CVSA Guardian 2ndQuarter 2012

GUARDIAN

INSIGHT

Volume 19, Issue 2

CSA Safety Measurement System Further Elevates Importance, Visibility of

State Roadside Inspection Programs MAKING THE CASE FOR

COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE ENFORCEMENT

Achieving

UNIFORM SIZE & WEIGHT RULES

Second Quarter 2012

Across North America

SECOND QUARTER, 2012

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GUARDIAN Second Quarter Volume 19, Issue 2 www.cvsa.org

CONTENTS

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Insight.......................................................................... 1 President’s Message.........................................................................1 Executive Director’s Message.......................................................2 Letters to the Editor......................................................................... 3 Legislative & Regulatory Rundown.............................................4

CVSA Operation Air Brake/Brake Safety Week Program Launches 2nd Generation Demonstration Models............. 20 Defeating Distracted Driving: Teens and Trucks Raises Teen Driver Awareness of Risks...........................................................22 Stepping into the Radioactive Arena........................................23

Government News...................................................... 6 Ask the Administrator.....................................................................6 National Training Center Renews Commitment To CMV Stakeholders to Ensure Successful Training................... 7 Consumers Take the Driver’s Seat on Safety with FMCSA’s SaferBus iPhone/iPad App............................................................ 7 Motor Carriers, Enforcement Personnel Preview Changes to CSA’s SMS...........................................................................................8 Making the Safety Link: Performance and Registration Information Systems Management (PRISM)............................8 CSA Safety Measurement System Further Elevates Importance, Visibility of State Roadside Inspection Programs..........................................................................................10 CCMTA Updates National Safety Code Standard 11 on Periodic Commercial Motor Vehicle Inspections..................10 SCT Announces Federal Driver’s License Procedures in Mexico............................................................................................... 12

Regional News.......................................................... 24 Regional Communications Further Exchange of Ideas, Pertinent Information Across Jurisdictions............................ 24 A GIS-Based Road Vulnerability Index (RVI)..........................25 Improvements to Wolf Creek Pass Make Roads Safer for CMV, Motoring Public.................................................................. 26 West Virginia Coordinates Joint Initiatives with Police, Sheriff to Target CMVs, POVs to Reduce Fatalities.............. 26 Texas Task Force Focuses on Passenger Vehicles, Compliments CMV Traffic Enforcement..................................27 Local Enforcement News: Enforcement, Industry Come Together for “Safety Sake” in Dallas-Fort Worth...................28 A Special Thanks from Local Membership.............................28

Cover Story................................................................14 Making the Case for Commercial Motor Vehicle Enforcement.........................................................................................14

Regional Rap..............................................................29 People on the Move..................................................................... 29 Safety Innovators......................................................30 Active Safety – Performance On The Road, Insight From The Road.......................................................................................... 30

The Roadside Inspector............................................. 18 Inspector’s Corner......................................................................... 18 Why We Do What We Do.............................................................19

Associate Member News........................................... 32 The Business of Highway Safety: Aligning Principles, Practices to Enhance Safety........................................................32 UPS Feeder Driver Achieves 50 Years of Safe Driving........32 Melton Truck Lines Share Safety Practices That Work.........33

CVSA Committee & Program News...........................20 Achieving Uniform Size & Weight Rules Across North America............................................................................................ 20

RAD Inspection News................................................36

Guardian Ӏ www.cvsa.org Published by: Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance Ӏ 6303 Ivy Lane Ӏ Suite 310 Ӏ Greenbelt, MD 20770-6319 Ӏ Phone: 301-830-6143 Ӏ Fax: 301-830-6144 Dedicated to government and industry working together to promote commercial vehicle safety on North American highways.

CVSA Staff: Stephen A. Keppler, Executive Director Ӏ Collin B. Mooney, CAE, Deputy Executive Director Ӏ Larry D. Stern, Director, Level VI Inspection Program Ӏ Adrienne Gildea, Director, Policy & Government Affairs Ӏ William P. Schaefer, Director, Vehicle Programs Ӏ Randy J. West, Director, Driver Programs Ӏ Laura M. Zabriskie, Director, Communications & Marketing Ӏ Iris R. Leonard, Manager, Member & Program Services Ӏ Claudia V. McNatt, Manager, Meetings & Events Ӏ J. Craig Defibaugh, Controller Ӏ Wanica L. Foreman, Administrative Assistant For comments, suggestions or information, please email us at communications@cvsa.org.

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and discussed ways in which uniform standards, procedures, and methods could be utilized to the greatest effectiveness. Early on there was recognition that commercial vehicle highway safety was virtually the same in all of the different states.

At the same time, it was also recognized that the various states were in large part, using common criteria for regulation and inspection functions but there was not a system giving reciprocal credit for each other’s work. Thus, the states were involved in a redundancy of work effort—a redundancy that wasted government resources as well as caused time and monetary loss of equipment and personnel for the motor carrier industry.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Consistent Adherence to Standards of Uniformity Can Create a Continuum of Knowledge

By Asst. Chief David L. Palmer, CVSA President

By its very definition, standardization is aimed at achieving maximum economy. It creates a measure of excellence or a state of being free from defects, deficiencies, and significant variations. Standardization is brought about by the strict and consistent adherence to measurable and verifiable standards to achieve uniformity of output that satisfies specific goals. The benefits of standards are that they provide the best possible solutions for recurring problems, and help improve efficiency and increase productivity.

When you create standards, you provide a continuum of knowledge from one individual to another that continues to elevate the whole.

It was with this purpose that the CVSA was created; to shape a set of standards governing commercial motor vehicle inspections that would apply across borders, albeit state, provincial or national that would affect efficiency and conservation of effort in achieving something significant – a reduction of commercial vehicle related crashes.

In 1980, officials coming together at the first meetings highlighted areas of common need

CVSA’s members worked hard to put a set of standards in place that could be applied not only across jurisdictions but also countries. However, we still have a way to go to set standards in other areas.

Throughout this issue of Guardian, you will see how our work is far from done when it comes to establishing safety rating reciprocity between the U.S. and Canada as well as achieving standardization when it comes to size and weight specifications, data quality, inspection procedures and training.

Uniformity in standards takes on even greater significance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program. The CVSA strongly supports the CSA program as it further helps reduce large truck and bus-related crashes and fatalities. The bottom line is that carriers, drivers, brokers, shippers and insurance companies must value safety more so than in the past. CSA puts a sharper focus on what is not safe and is tied more closely to crash risk. CSA, in turn, forces companies to be proactive, to know what their problems are and take corrective actions before interventions occur by continually monitoring their performance data. Ultimately, safety is not just about regulatory compliance; it is about creating a safety culture throughout their company.

For roadside inspectors, it underscores the weight that is placed on the data each inspector puts into the system. The system can only be as robust as the safety data submitted. Remember the old saying, garbage in—garbage out. Every inspector has a personal and professional obligation to complete a thorough and accurate commercial vehicle inspection. The consequences of inaccurate or nonsupported data can negatively affect a motor carrier’s safety fitness determination, as well as the credibility of the inspector and their respective agency.

The CVSA’s economy is the wealth of our collective resources and information. Ultimately, there are no differences between us, no separation because we are all a team regardless of our jurisdictional boundaries. We are all the best in our respective fields because we clearly see the value in uniformity and how it can positively impact commercial vehicle and overall highway safety in North America.

Uniformity is our foundation, our core. It shows us how we can do things together and how, working together, we as an Alliance can accomplish anything.

Please keep moving aggressively forward and share your successes with others.

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lary, economies of scale would not be possible, and even the basic concept of choice would be problematic. CVSA was created on the principles of uniformity and reciprocity. The Memorandum of Understanding that all members agree to uphold memorializes this concept. The regulated industry counts on us for this, as it helps them understand the rules of the engagement and minimizes the guesswork.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE The Core of What We Do

By Stephen A. Keppler, CVSA, Executive Director

It seems that life is so busy for many these days that we barely have the time to relax, slow down or as one of my colleagues recently mentioned to me — think. When I heard that statement it really hit me. Unfortunately, for all too many of us she is right on the money.

As I reflected on this in preparation for this issue of Guardian, I thought how appropriate it was for the theme of this issue — Standards and Uniformity.

Everything about the North American Standard Inspection Program is our foundation, the inspection procedures, the regulations underpinning them, training and certification, the Out-of-Service Criteria and the Decal Program all revolve around standards. How we practice this work and implement the elements of the program is how we ensure uniformity and reciprocity. With each and every passing day we are learning more about how our work is positively or negatively impacting on the regulated industry. As we learn, it is important to step back and think about what we are doing to ensure that all of those in our sphere of influence are staying true to the standards that we have set for ourselves. CVSA is the place where we, as a collective group, have a responsibility to those who work for us and the public to make sure that the foundation is strong, current, relevant and practical. The influence of our work is great, and while we need to keep our focus on the core of our mission, we also need to constantly evaluate how its results are impacting on our broader safety mandate and evolve our thinking to keep pace with trends and change.

As our mission statement says “To promote commercial motor vehicle safety and security by providing leadership to enforcement, industry and policy makers.”

Leadership comes in various shapes and sizes, but it is always built upon a strong foundation and set of core beliefs. There are many theories as to what makes a good leader, but organizational leadership can generally be categorized around several key features: 1) Setting the direction and the tone of the organization which relates to strategic planning and goals; 2) Organizational performance management in that the organization must be continually assessed; and, 3) Managing change, which requires continually changing roles

Everything about the North American Standard Inspection Program is our foundation As we go about our daily activities, it is important that we are always keeping in focus the foundation upon which we work. I say foundation because everything that we do in life and in work is built upon a set of standards or a common framework; the homes we live in, the vehicles we drive, the software on our computers, and yes the Roadside Inspection Program. Without it, we would not have uniformity or reciprocity. The term “plug and play” would not be part of our vocabu2 THE GUARDIAN

and the concept of roles within an organization. A quote taken from an article I recently read puts organizational leadership in this context “In an intelligently managed organization, that leadership isn’t a randomly operating process; it’s ‘a propulsive force given motion by purpose, and by a joint effort to accomplish it.’ That is its natural tendency, its bias. But, it is management’s role to ensure that this organizational leadership has a substantive, meaningful core to give form and traction for advancing the organization toward its stated ends.” Our purpose is at its core about saving lives, and underpinning this purpose is ensuring that we are adhering to CVSA’s basic tenets of uniformity and reciprocity. Let’s make sure as we go about our work that we take the time to think, as the traction we are seeking to gain and our efficacy in fulfilling our mission needs be built upon our collective knowledge.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Moving Beyond Studying Truck Size and Weight First, thank you for the important role CVSA and its members play in keeping our highways safe.

As you might expect from a former DOT Secretary, there is no higher transportation priority than a safe and efficient transportation system. The topic I am asking you to consider is one that might help us accomplish both goals.

Research indicates that freight in all modes is expected to increase 24% over the next decade and that modal share will stay relatively constant. That means that it will likely require a similar increase in truck traffic to move the anticipated volume. Our highway system does not have the physical capacity to handle that increase and, we don’t have the time or resources to build our way out. In addition to the congestion, sustainability, and safety concerns this raises, it will also put enormous pressure on you, the enforcement community. One way to address these concerns is through responsible truck productivity increases where it is safe and practical to do so.

