experienced at the moment he realized all his efforts to avoid the other vehicle could not prevent the collision. He was so distraught over the loss of life he told me he would never get behind the wheel of a truck again. We can all relate to his response and I have found a genuine concern for safety everywhere I look in the commercial vehicle world.

Bridging the Gap A message we must relentlessly deliver to motorists in passenger vehicles is how difficult it is for even the best CMV driver to maneuver 80,000+ pounds when forced to react in an emergent situation. Nationally we find such high percentages of the collisions investigated were caused by a passenger vehicle in which the driver may have failed to acknowledge this fact. Damages resulting from a CMV collision are amplified by the shear mass and weight of the vehicle. The results can be devastating. So how can those of us involved in commercial vehicle enforcement effectively communicate this message with such limited resources? I am convinced we are underutilizing those field officers who find themselves in the same situation I described at the beginning of this article.

Settle down. I am not asking every officer to be CVSA-certified. No, you don’t need to force another program down the throats of a work force that is already overcommitted. But we can encourage our folks in the field to take advantage of a “training moment” when contacting a passenger vehicle for violations committed around a CMV. Violations such as cutting in front of a CMV at the congested exit ramp or failing to signal lane changes so others can anticipate your next move. We can point out how difficult it is for the CMV driver to react to a vehicle crossing the centerline as its inattentive driver sends his text message. “Sir, do you realize how difficult it is for the CMV driver to see you when you blow by him at 20 mph over the posted speed limit?” By asking our field operations troopers and officers to recognize these opportunities and help us deliver these types of messages, I believe we become more effective in accomplishing our goal to improve safety on our roadways. n

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KNOWLEDGE MATTERS Alert Driving Improves Safety for all Road Users By Commissioner Dr. Edward Ehlinger, Minnesota Department of Health; Commissioner Mona Dohman, Minnesota Department of Public Safety and Commissioner Charlie Zelle, Minnesota Department of Transportation

he tragic death in July of a mother bicycling with her two young children in Rock County, MN, is a horrifying reminder that distracted driving is a growing problem in this state. According to the criminal complaint, the driver admitted to taking his eyes off the road to check his cell phone when he hit the bicycle and bike stroller. Driver inattention is a leading contributing factor in fatal crashes. Cell phones and other electronic devices are commonplace in our lives today. But using them while we are driving is unsafe, irresponsible and can be deadly. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) reports that one in four crashes are related to distracted driving, although such crashes are likely underreported. Distracted driving was a contributing factor in 175 fatal crashes, resulting in 191 deaths from 2011 to 2013 in Minnesota. More than half of those crashes occurred in rural areas. Those fatalities cost Minnesota more than $269 million. In Minnesota, it’s illegal to text while driving and to access the web while in motion or a part of traffic, including at a stop light or stop sign. It’s also illegal for drivers under the age of 18 to use a cell phone while driving. Citations for these offenses increased from 388 in 2008 to 2,189 in 2013. That’s an alarming trend that must be reversed.

The popularity of mobile devices and services, and the dangerous and deadly consequences of their use while driving, require each of us to make some personal decisions, whether we are driving, bicycling or even walking. Our personal decisions can save lives. It’s time for us to take that next step. We should turn off cell phones or place them out of reach to avoid the urge to answer. We should pledge to never text and drive. We should plan our trips in advance to avoid fiddling with a GPS device or application while driving. We should pull over to a safe location if we must look at a map. We should designate a passenger to help with directions or when using devices such as a GPS. We should speak up if we’re a passenger to stop drivers from distracted driving behavior. Distracted driving goes beyond just mobile devices. Anytime we take our eyes off the road, hands off the wheel and our minds off our driving, we’re putting lives at risk. Children should be taught the importance of good behavior in a vehicle. Drivers who tend to children are distracted drivers. So are drivers who are eating, drinking or grooming.

Distracted driving goes beyond just mobile devices. Anytime we take our eyes off the road, hands off the wheel and our minds off our driving, we’re putting lives at risk.

Let’s all heed the lessons that too many Minnesotans learn the hard way. Let’s pay more attention to our driving, biking and walking. n

If you text while driving, on average you take your eyes off the road for up to 4.6 seconds out of every six seconds. That’s like traveling the length of a football field at 55 mph without looking up, according to DPS. Using a cell phone while driving, whether hands-free or hand-held, delays a driver’s reactions as much as having an alcohol-concentration level of .08 percent. Safety campaigns by DPS and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) remind drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians that we all have the same rights and responsibilities and that we all need to “share the road.” DPS, MnDOT and the Department of Health lead Minnesota’s Toward Zero Deaths program to reduce traffic crashes, injuries and deaths. Its mission is to create a culture for which traffic fatalities of all kinds are unacceptable. Distracted driving is unacceptable.

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KNOWLEDGE MATTERS It Takes More than Technology to Make Our Roads Safer By Del Lisk, Vice President, Safety Services, Lytx, Inc.

It’s important to realize that CSA is only one piece of the safety puzzle. Fleet operators’ use of predictive analytics will play a critical role in bridging the gap between what law enforcement can do and what CSA aspires to accomplish.

he Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) developed the Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) Program to improve large truck and bus safety, and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities related to commercial motor vehicles. And all indications are that it’s working. Fleets are becoming more compliant and operators are driving more safely. One of the key elements holding fleets and drivers accountable to the goals of CSA is law enforcement. But, with more than 2 million trucks and only 15, 000 inspectors on the road, it’s impossible for this small army of inspectors to find everyone who is not meeting CSA standards. It’s inevitable that only a small fraction of the problem is being addressed since vehicles are always on the move and inspectors need to be there at the exact moment something happens. According to the Centers for Disease Control, fatal vehicle collisions are one of the leading causes of death in the United States today, with one person dying in a collision every 15 minutes. More than 90 percent of these collisions involve human error. This is exactly why it’s important that fleets leverage technologies that go beyond the law’s reach. These technologies can help predict who and what are the biggest risks on the road – enabling fleet managers to intercede before those problems lead to tragedies.

Predictive models seek to explain the relationships between a critical variable and a group of factors that help predict its outcome. There are certain situations where predictive models can be especially beneﬁcial in delivering valuable insights: • Processes that require a large number of similar decisions • Situations with high consequences (e.g., lives, injuries or high dollars at stake) • Enormous amounts of data that must be analyzed • Areas where it’s possible to insert a model calculation into the actual process, either to automate decisions or to support human decision-makers The wealth of data that comes from use of invehicle video to monitor and analyze driving behavior meets all of the conditions above and makes it an ideal platform to develop predictive models. In conjunction with video and observational analysis, it’s possible to deliver very accurate predictive models to determine how drivers drive and the risk associated with their driving patterns.

looking at the same drivers and time periods, telematics-only solutions are limited to < 40 percent efficacy (see table below). However, expanding the data by combining video with other data, it’s possible to double the predictive power of a ‘black box’ telematics solution. We’ve used this expanded data to develop a driver score which we have labeled the Lytx Safety Score™. When using predictive analytics, it’s important to understand your Odds Ratio (OR) – a measure of association between an exposure and an outcome. In the case of our Lytx Safety Score, the OR represents the odds that a driver will get into a collision in the near future. For example, it can determine that one driver’s collision odds are less than 1 percent while another’s is 35 percent. This type of information provides fleet managers an opportunity to focus training efforts on where they're needed most and proactively make a difference on our roads. It’s important to realize that CSA is only one piece of the safety puzzle. Fleet operators’ use of predictive analytics will play a critical role in bridging the gap between what law enforcement can do and what CSA aspires to accomplish. n

The Power of Video Using predictive analytics, it’s now possible to predict who is more likely to be involved in a future collision. Based on Lytx analysis, when

Making Data Sense

In business, predictive models identify patterns found in historical, transactional and predictive data to identify risks and opportunities.

COLLISON PREDICTION MODEL EFFICACY Percentage of Collision Drivers Predicted Accurately in 90-Day Period Prior to Collision (Must be in Top 20% of Riskiest Drivers)

TELEMATICS

Description

VIDEO

Of course, technology alone won’t make our roads safer. It’s the analysis of the data that the technology provides that will help ﬂeets understand what’s going on behind the wheel. Predictive analytics helps make sense of the volumes of data that ﬂeet managers are receiving. Predictive analytics encompass a variety of techniques: statistics, modeling, machine learning and data mining. By analyzing current and historical facts, one can make predictions about future probable events.

Black Box Black Box with Environmental Data

Datasets

T, 3M

Video (Reviewed)

Video + Telematics

V, T

Video + Telematics + V, T, 3M Environmental Data Video + Telematics + Environmental/Other Data

32%

V, T, 3F

36% 40% 63% 69% 80%

Telematics (T); Reviewed Video (V); 3rd Party Data — Minimal (3M); 3rd Party Data — Full (3F)

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CO V E R S T O R Y

Results from CVSA's

International Roadcheck 2014 CVSA-certiďŹ ed inspectors across North America completed 73,475 truck and bus inspections during the 72-hour enforcement and safety outreach campaign. Continued on next page

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Continued from page 11

n June 3-5, 2014, commercial motor vehicle inspectors across North America completed 73,475 truck and bus inspections during International Roadcheck 2014, the annual 72-hour enforcement and safety outreach event carried out by members of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA). Of the 73,475 total inspections, 49,656 (67.6 percent) were North American Standard Level I Inspections, which is the most thorough roadside inspection. Level I Inspections include a 37-step procedure that involves an examination of both the driver’s record of duty status and the safety of the vehicle. Drivers are required to provide items such as their license, endorsements, medical card and hours-of-service documentation, and are checked for seat belt usage and the use of alcohol and/or drugs. The vehicle inspection includes checking items such as the braking system, coupling devices, exhaust system, frame, fuel system, lights, safe loading, steering mechanism, suspension, tires, van and open-top trailer bodies, wheels and rims, windshield wipers, and emergency exits on buses.

of dangerous goods (HM/TDG) regulatory compliance. Although they represent a smaller segment of truck transportation, such shipments require special paperwork, driver credentials, vehicle safety, load securement, and hazard identification and communication, including placarding, to signify the added risks of exposure in the event of a crash, leak or fire. A total of 5,738 inspections included HM/TDG during this year’s event, with 919 (16.0 percent) found with vehicle OOS violations and 172 (3.0 percent) with driver OOS violations. CVSA estimates that for this year’s International Roadcheck, over 10,000 CVSA and FMCSA inspectors participated at approximately 2,500 locations across North America. On an annual basis, nearly 4 million inspections are conducted across the continent. “International Roadcheck is a very important three-day event that takes place once per year,” said CVSA Executive Director Stephen A. Keppler. But let’s not forget that every day, approximately 13,000 CVSA-certified local, state, provincial and federal inspectors at thousands of locations across North America help keep our roads safe by performing truck and bus inspections.”

Of the 49,656 Level I Inspections conducted during International Roadcheck 2014, 23 percent included out-of-service (OOS) vehicle violations. There were a total of 72,415 driver inspections, including those conducted during all levels of inspections, from which 4.8 percent were found with OOS violations. There were 825 seatbelt violations issued. Other inspections conducted included Level II walk-around, Level III driveronly, and Level V vehicle-only inspections.

“The 73,475 inspections that were completed during Roadcheck this year send a strong message to drivers and trucking companies alike that safety is our top priority,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro. “Together, FMCSA and our law enforcement partners nationwide are committed to saving lives on our roadways and raising the bar for safety in the commercial trucking industry nationwide.”

“The inspections conducted during the three-day International Roadcheck event are the same types of inspections conducted every day by hard-working CVSA-certiﬁed inspectors,” said CVSA President Sgt. Thomas Fuller with the New York State Police. “International Roadcheck provides the opportunity to promote safety improvement eﬀorts and accomplishments that enforcement and industry achieve every day.”

Since its inception in 1988, Roadcheck inspections have numbered more than 1.4 million, resulting in an estimated 318 lives saved and 5,840 injuries avoided. International Roadcheck is sponsored by CVSA, with participation by FMCSA, Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators and the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation in Mexico.

In addition to the Level I Inspections, International Roadcheck 2014 also placed special emphasis on hazardous materials/transportation

To learn more about International Roadcheck, visit www.cvsa.org/programs/int_roadcheck. n

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ASK THE FMCSA ADMINISTRATOR Over the years, Administrator Anne S. Ferro of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has answered your questions in each edition of Guardian magazine. This is Administrator Ferro's last entry. She left her position as FMCSA Administrator. "Ask the Administrator" will continue with the new FMCSA Administrator answering your questions.

Data quality continues to be an area of concern for a number of people. What is FMCSA doing on this front? A: First, we recognize the importance of all those performing roadside inspections, the oﬃcers completing police accident reports and the various agencies involved in providing information to FMCSA. Training and outreach are critical elements in how we achieve the highest data quality. In April, we conducted two days of data quality training at the spring CVSA Workshop in Los Angeles, CA. This training was followed up with two webinars: one on data quality resources and reports on May 28 and another on July 23 to review a recently launched SafetyNet tool. The data quality team provides requested training to state police organizations to help with the collection of commercial motor vehicle accident data. The team also provides one-onone training with state specialists in charge of reporting state data to FMCSA to assist with extracting the right information from the state’s traﬃc records systems.

FMCSA provides the states with monthly performance measures called the State Safety Data Quality (SSDQ) measures (https://ai. fmcsa.dot.gov/DataQuality/DataQuality.asp), and the SSDQ Team at FMCSA actively reaches out to states before problems escalate. Other major data quality activities within FMCSA: • Adjudicated Citations: After consulting with industry and CVSA, FMCSA implemented a new policy to allow motor carriers and drivers to submit a Request for Data Review (RDR) through DataQs that would allow for a citation dismissed by a court to not be used or displayed in FMCSA’s enforcement systems, such as the Safety Measurement System (SMS) or Pre-employment Screening Program (PSP). The new policy took eﬀect on August 23, 2014 for inspections conducted on or after that date. • DataQs User’s Guide and Manual: FMCSA will soon publish the ﬁrst major revision to the DataQs User’s Manual. The updated manual will contain additional guidance on adjudicated citations and other

areas of concern since the manual’s first publication three years ago. • Safety Data Improvement Program (SaDIP): This is a $3 million discretionary grant program, originally authorized by SAFETEALU (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users). The Fiscal Year 2014 applications are in the review and approval process. The Notice of Funds Availability (NoFA) for FY 2015 will be published in the Federal Register before the end of the fiscal year. • SSDQ Measures: FMCSA is actively reviewing the methodology for parts of the SSDQ Measures and is working on enhancements to the Non-Fatal Crash Completeness measure based on feedback received from CVSA and state partners. • Crash Guidance to States: Ten years ago, FMCSA published the last formal guidance to states on what crash data to report to FMCSA. FMCSA is working to update this guidance to cover the discrepancies that have appeared over time and the Agency’s own needs for crash data to support its programs. • Crash Data Research: FMCSA will undertake a project to better estimate the number of commercial motor vehicle crashes that are not reported to FMCSA. This research will use motor carrier records to identify cases in which no police report was created for a crash, or when less-severe crashes may not get reported.

What does the latest crash and performance data show in terms of progress? A: We are seeing a steady increase in safety belt use. The 2013 survey of seat belt usage by commercial motor vehicle drivers shows that the overall safety belt usage rate for drivers of all medium and heavy duty trucks and buses rose from 78 percent in 2010 to 84 percent in 2013. This increase is a big achievement, due in part, to your diligent enforcement work. Our data also shows a decrease in positive drug tests in fatal crashes, lower large truck driver blood alcohol content and a decrease in fatal crashes involving pedestrians.

Are there areas we should be concerned about? A: We have identified several serious trends. The first I will mention is the steady increase in fatal crashes for trucks in the 10,001 to 14,000-pound weight range. This number increased from 59 in 2006 (1 percent of all large trucks in fatal crashes) to 131 in 2009 (4 percent of all large trucks in fatal crashes) to 283 in 2012 (7 percent of all large trucks in fatal crashes. Another trend of concern to us is the number of large truck occupant fatalities. Since 2009, there has been a 40 percent increase in large truck occupant fatalities; from 499 fatalities in 2009 (15 percent of all large truck fatalities) to 697 in 2012 (18 percent of all large truck fatalities). We also are seeing an increase in large trucks involved in injury crashes. From 2009 to 2012, the number of large trucks involved in injury crashes increased by 45 percent, while the number of passenger vehicles in injury crashes increased by 8 percent over this period. Compared to injury crashes, large truck involvement in fatal crashes grew by 18 percent during this period. We do see more large trucks involved in property-damage-only (PDO) crashes and trucks involved in fatal work zone crashes. The number of large trucks involved in PDO crashes increased by 6 percent, while the number of passenger vehicles in propertydamage-only crashes increased by less than half of 1 percent over this period. In 2012, there were 194 large trucks involved in work zone fatal crashes, including 32 parked or working large trucks. Approximately 24 percent of fatal crashes in work zones involved at least one large truck, compared to 11 percent of all fatal crashes. Day in and day out, your safety work makes a difference – and I am grateful for your service and your dedication to our safety mission. Thank you once again for your commitment to truck and bus safety. n

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

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Business or Pleasure? Regulating Entertainer Motorcoach Passenger Transportation By Jon Dierberger, Tennessee Division Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration signing agreements that speciﬁed the bus leasing company as responsible for regulatory compliance. Most of the larger bus leasing companies or bus equipment managers obtained USDOT numbers and MC numbers as for-hire motor carriers, providing entertainer production companies with both buses and drivers under a lease arrangement. Rather than operating under a charter order, however, these motor carriers continue to use leases with language that may or may not specify the parties responsible for regulatory compliance.

arble countertops and walnut trim, king size beds and spacious lounge areas equipped with ﬂat screen televisions and expensive sound systems. When you see a customized motorcoach rolling down the road, is it being operated by a retiree heading for the beaches, or is the bus in commerce and fully subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs)? As highway safety agencies increase scrutiny of passenger transportation, we are becoming more familiar with the practices of the entertainer motorcoach industry segment. The entertainer motorcoach industry has its own typical operating practices and special considerations when it comes to applying the safety regulations. When dealing with an entertainer coach or carrier, the following are some things to keep in mind, unique to this type of passenger operation.

Regulatory Applicability There are many high-end RV coaches operated by private individuals that may be fully exempt from the FMCSRs. When a custom coach is used on a band tour, by a movie production group, by a race team or for any other entertainment industry purpose in furtherance of commerce, however, the transportation vehicle is subject to the FMCSRs. In many cases, these vehicles may look like a private RV, but when you “follow the money,” the vehicle’s operating costs, depreciation, maintenance and other expenses are being accounted for as business expenses on company accounting books. When musicians, actors, race drivers or members

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of their organization are using an entertainer coach for transportation to venues, or when a coach is transported to a commercial venue for purposes of providing housing for artists or tour crews, the transportation vehicle is in commerce and subject to regulatory oversight.

During reviews of these bus leasing or for-hire operators, investigators will look at supporting documentation that may be held by artists instead of the motor carrier. For example, some artists may pay a leased driver directly, cover fuel expenses and pay for other operating expenses that generate documentation, which should be retained by the motor carrier and used as supporting documents to verify the accuracy of drivers’ records of duty status. FMCSA is developing a rule on bus leasing which will clarify what communications and documentation are required.

Operation Type

Operating Characteristics

Entertainer motorcoaches are commonly operated under two business models: (1) by the artist or tour group as a private motor carrier of passengers-business (PMCP-Business), or (2) under a lease or contract with an authorized for-hire motor carrier responsible for safety compliance.

Driver Pay and Supporting Documents: Many entertainer motorcoach drivers are paid a daily fixed rate, typically about $200 a day, up to 450 miles. Any amount of driving after the first 450 miles is billed in 200-mile increments, referred to as “overdrive” pay. The first increment of overdrive pay is another $200, with additional $200 overdrives charged after 650 miles and so on. This payment structure can incentivize a driver to agree to longer runs, and it could incentivize a tour manager, who may be paying the driver directly in cash, to insist that the driver operate the full 200-mile overdrive increments. Examine lease agreements or contracts for specifics on pay. The motor carrier responsible for compliance should be maintaining all supporting documents, including complete driver pay records, tour schedules and daily itineraries (often referred to as “day sheets”), and fuel and hotel expenses. For coaches involved in transportation to or from a theatrical or television motion picture production site, remember the partial, industry-specific hours of service exemption (49 CFR 395.1(p)).

PMCP-Business: The band, tour group or artist’s production company owns or leases the coach and is fully responsible for compliance with the FMCSRs. Buses should be marked with the production company’s USDOT number, and the carrier should be registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) as a private motor carrier of passengers (business). If the operation includes transportation of property, the business should also indicate during the registration process that it transports private property. In some cases, these organizations are unaware of FMCSA requirements and are operating in unmarked coaches with no USDOT number or safety registration. Such a motor carrier may be cited for operating in commerce without USDOT registration or an active USDOT number under 49 CFR 392.9b(a). For Hire Operator: Several years ago, some parts of the entertainer industry moved to

CDL and Passenger Endorsement: Entertainer motorcoach drivers can encounter issues with enforcement of passenger bus “P” endorsements on CDLs. Some oﬃcers will cite drivers based on

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FMCSA Implements New Adjudicated Citation Policy

VIN number designated seating capacity, although actual seating positions may number fewer than 16. Most of these coaches are purchased as shells from original manufacturers. Custom coach builders, often operating as the leasing companies, build the coaches for eight or more passenger capacity. FMCSA is working on enforcement guidance for the P endorsement’s applicability based on seating capacities. As we work with these leasing companies, FMCSA is recommending that the secondary coach customization companies mark buses with seating capacity decals. Emergency Exits: As more custom entertainer coaches are inspected, we are finding issues with missing emergency exits. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) publishes specifications for emergency exits, requiring that buses over 10,000 lbs gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) have a rear emergency exit door or, in the absence of a rear door, an emergency roof hatch located in the rear half of the bus (49 CFR 517.217-S5.2.2.2). NHTSA regulations define a “bus” as a vehicle designed to carry more than 10 passengers (49 CFR 517.3 Definition of “bus”). This rear door or roof hatch serves as a means of emergency exit from a bus that may have turned on its side, with window exits blocked or oriented out of reach. Custom coach builders typically take delivery of a bus shell with no roof hatches, with some vehicles built as personal RVs with no hatch, and some serving in commercial transport. In many cases, the custom bus may have a seating capacity over 10, but no rear or roof emergency exit. Note that bunks that could be used as seats are not counted by NHTSA in determining seating capacity. For window exits, inspectors should keep an eye out for obstructions that may block emergency operation, including furnishings and television mounts.

n late August, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) began to require states to reflect the results of adjudicated citations related to roadside inspection violation data in the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). This new policy impacts how violations are used and displayed in the Safety Measurement System (SMS) and Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP). The changes are part of the Agency’s continued effort to improve the quality and uniformity of violation data to sharpen the focus on unsafe carriers and drivers. FMCSA originally published the proposed changes in a Federal Register Notice on December 2, 2013, followed by a second Federal Register Notice on June 5, 2014. The Agency considered more than 100 public comments – from states, motor carriers, drivers and industry associations – to that initial notice and solicited feedback from the field and state partners. Comments indicated that the Agency’s approach has widespread support within the commercial motor vehicle industry. The policy applies to inspections occurring on or after August 23, 2014. Motor carriers and drivers are now able to request through DataQs that results of adjudicated citations be recorded in MCMIS when a driver is found not guilty or the violation is dismissed in court. Violations that are the subject of dismissals or acquittals will not be displayed or used in SMS and PSP. The SMS and PSP will continue to retain and display violations that result in a

conviction or payment of fine. Where motor carriers or drivers plead to or are convicted of a different or lesser charge, SMS and PSP will reflect that information. Carriers logging into the portal or SMS with their account will be able to see all of their violations and any adjudicated citation results that have been transmitted to MCMIS. FMCSA has implemented the policy across all states with the intent of creating a more consistent approach to the collection and review of data used to prioritize carriers for interventions. States are required to implement the policy change given that it is within the scope of the current Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP). FMCSA’s State Programs Division has issued direction to the MCSAP agencies explaining the expectations and responsibilities related to the adjudicated citation process. To ensure successful implementation of the policy, FMCSA provided SafetyNet updates to states after conducting testing of the software. Updates to SafetyNet allow states to enter adjudication results into a new field created to record this information. SafetyNet provides data to MCMIS that interfaces with the Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) system, PSP and SMS. For more information about the policy, visit the Federal Register Notice published in June at www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/ rulemaking/2014-13022. n

Sharing Knowledge While this article discusses some of the more common practices of the entertainer motorcoach industry segment, there are many diﬀering business practices and contract arrangements, sometimes even within the same company. If you encounter entertainer motorcoaches and need assistance, or would like to share ﬁndings, please contact Jon Dierberger, FMCSA Tennessee Division Administrator, at jon.dierberger@dot.gov or 615-681-3566. n

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CVSA Attended the 2014 "Be Ready. Be Buckled." Safety Belt Art Contest Awards Ceremony U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Administrator Anne S. Ferro recognized the winners of the 2014 “Be Ready. Be Buckled.” art contest at the oﬃcial awards ceremony on May 5, 2014 in Washington, DC. First-grader Annie Yu from Edison, NJ, and third-grader Heather Li of Orlando, FL, won top honors in the art contest. Annie and Heather received framed replicas of their artwork and a monetary award courtesy of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership. The artwork of the two top-honor winners and 10 other talented students will be included in the 2015 “Be Ready. Be Buckled.” art contest calendar, available this fall. In addition, the winning artwork will be on display all year at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) headquarters. The annual contest is organized by FMCSA and the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership, of which CVSA is a member. This year, young artists submitted more than 250 entries for the art contest, which was open to children ages 5-12 with a relative or sponsor in the truck and bus industries. “The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is proud to be a part of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership,” said CVSA Executive Director Stephen Keppler. “Safety belts save lives. What better way to remind our CMV drivers about the importance of wearing safety belts than through the artistic expression of the future generations of passenger and commercial drivers.”

All of the award winners get their photos taken with U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro.

“Seatbelts save lives and this contest is a positive way to engage our most precious resource, children, to promote driver safety throughout the United States,” said Secretary Foxx. “The calendars that feature these young artists also serve as a great year-round reminder to always buckle-up.” Artwork by the following art contest winners will be featured in the 2015 "Be Ready. Be Buckled." calendar: Andy Chen – Age 8, Grade 2, East Brunswick, NJ Sophie Erkkila – Age 11, Grade 5, Colgate, WI Tanishk Khetan – Age 8, Grade 2, Edison, NJ Alex Li – Age 6, Grade 1, Scotch Plains, NJ Heather Li – Age 8, Grade 3, Orlando, FL Aaron Pan – Age 6, Grade 1, Edison, NJ Keya Raval – Age 10, Grade 4, Edison, WI Megan Schultz – Age 11, Grade 5, Hubertus, WI Benjamin Wainright – Age 8, Grade 2, West Windsor, NJ

One of the award-winning artists poses with crash test dummies.

Annie Yu – Age 6, Grade 1, Edison, NJ Caleb Zhao – Age 9, Grade 3, Potomac, MD Lexx Zheng – Age 5, Kindergarten, Iselin, NJ The CMV Safety Belt Partnership is a collaboration of the FMCSA, other government agencies, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and other industry speciﬁc private-sector organizations designed to encourage safety belt use by commercial motor vehicle drivers. To read more about the 2014 art contest awards ceremony and to view photos from the event, visit www.cvsa.org/news/2014_cvsanewsphp#jun1. n U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx speaks to the crowd about the importance of wearing safety belts.

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The Truck that Brought Down the Bridge By Jennifer L. Morrison, Vehicle Factors Investigator, Oﬃce of Highway Safety, National Transportation Safety Board

n the evening of May 23, 2013, an oversize combination vehicle struck the north portal of the Interstate 5 Skagit River Bridge in Mount Vernon, WA, causing a span of the bridge to collapse and fall into the river below, along with two passenger vehicles. Immediately prior to the collapse, the oversize vehicle, which was carrying an open-sided casing shed for use in Alaskan drilling operations, was attempting to traverse the bridge in the right lane of the two southbound lanes. At the same time, a standard size truck-tractor semitrailer was passing the oversize load in the left lane. As the vehicles proceeded onto the bridge, the top right corner of the oversize load collided with the portal and multiple sway braces on the far right side of the overhead bridge structure. The impacts caused significant damage to load-bearing members of the bridge, resulting in the collapse. Both commercial vehicles cleared the bridge span before its complete collapse and, fortunately, none of the eight vehicle occupants involved were seriously injured. Nevertheless, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) launched an investigation into the collapse and found layers of compounding deficiencies in what should have been a safety-redundant system. The deficiencies cited by the NTSB included the failure of the pilot/escort vehicle, which was leading the oversize load, to perform basic safety functions, partially due to the fact that the driver was engaged in a cell phone conversation at the time of the crash. The NTSB also found inadequate route planning by the trucking company and, on the part of the state of Washington, an ineffective permitting process, an absence of low-clearance warning signs and no

system for preventing recurrent high load bridge hits. As a result of these deficiencies, the NTSB issued recommendations focused on pilot/escort vehicle drivers, including calling for a ban on the use of cell phones, which the Board believes will bring their operations in line with their level of responsibility when guiding oversize vehicles. The NTSB has long advocated for a nationwide ban on the nonemergency use of portable electronic devices for both private and commercial vehicle drivers. The Board also believes that the transportation of oversized loads warrants specialized training for CDL drivers and recommended that the states take steps toward developing an oversize load endorsement. The Washington State Department of Transportation permitted the oversized vehicle, at 15 feet 9 inches, to travel over the Skagit River Bridge, which had a minimum vertical clearance of 14 feet 5 inches according to the state’s bridge list. Washington state failed to provide any lanespecific guidance for the route. Instead, the permit placed the onus on the trucking company, which also failed to properly check the route and recognize that the oversize load would have only cleared the bridge in the left lane. As a result, the NTSB called for changes to the permitting process used by Washington. NTSB also issued a recommendation to several tech companies to incorporate clearance data into commercial vehicle navigation systems. Finally, the NTSB expressed concern about the lack of low-clearance warning signs on the bridge, which could have served as a final alert of the height restrictions. Since the bridge collapse, Washington state has restructured the Skagit River Bridge, removing the arched design and providing a uniform vertical clearance of 18 feet