Congress recently wrestled with the truck size and weight issue during the House Transportation Bill debate. It quickly devolved into a truck versus rail issue resulting in study language in both Chambers’ versions of the bill. In the past, many state DOT’s and many in the enforcement community including CVSA have advocated additional studies.

The Texas Transportation Institute recently issued a report indicating there have already been over 600 studies of truck size and weight over the past 35 years. Additionally, we have billions of miles of actual operating history with most of the configurations being considered. I agree that more study of specific issues is warranted, but I contend that the quest for further study may actually be inhibiting both safety improvements and system efficiency – the two goals I feel are the most important to our transportation system.

You may think I am only talking about increasing truck size and weight. That will be an important component, but what I am really talking about is getting as many commercial trucks as possible to use the safest, most appropriate roads we have – the national highway system. Despite the existing Federal freeze on truck size and weight adopted in 1991, there are hundreds of state exemptions. Unless these vehicles were in states that permitted them to operate on parts of the national highway network prior to the 1991 freeze, they are otherwise relegated to less appropriate roads with the least enforce-

ment – and the most exposure to safety risk. Removing the size and weight freeze to address these existing exceptions will improve safety, sustainability, the quality of life in small towns, the condition of state roads, and put these vehicles on the roads where CVSA’s members can most effectively do their job of commercial vehicle safety enforcement.

I personally believe that reasonable truck productivity increases, where it is safe and practical, will benefit safety, sustainability, infrastructure expense, and have large economic benefits for our nation in a time of real capacity constraints. I also believe that states generally have a better perspective about what works for them and that with reasonable Federal involvement, can work this out without jeopardizing safety. Finally, I believe that our quest for perfect data and additional studies is hindering our ability to become safer now. I can think of no group better equipped to help make that decision than CVSA and its dedicated members.

Jim Burnley, Chairman of the Cleaner Safer Trucking coalition and former DOT secretary under President Reagan.

EOBR Mandate Not a Panacea But Possibly an Improvement

From our vantage point north of the 49th, the Canadian trucking industry has been monitoring developments in the United States with regard to a rule-making on electronic on-board recorders. While the regulatory process in Canada is quite different, a parallel effort is also underway in Canada.

The position of the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) has, for several years, been to support a universal EOBR mandate governing all trucks where the driver is currently required to complete a paper log book. Recently, CTA launched a social media campaign to ensure that those people in the industry, whether carriers or drivers, who support a universal mandate for electronic on-board recorders, are heard by their elected members of parliament. So far, the results have been impressive. We’re not surprised. We know the majority of carriers in Canada share CTA’s views. We also see more and more drivers jumping on-board as the number of companies voluntarily introducing EOBR’s grows and they see the lifestyle and productivity benefits.

We all know the problems with the current paper-based system; there is no need to repeat them here. While the rest of the world moves away from paper to electronic systems for virtually everything you can think of, it makes little sense to us why perhaps the most important trucking safety standard – the hours of service regulations – should continue to be governed by an archaic, inefficient and abused form of monitoring and enforcement. An EOBR mandate may not be a panacea for all the problems associated with a paperbased system, but surely it will be an improvement.

If the hours of service rules are supposed to be all about safety – which is what we’ve always been told by the regulators – then it’s imperative we transition to a more effective compliance model.

Our members believe that competition should be based on service and price; where price includes the true cost of compliance for all. This does not mean that we agree with or like every aspect of the Canadian or US hours of service rules. But, the market works best when everyone plays by the rules, good or bad. This is not a big carrier vs small carrier thing as some try to suggest – the single largest proportion of our membership is fleets of less than 10 trucks. It is about a level playing field between compliant and non-compliant carriers.

Of course, there is a lot of work to do. There are many technical issues to be resolved, but there also needs to be a meeting of the minds on an effective, reasonable enforcement policy. Sanctioning a carrier and/or a driver every time they are a few minutes over on their on-duty time, just because you can, will denigrate the whole exercise just as the form and manner infractions levied under the current paper-based system are the object of industry scorn.

We feel it is now more important than ever that the stakeholders in the industry and in the enforcement community, like CVSA, come together to see through the most reasonable, effective, and technically sound regulations possible on both sides of the border.

David H. Bradley, President and CEO, Canadian Trucking Alliance

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The Legislative & Regulatory Rundown

By Adrienne Gildea, CVSA, Director, Policy & Government Affairs

Congress Buys Time on Highway Bill with a 90-Day Extension The first few months of 2012 saw a great deal of action on the long-stalled highway bill, but not a lot of progress.

The Senate took a significant step forward with the passage of their version, S. 1813 on March 14th. The bill provides a steady level of funding for state safety and enforcement programs, addresses key issues, and advances a number of safety initiatives supported by the CVSA. After passing the bill, Senate leaders immediately began demanding that the House, which has not been able to pull together enough votes to pass any version of a transportation bill, take up the Senate measure. House leaders have refused to do so, preferring instead to try pass a House version to give them a better starting point for House/Senate negotiations.

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The end result of this back and forth was the passage, after days of vocal complaints from the Senate, of a 90-day extension of transportation programs – the ninth since SAFETEA-Lu expired in September 2009. Lawmakers now have until June 30th to come to some agreement on a long term solution.

After passing the extension, both the House and the Senate adjourned for their two-week spring recess. All reports indicate that there will be plenty of discussions over the recess, particularly on the House side, as leadership tries to pull together a bill that can pass the House.

Reports in early April indicated that there could be large-scale changes to the bill, in order to garner additional support.

However, delivering a bill that can be reconciled with the Senate-passed version will be a difficult task for the House.

The Senate bill is two-years in duration and uses a number of creative sources to fill the funding gaps for the bill, which

keeps funding at, essentially, current levels. The House, meanwhile, will likely put forth a longer-term bill, four or five years, and will pull funding from some very different sources. In addition, there are a number of areas where policy in the two bills differs dramatically.

Perhaps the greatest difference between the House and Senate proposals in the motor carrier safety portions of the bills is how MCSAP funds are allocated. The Senate bill makes minor adjustments to the current formula/grant allocation structure. The House bill, however, distributes MCSAP funds by formula, eliminating the various grant programs, such as the High Priority Grants and Border Grants.

The vast policy differences in the bills are not the only challenge to seeing a final bill completed before June 30th. While the extension is 90 days, there are only around 30 actual legis-

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lative days between Congress’s return from the spring recess and the summer deadline. Given that the House has yet to vote on a bill, which will likely consume a few of those legislative days, the window for a conference with the Senate is very narrow. Many believe that if a bill is not completed by June 30th the issue will be delayed again, at least until after the Presidential election this fall.

DOT Pushes Ahead on CSA, Other Initiatives In March, FMCSA made two significant announcements regarding the agency’s CSA initiative. First, Administrator Ferro announced that the agency would delay implementation of their Crash Accountability Standards proposal in order to address questions raised when the concept was presented to the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee. The agency will continue to work on the concept, attempting to address the concerns raised.

(including a session at the CVSA Spring Workshop in Bellevue, WA) to gather input that will help them address the driver harassment issue. Meanwhile, OOIDA has filed a suit with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, asking that the court order the federal government to stop encouraging the use of EOBRs. OOIDA maintains the agency’s pursuit of the devices is in violation of the Court’s ruling last summer that vacating the agency’s EOBR rule.

The agency is also moving ahead with implementation of the HOS rule, despite legal challenges from both ATA and safety advocates. It is unclear, at this point, whether or not the challenges will impact full implementation of the rule in 2013, which further complicates training and preparation efforts by the enforcement community.

FMCSA also held a listening session in January on the rules that currently govern HOS for passenger carriers and

Mitigation”, as well as a series of rulemakings on motorcoach safety.

Perhaps the greatest difference between the House and Senate proposals in the motor carrier safety portions of the bills is how MCSAP funds are allocated.

The agency also formally announced a series of expected proposed changes to the CSA SMS scoring system. The purpose of the changes, according to the Notice published in the Federal Register is to “more effectively identify and prioritize high-risk and other unsafe motor carriers for enforcement interventions.” Among the changes, FMCSA proposes to move cargo securement matters into the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC and rename the Cargo Related BASIC the Hazardous Materials BASIC. FMCSA continues to push forward with the EOBR issue as well. The agency is conducting a series of listening sessions

more sessions are expected throughout 2012. Agency officials indicated they are considering initiating a rulemaking on the matter and were seeking input from industry.

FMCSA also released its SaferBus mobile application, which was designed to help the general public access the safety record of passenger motor carriers in a simple, understandable format.

Looking ahead in 2012, NHTSA is expected to issue a number of rulemakings on items such as “Truck Tractor and Motorcoach Stability Control” and “HeavyVehicle Forward Collision Avoidance and

March also saw a flurry of activity from PHMSA. The agency announced that it is reviving the Hazardous Materials Automated Cargo Communication for Efficient and Safe Shipments (HMACCESS) initiative. PHMSA’s Office of Hazardous Materials Safety will be seeking input from stakeholders, including emergency response, law enforcement, hazardous materials shippers, and modal carriers. In addition, PHMSA’s US/Canada the Transportation—Dangerous Goods Working Group has requested comments on its draft work plan to facilitate regulatory coordination between the US and Canada.

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in responses from state to state. Additionally, we will continue to work with the DataQs analysts in developing responses that help educate the filer as to the rationale for the action being taken.

Finally, we are developing additional drill-down reports for managers to link the inspection reports, the inspector, and patterns of RDR types, which will allow the agency and state partners to identify problem areas and target appropriate on-the-job-training and other resources to improve standardization and uniformity.

What policy changes is FMCSA working on for its grant programs?

Ask the

Administrator Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne S. Ferro answers your questions

In this issue, the Administrator addresses upcoming enhancements to DataQs, upcoming policy changes for grant programs and the need for all law enforcement to make CMV traffic stops.

What are FMCSA’s plans to develop training and tools to promote uniformity and standard practices in the DataQ system?

Since the launch of the Compliance, Safety, and Accountability program, FMCSA has seen an increase in the number of DataQ’s, requests for data review (RDR) by filers (i.e. driver, carrier or service provider).

This means that carriers and drivers are looking at their information and working to make sure it is accurate. These stakeholders are depending on us to input correct and consistent information into our records systems.

FMCSA is taking a comprehensive look at the entire DataQs process which impacts the filer, analyst and manager.

First, we are converting the DataQs system to a new software framework to make the system easier to use by filers. This new platform will provide users with a wizard-like experience that offers dialogue boxes to lead them through the steps to initiate the appropriate “request for data review.” The “wizard” will also guide DataQs filers to provide “evidence” or documentation that supports their assertion.

Second, we are developing more training scenarios to help the DataQs analysts look for and request appropriate supporting documentation from filers, and identify resources to better research inquiries.

The goal is to improve standardization and uniformity

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The FMCSA is working on policies in several key areas supported by grants. To ensure the maximum effective use of funds in the New Entrant grant program, FMCSA will release a revised cost eligibility memo clarifying when inspections and reviews/ interventions/investigations can be reimbursed by the new entrant grant.

To ensure that FMCSA’s enforcement framework remains focused on the safety performance of drivers and carriers, FMCSA is expanding an existing policy clarifying when inspections scheduled in advance with a carrier or driver are eligible for reimbursement under any FMCSA grant.