North Portal of the I-5 Skagit River Bridge

across the width of the bridge. Although this change may have fixed one bridge, the state has 22 bridges on its interstate system with designs similar to the Skagit River Bridge, and none have low-clearance warning signs. As a result, recommendations were issued at the national level to establish a uniform minimum clearance height at which signage is required, and to establish guidelines to help states more effectively evaluate and prevent high-load bridge hits. In the Board meeting convened at the conclusion of the investigation, Christopher Hart, the acting chairman of the NTSB, stated “This costly accident was the result of a series of mistakes that could have been avoided,” and added that “The recommendations issued by the NTSB highlight the importance of driver awareness and the states’ responsibilities to provide adequate resources about low clearances.” As a result of the investigation, the NTSB issued 18 new safety recommendations. The full report, including a complete list of findings and safety recommendations, is available at www.ntsb.gov. n

THIRD QUARTER 2014

GOV ER NMEN T NE W S

New Commercial Driver Medical Examination Requirements Eﬀective May 21, 2014 By Selden Fritschner, Chief, Commercial Driver License Division, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

eginning May 21, 2014, all commercial drivers must receive their medical exam from a medical examiner (ME) listed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners. The National Registry (NR) was instituted to standardize the medical exams and ensure all examiners are qualified to give a proper exam. Every certified examiner has been trained and passed a test to indicate this competency. So, what does this mean for the roadside inspector? The National Registry represents change. During an inspection that includes the driver, inspectors should continue to request the printed medical card and ensure the driver’s medical certificate is current. Please remember that for CDL drivers, this information also will be available on the driver’s Commercial Driver's License Information System (CDLIS) record in most states. Drivers should not be cited for not having a paper copy of the medical card if the information is available to the inspector via CDLIS. Inspectors should continue current practices with respect to physically inspecting the medical card for evidence of falsification. In addition, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is asking state driver licensing agencies to randomly verify with medical practitioners that medical exams are actually being conducted on the subject driver. The Medical Programs Office of FMCSA also will be conducting random performance monitoring of MEs on the National Registry. What will change is the information on the medical card. As shown on the sample medical card example, pictured right, new medical cards will have a field that specifies the National Registry number of the examiner. This new information should be completed for any medical exam that occurs after May 21, 2014. Exams conducted prior to May 21 are still considered valid until their expiration date, and the medical form is not required to have an NR number posted. In fact, for exams conducted prior to May 21, the ME does not have to be listed on the NR for the exam to be considered valid. Since the requirements to include the National Registry number is new, if it is not completed, the inspector can:

Drivers should not be cited for failing to have a valid medical certiﬁcate unless the inspector determines the practitioner that performed the exam is not on the National Registry.

The “Advanced Search” slide allows the enforcement oﬃcer to type in the name and/or other identifying information. Sample medical card.

If there is a National Registry number on the card, inspectors do not need to verify the information on the National Registry website, but may do so if they choose. Finally, the new medical certificate also has “yes/no” check boxes in blocks labeled “INTRASTATE ONLY” and “CDL.” Please note that these new fields were included for the sole purpose of data collection by FMCSA. The information in these fields should not be relied upon to provide a driver with authority that the driver does not actually possess or to limit the driver’s operating privilege. For example, if the INTRASTATE box is checked “yes”, the driver is not limited to intrastate transportation only. Any limitations on driving privileges should continue to be based on the carrier’s actual operating authority and the driver’s CDL status. The easiest way to verify that a practitioner is on the National Registry is to visit the National Medical Registry website: https://nationalregistry.fmcsa.dot.gov. The screenshots pictured below and right will guide you through the steps on the Registry website.

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Alternatively, veriﬁcation can be conducted by: 1. Calling the National Medical Registry Help Desk: 617-494-3003. 2. E-mailing the National Medical Registry HelpDesk: fmctechsup@dot.gov. The HelpDesk is open from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. For more information regarding the Registry, contact Linda Phillips, FMCSA Medical Division, at 202-366-6921 or linda.phillips@dot.gov.

1. Notify the driver that they need to contact their practitioner and get the card completed correctly; or 2. Call the medical practitioner personally to verify the information or use the National Registry website to verify credentials.

If the information entered in the “Advanced Search” box is valid, the appropriate medical examiner information will be shown on the next slide. Information in this box contains contact information and the medical examiner’s certiﬁcation number. If the ME is not on the Registry, the search will return a “None Found” reply.

To verify if a medical examiner is in the National Medical Registry of Certiﬁed Examiners, click on the “Advanced Search” link (circled).

For more information regarding the regulations to carry the medical card, contact Selden Fritschner, FMCSA Chief, CDL Division, at 202-366-0677 or selden.fritschner@dot.gov. n

GOV ER NMEN T NE W S

THE LEGISLATIVE & REGULATORY RUNDOWN By Adrienne Gildea, Director, Policy & Government Aﬀairs, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

Funding Crisis Averted With Highway Trust Fund (HTF) balances approaching low levels and no new transportation bill on the horizon, Congress was forced to turn their attention away from reauthorization to focus on the more immediate concern of keeping the HTF solvent. In June and July, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued several updates on the waning HTF balance, warning that the agency may be forced to begin limiting reimbursements if new revenues were not found. Prior to the August recess, legislators focused their eﬀorts on identifying a shortterm patch to keep the fund solvent and ensure that reimbursements to states were not delayed. Committees in both the House and the Senate approved separate $10.8 billion bailout packages on July 10, which would keep the HTF solvent through May 2015. While the funding levels were the same, the “pay-fors” in each proposal diﬀered slightly. On July 31, the Senate conceded and passed the House version of the HTF bailout legislation. The bill provides $11 billion in funding through the end of May 2015. The Senate waited until the last possible moment to pass the bill, with DOT slated to begin delaying repayment to the States on August 1. Because the bill runs through May of next year, it is likely that consideration of a highway bill will be pushed into next year as well. Senate Democrats attempted to force the issue during the lame duck session by passing a shortened version of the extension, running through mid-December, but the House rejected the Senate proposal and, with time running out before the August recess, the Senate was forced to accept the House version.

DOT Unveils Transportation Proposal On April 29, DOT released its transportation reauthorization proposal, the Generating Renewal, Opportunity, and Work with Accelerated Mobility, Eﬃciency, and Rebuilding of Infrastructure and Communities throughout America (GROW AMERICA) Act. The bill outlines several changes to motor carrier safety policy. The commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety sections focus on expanding the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) authority to further its mission of CMV safety. Perhaps most signiﬁcantly, FMCSA proposes a major overhaul of the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program grant structure. A number of grants are eliminated and consolidated under new grant headings. In addition, FMCSA suggests adjusting the federal/state match to 85/15 and makes several activities that are currently optional mandatory.

FMCSA proposes changes to the New Entrant Safety Audit process, eliminating the requirement that all new carriers undergo an audit and instead allowing FMCSA to determine when a carrier requires an audit. FMCSA is also seeking new authority over the U.S.-based segment of international movements – such as a trip from Mexico to Canada, or trips that originate and terminate in the same country but pass through the U.S. along the way. The proposal also tightens commercial driver’s license requirements and expands the agency’s authority to disqualify drivers. FMCSA is also seeking expanded authority to revoke a motor carrier’s registration. The proposal includes a minor expansion to the en route inspection prohibition. In addition, FMCSA is seeking authority to withhold a portion of a state’s funding, rather than all of it, for noncompliance. FMCSA’s policy recommendations in the GROW AMERICA Act will be considered as part of the ongoing discussions as Congress works to prepare a new transportation bill. While the Environment & Public Works Committee in the Senate has introduced their portion of the next reauthorization, the other relevant committees in the House and Senate have not yet circulated their own proposals.

Fiscal Year 2015 Appropriations Hit Road Block In June, it looked as though Congress was on pace to pass several Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 appropriations bills prior to the July 4 recess. Early in the month, the House passed its FY 2014 transportation funding measure. The House bill includes funding levels consistent with the approved FY 2014 funding levels. The bill also includes language prohibiting funds from being used to "acquire a camera for the purpose of collecting or storing vehicle license plate numbers," as well as a number of proposed changes to current truck size and weight restrictions, and changes to the Hazardous Materials Special Permit Application process. By mid-June, the Senate was scheduled to consider its transportation appropriations measure as well. However, work came to an abrupt halt when Senate leadership could not come to agreement on how to handle several unrelated amendments on the Senate floor. Republicans planned to offer amendments that would likely pass but drew a veto threat from the President. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid attempted several procedural methods to prevent the amendments from being considered, and was then forced to simply pull the appropriations legislation from the floor. While work has continued at the committee level on several other appropriations measures,

it is unclear if and when the Senate will take up the transportation bill. As the August recess approached, many expected that a continuing resolution would be necessary to ensure funding when the current ﬁscal year ends. As currently drafted, the Senate transportation appropriations bill includes funding levels consistent for the most part with the House bill. In addition, the bill includes a number of policy provisions. Most notable, the Senate proposes to temporarily suspend enforcement of the restart provisions in the current hoursof-service rules, reverting to the previous rule for one year, and directs the Secretary to conduct a study of the operational, safety, health and fatigue aspects of the restart provisions before and after July 1, 2013. CVSA has joined several other law enforcement associations, as well as labor, safety advocates and some in the trucking industry in opposition to the language currently included in the Senate bill. Temporarily suspending enforcement would unnecessarily complicate enforcement and would require additional funds be spent to retrain inspectors. Instead, CVSA supports leaving the current provisions in place, but requiring FMCSA to conduct a review of the 34-hour restart provisions, to determine if changes are warranted. While most law enforcement groups opposed the Senate language, the Fraternal Order of Police issued a statement supporting the provision. The Senate bill also sets deadlines for both the Safety Fitness Determination (SFD) and Electronic Logging Device (ELD) rules. In addition, Senate Appropriators request that the Government Accountability Oﬃce (GAO) monitor the implementation of CSA and evaluate FMCSA's ability to meet milestones. The bill also calls for an Inspector General review of FMCSA's mandatory compliance review process to ensure that high-risk carriers are being audited in a timely manner. Finally, the bill contains language making changes to the Hazardous Materials Special Permit process, similar to the House bill. n

House FY 2015 Funding Levels Basic MCSAP — $218 million New Entrant — $32 million High Priority — $15 million Border Enforcement — $32 million CVISN — $25 million PRISM — $5 million SaDIP — $3 million

THIRD QUARTER 2014

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

CVSA's 22nd Annual North American Inspectors Championship

orty nine roadside inspectors representing jurisdictions across North America gathered in Pittsburgh, PA, on August 11-15, to compete in CVSA's North American Inspectors Championship (NAIC). Each year, CVSA recognizes the best of the best by inviting member jurisdictions throughout North America to participate in NAIC, the only event dedicated to recognizing and awarding commercial vehicle inspector excellence. The Jimmy K. Ammons Grand Champion Award is the highest NAIC honor for roadside inspectors. This year, the Grand Champion Award was awarded to JW Watlington of the Arizona Department of Public Safety 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 6. North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria Exam The John Youngblood Award of Excellence is a special award NAIC contestants bestow on a fellow NAIC inspector who exempliﬁes the high standards and unwavering dedication to the profession. This year, the John Youngblood Award was awarded to Roderick Dykeman of Nova Scotia Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.

program in North America – and to promote uniformity of inspections through education. “NAIC contestants not only test and sharpen their skills as participants in the competition, they also learn the latest CMV safety trends, technologies, standards and inspection procedures,” said CVSA Executive Director Stephen A. Keppler. “As a result, this competition helps strengthen the industry as a whole, promotes partnerships and cooperation among inspectors, jurisdictions and countries, and improves uniformity and consistency in enforcement throughout North America. “Excellence doesn’t just happen,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “It comes directly from a daily commitment to safety and years of practice. The dedication of these NAIC competitors is what gives us the safest roads anywhere and the most accurate data on roadside activities.” NAIC is sponsored by CVSA and many of its valued Associate Members. For the past 22 years, the championship event has been held in partnership with the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC). NAIC has been recognized by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) as an event that "Advances America." To learn more about NAIC and to view photos from this year’s Championship, visit www.cvsa.org/programs/naic_program_over view. n

Jimmy K. Ammons Grand Champion

“We applaud the participants of this year’s North American Inspectors Championship. Each inspector leaves this competition as a winner,” said CVSA President Sgt. Thomas Fuller of the New York State Police. “NAIC helps guide, educate and develop our industry’s future leaders. And the information, techniques and experiences participants will share with others when they return to their home jurisdictions will help improve consistency and reciprocity in highway safety enforcement." Roadside inspectors are highly trained professionals who save lives every day by keeping unsafe commercial vehicles and drivers oﬀ our roads. The work of a commercial vehicle inspector is not easy, but it is vital in ensuring public safety on North American roadways. The North American Inspectors Championship was created to recognize inspectors and oﬃcers – the backbone of the commercial vehicle safety

GUARDIAN

JW Watlington Arizona Department of Public Safety

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

John Youngblood Award of Excellence

North American Standard Level I Inspection

Did you know you can read

GUARDIAN &

First Place – Bryce Ivie of the Utah Highway Patrol (middle); Second place – Erick McGuire of the Florida Highway Patrol (left); Third Place – Josh Anderson of the North Dakota Highway Patrol (right)

Roderick Dykeman Nova Scotia Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal

North American Standard Level V Passenger Vehicle (Motorcoach) Inspection

SAFETY EXCHANGE online? It’s easy to share the links

High Points: United States & Canada

with your colleagues so they, too, can stay up to date on the latest CVSA First Place – Miguel Galindo of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (middle); Second Place – Tim Gushing of the Arkansas Highway Police (left); Third Place – Rick Smith of the Alberta Justice and Solicitor General (right)

and industry news.