In clarifying FMCSA’s position on en-route passenger vehicle inspections, FMCSA is revising its policy to further define “station” and “obvious and imminent safety hazard.”

The FMCSA is also revising the existing Maintenance of Effort (MOE) policy to ensure that MCSAP grant programs remain focused on CMV enforcement safety activities.

Finally, FMCSA will revise the existing CVISN grant program cost eligibility policy to clarify what important expenses can be supported by this program and how States can meet the match requirements. The FMCSA welcomes suggestions for policy creation or revision. Please submit any suggestions to Brandon Poarch, Chief of FMCSA’s State Programs Division, at brandon.poarch@dot.gov.

FMCSA is asking all law enforcement officers, not just MCSAP officers, to increase enforcement of trucks and buses for traffic violations. Are non-MCSAP officers qualified to make these stops?

Unfortunately, the number of fatalities involving trucks and buses has risen slightly this past reporting year, and yet the number of commercial vehicle officers remains constant at best. Currently there are approximately 14,000 CMV enforcement officers and an estimated 750,000 certified patrol officers in the U.S. Reaching out to the entire law enforcement patrol community will greatly increase our overall highway safety mission of reducing crashes and fatalities.

FMCSA is asking all law enforcement to aggressively enforce basic traffic laws on large trucks and buses the same as they would for cars and other passenger vehicles.

Non-MCSAP officers are not being asked to conduct inspections that will be uploaded into FMCSA’s systems as MCSAP officers, but to only do their traffic enforcement job.

FMCSA has developed an online training program to encourage agencies to begin or increase enforcement activities. The training covers basic CMV awareness and safety.

This training is designed to improve the enforcement of basic traffic regulations on America’s highways in support of FMCSA’s overall mission of reducing the number and severity of CMV crashes. The training program is available through the FMCSA National Training Center.

You make the difference in our mission to save lives. Making our roads safer is hard work. It takes a strong commitment from a lot of people. Thank you for sharing that commitment with me and your FMCSA safety partners.

Have a question for FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro? Send it to askFMCSA@dot.gov.

government news

National Training Center Renews Commitment To CMV Stakeholders to Ensure Successful Training

By Curtis Allen, FMCSA, Acting Director, National Training Center

The National Training Center (NTC), as part of our ongoing pursuit of accreditation, employs a systematic approach to training. This consists of analyzing gaps in human performance, designing and developing solutions, implementing those solutions, and evaluating results. This approach hinges on collaboration with all stakeholders within a continuous execution of process and performance improvement.

Collaboration is critical to the successful training of our Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Safety personnel. NTC has recently renewed our commitment to our entire CMV stakeholders that we will make every effort to foster that collaborative approach in everything we do.

Consumers Take the Driver’s Seat on Safety with FMCSA’s SaferBus iPhone/iPad App New app gives public a quick and free way to “Look Before You Book” your next bus trip

As the peak spring travel season begins and consumers look to commercial buses to reach popular destinations, the U.S. DOT’s FMCSA on March 20th unveiled its SaferBus iPhone/iPad application, a firstof-its-kind app that gives bus riders a quick and free way to review a bus company’s safety record before buying a ticket or booking group travel.

The NTC Systematic Approach to Training consists of 8 basic steps:

1. Analyze an identified performance gap a. Lack of individual knowledge b. Rooted in something else 2. If determined that gap can be addressed through training a. Determine who is the target of training b. How will they apply what they have learned 3. Conduct needs assessment to identify a. Knowledge, skill, or attitude deficiencies that can be addressed through training.

4. Write the instructional objectives 5. Consider how the training should be delivered a. Balance cost with instructional effectiveness and organizational objectives 6. Pilot the training to work out bugs 7. Implementation phase a. Actual delivery of training 8. Evaluation phase a. How was the training received? b. Did the students learn from the training c. Results rolled back into continuous improvement cycle While NTC Leadership and staff readily assume full ownership of this continuous improvement and systematic approach, we call upon CVSA as well as our State points of contact (POC) and instructor staff to fully engage and support these systematic strategies to improve the products you receive. We feel our results will be far greater than either of us can accomplish alone.

Ron Crampton is our new Safety Program Manager. Ron comes to NTC after a full career with the Michigan State Police and many years serving as a State POC for our program. To ensure we continue to demonstrate the improvements we have seen over the past several months, current Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and NTC Senior leadership have made substantial organizational resource commitments to ensure Ron and the NTC are more responsive to your requirements, needs and the demands of your MCSAP programs as we move into a new era at NTC. Remember, we truly believe we are all part of the same team. Feel free to contact the NTC Safety Program Manger or the NTC Director if you have any questions, concerns or recommendations regarding the ongoing process improvements we are currently implementing.

“This new app gives Americans the information they need to make smart safety decisions when they book their next bus trip,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “As college students, families and tour groups start thinking about spring and summer travel, we encourage everyone to use the SaferBus app to look before you book your next bus trip.”

The SaferBus app, designed for the Apple iPhone, iPod, iPad, can be downloaded for free by visiting the Apple iTunes App Store or going to FMCSA’s “Look Before You Book” webpage at www.fmcsa. dot.gov/saferbus.

SaferBus provides access to safety records on nearly 6,000 interstate commercial passenger carriers operating in the United States today, which includes privately operated motorcoach, school bus and tour bus companies. Information like this is especially important as more Americans turn to motorcoaches to meet their transportation needs. According to the American Bus Association’s latest research, there were more than 700 million motorcoach passenger trips in 2009.

“SaferBus is FMCSA’s first step at making our thorough safety data on commercial bus companies available through smartphone technology,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “By placing a bus company’s safety record in the palm of your hand, SaferBus encourages riders to think safety first, supports our agency’s commitment to make bus travel as safe as possible, and provides good bus companies a way to highlight their positive safety records.”

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Motor Carriers, Enforcement Personnel Preview Changes to CSA’s SMS The Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program’s Safety Measurement System (SMS) quantifies the on-road safety performance of motor carriers to prioritize enforcement resources, determines the safety problems that a carrier may exhibit, and monitors whether a carrier’s safety problems are improving or worsening. FMCSA designed the SMS to be improved over time as better technology, new data, and additional analysis become available.

In March 2012, FMCSA released the first package of SMS changes in a test environment to provide the opportunity for enforcement personnel and motor carriers to preview the changes and contribute feedback before they are implemented and released to the public. The SMS enhancements are the agency’s response to findings from its ongoing analyses, input from the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee, and feedback from enforcement and other safety stakeholders, including industry. Following the SMS Data Preview period (March–June 2012), FMCSA may make final refinements to the SMS methodology before implementing it and releasing the revised SMS results to the public on July 2, 2012. The first package of SMS enhancements will: 1. Change the Cargo-Related Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) to the Hazardous Materials (HM) BASIC to better identify HM-related safety problems.

2. Strengthen the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC by incorporating cargo/load securement violations from today’s Cargo-Related BASIC. 3. Better align the SMS with Intermodal Equipment Provider regulations.

4. Align violations that are included in the SMS with Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance inspection levels by eliminating the vehicle violations derived from driver-only inspections and driver violations from vehicle-only inspections.

5. More accurately identify carriers involved in transporting HM or passengers.

6. Modify the SMS Display to Change the current terminology, “inconclusive” and “insufficient data,” to fact-based definitions, and separate crashes with injuries and crashes with fatalities.

During the SMS Data Preview period, enforcement personnel are encouraged to view how SMS methodology changes affect the BASIC measurements and they are invited to submit feedback. To access the SMS Data Preview, enforcement personnel can select the “CSA Outreach” link in the FMCSA Portal or use their UAS username and password to log into http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov.

After public implementation, FMCSA will update the Inspection Selection System’s Aspen software and roadside inspectors will be prompted to update their software so that they can view the SMS changes, including the new HM BASIC, which will replace the Cargo-Related BASIC. Moving forward, FMCSA will apply a systematic approach to making improvements to the SMS, prioritizing and releasing changes up to twice a year and providing an SMS Data Preview period for enforcement personnel and motor carriers prior to implementation. More information about the first package of SMS enhancements is available on the CSA Website’s Resources page at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/. To stay abreast of all CSA developments, sign up for periodic email updates at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/subscription.

8 THE GUARDIAN

making the safety link

performance and registration information systems management (PRISM)

By Stephen Parker FMCSA, Office of Enforcement and Compliance, Transportation Specialist

Since I was assigned last year to manage the operational aspects of the Performance and Registration Information Systems Management (PRISM) program, two points have been driven home to me. The first is PRISM’s absolute effectiveness as a twin enforcement tool identifying outof-service motor carriers at the roadside and suspending and denying vehicle registration to motor carriers under a Federal Out of Service Order (OOSO), and the second is the need to implement this effective enforcement tool uniformly nationwide.

As you may know, PRISM links FMCSA information systems with state commercial motor vehicle registration and licensing systems. The program is designed to enable a state to determine if a motor carrier or registrant was ordered to cease interstate operations by FMCSA. At the roadside, Query Central’s real-time data is the tool that enforcement should be consistently using to determine if a carrier is Out of

government news

Service (OOS). There is also a PRISM tab in Query Central that provides further information. At the level of motor carriers obtaining vehicle registration, the PRISM Team provides a daily target file to State vehicle registration agencies and connects Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) to OOS carriers.

State agencies, with the legislative and/ or regulatory authority to do so, issue registration suspensions and deny ve-

Otto, in the State Programs Division, to focus on oversight and administration of PRISM program grant funds. This arrangement has worked quite well, as each of us is able to concentrate on our area of expertise. PRISM grant funding has moved forward technologies that promote efficiencies at the roadside to identify OOS carriers, and grant funding has made possible the connections between FMCSA and State commercial

on August 9, 2010. The August 31, 2011, Federal Register notice delayed the effective date of the procedural change to September 1, 2012, so that the PRISM program could, among other things, prioritize Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12) PRISM grant funding to assist states to make systems changes. FY12 PRISM grant applications are currently under review.

The PRISM program will issue sys-

Maximizing the potential safety benefits of this effective program will depend on national implementation hicle registration to OOS motor carriers.

These activities stop OOS motor carriers in their tracks. When the program works to its full effect, among the few options left to a bad actor would be to fashion homemade license plates, and enforcement is not going to let them get very far with those. In the course of conducting several PRISM Implementation Reviews this year, and through other sources, I have seen recent examples of the impressive results of the PRISM program; motor carriers that have been declared imminent hazards and others have had to turn in their license plates or have them lifted by law enforcement.

Maximizing the potential safety benefits of this effective program will depend on national implementation; bad actors could possibly spill from their state into another state where PRISM has not been implemented, or not been fully implemented, looking for a “soft spot” to obtain vehicle registration. Our task for the future, to prevent this possibility, is uniform application of the PRISM program.

Since PRISM is a voluntary program (with grant funding available), FMCSA has allowed me, in the Enforcement Division, to concentrate on the operational side of the PRISM program, and Julie

motor vehicle registration systems.

When the PRISM program began, the Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) program was not yet in operation. It is anticipated that the focus of future PRISM grant funding will be on those FMCSA/commercial motor vehicle registration systems links as the CVISN program is now moving ahead with providing assistance with roadside identification efficiencies.

State adoption of PRISM-facilitating legislation is a huge step towards full PRISM implementation. There are a number of States with model legislation, which may be useful to other states who are not as far along. These can be made available to those seeking legislative traction to implement the PRISM program.

The PRISM Team hosted a national PRISM conference call on February 14 to gather State input on the implementation of a PRISM procedural change, effective September 1, 2012, that eliminates “Vehicle Registrant Only” as a “Company Operation” selection on the MCS-150. This will require OMB review of the change to the Form MCS-150. There have been two Federal Register notices regarding this change, one published on August 31, 2011, and the other published

tems change guidance to the participating PRISM states to implement the elimination of the “Registrant-Only” designation. Elimination of the “Registrant-Only” option will go a long way towards ensuring that the correct motor carrier identifier will be attributed to the vehicle/driver inspection. As you know, administrative changes, however wellintended, are not a substitute for good old-fashioned investigative work to correctly identify the motor carrier responsible for safety for the inspection report.

State commercial motor vehicle registration systems are members of the International Registration Plan (IRP), which provides the framework for the vehicle registration programs as IRP facilitates Heavy Vehicle Use Tax (HVUT) revenue distribution to the States. Given the high-profile motorcoach crashes within the past several months, it is worth mentioning that, for some reason, IRP exempts motorcoach companies from the requirement to participate in the IRP registration program.

For suggestions, questions and comments on the PRISM program, contact your State Programs Specialist in the FMCSA Division office or email me at stephen.parker@dot.gov.

SECOND QUARTER, 2012

9

government news

CSA Safety Measurement System Further Elevates Importance, Visibility of State Roadside Inspection Programs In December 2010 a new safety measurement system (SMS) was implemented as an integral component of the Compliance, Safety, and Accountability enforcement model.

The new SMS was designed to maximize the relevance of all roadside inspection results—good and bad—in identifying high-risk and other poor performing motor carriers and to ultimately raise awareness and improve overall safety performance.

Evidence thus far suggests that the collective efforts of FMCSA and the Sates are on target.

FMSCA has established a public website (http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms) that displays motor carrier assessments in the SMS, and the detailed violation results of each and every roadside inspection that is uploaded to FMCSA. In just the first year of CSA implementation, this public website received more than 25 million “hits” from enforcement users, interested motor carriers, shippers, insurance companies and the general public. And more importantly, compliance impacts are already being observed. In calendar year 2011, violations found per roadside inspection were nine percent lower than in 2010.

This is clear evidence that interest in safety and motor carrier and public attention to the violations being documented by officers at the roadside is at an all time high.

10 THE GUARDIAN

Analysis also suggests that the new SMS is identifying the population of motor carriers in which future intervention efforts will have the most impact in reducing crashes.

Thanks to the efforts of roadside officers, SMS currently has sufficient roadside inspection and crash data reported to assess the safety performance of approximately 200,000 of the 525,000 active interstate and intrastate hazardous materials motor carriers. These 200,000 carriers are involved in over 90 percent of the crashes reported to FMCSA, involving interstate and intrastate hazardous materials motor carriers. Of those 200,000 carriers, approximately 50,000 exceed the intervention threshold in at least one Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASIC) and are prioritized for interventions ranging from simple warning letters to comprehensive investigations at the motor carrier’s place of business. These 50,000 carriers (approximately 10 percent of the total active population) are responsible for 45 percent of the recorded crashes.

Independent evaluation of the SMS data by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) also determined that crash rates were higher for motor carriers identified with safety problems in the SMS’s BASICs. In particular, UMTRI found that motor carriers falling above FMCSA’s intervention threshold in the Unsafe Driving BASIC had crash rates that were more than three times greater than the crash rate for motor carriers without any BASICs above FMCSA’s intervention threshold. Similarly, UMTRI found that the crash rate for motor carriers above FMCSA’s intervention threshold in the Fatigued Driving (Hours of Service) BASIC was nearly three times greater than the crash rate for motor carriers without any BASICs above FMCSA’s intervention threshold.

For additional information about CSA and the SMS please visit the CSA website at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov.

CCMTA Updates National Safety Code Standard 11 on Periodic Commercial Motor Vehicle Inspections

By Doug MacEwen, Prince Edward Island Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, Safety Coordinator, Highway Safety Division

The Compliance and Regulatory Affairs Committee of the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) has empowered a project group to come together to update National Safety Code Standard 11 on Periodic Commercial Motor Vehicle Inspections.

The standard, the result of a 1991 Ministerial Memorandum of Understanding designed to ensure interprovincial consistency of periodic commercial motor vehicle inspection programs across Canada, calls for mandatory annual in-shop inspections of trucks,

government news

To some, it’s a simple lapel pin but to the growing number of CVSA members it signifies commitment to commercial vehicle safety.

Learn more about the vital role CVSA sponsors play in solving safety and security challenges not only in their own workplace but for the entire industry throughout North America.

tractors and trailers and semi-annual inspections of buses. The inspections are conducted at governmentlicensed facilities, with compliance verified at roadside through an inspection decal affixed to the equipment.

Standard 11 applies to all commercial vehicles under the National Safety Code whereby “commercial vehicle” is defined as: a) a truck, tractor or trailer or combination thereof exceeding a registered gross weight of 4,500 kg (approximately 10,000 lbs); or, b) a bus designed, constructed and used for the transportation of passengers with a designated seating capacity of more than 10, including the driver, but excluding the operation for personal use.

The standard was originally developed by a working group of vehicle inspection experts from all provinces and territories and industry representatives, and was published in January 1994 by CCMTA in a manual called Commercial Vehicle Inspections in Canada. An update followed in 1996, with further editions in December of 2000 and January of 2006.

As part of the project, the group was also tasked with updating the NSC’s recommended commercial vehicle maintenance standards, which appear as Part A of NSC 11. The maintenance standard lays out specific inspec-

tion, repair and maintenance requirements for all commercial vehicles subject to a carrier’s control, and represent the minimum criteria which would be evaluated in an audit of the carrier’s operation. Though not identical, the standard is similar to U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) Part 393, which covers parts and accessories for safe operation.

Included in this portion are specific record-keeping requirements as well as mandated record retention.

Carriers are required to maintain vehicle files that includes information pertaining to vehicle identification, maintenance/inspection due dates, lubrication records as well as all dates and times of any repairs performed on the vehicle.

The project group will be lead by Nova Scotia’s Michael Balsom and will be comprised of jurisdictional representatives and a limited number of industry stakeholders with expertise in commercial vehicle inspections.

The workplan envisions a series of several meetings over the course of the upcoming year, with work concluding in the spring of 2013 with an updated standard to be presented for approval to the CCMTA Board and Council of Canadian Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety.

SECOND QUARTER, 2012

11

government news

SCT Announces Federal Driver’s License Procedures in Mexico Issued by the Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT), the Federal Driver’s License is the official and unique document in Mexico that all the commercial drivers must have to operate commercial vehicles for cargo, passenger, tourism, and transportation on the federal roads and highways (interstates).

All categories of Federal Driver’s Licenses include international type, together with English certification and drivers 21 years old or older.

amending the term of the federal driver’s license To enhance safer operations, SCT, released in the Mexican Official Gazette (DOF), on April 21, 2010, the “Accord by which the validity of the federal driver’s license is modified”, amending the term of the Federal Driver’s License, where its validity changed from 10 to 5 years (except the category for Hazmats, which it is valid for three years).

The document is issued as one at the national level and with security mechanisms that give greater certainty to service users.

federal driver’s license issuance main requirements • Mandatory Training Course before license issuance by a SCT certified Training Center • Psychological and physical conditions certified of by the General Administration of Protection and Preventive 12 THE GUARDIAN

Medicine for Transportation (Dirección General de Protección y Medicina Preventiva en el Transporte) • Testing in accordance of the MEX-U.S.A. Memorandum regarding mutual recognition of licenses • Official ID, etc.

The issuance procedures of the Federal Driver’s License, is carried out in 46 Field Offices/Departments of the Federal Motor Transportation all over the country, reason why the information is updated continuously and this information can be consulted on a daily basis by the authorities of the US-DOT, based on specific information exchange understandings.

the federal driver’s license description • L icense Issuance and Renewal for federal transport users, is a core line of action of the Federal Motor Carrier Administration in Mexico.

As part of the updating of the Federal Driver’s License, process, as of June 15, 2011, SCT began issuing nationwide a new format of the motor carrier transportation FDL, which has both a new institutional image and additional security measures.

Wrapping up, this Federal Driver’s License and its procedures, system and technologies, with enhanced international security measures and practices, evidence highly reliable document, with natural repercussion on domestic motor

carrier transportation, to operate safely, in accordance with “2011-2020 National Road Safety Strategy” and, as well, with impact on Cross-border transportation through the United States of America.

The link for the Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) / to confirm the validity of the federal driver license is: http://aplicaciones9.sct.gob.mx/ConsultaInfracciones/detalleLicFederal.do COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHO-PHYSICAL PRE-EXAMINATION PROCESS

The Directorship General of Protection and Prevention Medicine in Transportation previously to the issuance of the Federal Drivers License requires several issues to test the psychophysical condition of the drivers.

Examination of psychophysical health of operators of Federal For-Hire Motor Carrier Transportation Service on General Communication Routes in order to minimize the incidence of accidents attributable to human causes on Internal Clients: 1. General Coordination of Ports and Merchant Marine 2. Directorship General of Federal Motor Carrier Transportation.

3. Directorship General of Civil Aviation 4. Directorship General of Tariffs and Multimodal Transportation.

External Clients: 1. Aviation technicians, merchant

government news

The Federal Driver’s License includes: • Color, • Photograph, • Name, • ID official number (CURP), • License number, • Category that authorizes to operate certain type of vehicle and its expiration date, • Several security controls, like seals at front upper right transparent, among some others.

marine technicians, operators, drivers or auxiliary service providers for Federal motor carrier transportation and its auxiliary services who are involved with operating, driving or assisting the diverse Federal transportation modes and their auxiliary services who are required to hold a Federal License, Title, Seafarers’ Certificate and Maritime Identification Card in order to legitimately perform their duties.

2. User population of the General Communication Routes.

3. Transportation companies of diverse modes.

Providers: 1. Administrative Coordination 2. Chief of Information Management

Products and/or services provided: 1. Psychophysical Fitness Certificate 2. Notification of Psychophysical Unfitness Report Requirements and client expectations with regard to the product or service provided: 1. Honesty 2. Timeliness 3. Reliability 4. Clarity 5. Transparency 6. Friendliness 7. Proper facilities Initial activity of the process: Reception of proof identification documents at the Unified Service Center.

Final activity of the process: 1. Delivery of the Psychophysical Fitness Certificate, or 2. Delivery of the Psychophysical Unfitness Report.

Product Characteristics: 1. Psychophysical Fitness Certificate 2. Psychophysical Unfitness Report 3. Safety in the General Communication Routes 4. Temporary 5. Federal in scope Characteristics of intake: 1. Official valid ID: Voter Credential issued by the Federal Electoral Commission, Valid Passport,

Consular ID, Federal License or similar.

2. Birth certificate: For purposes of Expedition, the original (which is returned to the applicant) and a copy (which is filed in the clinical dossier) must be presented. For Renewal the original (which is returned to the applicant) must be provided.

3. Two recent photographs (credential size, front view).

4. Payment of fees 5. Valid 6. Official 7. Legal The Directorship General of Protection and Prevention Medicine in Transportation laboratory has been certified by the Mexican General Health Council (Consejo de Salubridad General), and also it counts with the proper equipment and procedure requirements to develop this process.