GUARDIAN A Publication of the

Commercial Vehicle

Safety Alliance

Volume 20, Issue 3 3rd Quarter 2013

High Points: United States – JW Watlington, Arizona Department of Public Safety (left); High Points: Canada – Rick Smith, Alberta Justice and Solicitor General (right)

Team Award: Green Team

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

Focusing on Driver Performance to Save Lives

Inside… NAIC Awards Roadcheck Results And More!

www.cvsa.org/guardian

Left to right: Bud Kneller, Ontario Ministry of Transportation; Erick McGuire, Florida Highway Patrol; Cory Shilts, Wisconsin State Patrol; John Hibschman, New Jersey State Police; Team leader: James Murray, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission; Tommy Torok, South Dakota Highway Patrol; Stevie Browing, Massachusetts State Police; JW Watlington, Arizona Department of Public Safety; and Nicholas Wright, Kansas Highway Patrol

First Place – Michael Byrne of the Ohio State Highway Patrol (middle); Second Place – Benjamin Schropfer of the Nebraska State Patrol (left); Third Place – JW Watlington of the Arizona Department of Public Safety (right)

www.cvsa.org/safetyexchange

THIRD QUARTER 2014

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

CVSA Accepting Nominations for First Annual International Driver Excellence Award (IDEA) As the leading organization overseeing the coordination of uniformity of commercial motor vehicle safety enforcement and regulatory compliance throughout North America, CVSA will officially recognize and acknowledge the exceptional career of professional commercial motor vehicle drivers and their commitment to public safety through the first annual International Driver Excellence Award (IDEA). This annual award will recognize individuals who go above and beyond the performance of their duties as a commercial vehicle driver, distinguishing themselves conspicuously and beyond the call of duty through the achievement of safe operation and compliance carried out with evident distinction for an extended period of time, beyond the normal service of duty. The nominated individual must be of personal character beyond reproach with no disqualifying past behavior, as indicated in the IDEA award criteria. The deadline for applications is Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. Nominators will receive a letter confirming CVSA’s receipt of their nominee. All information included in IDEA nomination applications will be authenticated by the IDEA Program Committee. The 2015 award winner will be announced in April 2015. The winner will receive public recognition and be presented with his or her award at the 2015 CVSA Annual Conference and Exhibition in Boise, ID, in September 2015. Additionally, CVSA will run a feature article on the award winner in its quarterly magazine, Guardian. An announcement of the IDEA winner also will be shared nationally through a press release, as well as on the CVSA website, e-newsletter and social media. CVSA is currently accepting nominations for the 2015 International Driver Excellence Award. For more information and to view the IDEA criteria and obtain the nomination form, visit www.cvsa.org/programs/driver_excellence_award. n

GUARDIAN

Results from CVSA's 2014 Operation Airbrake One-Day Brake Check Event As part of CVSA’s annual, unannounced Operation Airbrake brake check day this year, on May 7, 2014, CVSA-certiﬁed inspectors in 34 participating U.S. states, as well as in Canadian provinces and territories, checked brakes on 8,731 vehicles. Nine and a half percent were placed out of service for excessive brake stroke violations (out of adjustment), 8.5 percent were placed out of service for brake component violations (e.g., cracked or missing components, air leaks, damaged brake hose or tubing, drums, rotors, etc.) and 15.2 percent overall were placed out of service for brake violations of any kind. In all, 64,049 individual wheel ends were checked on this one-day event across North America. As is typical, the rate of brake stroke violations was twice as high for manually adjusted brake adjusters. Self-adjusting brake adjusters, also called automatic slack adjusters, are required on all vehicles operating in the U.S. manufactured since Oct. 20, 1994 and in Canada since May 31, 1996. The annual unannounced event gives enforcement an opportunity to conduct brake-focused inspections and emphasize the importance of proper brake system maintenance. Operation Airbrake is an international truck and bus brake safety campaign dedicated to improving commercial vehicle brake safety throughout North America. The campaign's aim is to help educate drivers and technicians, encourage brake safety compliance and enforce the regulations designed to ensure safe operation. To learn more about Operation Airbrake, visit www.cvsa.org/programs/op_airbrake. n

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

CVSA Launches New Association Management System and Redesigned Website

CVSA Announces 2014 Academic Scholarship Recipients

Sarah Abbott

Ryan Chang

Morgan Higgins

CVSA has redesigned its website homepage to prominently feature CVSA news and other items of interest to our members. This allows us to proactively communicate more information with visitors to our site.

CVSA has awarded Ryan Chang of Honolulu, HI; Sarah Abbott of Sterling, VA; and Morgan Higgins of Egg Harbor Township, NJ, with $1,000 academic scholarships each to attend the college of their choice.

We also transitioned to a more streamlined, better-functioning association management system (AMS). The new system will improve interactions, communications and transactions both for you and for CVSA. Your transactions may include:

As North America's leading commercial vehicle safety organization, CVSA’s annual academic scholarship award program is a key component of the Alliance's educational outreach initiative. The scholarship award program is competitive in its selection criteria, uniquely tailored to recognize outstanding high school seniors. Academic scholarship recipients are selected by weighing academic performance and extracurricular activities.

• Managing your account proﬁle • Managing your membership (if applicable) • Purchasing items from the CVSA store • Managing CVSA Committees and Programs • Viewing important information and documents such as Committee and Program materials, meeting agendas and minutes, etc. • Registering for a meeting or event, such as the CVSA Workshop, the North American Inspectors Championship (NAIC), the CVSA Annual Conference and Exhibition, etc. • Purchasing sponsorships (coming soon) • Managing your membership/region information (coming soon) • Viewing the Operations Manual (coming soon) To log in, there will no longer be a box in the right-hand area of the homepage. The member login area is now located at the top of the CVSA website, www.cvsa.org. See example above. By locating the login within the ﬁxed area at the top of the CVSA website, we have ensured that no matter where you are our website – no matter what page you're on or what section you are in – you will always have the ability to log into your account via the "Member Login" link at the top of the website. We thank you for adjusting the way you navigate our website and for your support of these changes. Our hope is for an improved website experience for all who visit. We hope you enjoy the new site. n

“There were a number of outstanding applicants this year and the competition was fierce,” said CVSA Executive Director Stephen A. Keppler. “Our three scholarship award winners clearly demonstrated tremendous academic achievement as well as involvement in extracurricular activities over their high school careers.” Ryan Chang, son of Susan Chang of the Hawaii Department of Transportation's Motor Vehicle Safety Office will be attending Montana State University. “Ryan has a lot of energy, intellectual horsepower, athletic talent and leadership ability around campus. He succeeded academically while taking a demanding course load and engaging in a broad spectrum of extracurricular activities,” said Michael Y.T. Hu, the science department chair at Ryan’s high school. Sarah Abbott, daughter of Rob Abbott of the American Trucking Associations, will attend the University of Mary Washington, in Fredericksburg, VA. “Sarah is a bright, energetic, compassionate and genuinely a well-rounded young lady,” said Lee Hanby, the math department chair at Sarah’s high school. “Sarah is able to set priorities for herself, a skill she will need in the future. There’s no doubt in my mind that she will carry this level of commitment with her through her college years.” Morgan Higgins, daughter of Lawrence Higgins of the New Jersey State Police Transportation Bureau, was accepted to Salisbury University in Salisbury, MD. “[Morgan] offers a special combination of dedication, perseverance and compassion that is matched by few and admired by many,” said Morgan’s social studies teacher Michael C. Martirone. CVSA was able to award all three scholarship winners with $1,000 each thanks in part to a generous donation by Direct ChassisLink, Inc. To apply for the 2015 academic scholarship and for more information, visit www.cvsa.org/programs. n THIRD QUARTER 2014

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

International Cooperation Achieved Performance Based Brake Testing (PBBT) Training and Certification in Alaska By William Schaefer, Director, Vehicle Programs, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance In May 2014, Alaska began using its performance based brake tester (PBBT) for commercial vehicle roadside enforcement, becoming the 10th North American jurisdiction equipped with this inspection tool. CVSA enlisted the generous assistance of the Canadian province of Alberta to help on its behalf with the initial training of Alaska’s inspectors for use of PBBT in enforcement. In cooperation with PBBT vendor Vehicle Inspection Systems (VIS), Wes Roth from Alberta’s Justice and Solicitor General, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Branch, traveled to Anchorage to lead the enforcement aspect of the CVSA PBBT training course. Robert Douglas from VIS provided the technical familiarization aspect of the training on the equipment. Roth reported that Alaska’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Chief Dan Byrd and Lieutenant Heidi Anderson were more than accommodating and supportive. The officers were very keen and were obviously interested and enthusiastic. He also noted, “It’s always a pleasure to be involved with the members of other agencies, especially the way Alaska’s members conduct themselves. They are very professional and respectful and I witnessed that in how they approach their work, keeping unsafe commercial vehicles and drivers off the roads.” Lieutenant Anderson coordinated all logistics and planning for the training class. Nineteen enforcement officers were able to attend the familiarization portion of the course, with three officers achieving CVSA certification to conduct PBBT vehicle inspections. These three officers also will train other officers who received familiarization but still require either Level I certification or the minimum of eight PBBT inspections to be certified for PBBT use. As CVSA reported previously in the Guardian, PBBTs represent an additional tool available to inspectors to help with assessment of braking system compliance. PBBTs do not replace measuring pushrod stroke, checking for air leaks, chaffed hoses, kinked tubing, or even worn linings – none of these are explicitly checked by a PBBT. Rather, PBBTs are able to assess the slow speed braking efficiency of the whole vehicle, based on U.S. federal regulations and the North American Standard Out-ofService Criteria, which is required to be at least 43.5 percent (braking efficiency = sum of brake force at all wheels divided by the gross vehicle weight). PBBT systems measure both the slow speed braking forces and the weights at each wheel and compute the total braking force divided by gross vehicle weight. When a vehicle

GUARDIAN

cannot achieve 43.5 percent braking efficiency during the slow speed test, its brakes are performing very poorly and the vehicle must be placed out of service. On behalf of FMCSA, CVSA supports efforts to expand use of PBBTs, not as a replacement for measuring brake stroke and full Level I Inspections, but rather as a helpful additional means of checking commercial vehicle brakes. One added benefit of PBBTs is that they can be used on some vehicles for which Level I Inspections are more difficult due to limited access to actuators and pushrods, whether because of low ground clearance or simply because the vehicle is equipped with air disc brakes. CVSA thanks Wes Roth and the province of Alberta, as well as Robert Douglas and VIS for their continued support of the PBBT program. n

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

CVSA Heavy Vehicle Data Collection Eﬀort By Lieutenant Tim Levi, Motor Carrier Division, Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Past CVSA Size and Weight Committee Chair

n recent years, there has been a significant amount of interest by many in the industry to advocate for increasing the legal weight limits for trucks, and to a lesser extent, for changes to truck size limits. As a result of this increased level of interest, many questions have arisen. With CVSA’s commitment to commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety and enforcement, it is important for CVSA to take a leadership role in helping shape the policy debate on what issues are to be considered for changes to truck size and weight policy in the United States. To help reach this goal, and after a review of available literature indicated that safety data was lacking, CVSA’s Executive Committee instructed the Size and Weight Committee to work with Department of Transportation (DOT) officials to develop a safety data collection program. The Heavy Vehicle Data Collection Effort is one means with which the Alliance can further inform the debate on this issue. The data collection effort, which began in January 2012, is designed to collect safety data from roadside inspections on vehicles exceeding certain weight levels. The goal is to gather data that will help determine what impact, if any, heavier vehicle weights have on a vehicle’s structural components, motor carrier safety violations and safety. By gathering this data, the Alliance will be able to get a sense for whether or not there are any correlations between higher vehicle weights and specific motor carrier safety violations, particularly those with out-of-service

conditions. CVSA partnered with the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on the eﬀort, with the agencies agreeing to conduct the data analysis. In order to participate in the study, CVSA asked that inspectors conduct their inspection activities per their standard operating procedures. When inspectors identify a vehicle that is over the allowable axle, axle group or gross vehicle weight, or if the vehicle is operating under a special weight permit, the project guidance asked that they ﬂag the inspection report for inclusion in the study, using Special Study Fields 9 and 10. The project asked that inspectors distinguish between permitted vehicles and those overweight illegally in order to better understand the data. Initially approved for one year, the study has been extended twice and is now set to run through January 2015. Participation in the study is voluntary and open to U.S. jurisdictions able and willing to participate. CVSA encouraged all member jurisdictions to consider participating in the study in order to produce an adequate data sample. By the end of the second full year, 30 states were participating in the study, and had conducted nearly 10,000 inspections. The majority of the inspected vehicles under the study were non-permitted combination vehicles, which also represent a majority of the vehicles operating on the interstate.

The data collected suggests a correlation between vehicle equipment violations and overweight vehicles. After two years, vehicles included in the study had an out-of-service rate of 36.63 percent, well above the national average, which sits closer to 20 percent. Not surprisingly, brake violations accounted for the largest portion of the violations identified as part of the study, followed by alignment and tire issues. These types of violations increase the likelihood of a vehicle not being able to stop in a timely manner, or not having full control of a vehicle in the event of an emergency stop or maneuver, especially in inclement weather. While the study is small in scale, making it difficult to fully understand the effect heavy vehicles have on vehicle component wear and vehicle safety in general, the data collected suggests a correlation between vehicle defects, particularly related to braking systems, and weight; and therefore safety. As more force is required to stop or slow a vehicle in the same distance and time as the weight of the vehicle increases, it is important that the vehicle components, particularly the brakes, be in proper working order to reduce the potential for crashes. Braking defects were the most common type of violation cited under the study, which suggests that heavy vehicles do tend to create additional wear on braking components. The study will continue through January 2015, at which point CVSA will determine what next steps are most appropriate. n

THIRD QUARTER 2014

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

The Bus Stops Here By Lieutenant Donald C. Bridge Jr., Commercial Vehicle Safety Division, Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles and CVSA Passenger Carrier Committee Chair

“We don’t accomplish anything in this world alone and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one’s life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something.” —Sandra Day O’Connor

s meetings pass by – one meeting rolls into the next and so on – I am encouraged and believe that we are continuing in the right direction. I see members who are passionate about and engaged in our business, one of promoting commercial motor vehicle safety and security. We all must continue to work together, stay committed and continue the mission of uniformity and reciprocity, the foundation that makes our Alliance great. An alliance, not just in name, CVSA is truly a union of people dedicated to a cause, making tremendous contributions to commercial vehicle safety. Sandra Day O’Connor once said, “We don’t accomplish anything in this world alone and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one’s life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something.” As the chair of the Passenger Carrier Committee, I have led many discussions on violations of alcohol, hours-of-service and oil leaks regulations as they relate to uniformity. With hopes of helping those who conduct inspections every day and those who may be aﬀected by violations cited during those inspections, I provide you with a short synopsis on these issues from our committee meetings.

Hours of Service (HOS) In the United States property carrying vehicles (aka trucks) and passenger carrying vehicles (aka buses) operate under two separate and distinct rules. Bus drivers’ HOS rules are as follows: • No more than 10 hours of driving time following eight hours off-duty. • May not drive after 15 hours of on-duty following eight hours off-duty. The 15 hours on-duty is not consecutive and may be broken up by periods of off-duty and/or sleeper berth time. • Drivers may split their required eight hours off-duty into two periods of rest in the sleeper berth. However, neither period can be less than two hours. Note: Buses are being equipped with sleeper berths that meet the requirements of the regulations. • The 30-minute rest break rule does not apply to bus drivers. In Canada, the rules are the same for both truck and bus drivers. As a reminder, drivers must comply with the rules of the country in which they are operating.

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Alcohol While the regulations prohibit the possession of alcohol, there is an exception for alcohol that is part of the manifested load, or possessed or used by bus passengers. Motor carriers and bus drivers should be aware of passengers that may leave alcohol on board the bus when they arrive at their destination and take steps to mitigate a driver being found in possession of alcohol. Inspectors should be aware that passengers the driver just dropped oﬀ may have left alcohol onboard for the return trip. Lastly, drivers should not take any alcohol as a gift or tip at the end of a trip as that will result in an out-of-service violation.

Leaks: Fuel or Oil Leaks, regardless of the type, should be looked at to ensure they are active; meaning something that is still leaking and the ﬂuid observed is not residue from a previous issue. The general rule for leaks, regardless of the type (fuel or oil), is that the ﬂuid should begin to puddle before considering it a leak. Oil leaking from breather tubes is probably one of the harder leaks to determine as oil residue built up in the breather tube may drip once the bus is stopped for an inspection. Obviously, excessive oil coming from a breather tube may indicate other problems but, generally, these breathers are going to have oil in them as that is part of their mechanical design. Lastly, and most importantly, I want to thank the men and women on the frontline who work every day to ensure the roadways are safe, keeping a watchful eye out for those drivers, vehicles and motor carriers who continue to ignore safety. Without these men and women, we could not have accomplished all that we have and the roadways across North America would be nowhere as safe as they are today. All of us wake up every day believing that we will arrive back home safely. Let’s continue to work hard at reducing the number of crashes on our roadways. I will leave you with this quote from the 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, “There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.” Thank you, stay energized, be safe and Godspeed. n

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

Youth Safety Leaders Learn Techniques for Safe Driving Around Commercial Vehicles for Global Youth Traﬃc Safety Month

“Global Youth Safety Month is a perfect opportunity for us to continue to further our commitment of educating teens about safe driving practices around commercial vehicles.” — Stephen Keppler Executive Director, CVSA

n honor of Global Youth Traffic Safety Month, which is May, CVSA joined experts from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, Safe Kids Worldwide, Snap to Live and other safety groups on May 1, 2014, in Washington, DC, in recognition of the global youth traffic safety movement and as part of the U.S. kickoff for the month. Global Youth Traffic Safety Month (GYTSM), which is sponsored by the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS), empowers youth to develop and lead traffic-safety education projects, support law enforcement, and affect legislation to protect teen drivers

There are 9.4 million young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 driving on the highways. They make up only 4.7 percent of the total number of licensed drivers, but are involved in 10.1 percent of fatal accidents and in 13.5 percent of all accidents. “Our message to teens everywhere – whether they are driving, walking or bicycling – is to stay focused and stay out of a truck’s blind spots or ‘no zones’,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro. “With youth leaders, experts and advocates, we are calling for improved safety on the nation’s roads,” said Anita Boles, CEO of NOYS. Visit www.cvsa.org/osd/teens_trucks to learn more. n

As part of the kickoﬀ event, more than 100 teens participated in the hands-on Teens and Trucks initiative hosted by CVSA. Through simulations and demonstrations, teens learned techniques for safe and cautious driving around large trucks and buses. The Teens and Trucks event and demonstrations were supported by the Maryland State Police and FedEx Corporation. “CVSA aims to combat the number of deaths and injuries resulting from crashes involving large trucks and buses, and their interaction with passenger vehicles,” said CVSA Executive Director Stephen Keppler. “Global Youth Traﬃc Safety Month is a perfect opportunity for us to continue to further our commitment of educating teens about safe driving practices around commercial vehicles. And, we very much appreciate the partnership with FMCSA and NOYS in this program.”

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INSPECTOR’S CORNER The Expectations as a NAIC Grand Champion Winner By Corporal Derek Canard, Arkansas Highway Police

The sense of accomplishment I felt when I looked out over a room ﬁlled with the greatest inspectors in the world as they stood and applauded my success that week will always stay with me.

xpectations are a funny thing—they never seem to meet their expectations. We carry preconceived notations about almost everything but, in all honesty, we never really know what to expect. Since I first attended the North American Inspectors Championship (NAIC) in 2008, I felt that winning the title of NAIC Grand Champion would be the most grandiose career achievement for anyone in this profession. I still believe that and you should too. Still, when I won the title in 2013, aside from the recognition, I didn’t know what else to expect. When I stepped off the stage in Salt Lake City, I knew I was about to find out. Where do I go from here? Is this going to be a career-changing event or even a lifechanging one? Who knows? I do now and the answer is... both, but neither. From a career standpoint, there hasn’t been any visible change. Winning didn’t earn me any additional pay (unfortunately) and I didn’t get promoted to any higher rank (but I will remind the interview panel about it if/when that time ever comes). The major career change I have experienced is my own feelings of pride and accomplishment toward the job I do. There has been nothing more rewarding than being recognized by your peers. The sense of accomplishment I felt when I looked out over a room filled with the greatest inspectors in the world as they stood and applauded my success that week will always stay with me. The many congratulatory handshakes, emails and letters I received mean even more.

Champion will be named. So, Champ, enjoy the next year. You earned it. I just ask that you don’t disclose all the super secret stuﬀ you will be privy to now as the Grand Champion. I will tell you this now (since nobody told me): the bathroom inside the Hall of Justice does not lock and the Super Friends think that it’s funny. I guess that’s it, folks. My time here is done. It has been an honor to serve you all this past year. Special thanks go out to everyone who has made this year possible; especially my wife Beth and our awesome children; Buckie Thomas and family; Chief Ronnie Burks and everyone with the Arkansas Highway Police. I again want to thank CVSA for allowing me the opportunity to write this article and be a part of its program. This experience has truly meant the world to me. I pray that I am fortunate enough to remain active with CVSA and continue to be a part of NAIC. NAIC has been a huge part of my life over the past seven years and I can’t imagine not being a part of it any longer. I’ll miss the competition aspect a little, but the experiences and relationships I’ve forged over the years are what are most important. I urge every inspector who has the opportunity to compete at NAIC to do so. I ask that you come for just the experience and opportunities alone. Who knows, you might accidently win something. I promise you won’t regret it because they even feed you pretty decent and give you free stuﬀ. What cop would ever pass that up? Until we meet again, stay safe and God bless. n

Aside from my wife who does refer to me as “champ” when she gets irritated with me, winning Grand Champion hasn’t really changed anything in my life. If anything, it put things in a better perspective. Having someone in New Hampshire worry about my family and check on us after a bad storm has changed my life. Having someone in Kentucky to call and gloat to after a mediocre Razorback basketball team beats the allmighty Wildcats has changed my life. Having someone in West Virginia I can call for a quick pick me up when I’m down has changed my life. The many great friends I have made over years is what has changed my life, not winning any award. Even though winning didn’t fulﬁll my expectations of getting to ride a unicorn to my secret Illuminati initiation deep within the lost city of Atlantis, I’m satisﬁed with the past 12 months. Other than writing these articles, I haven’t really done much. By the time this article goes to print and is released, a new Grand

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REGION I

Howard Levine Named Maryland Motor Truck Association’s Chairman of the Board

oward Levine was recently named Maryland Motor Truck Association’s (MMTA) chairman of the board for 2014-2015. A local businessman and entrepreneur, Levine founded Ramar Moving Systems in 1987, named after his children, Rachel and Mark.

In addition to Ramar’s membership in the Maryland Motor Truck Association, the company is also a member of the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce, Better Business Bureau, Registered International Movers, Maryland Movers Conference and many other organizations. Levine’s accomplishments include moving multi-million dollar objects, such as the Lunar Buggy, a U.S. telescope, Navy ship models, a U.S. Air Force F12 simulator, the U.S. Coast Guard Band, satellites and more. As MMTA’s chairman, Levine envisions continuing to champion membership growth, supporting the association’s eﬀorts as the trucking/transportation industry’s voice in Annapolis and promoting a “Young Executive Group” to develop the next generation of MMTA members. To learn more about the Maryland Motor Truck Association, one of the largest trucking associations in the country, visit www.mmtanet.com. n

REGION I

Pennsylvania State Police Motor Carrier Oﬃcers Enforce Operation Code R.E.D.

ccording to the World Health Organization (WHO), the percentage of the population suﬀering from a foodborne disease each year in industrialized countries is up to 30 percent. The WHO estimates that the annual medical and lost productivity costs associated with food contamination is $35 billion (1997) in the United States alone.

to stop and inspect food cargo trucks. During the ﬁrst operation in April 2013, nearly 400 food cargo trucks were inspected throughout Pennsylvania, resulting in the issuance of 115 traﬃc citations and 259 written warnings for various safety violations. Seven trucks were found with unsanitary cargo areas and three were transporting potentially hazardous foods at unsafe temperatures.

Eﬀorts aimed at ensuring the safety of our food supply are often focused on either the beginning or end of the food chain. Often overlooked in importance is the transportation process that delivers food from its origin to consumers. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, commercial motor vehicles are used to carry 80-90 percent of all consumer products within the United States, including food.

In 2014, the PSP received a 2014 Innovation Award by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett in recognition of its innovative and spirited eﬀorts in pioneering positive change. Armed with laser thermostats and advanced information, PSP personnel now are equipped with the tools necessary to help ensure the integrity of Pennsylvania’s food supply. n

In 2013, the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) joined forces to educate the state’s motor carrier inspection oﬃcers about laws governing the safe transportation of perishable foods. During the 2013 mandatory training, the PDA trained more than 400 state police personnel in the state’s Food Safety Act. Immediately following the training, the PSP unveiled Operation Code R.E.D (Refrigerated Enforcement Detail) across the state.

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

Working with food safety inspectors from the PDA, state police motor carrier oﬃcers began THIRD QUARTER 2014

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REGION I

Focusing on the Driver By Lieutenant Raymond J. Cook, Director of Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety, Pennsylvania State Police

It’s well known and documented that driver behavior contributes to the cause of more truck crashes than any other known variable.

ach year, thousands of people die on our nation’s highways as the result of crashes involving commercial motor vehicles and, all too often, law enforcement’s response is to conduct more truck inspections. Unfortunately, conducting more inspections without targeting them in high-crash areas or toward specific violations and behaviors is not likely to produce the desired result of reducing crashes and saving lives. It’s well known and documented that driver behavior contributes to the cause of more truck crashes than any other known variable. Action or inaction by the commercial driver is most often the critical reason for at-fault truck crashes and, in fact, such behavior is 10 times more likely to be the cause than other factors like weather, road conditions and vehicle safety deficiencies. Unfortunately, very few of our roadside inspections involve such violations. In federal Fiscal Year 2013, only 11 percent of nationwide inspections involved the targeting of traffic enforcement behaviors. Pennsylvania wasn’t much better with only 13 percent of our inspections involving violations such as speeding, unsafe lane changes and following too closely. Another significant cause of many truck crashes is driver fatigue. Depending on what study is to be believed, truck driver fatigue contributes to as many as 40 percent of all heavy truck crashes in our country. An estimated 15.5 million commercial motor vehicles operate in the United States, and with less than 5 percent of our nation’s police officers trained in the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP), the reality is that the hours-of-service rules are largely not being examined along the roadside. These undeniable facts made it clear that changes needed to be made in Pennsylvania’s approach to truck safety. While driver-only inspections were already a large part of our program, more of our patrol troopers needed to be MCSAP qualified and even more emphasis needed to be placed on poor driver behavior. MCSAP training in Pennsylvania has traditionally involved a three-week course of

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study to certify personnel in all levels of truck and driver inspections. It also involved the issuance of costly and requisite equipment – especially laptops and printers, etc. Training more of our personnel quickly proved to be a cost prohibitive measure until a solution was presented through the use of our agency’s mobile office system. Each Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) patrol car is equipped with a Panasonic Toughbook and is utilized as a mobile office for access to things such as the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), GPS mapping, tactical messaging and the preparation of traffic citations and crash reports through the use of Traffic and Criminal Software (TraCS). To facilitate MCSAP reporting from our patrol cars, the PSP installed ASPEN on our mobile office systems, but without broadband connectivity, timely and reliable uploads from the roadside to the SAFER database posed a challenge. As an interim solution, PSP developed a protocol whereby completed inspection reports could be exported from ASPEN onto a USB drive and then emailed to our Commercial Vehicle Safety Division for review and successful upload. In the near future, PSP plans to utilize TraCS for MCSAP reporting so inspection reports can be uploaded from the mobile office through our statewide radio system. Moreover, MCSAP reporting will then integrate with existing TraCS functionality, making the preparation of MCSAP traffic citations and crash reports much easier. Without the need for lengthy training or expensive equipment, PSP now has the ability to involve more of its patrol complement in MCSAP by combining their existing traffic enforcement skills with the ability to examine commercial drivers and their required credentials. In April 2014, 27 PSP troopers received Level III/driver-only inspector training, and two additional classes are already slated to commence this fall. While Level I and II inspections will always be the core of our commercial vehicle safety efforts, it’s hoped that our new emphasis on driver behavior will yield positive results and save lives in Pennsylvania. n

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REGION I

New Jersey Hosts Teens and Trucks Safety Awareness Event By Shari Leichter, Administrative Analyst II, Bureau of Trucking Services, New Jersey Department of Transportation

Remember, driving is a privilege and our goal is to have zero fatalities. If we saved one life by teaching this program, then we made a diﬀerence. n May 3, 2014, New Jersey held an Operation Safe Driver Teens and Trucks Safety Awareness event sponsored by Atlantic Investigations LLC and the New Jersey Licensed Private Investigators Association.

Shari Leichter of the New Jersey Department of Transportation spoke on behalf of CVSA. Greg Crescenzo, a retired Hammonton police oﬃcer and co-owner of Atlantic Investigations, also spoke, as did Atlantic County Freeholder James Beetino.

The objective of the event was to promote commercial motor vehicle safety and educate teen drivers to be careful while driving around trucks and buses on the road. The goal is to prevent accidents involving teens and large vehicles by showing young drivers how diﬀerent the world looks from the driver’s seat of a truck or bus.

The instructors were Bobbie Clark and Wayne Shelton from South Jersey Traﬃc Alliance; Detective/Sergeant Matt Razukas, Fatal Unit, NJSP; and Sergeant Scott Dorrler, NJSP Transportation Safety Bureau.

At the event, teens spent two hours in a classroom and two hours outside. Inside, the instructors taught safe-driving tips for sharing the roads with large commercial motor vehicles, and ways to avoid distracted driving. Outside, law oﬃcers, New Jersey State Police (NJSP), local state police and retirees were stationed at every truck, bus, passenger vehicle and a motorcycle. The teens were invited to get into the trucks or buses to experience ﬁrsthand what it is like to be a truck or bus driver. They were able to see what the driver can see and what he or she cannot see – the blind spots. Participants also could sit in the passenger vehicle and experience what it is like driving next to or in front of a commercial vehicle. The teens who attended this event received giveaways from NJSP; discounts from Mike’s Driving School for driving lessons along with tshirts; extra credit for driver's education class; and Cedar Creek High School in Egg Harbor City, NJ, allowed students to make up a missed school day by attending the event. Atlantic Investigations also provided hot dogs, French fries and soft drinks. Next year, Hammonton School District is going to have this event at its school on a weekday during an in-service training day. The teens will go to school for half of the day and the other half of the day they will participate in this program. It will be mandatory through the curriculum of their driver's education program. CVSA joined with New Jersey enforcement and industry at this safety awareness event to promote safety, reduce commercial vehicle crashes and save lives.