The link for the Directorship General of Protection and Prevention Medicine in Transportation, website is: http://www.sct.gob.mx/transporte-y-medicina-preventiva/medicina-preventiva/ Additionally, the SCT website has additional information, published in English, for U.S.-based motor carriers that wish to obtain a permit to provide transportation services into Mexico. http://www.sct.gob. mx/transporte-y-medicina-preventiva/ autotransporte-federal/autotransportetransfronterizo-de-carga-internacional/

The back of the license has: • License category and renewal date; • QR code; • Website consultation; • Date, hour and place of the issuance and the issuing SCT Field office’s system print number and medical information and number (MEDPREV), information that must correspond with the contained in a data base.

Term: 5 years for categories A, B, C, D and F; 3 years for category E. Validation: Authorizing signature at right middle by the Federal Motor Carrier Administrator.

Their format is harmonized with various model standards from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, AAMVA, of North America.

SECOND QUARTER, 2012

13

CO V E R S T O R Y

Making the Case for

Commercial Motor Vehicle Enforcement

By Maj. Mark Savage, Colorado State Patrol, CVSA Vice-President

As many of you know, the national, state and local regulatory and legislative environment is changing. A general dissatisfaction among the public with government is an increasing influence at the local and national political level. As a result, there is little doubt about the public’s increased desire towards smaller, less intrusive government.

Elected officials recognize this political climate and are responding accordingly. As a result, many of our member jurisdictions are being challenged to review current rules and regulations. Whether it comes from the executive branch of the federal government or at the state level, many member jurisdictions have witnessed legislation and/or executive orders that address state commercial motor vehicle regulations or the rule-making processes itself. Many of these orders or statutes require rule makers to objectively examine their rules, and the impact of those rules on stakeholders.

Regardless of your opinion on this changing political environment, we can all agree with the concept that all members either are

14 THE GUARDIAN

already or will be impacted by the changing national political landscape.

Beginning in 2011, Colorado’s Governor issued an executive order requiring state regulating entities to carefully examine rules that impact local government. The order mandated that state-level regulation could not be imposed on local government without significant input from the local government. The intent of the order was to return power to the local level and to reduce compliance costs for the local government. The order stated, “Local governments should have more flexibility to design solutions to problems without excessive interference or oversight, or unnecessary regulation, from state government.”

From a logistical perspective, compliance with the order was simple, as it only required increased communication with local governmental entities. This communication was easily accomplished and was already being done.

What was significant with the order was that it clarified the intent of our elected officials in regards to how we regulate local govern-

ment and other entities. Their intent was, and still is, to ensure that we are thoughtful and deliberate before we implement regulations that may increase costs for those regulated.

This year, Colorado implemented another executive order requiring that all state rules undergo a “Regulatory Efficiency Review.” The order indicated that, “Colorado is committed to making its rulemaking process among the most effective and transparent in the nation.”

The order required state agencies to regularly “review all rules to ensure that they are effective, efficient and essential.” The order also mandated that, “existing rules identify and use the best, most innovative and least burdensome tools for achieving their goals.” The order also set guidelines on how rules need to be reviewed and advertised to the public to ensure comment.

Each of these executive orders is reasonable, but they have challenged state agencies to reexamine their rules using the guidelines in the orders. Both orders have initiated a reexamination of not only the rules themselves, but also the regulatory intent behind the rules

CO V E R S T O R Y

and, most importantly, the application of our rules in the current business environment.

As we work through these executive orders and examine our rules, we must also be mindful of the fact that many of our rules are promulgated with the intent to be consistent with federal statutes and regulation. Luckily Colorado’s executive orders have acknowledged federal regulatory requirements that mandate consistency with federal safety rules and allowed us the flexibility in applying the order as it relates to our rules.

Additionally, in January of 2011 the Obama administration issued Executive Order Number 13563 titled “Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review.” The order stated: Our regulatory system must protect public health, welfare, safety, and our environment while promoting economic growth, innovation, competitiveness, and job creation. It must be based on the best available science. It must allow for public participation and an open exchange of ideas. It must promote predictability and reduce uncertainty. It must identify and use the best, most innovative, and least burdensome tools for achieving regulatory ends. It must take into account benefits and costs, both quantitative and qualitative. It must ensure that regulations are accessible, consistent, written in plain language, and easy to understand. It must measure, and seek to improve, the actual results of regulatory requirements.

This executive order was strikingly similar to the ones issued in Colorado. The Colorado State Legislature is also working on several

bills that will alter the regulatory environment.

Among them is the requirement that all regulation be reviewed by the legislative committee of record for the agency promulgating the rule. While this bill has not passed, it is something that we are closely watching, as it will have an impact on our rulemaking process.

More significantly, the Colorado Legislature this year is considering a bill to deregulate all commercial vehicles between 10,000 and 26,000 lbs., and some over 26,000, if they are involved in some level of agricultural operations. The effects of this bill would have been devastating to our MCSAP grant as a result of its inconsistency with federal regulation. Fortunately, we were able to work closely with the FMCSA Division Office and FMCSA HQ to suggest language that was reasonable to both the sponsoring legislator and our agency. The proposed language in the current bill will not impact our grant and have a negligible impact on safety.

All of the executive orders and bills previously mentioned have had a relatively benign effect on our operations, do not negatively impact safety, and remain consistent with federal regulation. In fact, the executive orders have actually formalized a level of due diligence that we were doing before.

However, going forward it is important that member jurisdictions remain aware of potentially negative impacts to reasonable safety regulation via politically-based initiatives. As members consider responding to potential initiatives, it is helpful to examine each

one using at least the following criteria: 1. Will the initiative have a negative impact on safety? Can this impact be quantified and explained to stakeholders?

2. Will the initiative be consistent with federal regulation? How will regulatory inconsistencies impact business?

3. How will the initiative impact federal safety program money? Will the rule or law imperil your grant money?

After a potentially impactful initiative is identified and evaluated, it is important to ensure that stakeholders are aware of the negative effects of the bill or order. Recently, Colorado worked closely with our legislature to make sure they understood how the previous version of the bill would impact our grant and, subsequently, safety. Sgt. Rocco Domenico, CVSA’s Training Committee Chair, developed a one-page summary of the negative effects of losing the MCSAP grant in Colorado.

Currently CVSA staff is taking Sgt. Domenico’s document and developing a similar template that can be used by all member jurisdictions to highlight the benefits of our safety based-programs. The document will be a data-based effort that advertises the importance of consistent and reasonable safety regulation. The document can also be used to defend critical safety programs, and as an outreach tool to proactively raise awareness of the benefits of the same programs.

SECOND QUARTER, 2012

15

CO V E R S T O R Y

Educating Your Legislature Between the long stretches of pavement that make up our highway system lies a line; a mark that guides and informs roadway users.

For more than 25 years, CVSA has been leading people along that line, promoting highway safety by ensuring that the commercial motor vehicles that travel alongside other roadway users do so safely and securely.

CVSA does this by providing leadership and direction to enforcement, industry and legislative policy makers, as well as in the development of standards and best practices.

There are many paths to a destination, but when it comes to preventing injuries and deaths, there are no short cuts. There are, however, more direct routes to solving the challenges of improving highway safety. While members of Congress work through the DOT reauthorization process, CVSA would like to share our preferred route to safety.

CVSA serves its members by actively working on several levels to influence and shape legislative and regulatory issues impacting commercial motor vehicle enforcement. On the Federal Level, CVSA meets with Member offices, to educate them on the complex issues surrounding CMV enforcement and safety. CVSA members testify before Congressional committees and make themselves available to staff to answer questions – acting as a sounding board for new concepts and proposed changes that are being discussed on Capitol Hill. This helps ensure that enforcement’s voice is heard loud and clear on Capitol Hill.

In addition, CVSA conducts outreach, building support for CVSA’s policy to stakeholders, in order to strengthen our message to leaders on Capitol Hill. CVSA also engages the Administration on rulemakings, policy guidance and grant administration.

Some of the issues CVSA advocates on members’ behalf to Congress include Flexibility in State Grant Programs; Maintenance of Effort; Truck Size & Weight policy, and various safety exemptions, to name just a few. (For the complete list of CVSA’s positions on Reauthorization visit http://www.cvsa.org/reauthorization/index.php).

CVSA also provides a valuable service to its members, keeping them apprised of legislative and regulatory developments through updates sent out regularly by our Policy & Government Affairs Director, Adrienne Gildea. In addition to updates, CVSA conducts webinars, including the 2012 Legislative Forecast. Finally, CVSA is developing a customizable ‘educational toolkit’ to help its members convey the importance of a state’s commercial motor vehicle enforcement program to members in their legislature.

16 THE GUARDIAN

Enforcement Works!

Roadside Inspections conducted in 2007: Helped to avoid 10,210 total crashes, 6,582 injuries and saved 387 lives Traffic Enforcement conducted in 2007: Helped to avoid 9,761 crashes, 6,292 injuries and saved 370 lives Compliance Reviews conducted in 2007: Helped avoid 2,860 crashes, avoid 1,866 injuries and saved 109 lives Based only on the benefits of lives saved in 2007 (866) from these three programs, the benefit accrued in 2007 was $5.2 Billion (MCSAP funding cost less than $250 Million) Each roadside inspection is worth $2,414.26 in safety benefits A Benefit to Cost ratio of 18:1!

The Value of CMV Enforcement: Educational Toolkit Everyone serves a vital role when it comes to advocating the important purpose that commercial vehicle enforcement serves in saving lives. To ensure you have the right tools to do this job, CVSA has prepared a quick reference guide for your use called Cost and Consequences: The Truth About Traffic, Truck Crashes, and the Value of Commercial Vehicle Enforcement. This one-page, quick fact sheet, was created as a leave behind for your use when testifying before members of your jurisdiction’s legislature, or when meeting with public interest and safety groups, as well as other interested parties. It is customizable, allowing you to insert your jurisdiction-specific data and statistics. We hope CVSA members find this a helpful tool that makes communicating the value of and need for commercial motor vehicle inspections. This information will be made available on our website.

We will notify members when it is available.

CO V E R S T O R Y

Other items you should have in your Educational toolkit • Make a list of key legislators in your jurisdiction.

• Take time to cultivate relationships with your legislators so they have a full appreciation for commercial vehicle enforcement’s value BEFORE it’s time to do the annual budget.

• Identify opponents to commercial motor vehicle safety programs.

• Actively conduct outreach to associations/local chapters that are relevant in your jurisdiction as they pertain to safety.

(This includes trucking and industry associations, safety advocates…).

• Have recent examples on hand of how commercial vehicle enforcement has a positive, proactive influence on safety (i.e. recent motor carrier strike forces conducted showing how many vehicles were placed out of service). Conversely, also have pictures of crash scenarios and possibly identify the people they impacted, calling attention to how they could have been avoided through additional enforcement).