Other attendees and participants who helped out on this event were Keith Fane, Atlantic County Sherriff's Department; Peter Staats, CPS Investigations; Jen Kieseling, Hawk Investigations; Jeff Wood, retired NJSP; Jorge Antonucci, NJSP-TSB; Fred Torpolilli, Lee Transport Systems LLC; Marksmen Transport LLC; Safeway Group; FedEx® Corporation; NJSP, TSB and FARS Units; South Jersey Traffic Alliance; Hammonton Police Department; Complete RV; Brain Neal, Manager, Safety Process Engineering, FedEx Ground Corporate Safety; Harry, FedEx driver; Ace Oil, Inc; Leo from Hammonton School Board; Cedar Creek High School students and Mikes's Driving School. Thank you to Mike Irwin from CVSA for his help and to Brian Neal for sending us the Distracted Driving FedEx Truck. A special thank you to Joe Brown and Greg Crescenzo, owners of Atlantic Investigations LLC, for sponsoring this event along with the New Jersey Licensed Private Investigators Association. And a big thank you to Greg Crescenzo for organizing this event. He put a lot of hard work and energy in to this and it paid off. All in all, it was a good turnout for a Saturday and now other school districts in four more counties – Gloucester, Cumberland, Burlington and Camden – want to start this program in their schools as well. This will be an annual event in Hammonton, NJ, from now on. We are looking forward to helping out again next year for this great program. Remember, driving is a privilege and our goal is to have zero fatalities. If we saved one life by teaching this program, then we made a difference and the day was well worth it. n

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REGION I

Roadcheck 2014 in Puerto Rico

uerto Rico’s Public Service Commission under its Motor Carrier Safety Administration Program (MCSAP) division continues to be active in its mission of guaranteeing the safety of the roads and ensuring compliance of the laws and procedures that the agency regulates. Enhancing truck and bus safety and security throughout North America was the goal of Puerto Rico’s participation in Roadcheck 2014, as indicated by Public Service Commission president, Omar Negrón Judice. The operation, carried out speciﬁcally in the areas of Guaynabo, Caguas and Mayagüez, had the participation of Puerto Rico’s police department, as well as the Federal Highway Administration. Inspectors conducted over 400 inspections in which multiple violations were identiﬁed and drivers were educated on all federal and state law regulations that applied. "Enforcing full compliance is certainly one of our main goals. It is our duty and obligation to ensure that accidents are reduced," noted José Miranda, director of MCSAP in Puerto Rico. n

REGION II

Roadcheck: The Florida Highway Patrol and the Florida Truck Association Team Up to Remove Unsafe Vehicles By Lieutenant Colonel Troy Thompson, Deputy Director, Oﬃce of Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, Florida Highway Patrol

he 2014 Roadcheck was held for 72 consecutive hours on June 3-5, 2014. During this time, members from the Florida Highway Patrol’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit partnered with the Florida Trucking Association to conduct Level I inspections at the Interstate 4 Seﬀner Weigh-InMotion (WIM) facilities. The Florida Trucking Association’s role was to promote Roadcheck and operational safety to commercial motor vehicle drivers, while the Florida Highway Patrol’s role was to carry out the law enforcement and educational objectives of Roadcheck. This team-building project during Roadcheck highlighted a strong working relationship between industry and law enforcement in Florida and promoted the mutual goal of safe transportation to the public. n

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REGION II

Texas DPS Inspects More Than 8,700 Commercial Vehicles during Roadcheck

Virtual Weigh-In-Motion: The Future Is Now

By Lieutenant Colonel Troy Thompson, Deputy Director, Oﬃce of Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, Florida Highway Patrol

he Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) inspected 8,714 commercial motor vehicles during a three-day inspection eﬀort in June as part of Roadcheck 2014.

could be made. Issues with brakes and defective vehicle lighting were among the most common infractions that led to out-of-service violations.

Texas DPS Commercial Vehicle Enforcement troopers, specially trained Highway Patrol troopers and civilian inspectors joined forces June 3-5 during the annual inspection initiative aimed at enhancing commercial motor vehicle safety.

Additionally, drivers were checked for compliance with state and federal laws, and 263 drivers were placed out of service. Among the violations were improper logging of duty time, driving over the maximum number of hours, and failing to have the proper type of driver license for the vehicle being driven.

Approximately 21 percent (1,858) of the 18wheelers, buses and other commercial vehicles inspected were placed out of service for a variety of safety violations until appropriate repairs

In all, the Texas DPS issued 2,715 citations and more than 24,943 warnings. n

REGION II

Operation Safe Drive on I-95 By Lieutenant Colonel Troy Thompson, Deputy Director, Oﬃce of Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, Florida Highway Patrol

s members of CVSA, our mission is to promote commercial motor vehicle safety and security. We utilize a combination of enforcement and education to prevent and reduce the severity of crashes on our roadways. During the past several months, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and the FMCSA Southern Service Center have been developing an enforcement strategy to deliver educational and enforcement waves targeting poor driver behavior along the I-95 corridor. The I-95 corridor was selected because of the high volume of commercial motor vehicle crashes and fatalities along that corridor in all four states. The goal of the enforcement plan was to prevent crashes by deploying consistent visual deterrents such as staffed and unstaffed marked patrol cars, speed trailers, billboards and dynamic message boards combined with aggressive traffic enforcement throughout the I-95 corridor. On June 17-19, 2014, all four states and the FMCSA implemented the first of multiple enforcement waves for a period of 72-hours. Based on feedback from participants, motorists could not travel more than a few miles before observing the various visual deterrents intended to remind them to travel safely. This first enforcement wave was a tremendous success with states reporting only 10 crashes involving commercial motor vehicles along the I-95 corridor in all four states, none of which resulted in a fatality.

During the enforcement wave, the four states combined to issue 819 citations to passenger motor vehicles, 340 written warnings to passenger motor vehicles, 722 citations to commercial motor vehicles, 491 written warnings to commercial motor vehicles and conducted 1,973 commercial motor vehicle inspections resulting in 217 vehicles and 150 drivers being placed out of service. Additionally, the FMCSA participated by conducting 511 commercial motor vehicle inspections resulting in 29 vehicles and 81 drivers being placed out of service at various weigh stations along the I-95 corridor. Although participating states and the FMCSA were encouraged by these results, each state and the FMCSA plan to participate in a best practice discussion with the goal of reducing the number of crashes to zero during future enforcement waves. n

he State of Florida began utilizing Virtual Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) facilities in 2006 to protect its highway and bridge infrastructures while maximizing precious staffing resources and reducing construction costs associated with the traditional weigh station facilities. Since the first Virtual WIM was constructed, the technology has proven to be a valuable asset. Subsequently, Florida has expanded the use of the Virtual WIMs by adding several sites throughout the state, with more entering production in the near future. The advantage of Virtual WIMs is that they screen commercial motor vehicles for size and weight violations without law enforcement having to be directly present. Once vehicles are measured, data is collected, queried and then streamed from the site to law enforcement mobile data terminals. This data includes photographs of these vehicles to ensure accurate identification. Once the vehicle is identified, law enforcement in the area will locate the vehicle and take appropriate law enforcement action when warranted. When potential size and weight violations are identified by the Virtual WIM, law enforcement will then conduct a static weighing and/or measurement of the vehicle to ensure accuracy prior to a violation being documented. While Virtual WIM sites in Florida were originally selected to protect alternative routes by which vehicles could avoid traditional weigh stations, today’s Virtual WIMs are strategically located throughout the state to reduce violations on routes where non-compliant commercial motor vehicles are known to favor. Virtual WIMs at these sites have allowed members of the Florida Highway Patrol to effectively screen thousands of vehicles and identify numerous violations that may have otherwise not been located. Virtual WIM technology has greatly enhanced law enforcement’s efforts to be effective while efficiently exercising staffing resources. Meanwhile, Virtual WIM technology also has provided benefits to the industry by allowing law enforcement to more effectively select potential violators while reducing time spent during traffic stops on commercial motor vehicles that operate within legal requirements. Based on the effectiveness of the current Virtual WIM technology, it is very likely we will continue to see this type of technology grow in the future. n THIRD QUARTER 2014

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REGION II

North Carolina’s Motor Carrier Enforcement Program Deploying New Tools to Improve Performance By Lieutenant Eric Jackson, Motor Carrier Enforcement, North Carolina Highway Patrol

One of our goals is to move our supervisors in the direction of true data-driven decision making.

he mission of the North Carolina Motor Carrier Enforcement (MCE) section of the State Highway Patrol is to reduce commercial vehicle crashes and protect infrastructure from damage caused by overweight vehicles. Each year, we develop measurable performance goals, objectives and strategies that drive operational planning. To assist in accomplishing these goals, North Carolina State University’s Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE), in partnership with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP), developed the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Resource Lab (COVERLAB). COVERLAB is a tool designed to help MCE improve its commercial vehicle enforcement planning. Started in 2001, COVERLAB originally provided geographic information systems (GIS) mapping and data analysis services to assist North Carolina’s Motor Carrier Safety Assistance (MCSAP) program. Today, MCE uses COVERLAB to provide comprehensive web-based performance management services, data and map analytics, program evaluation services, instructor-led training and continuous access to crash and enforcement data. COVERLAB staﬀ provides state-level decision support analytic services along with research and education to help improve enforcement planning eﬀectiveness.

MCE troopers are geographically spread out throughout the state into eight areas (A-H) of responsibility called “troops.” With approximately 16 percent of the total NCSHP force involved in motor carrier enforcement, these MCE troops conduct a large volume of enforcement activities relative to their size and geographic area of responsibility.

As industry, population and traffic grow, enforcement personnel are increasingly asked to do more with less. Turning to technology gives us an opportunity to actually make this a reality. The decision management tools provided to field personnel and supervisors include interactive maps, analytics, scorecards, dashboards and reports. These tools assist with our goal of increasing our effectiveness by targeted enforcement. This approach allows our troopers to easily see relationships between existing enforcement activities and areas where safety and infrastructure preservation concerns are the greatest. These analytic tools were designed with first line supervisors in mind and allows them the freedom to use online scorecards to track enforcement performance measures, dashboards for in-depth trend and comparison analysis, dynamic reports to streamline and simplify reporting requirements and map analytics to prioritize times and locations for prioritized enforcement. One of our goals is to move our supervisors in the direction of true datadriven decision making and to allow our younger generation the opportunity to become mini data analysts, if you will. This opens the door for new perspectives and insight throughout our organization. Examples of how it is used include performance tracking at the state, troop and individual level.

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Supervisors track how they are performing against state-level performance metrics. For example, the CMV crash reduction scorecard below shows where each troop stands compared to our target of a 2 percent crash reduction.

Troop and state administrators can view the performance of each troop over time and interactively sweep the data to visualize patterns and trends. In the next example, you can see each troop’s total number of inspections conducted, compared with their out-of-service (OOS) rate. Troops A, E and H have a lower total number of inspections at ﬁrst glance, but with this type of visualization tool, you can also see their OOS rate is higher than the other troops’. Improving our OOS rate by targeted enforcement is one of our biggest objectives and this data shows they are doing that to a degree.

One of the questions to ask next is what strategies are these troops using that allow them to increase their ability to target carriers and vehicles most likely to have a violation?

Having troopers working when and where they are needed has never been easier.

Supervisors can also use the Visual Analytics for Targeted Geographic Enforcement (VANTAGE) tool to target and prioritize enforcement activities. VANTAGE shows relationships of crashes to enforcement activities on a map and provides easy ﬁltering capabilities to reveal opportunities for improvement. The screenshot below demonstrates the relationship between where the CMV crashes are occurring compared to where troopers are conducting their inspections. At the same time, you can see charts that display the time of day each are happening. Having troopers working when and where they are needed has never been easier.

In summary, the main focus of COVERLAB is to provide technology to garner actionable intelligence and, subsequently, provide these tools to the field supervisors to use to develop effective enforcement plans to meet our goal of making the highways safer for the motoring public. To learn more about COVERLAB, visit www.coverlab.org. n

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REGION II

REGION III

Pee Dee Transportation Association’s Major Paul M. Claunch Retires After Teens and Trucks: Share the Road Safety More Than 39 Years in Law Enforcement Campaign

n May 1, 2014, the Pee Dee Transportation Association of South Carolina started airing its Teens and Trucks: Share the Road safety campaign on South Carolina radio stations. Using funds raised at the Pee Dee Truck Rodeo in October 2013, the Pee Dee Transportation Association had several area teens record 15-second radio ads that aired throughout the summer months on local South Carolina radio stations. A 30-second spot was recorded that focuses speciﬁcally on the “No Zones” and truck safety. As school goes back in session, this campaign will continue with banners at four area high schools where students will pledge not to text and drive. Sonic of Lake City, SC, oﬀered to provide food to the students at Lake City High School for a Teens and Trucks: Share the Road safety program in September. The Teens and Trucks: Share the Road safety video will also be shown at four area high schools in September with each student pledging not to text and drive. A truck simulator will be available for them to use as well.

ajor Paul M. Claunch, past regional and international president of CVSA, retired from the Arkansas Highway Police after more than 39 years in law enforcement, having held both patrol and investigative positions with municipal and county agencies. Major Claunch was the commander of special services with the Arkansas Highway Police (AHP) and served as second-in-command of all operations. He has been employed by the AHP since 1980 when he began his state career as a highway patrolman. Along with many other areas of administrative responsibility, Major Claunch also served as enforcement coordinator of the Arkansas Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program. Major Claunch attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and is a 1992 graduate of the School of Law Enforcement Supervision and Arkansas Leader, both of which focus on law enforcement administration and management. He is also a 2000 graduate of the FBI National Academy (Session 201) in Quantico, VA. From October 1997 to September 1998, Major Claunch worked on temporary assignment in the State Programs Division of the Federal Highway Administration’s Oﬃce of Motor Carriers in Washington, DC. During his time there, he provided a state perspective to various federal safety programs dealing with commercial motor vehicles and the enforcement of the federal motor carrier safety regulations.

All of this is made possible by the funds raised at last year’s Pee Dee Truck Rodeo, which the Pee Dee Transportation Association is planning to do again this year. The date for the rodeo will be announced soon.

In 2011, Major Claunch was appointed to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC) by the FMCSA Administrator. The MCSAC provides advice and recommendations to the Administrator on motor carrier safety programs and motor carrier safety regulations. MCSAC membership is comprised of 20 experts from the motor carrier safety advocacy, safety enforcement, industry and labor sectors.

To learn more about the Pee Dee Transportation Association, visit www.pdtransportation.org. n

Major Claunch is also a member of the Arkansas State Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Commission. Major Claunch lives in Little Rock, AR, with his wife Marie. n

Major Jay Thompson, Arkansas Highway State Police, presents Major Paul M. Claunch with a framed letter from CVSA at his retirement reception.

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R EGIO N A L NE W S

REGION III

Drivers Urged to Use Caution When Traveling Near Trains By Charlie Zelle, Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Transportation

une was Rail Crossing Safety Awareness Month. It serves to remind us that risky behavior near railroad tracks can be a matter of life and death. Already this year, there have been 25 highway-rail grade collisions in Minnesota. In February, drivers went around lowered gates at two diﬀerent crossings and their vehicles were hit by trains. Fortunately, only property was damaged. However, too many people have suﬀered serious injuries or death at railroad crossings in the state.

From the railroads, I’ve also learned of multiple “near misses” involving people risking their lives going around lowered gates and past flashing lights. The risk-takers avoided a collision with a train by mere seconds. Too often, this dangerous behavior leads to tragic results. Last year, in Minnesota, six people died and 26 were injured at highwayrail grade crossings when their vehicle collided with a train. Another five people died and five were seriously injured while trespassing on railroad property. Nationally, deaths and injuries at railroad crossings have been increasing. The statistics are alarming and most of these crashes are preventable. Driver inattention and impatience most commonly contribute to car and train crashes. No one should ever drive or walk around lowered gates. When signal lights are flashing, treat them like a stop sign and proceed only when it’s safe. Drivers and pedestrians must yield the right of way to trains at highway-rail crossings. Never race to beat the train. It is illegal, and statistics show you will lose. At 55 miles per hour, it takes a fully-loaded freight train more than a mile to come to a full stop. A light rail train needs 600 feet to stop. By the time the train engineer sees a vehicle or pedestrian on the tracks, it’s often too late. Pedestrians should only cross railroad tracks at marked pedestrian crossings. The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) strives to reduce highway-railroad grade crossing crashes to save lives. Active warning devices have been installed at more than 1,500 of the approximately 4,200 public railroad-highway crossings in the state. In addition, MnDOT works with other organizations, such as Minnesota Operation Lifesaver, to educate the public on how to avoid crashes, injuries and deaths at rail crossings and on railroad property.

The Importance of Communication By Major Lance Evans, Motor Vehicle Enforcement Iowa Department of Transportation

he impact of the recent flooding in the Midwest has brought to light the need for interstate communication. From the initial onset of heavy rains forcing rivers, lakes and streams out of their banks, we were in constant communication about road closers and established detours. This has not only impacted the states, it has affected countless travelers during tourism season. The Midwestern states have suffered through flooding and tornadoes that destroyed communities, leaving a memory the residents will never forget. I bring this up because this is why CVSA is the type of Alliance we can all be proud to be a part of. The Alliance is responsible for bringing states together so information can be shared on an individual basis with connections established because of CVSA. I think I can speak for my colleagues from the other regions when I say that CVSA works not only because of uniformity but also because of the relationships that are formed by bringing states closer together for a common goal: highway safety. When the transportation system is interrupted by a natural disaster, these relationships enable us to better assist those individuals who rely on a safe transportation system. The flow of commerce and the everyday traveler rely on our services and when it comes to natural disasters, we see what has been established. Before I started going to CVSA events four years ago, I had no idea who to contact throughout the Midwest. I knew road troops/officers but I didn’t know who the decision makers were. Now, because of CVSA, I’m able to email or call to receive real-time information on plans that have been put in place. CVSA President Fuller has mentioned communication time and time again; that message is real and needed. Without open lines of communication, we have chaos and disruption to the transportation system. The hindrance to commerce can have damaging effects and can trickle down to the consumer and everyday traveler but, by having established contacts, we are able to reduce the hindrance by communicating with the general public on what each state is doing. Thank you for the sacrifices that are made day in and day out by the boots on the ground and by those decision makers. I’m proud to serve each of you as your region president and most importantly I’m proud to call you a friend. Stay safe. n

This summer, MnDOT invested $7.9 million in gates and upgraded crossing signal equipment at 40 locations throughout the state. This work will provide safer intersections. However, to completely stop crashes from occurring at railroad crossings, we need the public’s help. Drivers and walkers have to pay attention to the crossing and not take unnecessary risks. Betting on beating a moving train carries a very high price if you lose, perhaps the price of a lifetime. n

THIRD QUARTER 2014

R EGIO N A L NE W S

REGION V

Revised Manual: Commercial Vehicle Safety Compliance in Alberta

lberta Transportation is serious about traﬃc safety. That is why it revised the Commercial Vehicle Safety Compliance in Alberta Manual to assist commercial truck and bus companies, and their employees, in operating safely and in a manner compliant with the National Safety Code. The new manual oﬀers better readability and navigation that aim to: • Assist existing and future drivers, managers and owners of commercial vehicles in understanding and abiding by applicable legislation and safe operating procedures. • Provide direction and information for new commercial drivers. • Assist carriers in developing, updating and implementing their safety and maintenance programs. • Provide resources and contact information to carriers operating in Alberta.

The revised Commercial Vehicle Safety Compliance in Alberta Manual is available online at www.transportation.alberta.ca. Hard copies of the manual are available from the Alberta Motor Transport Association. n

REGION V

Operation Mighty Escrow By Julius Debuschewitz, BA, Manager, National Safety Code, Transport Services, Highways and Public Works, Government of Yukon

O 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 the fourth Quarter 2014 issue: October 17, 2014 To submit your article, send your content, along with any corresponding photos, to communications@cvsa.org. Questions? Please contact communications@cvsa.org or 301-830-6152.

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n June 5-6, 2014, Operation Mighty Escrow took place at Junction 37, the intersection of the Cassiar Highway (Hwy 37) and the Alaska Highway (Hwy 1), near Watson Lake in the Yukon Territory. This year, CVSA inspectors from Yukon Carrier Compliance and the Yukon National Safety Code joined the Yukon Conservation Officer Services and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to stop all vehicles and interview their drivers. When deemed necessary, the vehicles were searched and/or inspected. While the stopping of private vehicles, including motorcycles, resulted in the detection of a number of offenses (such as not utilizing a proper child car seat, a seizure of whale products, impaired driving, etc.), CVSA inspectors were more interested in the commercial vehicle component of the operation. Both Level I and Level II Inspections were conducted on 55 commercial vehicle units that had not been inspected during Roadcheck 2014. That effort paid off. Twenty-four units passed, 16 were restricted, 15 were placed out of service (27 percent). Three commercial drivers were placed out of service for possession of drugs, one for possession of alcohol and four for hours-ofservice violations. The restricted vehicle inspection items covered a wide range of defects, with brake systems taking the lead, followed by

tires. Lamps topped the out-of-service defect list, followed closely by brake systems. Joint operations such as this are becoming more common in the Yukon, and if the statistics are an indication, they are sorely needed. Moreover, they oﬀer a good chance for various law enforcement agencies to work together. n

Vehicles are lined up for the initial driver interview.

The afternoon shift takes over. On both days, oﬃcers covered the check stop from 7:00 am until midnight.

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REGION V

Photos

Pictured: Missing air suspension

Pictured: Flat tire

Photo credit: Oﬃcer Michael Kasprzak, Whitehouse Weigh Station, Yukon Territory, Canada.

Photo credit: Oﬃcer Sheldon Barteaux, Whitehorse Weigh Station, Yukon Territory, Canada.

Pictured: The only thing keeping the drum in place was the two remaining studs Photo credit: Oﬃcer Sheldon Barteaux, Whitehorse Weigh Station, Yukon Territory, Canada.

Pictured: Porcupine quills discovered in a CMV’s tires Photo credit: Dan Nickason, Assistant Manager, Whitehorse Weight Station, Yukon Territory, Canada.

Pictured: Drive shaft problems Photo credit: Oﬃcer Kevin Chaput, Watson Lake Weigh Station, Yukon Territory, Canada; Oﬃcer Sheldon Barteaux, Whitehorse Weigh Station, Yukon Territory, Canada; Julius Debuschewitz, Manager, National Safety Code, Transport Services, Whitehorse Weigh Station, Yukon Territory, Canada.

THIRD QUARTER 2014

F R O M T H E D R I V E R ’ S S E AT

FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT What’s Your Truck’s “Personality?” By Don Biggerstaﬀ, LTL driver for Holland, Inc.

I believe that every truck on the highway has its own personality and that it is a direct reﬂection of the person driving it.

ometimes, when I’m driving down the road with traﬃc all around, trying to stay aware of what’s going on around me and focusing on the road ahead, I wonder every now and then what the people riding next to me think of my truck. Now, I’m not talking about how pretty it’s painted, what color it is, or even if it’s washed, waxed and shining like a new penny; but does it have “personality.” I believe that every truck on the highway has its own personality and that it is a direct reﬂection of the person driving it. We are professional truck drivers and should be aware that every action we take is noticed by the people who occupy the roads with us every day. Let’s stop and think for a minute that sometimes the traveling public never sees the driver of a truck; maybe because it’s nighttime, or maybe it’s the angle in which they are positioned from the driver’s mirrors. But one thing is for sure, they do see the truck. That’s what gives the truck a personality, because people can’t always put a face to the situation. When I am traveling down the road in my truck, there is a sense of pride that swells up in me because I’m in one of the most important industries in our great

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nation. We, as drivers, must show everyone on the highways our best – never forgetting that whether or not they see us, they do see the truck. I like to apply the golden rule to the road and drive around people the way I want them to drive around me or my family. When we practice safe driving, like not speeding, not following too closely, staying steady in our lane and using courtesy when changing lanes, people notice those things. These are the practices that give your truck a good personality and cast a positive light on our industry. I enjoy seeing trucks on the highway operating in a safe and responsible manner. Not only is it safer for all of us but it’s a reﬂection of the quality drivers we have in this strong industry. No matter what your job is each day, you want to do the best because someone will notice what you do, and since truck drivers are on our nation’s roads every day, we are the center of attention. It is similar to being on stage, so you have to do your best. Every move we make, we make an impression on the motoring public. As we go down the highway, let us remember, the truck is a direct example of how it’s being driven. So let us show people that we’ve got “good personality.” n

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

SAFETY INNOVATORS The Promise of Technology for Improving Highway Safety is Becoming Reality By Tom Clark, Senior Vice President of Operations, Con-way Freight

The advent of new technologies and their increasing adoption holds great promise for reducing large truck crashes and the ﬁnancial and personal toll they extract from those involved.

ighway safety is something everyone agrees is critical. Yet, in practice every day, there are thousands of motorists whose actions behind the wheel demonstrate that they are anything but critically focused on the road ahead. It should go without saying: driving requires full focus, and no driver should engage in any activity while driving that takes their attention from the road. That goes double for the driver of a commercial vehicle weighing 80,000 pounds. Some things are so obvious we hesitate to speak them aloud for fear of sounding trite and prosaic. The fact is, however, that highway safety is and should be a daily concern and in the forefront of our conversations. Keeping silent on the subject of safety does a disservice to everyone who shares the road. According to data released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, there were 317,000 total accidents involving large trucks in 2012, 3,464 of which were fatal. That’s an increase since 2011, which saw 3,365 fatal accidents. The cost of these 2012 crashes is estimated at more than $40 billion, with one fatal crash happening every 72 million vehicle miles traveled. The advent of new technologies and their increasing adoption holds great promise for reducing large truck crashes and the financial and personal toll they extract from those involved. These include advanced in-cab monitors and sense and alert technologies, coupled with event recorders and performance measurement systems. When combined with real-time continuous, peer-based driver training and coaching, these technologies have the dual benefit of measurably improving driver safety performance and accident avoidance, while contributing to operating efficiency. The net result is safer highways and fewer crashes. And that’s the strategy that Con-way Freight has deployed to help make highways safer. Since late 2009, every truck delivered into Con-way’s 9,500-truck fleet has come equipped with adaptive, forward-looking collision avoidance radar, lane-departure warning and stability control systems. In 2013, two new complimentary technologies were added: the DriveCam two-way

event recorders and the Vnomics electronic onboard performance management system. Collectively known within Con-way as “Drive Safe Systems,” this suite incorporates five in-cab technologies that alert drivers to potential safety risks and help them respond, improve situational awareness, provide feedback to refine safedriving skills and techniques and maximize safe, fuel-efficient operations.

emissions annually. Vnomics Corp. is the technology vendor for this system.

These deployed technologies provide drivers with the industry’s most technologically advanced safety systems in a commercial motor vehicle. They provide alerts and feedback designed to enhance awareness and compliment the skills and experience these professionals bring to work.

Lane Departure Warning This tool monitors a truck’s position relative to highway lane markings and issues an audible alert, similar to traveling over a rumble strip, if the operator drives out of their lane.

The Five Technologies of Con-way’s Drive Safe Systems Two-Way Event Recorders This is a compact, windshield-mounted, twoway camera/recorder unit that records a 30second loop of activity inside and outside the cab. The recording is continuously erased unless the unit is activated by a physical event such as hard braking, turning or rapid deceleration. When a triggering event occurs, the unit saves a 12-second audio and visual recording eight seconds before and four seconds after the event. The recording is uploaded to Con-way’s Safety Department via cellular technology. Driver trainers then meet with drivers to review incidents and identify coaching opportunities to correct unsafe behaviors, and also to recognize exceptional defensive-driving performances which avoided an accident or incident. The product, known as DriveCam, is manufactured by Lytx Inc. Real-Time On-Board Fleet Management This technology captures engine and driver performance data, such as shifting patterns, engine revolutions per minute (rpm), speed and idling, and measures actual vs. potential miles per gallon (mpg) achieved daily by the driver. Taking into account vehicle, road, load and environmental conditions, the system provides real-time feedback, identifying coaching opportunities to enable the driver to improve mpg performance. The system is expected to help improve ﬂeet mpg by up to 5 percent, reducing consumption of fossil fuels and eliminating some 80 million pounds of carbon

Forward-Looking Radar Equipped with adaptive cruise control, this technology continually measures distance to a vehicle ahead and automatically slows the truck if it is approaching too rapidly and the driver does not engage the brakes in a timely manner.

Roll Stability Control Roll stability control senses conditions that are consistent with a vehicle about to roll over, such as during hard cornering or change of direction. It visually alerts the driver and automatically decreases engine torque to reduce rollover tendency. The collision avoidance, lane departure and roll stability control systems all have delivered proven results. Trucks with these systems saw incidences of rear-end collisions, unintended lane departures and rollovers decrease by more than 50 percent, compared to trucks not equipped with these technologies. Early results with event recorders appear just as promising. The preliminary data show that as more drivers receive coaching, the number of safety-related events and the severity of events decline. With the on-board fleet management system, and as drivers learn and apply its coaching features and adopt optimum acceleration and shifting practices, fuel efficiency consistently improves. Supporting and enhancing the safety performance of our 15,000 professional drivers and that of the motoring public is our top priority. These technologies significantly enhance driver safety performance by reducing not only accidents but also near-misses, and provide feedback and learning opportunities that help drivers correct behaviors before they cause safety incidents. The return on investment from these systems — and the thousands of hours of coaching and training that result in fewer incidents and crashes — is priceless. n THIRD QUARTER 2014

RA D INSP ECT IO N NE W S

RAD INSPECTION NEWS Level VI Program Welcomes New Chairman

About RAD Inspection News RAD Inspection News features news and other stories pertaining to the North American Standard Level VI Inspection Program for Transuranic Waste and Highway Route Controlled Quantities (HRCQ) of Radioactive Material. This inspection is for select radiological shipments that include enhancements to the North American Standard Level I Inspection Program and the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria with added radiological requirements for transuranic waste and highway route controlled quantities (HRCQ) of radioactive material. Learn more at www.cvsa.org/levelVI. RAD Inspection News is made possible under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Since January 2007, it has run as a section inside CVSA's Guardian. n

CVSA President Tom Fuller appointed Master Sergeant Todd Armstrong, of the Illinois State Police (ISP), as the new Level VI Program Chair. Armstrong is a 15-year veteran of the Illinois State Police, who began his ISP career in District 2 Elgin, patrolling the collar counties of Cook. In 2001, he became a Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Oﬃcer until 2008, when he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in the Commercial Vehicle Section (CVS) as the Operations Unit Supervisor. In 2012, he was promoted to the rank of Master Sergeant and became the Section Chief of the CVS.