Other helpful information The American Automobile Alliance’s (AAA) recently released study on “Crashes Versus Congestion: What’s the Cost to Society.” http://newsroom.aaa.com/2008/03/crashes-vs-congestionwhats-the-cost-to-society/ FMCSA’s Commercial Motor Vehicle Facts. http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/facts-research/CMVFacts.pdf

SAFETY IMPA CT SB 12-059 FACT SHEET

The exclusion of EXCLUSION Co a significant imp mmercial Motor Vehicles (CMV) act to highway as listed in Senate safety. This exc received by the Bill 59 (SB 12-059 lusion will reduce Motor Carrier Saf ) will create by 50% the fed ety Assistance (M impact to highw eral grant dollars ay safety will stem CSAP) section of from a 50% reduct from completing the Colorado Sta te Patrol. The ion in FTE which all federally ma ndated Safety Au Reviews within wil restricted timelin dits on New Ent l impact the MCSAP section es. This will sig rant Carriers, nificantly reduce time spent on pro and Compliance In 2011 the Comm active enforcem COST IMPACT ent. ercial Vehicle Saf of compliance rev ety Alliance (CV SA) conducted a iews and roadside study on the saf inspections.  A compliance ety improvement review saves .00 75 lives per review per inspection. and a roadside ins Thi pection saves .00 $2,414.26 cost sav s equates to a cost saving of 022 lives ing per roadside $81,438.38 per  A carrier wh inspection. compliance rev iew and o has under gon e a compliance deficiencies and review is 83% improve highway more likely to  The continu safety. correct their ed monitoring of Colorado’s New average of 1.5% Entrant Safety cra Audit Program those who do not sh reduction for those carriers has shown an who receive a Saf . ety Audit as com pared to IMPACT TO HIG Under the curren t funding for the HWAY SAFTY Motor Carrier Saf State Patrol MC SAP unit conduc ety Assistance Pro ted 9,413 roadsi 2011. gram (MCSAP), de inspections and The Colorado 200 compliance  With curren reviews during CY t funding, this has saved over $39,00  Over the pas 0,000.00 in lost t three years the lives and injuries MCSAP unit has injuries. . saved over $94 ,000,000.00 in lost lives and IMPACT TO SA  A 50% reduct FETY COMPLIA ion in federal gra NC E nt dollars, will equ FTE. ate to having the MCSAP unit lay  With the fed off 10-12 eral ma compliance review ndate which instructs the MCSA P unit to comple s wit hin certain timelines,  The continu te all saf roa ety dside inspection audits and ed federal manda s will be greatly te and remaining person reduced. nel. This, in com reduction in FTE will increa se the workload time for roadside bination with oth on the inspections. er law enforcem  The reduction ent duties, will leave no in roadside safety inspections may 2013. cost the state ove r $22,000,000.00 for CY COMMERCIAL On the average, VEHICLE CRAS from CY 2008 – H IMPACT 2010, commercia commercial veh l vehicles exclud icle involved cra ed in SB 12-059 shes. account for 29%  This class of of commercial veh icles average 515  The exclud crashes each yea ed vehicles also r. account for an ave involved comme rag e of 26% of the fata rcial vehicle cra  42 people shes. l crashes and 28% lost their lives and of injury 1,377 were injured  Keep in min d, these figures over this three yea are r wh period. en this class of com state statue. mercial vehicles  With curren is currently regula t Colorado regula ted by tion of this class decrease of 18.7% of commercial veh in crashes from icle , 200 the re has been an ove 8 to 2010. This PREPARED BY: is a decrease of rall 108 crashes.

COLORADO STAT E PATROL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ASISTAN CE PROGRAM 303.273.1875

SECOND QUARTER, 2012

17

T he roadside inspector

Inspector’s corner CMV Safety Requires a Unified Effort

By Trp. John Sova, South Dakota Highway Patrol, NAIC 2011 Grand Champion

As inspectors and enforcement officers, our primary method of accomplishing commercial motor vehicle safety is through conducting roadside inspections and issuing citations. We conduct our activities each day in an effort to reach our goal of safer highways within our respective areas as well as across North America.

In conducting these activities, we, as enforcement officers, sometimes lose track of what commercial vehicle safety is all about. We are all about finding the violations and taking unsafe drivers and vehicles off the road. We also focus on the writing of citations or the issuing of fines as an indication of the quality of enforcement. Goals seem to be usually tied to numbers, which causes enforcement to focus in that area. This keeps the supervisors and administration happy, but are we accomplishing our goals?

18 THE GUARDIAN

Commercial vehicle enforcement can only truly achieve its goal by stepping outside the traditional box. We can write citations to drivers and assess fines to carriers but at the end of the day, have we accomplished our goal? The goal of highway safety is to facilitate the safe movement of cargo and people on our roadways. If our goal is to have safe movement of traffic on our roadways, then why are the only goals to issue a citation, assess a fine, or place drivers or vehicles out-of-service? I am not saying those actions are not warranted, but that is only part of CMV safety. Enforcement’s goal is to act as a deterrent in proactively to improving safety. We can only achieve true compliance and safer roads when enforcement and industry work together.

There are approximately 540,000 active regulated carriers, 254,212,610 registered commercial vehicles, and 5,600,000 commercial vehicle drivers in North America according to statistical information on the FMCSA website. On the flip side, there are only 12,000 CVSA-certified inspectors. We need industry’s help to achieve our goal of safer roads. Every interaction with a driver or a carrier should have the goal of strengthening the bond between industry and enforcement. We still have a job to do, including taking enforcement action, but that doesn’t mean it still can’t be a positive encounter. As inspectors, we are on the front lines every day and have interaction with the drivers who can make a difference in safety. We all encounter both types of drivers: the drivers who understand why compliance is important, and those who think the only way they can make it is by bending the rules and see us as simply a barrier to successfully carrying out their work. We need to reinforce with the drivers who are in compliance that they are doing a good job and encourage them to spread to fellow drivers why compliance is not an obstacle to them completing their jobs. We need to educate the non-compliant drivers on why compliance is beneficial to them and reinforce how important their role is to highway safety. I approach every encounter with a driver as a chance to make a difference in highway safety. I take the enforcement action that is necessary but will be professional and fair. I challenge every enforcement officer and inspector to ask themselves a question after the completion of every decision and inspection, “What did I accomplish?” If the answer is anything other than improving highway safety and strengthening the working relationship with industry, it would have to be considered a wasted effort.

Roadside inspectors can take on the leadership role in highway safety. Conducting commercial vehicle enforcement is like demonstrating proper leadership skills.

Leaders inspire people to do their jobs better and use negative discipline as the last resort. Enforcement is a negative form of discipline. If you break the law or regulation, I am going to levy some sort of penalty on you to deter you from doing it in the future.

This type of activity needs to take place but my question is, “Could more be accomplished with positive discipline?” If the driver left the officer with an understanding of what he/she did wrong and how that sort of activity affects traffic safety, the goal was accomplished. If the driver left and didn’t understand what was wrong or what was needed to comply, the goal of CMV safety was not accomplished. The goal of a citation was met, but the road isn’t necessarily going to be safer as a result. The understanding of the violation and the citation are not mutually exclusive and many times will be tied together but I challenge the inspectors to go beyond the citation and work with the driver/carrier to improve highway safety.

As a roadside inspector, take the lead, think outside the box and work with industry. Together, we can make a difference in highway safety.

the roadside inspector

Why We Do What We Do

Unit stopped for insecure load. Driver used orange snow fence to secure wooden blocks.

(Submitted by Sgt. Rob Livingston 6338 , Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, Solicitor General and Public Security, Public Security Division, Slave Lake District)

A wheel with three adjacent fasteners missing (12 g. in the OOS criteria).

(Submitted by CVSA Inspector Kevin Chaput, Watson Lake Weigh Station, YT)

This 80,000 lb bucket loader had two chains at the articulation point only and was observed bypassing around the Vineland Truck inspection station during Roadcheck 2011.

I do what I do because of the satisfaction I get knowing that I do make a difference in making the roads safer and saving lives, and I am proud of it.

This is a picture of a broken torque rod where the driver thought he could drive it.

The truck was on the left skip line and the trailer was on the shoulder as it drove.

(Submitted by Trp. Andrew Stoeckle, Washington State Patrol, Commercial Vehicle Division)

(Submitted by Ian Walters, Transportation Enforcement Officer #340, Ministry of Transportation Ontario, Audit and Investigations Branch, Halton District)

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C V S A C ommittee & P rogram N ews

Achieving Uniform Size & Weight Rules Across North America

By Capt. Jay Thompson, Arkansas Highway Police, Chair, CVSA Size & Weight Committee

Size and weight issues seem to be at the forefront of many agendas these days. I never fully realized the significance that uniformity, or lack thereof, can have until my recent involvement with CVSA’s Size & Weight Committee. The popular question, ‘Should legal weight limits be increased across North America?’ is certainly not the only question needing attention.

Recently, after the committee conducted additional research, another question arose: How do we obtain uniformity of size and weight rules and/or regulations across North America?

Legal weights are somewhat uniform with a few exceptions, but when it comes to oversize and/ or overweight vehicles requiring special permits, requirements of such permits, and weights allowed by special permits, the terms uniformity, consistency, comparable, harmonized, etc., are not in the picture.

Jurisdictions and agencies across North America are tasked with issuing special permits authorizing vehicles exceeding legal weights and dimensions to safely travel across America’s interstate system. This task in itself is a difficult one; routes must be analyzed to ensure these oversize loads will be able to safely travel the specific routes without causing any hazard to the motoring public, construction workers, damage to highways, or damage to bridges. This requires an enormous amount of communication within the respective Departments of Transportation. Permit technicians across North America must be certain a route is safe before issuing a permit authorizing an oversize vehicle travel, thus requiring some type of communication with construction workers, bridge engineers, motor carriers, enforcement officials, etc.

Some will agree the task motor carriers have of obtaining an oversize permit is even more difficult due to the inconsistent permitting rules from state to state.

There are too many inconsistencies regarding both legal size and weight laws and permit rules/regulations to address in one article, but let me describe an example and I think you may get the picture. Currently, as states across North America issue special permits for over-weight vehicles, the maximum weight(s) allowed on axle groups are drastically different, a single axle ranges from 20,000 lbs. to 29,000 lbs, tandem axle from 40,000 lbs. to 52,000 lbs, and tri-axle from 50,000 lbs. to 70,000 lbs. Some states recognize and allow more weight on multi-lane trailers specifically designed to carry super-loads and some don’t.

As I mentioned, there are many other inconsistencies along with these.

On a positive note, CVSA has recently reached out to members of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to discuss working towards harmonization efforts.

20 THE GUARDIAN

CVSA Operation Air Brake / Brake Safety Week Program Launches

2nd Generation Demonstration Models

The Operation Air Brake program recently completed development of its second generation educational demonstration models for promoting awareness of the importance of brake adjustment and proper maintenance. The models support the program’s mission to improve commercial vehicle brake safety by serving as visual illustrations and training aids for educating drivers, technicians and safety managers. The first generation models have been successfully used in demonstrations at several industry events since 2010. The new models debuted at the Mid America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 22-24 of this year where nearly 200 attendees observed the hands on demonstrations and improved their brake system awareness.

Each of the two display models illustrates separate but equally important maintenance concepts. By examining the first model, the “Importance of Brake Adjustment” display, one can see the dramatic loss of brake force that may occur when the pushrod stroke extends beyond the established limit for the given air brake chamber type. In the extreme, the brake force can go to zero. The second model, the “Properly Diagnose the Problem” display, illustrates why technicians must identify and correct the cause of the out-of-stroke condition, and not simply adjust the brake stroke—particularly for most modern vehicles which are equipped with self-adjusting brake adjusters (CVSA’s preferred term for what are often called automatic slack adjusters).