Master Sergeant Todd Armstrong

As a Level VI National Instructor, Armstrong has taught many in-state classes at the ISP Academy for local and county oﬃcers, as well as ISP Cadets. He also is currently CVSA's Vice Chair of the Hazardous Materials Committee and the Vice President for Region III. As the Level VI Program Chairman, Armstrong chose Rion Stann, of the Pennsylvania State Police, longtime Level VI National Instructor and member of the Level VI Program Committee, to be his Vice Chair. Armstrong asked Justin Dumouchel, of Cassidy’s Transfer and Storage, to be the Committee’s Secretary. n

CVSA Level VI Public Outreach Program in Minneapolis and Baltimore CVSA displayed its Level VI Public Outreach Program booth during the Annual National Transportation Stakeholders Forum in Minneapolis, MN, May 13-15. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Transportation Stakeholders Forum is the mechanism through which DOE communicates at a national level with states and tribes about the department's shipments of radioactive waste and materials, as well as occasional high-visibility shipments that are nonradioactive. CVSA Director of Hazardous Materials Programs Carlisle Smith gave a presentation during the program and a stakeholder’s brieﬁng on the most recent Level VI data report. Smith sat in on each regional meeting as members discussed transportation issues relevant to their section of the country. Other topics of note from the meeting included transportation security, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) closing due to the February incident and the transportation of spent nuclear fuel. CVSA also displayed the booth during the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Annual International Hazardous Materials Response Team Conference held in Baltimore, MD, May 28-31. The conference provided CVSA with an opportunity to promote and educate the hazardous materials response community on the unique aspects of the Level VI Program as well as the COHMED Program. n

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Level VI Classes Held in California, Illinois and New York

evel VI Certification Class 143, held in Sacramento, CA, hosted 13 California Highway Patrol Inspectors and one member of private industry. CVSA Level VI National Instructors Tony Anderson, Adam Roha and Reggie Bunner provided the instruction to the class. Class 144, held in Springfield, IL, was the largest Level VI Certification class to date, with 39 students. The class was represented by the Illinois State Police, Indiana State Police, Missouri State Highway Patrol and Hittman Transport. Due to the size of the class, the Carlsbad Field Office agreed to send a Tru-Pact II and a 72-B shipping cask. This provided students with the unique ability to review two of DOE’s shipping containers for Truwaste. CVSA Level VI National Instructors Rob Rohr, Rion Stann and Kelly Horn, along with Level VI Chair Todd Armstrong, provided the instruction for Class 144. Class 145 was held in Albany, NY, and hosted by the New York State Police. The class of 14 was represented by inspectors from the New York State Police, New Jersey State Police, Colorado Highway Patrol, Port of Entry and Jade Transportation. CVSA Level VI National Instructors Kelly Horn and Tom Fuller provided the instruction for Class 145.

National Instructor Kelly Horn reviews the 72-B cask with Springﬁeld, IL, students.

Level VI Chairman Todd Armstrong explains to Springﬁeld, IL, students how the Eberline Ion Chamber works.

Springﬁeld, IL, students busy on work projects while Instructors Rion Stann and Todd Armstrong watch.

National Instructor and CVSA President Tom Fuller keeps the attention of his New York State troopers.

With the completion of Classes 143, 144 and 145, CVSA has added an additional 56 certiﬁed Level VI inspectors nationwide. These inspectors now are prepared to inspect DOE Transuranic and Highway Route Controlled Quantities (HRCQ) of Class 7 materials as well as HRCQ shipments of Cobalt-60 shipped by private industry. n

National Instructor Tom Fuller provides instruction on the TRUPACT II.

THIRD QUARTER 2014

RA D INSP ECT IO N NE W S

U.S. Sterilization Services Provider Sterigenics to Purchase Canadian Medical Isotopes Supplier Nordion Inc

Mexican Oﬃcials Find Radioactive Source from Stolen Truck

ordion Inc. of Ottawa, Canada, one of the world’s largest suppliers of Cobalt60, is being purchased by Sterigenics, of Deerﬁeld, IL. The transaction is valued at over $800 million and has been approved by Nordion Inc.’s stockholders and the Canadian courts.

outsourced contract sterilization services to the medical device, pharmaceutical and food safety industries.

Nordion Inc., formerly MDS Nordion, was founded in 1946 and was originally the radium sales department of Eldorado Mining and Reﬁning LTD.

Cobalt-60 is used in a wide range of applications including gamma sterilization of medical disposables, a wide variety of consumer products and food, and in a number of other industrial and health care-related functions.

SteriGenics International, ﬁrst known as Radiation Sterilizers, Inc., opened its ﬁrst gamma facility in Tustin, CA, in 1978. The company operates 40 facilities worldwide providing

Nordion will operate under the Nordion name and will continue to operate as a standalone company within Sterigenics.

The transaction is subject to ﬁnal approvals in both the United States and Canada and is expected to close in the second half of 2014. n

n July 4, 2014, a shipment of Iridium192 was found abandoned on a street a few miles from where the truck carrying the radioactive source was stolen in the industrial Mexico City suburb of Tlalnepantla. Iridium-192 is used in industrial radiography. Mexican authorities stated that the radioactive source was found still in its packaging. The truck that was carrying the radioactive source belonged to a metalworking company. In December 2013, thieves in Mexico stole a truck containing Cobalt-60. Unlike the Iridium192 theft, the Cobalt-60 packaging had been opened by the thieves. That radioactive load also was found dumped by the thieves close to where it was stolen. The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency has stepped up calls on member states to tighten security to prevent nuclear and radioactive materials from falling into the wrong hands, which could result in the possibility of a dirty bomb being made with common industrial or medical isotopes. "Unlike Cobalt-60, which remains a dangerous source of radiation for many years, Ir-192’s shorter half-life implies that perpetrators would have far less time to fashion it into a dispersion device," said nuclear expert Mark Hibbs of the Carnegie Endowment think-tank. n

Nordion shipment of Cobalt-60 prior to shipment.

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A Short List of Industrial Radioisotopes and Their Uses Naturally-Occurring Radioisotopes: • Carbon-14 Used to measure the age of water (up to 50,000 years) • Chlorine-36 Used to measure sources of chloride and the age of water (up to 2 million years) • Lead-210 Used to date layers of sand and soil up to 80 years • Tritium (H-3) Used to measure 'young' groundwater (up to 30 years) Artificially-Produced Radioisotopes: • Americium-241 Used in backscatter gauges, smoke detectors, fill height detectors and in measuring ash content of coal • Caesium-137 Used for radiotracer technique for identification of sources of soil erosion and deposition, in density and fill height level switches; also for low-intensity gamma sterilisation • Chromium-51 Used to label sand to study coastal erosion, also a tracer in study of blood

LEVEL VI 2014 CLASS SCHEDULE CVSA, under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy, has scheduled the following classes in 2014 to certify inspectors to conduct North American Standard Level VI Inspections for all motor carrier shipments of transuranic waste and highway route controlled quantities (HRCQ) of radioactive material. CVSA provides the North American Standard Level VI training to jurisdictional inspectors who meet the prerequisite of being North American Standard Level I and North American Standard Hazardous Materials/ Transportation of Dangerous Goods certiﬁed.

LEVEL VI 2014 CLASSES Austin, TX—November 3-6 Any jurisdiction that needs inspectors trained should contact Carlisle Smith at 301-830-6147 or carlisles@cvsa.org.

• Cobalt-60, Lanthanum-140, Scandium-46, Silver-110m & Gold-198 Used together in blast furnaces to determine resident times and to quantify yields to measure the furnace performance • Cobalt-60 Widely used for gamma sterilisation, industrial radiography, density and fill height switches • Gold-198 & Technetium-99m Used to study sewage and liquid waste movements, as well as tracing factory waste causing ocean pollution, and to trace sand movement in river beds and ocean floors • Gold-198 Used to label sand to study coastal erosion • Hydrogen-3 (Tritiated Water) Used as a tracer to study sewage and liquid wastes • Iridium-192 Used in gamma radiography to locate flaws in metal components • Krypton-85 Used for industrial gauging • Manganese-54 Used to predict the behavior of heavy metal components in effluents from mining waste water

NEED MORE LEVEL VI INFORMATION? The CVSA website is the place for the most 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.

www.cvsa.org/levelVI

• Nickel-63 Used in light sensors in cameras and plasma display, also electronic discharge prevention and in electron capture detectors for thickness gauges • Selenium-75 Used in gamma radiography and non-destructive testing • Strontium-90 Used for industrial gauging • Thallium-204 Used for industrial gauging • Ytterbium-169 Used in gamma radiography and non-destructive testing • Zinc-65 Used to predict the behavior of heavy metal components in eﬄuents from mining waste water n

THIRD QUARTER 2014

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Level VI Roadside Inspections (2014 - Fiscal) LEVEL VI INSPECTIONS

Federal

State

Total

% of Total

Number of Level VI Inspections

744

100%

Point of Origin

432

58.06%

En Route

311

41.80%

Point of Destination

0.13%

Unknown Location

Level VI Inspections with No Violations

727

97.72%

Level VI Inspections with Violations

2.28%

Level VI Inspections with OOS Violations

1.21%

WIPP Shipment & Disposal Information As of Feb. 11, 2014

Site Argonne National Laboratory

Loaded Miles

193

331,333

Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory

10,955

GE Vallecitos Nuclear Center

44,800

Idaho National Laboratory

5,844

8,132,064

Los Alamos National Laboratory

1,344

459,648

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

24,804

Nevada Test Site

57,312

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

131

175,933

Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site Hanford Site Sandia National Laboratories

Shipments

2,045

1,446,444

572

1,034,176

2,200

Savannah River Site

1,654

2,483,360

Total to WIPP

11,894

14,203,029

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

REGION PRESIDENTS Region I Cpl. Rick Koontz Pennsylvania State Police Region II Lt. Col. Troy Thompson Florida Highway Patrol Region III Maj. Lance Evans Iowa Department of Transportation Region IV Capt. Chris Mayrant New Mexico Department of Public Safety Region V Pierre Pratte Contrôle Routier Québec

REGION VICE PRESIDENTS (Non-Voting) Region I Sgt. John Samis Delaware State Police Region II Capt. Timothy Pullin Alabama Department of Public Safety Region III Master/Sgt. Todd Armstrong Illinois State Police Region IV Lt. Ken Roberts California Highway Patrol

ASSOCIATE MEMBER PRESIDENT (Non-Voting) Rob Abbott American Trucking Associations ASSOCIATE MEMBER VICE PRESIDENT (Non-Voting) Jason Wing ABF Freight System, Inc. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT (Non-Voting) William “Bill” Quade Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) William “Bill” Arrington Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

Region V John Lunney New Brunswick Department of Public Safety

Federico Dominguez Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT)

LOCAL PRESIDENT Oﬃcer Robert Mills Fort Worth Police Department

William Schoonover Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)

LOCAL VICE PRESIDENT (Non-Voting) Oﬃcer Wes Bement Grand Prairie Texas Police Department

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

COMMITTEE AND PROGRAM CHAIRS COMMITTEE CHAIRS Driver-Traﬃc Enforcement Committee Sgt. Raymond Weiss New York State Police Hazardous Materials Committee Maj. Lance Evans Iowa Department of Transportation Information Systems Committee Holly Skaar Idaho State Police Passenger Carrier Committee Lt. Donald Bridge, Jr. Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles

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

PROGRAM CHAIRS Level VI Inspection Master Sgt. Todd Armstrong Illinois State Police

Size & Weight Committee Lori Knight Arizona Department of Transportatoin

Cooperative Hazardous Materials Enforcement Development (COHMED) Sgt. Brad Wagner Nebraska State Patrol

Training Committee Capt. Rocco Domenico Colorado State Patrol Vehicle Committee Kerri Wirachowsky Ontario Ministry of Transportation

International Driver Excellence Award (IDEA) Don Egli Iowa Motor Truck Association

Operation Airbrake (OAB) Sgt. Scott Hanson Idaho State Police Shelley Conklin Landstar Logistics Roadcheck Capt. Derek D. Barrs Florida Highway Patrol North American Inspectors Championship (NAIC) Tpr. Steven Bedard Massachusetts State Police

Operation Safe Driver (OSD) Brian Neal FedEx Ground Corp.

THIRD QUARTER 2014

2014 CVSA STRATEGIC PARTNERS ALLIED

PREMIER

DIAMOND

PLATINUM

GOLD

GUARDIAN

2014 CVSA STRATEGIC PARTNERS SILVER ABF Freight System, Inc. Austin Powder Company Brake Tech Tools Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) Cargo Transporters, Inc. Coach USA EQ - Environmental Quality Co.

FoxFury LLC Greyhound Lines, Inc. Groendyke Transport, Inc. JNJ Express Inc. LabelMaster Landstar Transportation Logistics Mancomm, Inc. Mercer Transportation Company

PeopleNet PGT Trucking, Inc. Schneider National, Inc. STEMCO Brake Products Swift Transportation Sysco Corporation Trailways of New York Vehicle Inspection Systems, Inc.

BRONZE American Bus Association Compliance Safety Systems LLC DATTCO, Inc. Dibble Trucking, Inc. Frontier Transport

Herzig Hauling, LLC Lytx, Inc. NATC, Inc. National Tank Truck Carriers New York State Motor Truck Association

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. Praxair, Inc. Specialized Carriers and Rigging Association United Motorcoach Association Warren Transport, Inc.

FRIENDS OF CVSA American Coatings Association, Inc. American Pyrotechnics Association Anderson Trucking Services, Inc. Bork Transport of Illinois

Envirun, Inc. EQT Corporation Gateway Distribution, Inc. Greg Neylon HoďŹ&#x20AC;man Transportation, LLC/G&D Trucking Inc.

Horizon Freight System, Inc. H.R. Ewell, Inc. Kaplan Trucking Inc. MIA Safety Services

NEW CVSA ASSOCIATE MEMBERS Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank

Hub Group

Andersen Flaps, Inc.

Idaho Trucking Association

Aperia Technologies, Inc.

Midwest Powerline, Inc.

Aussie Transport, LLC

Mlaker Transportation

Avery Weigh-Tronix

Multiprens USA

Berkley Agribusiness Risk Specialists

North Central Farmers Elevator

Blue Knight Energy Partners

Pressure Systems International, Inc.

Can-Am Express, Inc.

Tforce Energy Services, Inc.

Carrierweb, LLC

TrakLok International

Cestel

TruckMovers.com

Colby Direct Delivery

URS Oil & Gas Division

Commercial Fleet Data Systems,LLC

Wall Street Systems, Inc.

Halliburton Energy Services As of September 2, 2014

THIRD QUARTER 2014

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

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

2015 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

COHMED 2015 REGISTER TODAY!

Cooperative Hazardous Materials Enforcement Development (COHMED) Conference JANUARY 26-30, 2015 Hyatt Regency Long Beach | Long Beach, California

CVSA Workshop APRIL 12-16, 2015 Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront | Jacksonville, Florida

North Inspectors Championship (NAIC) AUGUST 10-14, 2015 Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch | St. Louis, Missouri

CVSA Annual Conference & Exhibition SEPTEMBER 13-17, 2015 Boise Center | Boise, Idaho

The annual COHMED Conference is presented by CVSA’s Cooperative Hazardous Materials Enforcement Development (COHMED) Program. The conference will take place on January 26-30, 2015 in Long Beach, CA. The COHMED Program fosters coordination, cooperation and communication between federal, state and local agencies that have regulatory and enforcement responsibility for the safe transportation of hazardous materials and the industry that they regulate.

Learn more at www.cvsa.org/events.

By attending this focused, one-of-a-kind conference, you’ll meet with representatives from federal and state agencies, hazardous materials specialists and instructors, enforcement personnel, emergency planning managers, ﬁrst responders, trucking companies, academics, interest groups and private industry from all across North America. If you are involved in hazmat regulation, enforcement or safety, the COHMED Conference is one event you cannot aﬀord to miss. To learn more about COHMED 2015, and to register and to reserve your hotel room, visit www.cvsa.org/events/cohmed/2015.