The second model is of particular importance because brakes equipped with self-adjusting brake adjusters found to be out of adjustment most likely have maintenance issues other than worn linings—possibly worn bushings, bearings, pins, connectors. Simply adjusting the brake stroke will not fix these underlying problems.

The root cause of the over-stroke condition must, therefore, be determined by a qualified brake technician. The components of the “Properly Diagnose the Problem” display, including the S-camshaft bushings, clevis pin connections, and control arm bushings for example, are deliberately worn or missing. These conditions each result in some loss of reserve pushrod stroke and, if extensive enough, potentially decreased stopping power.

Accompanying the models are educational posters, illustrating the concepts being demonstrated. The posters are available in PDF form on the CVSA website, and can be printed in 8 ½ x 11 format for distribution to fleet drivers, technicians and safety managers.

C V S A C ommittee & P rogram N ews

CVSA will be bringing the new displays to various events in the coming year where maintenance and safety managers, mechanics/technicians, and drivers will be able to witness the demonstrations. The Operation Air Brake program, meanwhile, is also preparing to make the displays available for short-term loan to other organizations for educational purposes. We encourage representatives from industry, educational, or related training organizations who may be interested to contact Will Schaefer at CVSA headquarters at williams@cvsa.org or 301-830-6154.

Development of the Demonstration Models The concept for these demonstration models began for the Operation Air Brake program in 2009. At that time, it was acknowledged that awareness and knowledge of air brake system maintenance was lacking. CVSA analyses of data from inspections conducted across North America finds the rate of brakerelated violations is a leading indication

of poor maintenance, trailing only lighting- and tire- related violations rates, on a per inspection basis. For example, in the 2011 unannounced Operation Air Brake event, 16.1% of vehicles checked were placed out of service for brake related violations (including missing components, air leaks, contaminated linings, cracked drums, etc.). More than half of those vehicles, or 10% of all vehicles inspected, were placed out of service for out-of-adjustment brakes.

The models were made possible through the contributions of the Operation Air Brake program participants, including the program’s state, provincial, and industry volunteers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and the Heavy Duty Brake Manufacturers Council (HDBMC), as well as the technical leadership of Dr. Steven J. Shaffer, of Battelle Memorial Institute. Partial funding for development of the models came through a federal high priority grant from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Members of the HDBMC provided all the major brake sys-

tem components used and shared their collective knowledge and expertise. Dr. Shaffer led the overall development process, including design and construction of the models and the posters.

As part of the development effort and to understand what drivers and technicians know about brake systems, CVSA conducted surveys testing the air brake knowledge of those attending demonstrations. The surveys serve the dual purpose of helping to identify areas of brake system knowledge that could use improvement, while also raising awareness by the survey taker of some key brake system concepts. The surveys take about 5-10 minutes to complete.

Starting this year, the free surveys will be updated and posted online in order to reach as many drivers and technicians as possible. Safety managers are encouraged to complete the survey and to share it with their drivers and technicians or mechanics. It is available for download or online completion at http://www.operationairbrake.com.

PHOTO TO GO HERE

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drivers how to reduce or eliminate the distractions that can lead to traffic crashes. Based on what we learned in that project and the success of the original Teens Teens & Trucks Raises Teen & Trucks, ATEF has been selected by CVSA Driver Awareness of Risks to update the Teens & Trucks materials with a renewed focus on curbing distracted driving. DPS has again stepped up to

By Karen Rasmussen, Arizona Trucking Association/ offer video production services and ATA/ Arizona Transportation Education Foundation ATEF will staff and manage the project It has been just over two years since a from inception to completion. The project group of safety partners finished Teens & is required to be completed by SeptemTrucks, the program to teach novice driv- ber 30, 2012. ers how to operate more safely around Our initial research findings indicate large trucks on the roads. With partial funding provided by FMCSA via CVSA’s that young drivers are as susceptible to Operation Safe Driver Program, a private distractions, if not more so, than more contribution from PrePass, the donation experienced, seasoned drivers. Distractions come in many forms: 1) Visual dis-

Defeating Distracted Driving:

million injured in crashes directly involving distracted driving, the largest group of distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes was drivers under 20 years old.

For a number of reasons, drivers in this age group are more apt to be involved in a fatal or injury crash. The program will call upon the experiences and advice of the safest commercial drivers and key enforcement officials to raise teen driver awareness about six key risk factors: • Teens underestimate or fail to recognize potential hazards; • Teens are more inclined to take risks even when they do recognize them; • Teens do not consistently wear seat belts;

Teens & Trucks ‘Defeating Distracted Driving’ will focus on educating young drivers and preventing injury and fatal related crashes now and in the years to come. of video production services by the Arizona Department of Public Safety and donations of staffing and equipment from ATA and its members, we produced a curriculum that is being widely used throughout the U.S. and Canada. Last year alone, over 6,000 Arizona novice drivers were reached using Teens & Trucks as part of the Share the Road program coordinated by our non-profit subsidiary Arizona Transportation Education Foundation (ATEF) and DPS. Last year, ATEF and some of these same partners produced “Defeating Distracted Driving,” a comprehensive curriculum to teach commercial truck and bus

22 THE GUARDIAN

tractions - anything that tends to take drivers eyes away from the road, such as billboards, accident scenes and more; 2) Manual distractions - anything that causes a driver to remove one or both hands from the steering wheel, such as texting, cell phone use, eating, putting in a CD or other manual task; and 3) Cognitive distractions - mental processes, such as anxiety, anger, worry, etc.

Study after study has indicated that distracted driving is a growing problem everywhere. An analysis of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data shows that, of nearly 6,000 people killed and more than a half-

• Teens are more apt to drive after using alcohol and drugs; • Teens that carry passengers are at greater risk of a crash; • Teens have a higher rate of crashes at night.

The effect of these risk factors is multiplied when coupled with the distractions caused by texting and cell phone use.

Teens & Trucks ‘Defeating Distracted Driving’ will focus on educating young drivers and preventing injury and fatal related crashes now and in the years to come.

C V S A C ommittee & P rogram N ews

Stepping into the Radioactive Arena

By Trp. Scott Maguire, Massachusetts State Police, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section

It is not a mistake or oversight that Class 7 Radioactive Materials are not covered in the General HazMat (HM) training class. Out of the necessity of time management in the General HM class, radioactive materials are overlooked. Every day hundreds of Class 7 shipments are transported by highway. The CVSA Level VI inspection program addresses High Level Radioactive Waste, Highway Route Controlled Quantity (HRCQ), and some DOE shipments. However, most Class 7 shipments are not subject to Level VI inspections. Many of these do not require placards and pass by undetected without incident. These other Class 7 materials are subject to only a standard HM inspection. Many HM inspectors are not aware that they are, in fact, certified to do inspections on Class 7 materials.

How does a roadside CMV inspector get the necessary training to suc-

cessfully complete a HM inspection on a non-HRCQ shipment of radioactive materials? A self-motivated inspector can toil through the Title 49 book and piece together the inspection process. Reading Title 49 CFR 173.401 through 173.477 can be quite confusing to the uninitiated and will almost always lead to non-uniform inspections. Uniformity is a critical component in maintaining the integrity of all CVSA inspections. The implementation of CSA by the FMCSA raises the bar further, by making proper entry of data regarding violations more crucial than ever. In order to properly conduct and document a HM Class 7 inspection some additional training will usually be required.

tor and has an extensive background in dealing with radioactive materials. The class guided inspectors through some basic atomic theory and showed how to apply the HM regulations to a Class 7 HM inspection. Participants of the class left with a CD of the presentation as well as a job aid sheet to use roadside for these inspections. These students left the class with a solid foundation for successfully performing a Class 7 HM inspection.

Knowledge breeds confidence when it comes to advanced HM inspections. Inspectors who are confident become enthusiastic about inspecting certain materials and their inspection numbers will rise accordingly.

Inspectors who are already Level VI certified are aware that at least 80% of a Level VI inspection is General HM. If you have a Level VI inspector in your area, approach them and ask for help. Most will be happy to answer your questions and help you to build the knowledge and confidence to inspect a radioactive materials shipment. Become familiar with Class 7 placarding requirements and know that the Radioactive placard on a white square background indicates a HRCQ load and should be left to Level VI inspectors only.

Almost every state now has CVSA Level VI certified inspectors. These folks also are a valuable resource in your state for help with Class 7 inspections. However, a formal training class with an expert instructor is by far the most effective way to become proficient in this area.

This is very typical of the type of training offerings available at COHMED. Carriers can benefit from this training as well and can directly interact with enforcement personnel in their region. This networking many times has facilitated the correction of errors and misunderstandings between enforcement and industry. At COHMED, enforcement and industry are in partnership to solve issues, which arise through regulatory changes.

Here networking and training go hand-inhand. Most training available at COHMED is quite unique and instruction is conducted by people who are widely considered to be at the top of their respective fields.

This training is directly applicable to your particular area and will aid remarkably in verifying compliance with HM regulations. Consider attending COHMED 2013 in Biloxi, MS where you will find specialized training and networking opportunities that are not available elsewhere.

At the 2012 COHMED conference in February, this training was offered by Tony Anderson from the Idaho State Police. Tony is a National Level VI instruc-

SECOND QUARTER, 2012

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regional news

REGIONAL MAP

Regional Communications Further Exchange of Ideas,

Pertinent Information Across Jurisdictions Region I

By Alan Martin, Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, CVSA Region III President

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, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Yukon.

24 THE GUARDIAN

Keeping lines of communication open is essential to running great motor carrier safety programs. One of the biggest values of CVSA is allowing multiple jurisdictions and industry to collaboratively share information. As a Region President, one of my biggest jobs is to ensure that members not only receive information about what is going on in the Alliance, but also facilitate the opportunity to exchange information about what is going on in their jurisdiction with others.

In late February we began what I hope will be a recurring activity in our region, a biannual conference call. Since we only have the opportunity to meet in person

twice a year, these additional two calls will permit members in the region to exchange information and ideas at least once per quarter. This will hopefully also make our time at the CVSA Annual Meeting and Workshop even more productive since we can raise issues via conference calls and then come prepared to discuss them in greater detail when we get together faceto-face.

During this first conference call we discussed several great programs were discussed, ranging from multi-state enforcement efforts to intrastate medical waiver programs. In addition, trends relative to legislative proposals and issues of concern were also brought up. Bringing together members from throughout the region also allowed us to provide an update to members relative to activities of the Alliance and actions of the Executive Committee.

Going forward the goal will be to further refine and improve these calls so they become a regular part of regional communications and serve as another tool for CVSA members to further exchange ideas, and best practices as well as exchange information on topics of concern to the Alliance.

regional news

A GIS-Based Road Vulnerability Index (RVI)

By Greg Ferrara and Jeremy Scott, Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE) at North Carolina State University (NCSU)

Overweight trucks damage roads and bridges.

This is particularly true when these trucks travel on roads that are not built to adequately handle their weight. Because the North Carolina State Highway Patrol’s Motor Carrier Enforcement’s (MCE) weight enforcement unit helps protect the State’s federally-funded road and bridge infrastructure, it is important to identify road segments that are most susceptible to damage from overweight vehicles.

To this end, the Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE) developed a quantitative RVI GIS layer. The RVI integrates truck exposure (truck counts) with roadway inventory data (pavement condition, bridge condition, etc.). By weighting these factors, vulnerability values can be assigned to road segments statewide.

The goal of the RVI is to give MCE planning staff a visual aid to help prioritize and target road segments that need weight enforcement attention. For example, while MCE planners can see poor pavement and bridge conditions as well as estimated truck volume segments on a map, it can be difficult to prioritize specific road segments for weight enforcement activities.

By combining truck volumes, pavement condition, and bridge condition into a single layer, MCE planners can easily visualize where

road segments are most vulnerable to weight issues. With weight enforcement event locations added, enforcement personnel can determine if weight enforcement activity is properly targeting such “vulnerable” segments.

The RVI helps simplify and focus MCE’s mobile weight enforcement efforts since it only shows vulnerable road segments on the map.

ITRE also is working closely with the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Pavement Management and Traffic Survey Units to fully implement the GIS-based RVI and potentially extend it for use in roadway maintenance and operations.

Currently, the RVI is published internally for use in MCE planning operations. However, RVI methodology and formulas are freely available to the public via the RVI page listed below.

Additionally, the RVI GIS layer is available by request as are the steps used to create it.

GIS layers displayed: poor condition roads and bridges along with estimated truck volume.

Contributors to the RVI.

Visit the RVI page (www.coverlab.org/research_rvi.html) at ITRE’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Resource Lab (www.coverlab.org) for additional details.

Draft RVI overlaid on overweight citations per location.

For more information, you may also contact: Jeremy Scott | Jscott@ncsu.edu | Phone: 919-515-7877 Greg Ferrara, GISP | Gpferrar@ncsu.edu | Phone: 919-515-8656 www.itre.ncsu.edu SECOND QUARTER, 2012

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regional news

Improvements to Wolf Creek Pass Make Roads Safer for CMVs, Motoring Public Wolf Creek Pass is located in the southern part of Colorado. The pass is one of the most beautiful passes in the United States with Highway 160 running through it. But with the beauty comes steep dangerous mountain passes. In 2009 there were 14 commercial vehicle crashes on the pass. In 2010 the Colorado State Patrol Motor Carrier Safety Section and Hazardous Materials Section partnered with the local troopers to conduct 14 team operations. During the operations, 296 commercial vehicles were contacted and inspected, documenting 443 driver and vehicle violations. Included with the inspections 41 drivers and or vehicles were placed out of service. But with the inspections 37 were issued CVSA inspection stickers. These team operations provided a drop in commercial vehicle crashes to just two in 2010 for a reduction of 86% from 2009.

In 2011 the Colorado State Patrol and Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) partnered to make Wolf Creek Pass even safer. A project was started in May of 2011 to improve safety for commercial vehicles traveling westbound down the pass. This stretch of highway experiences a high number of commercial vehicle rollovers in the past (Top picture). MCSAP Trooper Kevin Jordan observed that the speed limit signs for commercial vehicles over GVWR 30,000 had one speed traveling down the pass at 25 MPH but vehicles that did not meet that criteria had a speed of 45 MPH. This created confusion as the signs were not posted together so the commercial driver was not sure what speed to travel. (Bottom picture illustrates before and after of signs) Several signs have been installed to warn the commercial traffic of the sharp curves, tipping hazards, steep grades, and to use lower gears going down the pass. CDOT did extensive work on runaway truck ramps, an emergency brake cooling area was added, anchors were put in place to help tow companies stabilize to remove vehicles, and the ramp itself was completely rebuilt to help reduce the likelihood of vehicles going over the cliff. CDOT also built a large hazardous materials containment structure in the curve most rollovers occur. This should reduce the impact on the environment from a spill from the diesel fuel from the fuel tanks or larger release of a hazardous material, and also reduce the cost to the carrier for the cleanup. It will hard to match the decrease in commercial crashes from two, but all the safety improvements this will help Wolf Creek Pass be safer not only for the commercial traffic but to all the motoring public as well.

Speed limit on Wolf Creek Pass

Before

AFTER

West Virginia Coordinates Joint Initiatives With Police, Sheriffs

By Reggie Bunner, West Virginia Public Service Commission, Enforcement Supervisor

As an agency our jurisdiction lies solely with Commercial Motor Vehicles. And, while our officers are now required, based upon the passage of legislation, to be previously certified law enforcement officers or certifiable, we rely on other policing agencies to enforce laws relative to the passenger occupancy vehicles.

As such, the supervisors of our 26 THE GUARDIAN

agencies coordinate joint initiatives with the WV State Police as well as County Sheriff’s Departments to conduct joint operations whereby we target both CMV’s and POVs while aiming to reduce fatalities occurring on West Virginia’s roadways.

In addition, and during this past year, the Department of Homeland

Security has called upon our agency to participate with them on a detail referred to as VIPR (Visible Intermodal Protection and Response team).

This task-force is made up of US Custom and Border Patrol, Bomb technicians as well as a Behavior Detection Officer. This team is checking for the transportation of chemicals, radiation, nuclear agents and

regional news

Texas Task Force Focuses on Passenger Vehicles, Compliments CMV Traffic Enforcement

By Maj. Chris Nordloh, Texas Highway Patrol Division, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Programs

CDLs for the most part, drug and alcohol testing is enforced, companies are concerned with their safety ratings, etc. Passenger vehicle drivers are not subjected to that kind of scrutiny and most are not professional drivers.

This is not to say that the commercial traffic doesn’t have issues. In McMullen County our CVE operations produced a consistent 65% vehicle OOS rate. In the Freer area it’s even worse at a consistent 70% vehicle OOS rate. So this operation was not borne

Operation Texas Thunder began in 2011 and was a way for Texas DPS to coordinate with local and state partners to work concentrated task forces on a quarterly basis in each Commercial Vehicle Enforcement district state-wide.

of the idea of just concentrating on passenger vehicles, but rather the focus on passenger vehicles compliments our commercial traffic focus. I’ve referenced South Texas, but there are similar areas all over, whether it’s oilfield traffic or a congested interstate highway.

In McMullen County, for instance, we saw an approximate 700% increase in crashes over a 2 year period of time.

What we are working on at this time is building on the current Operation Texas Thunder. Generally speaking the idea came about watching traffic patterns along the Eagle Ford Shale findings (an oil shale area here in Texas) where the explosion of commercial traffic has been immense. Local communities were having a hard time with the traffic. In McMullen County, for instance, we saw an approximate 700% increase in crashes over a 2-year period of time. Most commercial vehicle crashes are caused by passenger vehicles and looking specifically at the McMullen area, I noticed passenger cars passing in no-passing zones, speeding, etc and all this around the commercial vehicles.

What happens is people get frustrated with increased commercial traffic and generally slower speeds and they get impatient

So the overarching idea of this operation is for our CVE units to concentrate on commercial traffic and then have our Highway Patrol units concentrate on passenger vehicle traffic.

The HP units will be in both marked and unmarked units and we are putting together aircraft support for the HP units looking for aggressive drivers. Aircraft can also spot trucks attempting to elude detection, avoid weigh strips, etc.

This operation is not too different from the TACT program, but we are looking to optimize this for Texas. We should be starting this operation up during the summer and then have some statistical data at that point.

and begin to take more chances. The other obvious factor is that commercial traffic is much more regulated; drivers have to have

to Target CMVs, POVs to Reduce Fatalities explosives being shipped through various, potentially concealed manners, that could pose a risk and threat to the American public.

We have introduced no legislation this year. However, the Department of Motor Vehicles is seeking legislation to enable various permitting aspects of different agencies to oc-

cur in what has been referred to as a “One Stop Shop.”

Our enforcement officers utilize the Aspen program for completion of the inspection process. We posses and utilize the Infrared Inspection System (IRIS) van technology as an tool to enhancing our CMV inspection program in WV. And, we

are awaiting our CVISN partner to finalize the core CVISN window so we can move forward with enhancing the technology of our inspection program in West Virginia.

SECOND QUARTER, 2012

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regional news

Local Enforcement Enforcement, Industry Come Together for “Safety Sake” in Dallas-Fort Worth

By Sgt. Ken Hopkins, Mansfield (TX) Police Department, CVE Unit

As a part of the Mansfield Police Department CVE Unit’s mission statement to “develop a partnership between enforcement and industry to ensure SAFETY”, the Mansfield Police Department CVE Unit organized and conducted a “Carrier Meet and Greet” on February 22, 2012.

Representatives from 23 DFW-area trucking companies and seven DFW-area enforcement Units came together at the Mansfield Public Safety Building to discuss topics, exchange ideas, and build rapport. This meeting was the first of many that will come in the future.

After being served breakfast, provided by First Choice Transport, industry representatives and enforcement officers conducted a series of informative sessions. The first block of instruction was “CVSA”, presented by Officer Robert Mills of the Fort Worth (TX) Police Department CVE Unit, and the current CVSA Locals President. Officer Mills provided information on the goals and objectives of CVSA and the benefits to membership. Officer Mills reinforced the message that safety is the responsibility of everyone involved in commercial vehicle transportation and that everyone is a “partner in safety.”

The second course of instruction, “Drowsy Driving,” was presented by Dr. Jack Gardner, M.D. from Transportation Sleep Solutions in Dallas, TX. Dr. Gardner brought to the forefront the dangers of sleep-deprived CMV drivers and the increased risk that “sleepy drivers” pose to the safety of our roadways. Dr. Gardner explained the perils of sleep apnea, and other sleep disorders, place commercial drivers and the general public at a higher risk for CMV crashes.

The last course of instruction involved CSA and was presented by David Saunders from Trucker’s Matter in Midlothian, TX. Mr. Saunders provided industry representatives with information on Carrier Profile scores and how the scores effect driver and company ratings.

At the conclusion of the informative sessions, industry representatives and enforcement officers conducted a “question and answer” session designed to exchange ideas and clarify in-

28 THE GUARDIAN

spection issues. The five-hour “rapport building” session met the goal of bringing industry and enforcement together with one goal in mind… creating a safer environment for all who share the public roadways in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and beyond.

The enforcement agencies involved in the “Meet and Greet” were CVSA members Texas DPS, Mansfield PD, Fort Worth PD, Arlington PD, North Richland Hills PD, and Grand Prairie PD. Other enforcement agencies involved were Burleson PD, and Hurst PD. It is the duty and responsibility of all enforcement agencies to assist industry in gaining and maintaining safety compliance. Through our partnership with industry, our goal of providing for a safer motoring environment can be achieved.

A Special Thanks from Local Membership to Tom Jacques

By Officer Robert Mills, Fort Worth Police, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement

As most of you have already heard, Tom Jacques announced his retirement from the Pittsburgh Police Department. I wanted to write this article in response to Tom’s announcement.

In early 2010 I received a phone call from Tom Jacques, who at that time I had never heard of.

He said he wanted our (Ft. Worth Police Dept.) involvement in CVSA. Our department had been conducting roadside inspections and had known about CVSA since about 2002 but we were not as involved as we needed to be. We joined CVSA as local members that same year. Tom, who was the Locals President, really mentored me after we became CVSA members. Tom introduced me to other CVSA members, local agencies and industry members. I soon realized that CVSA was a much bigger and better organization than I had ever thought.

I was elected Vice President of the Locals during the CVSA Annual Conference in Anaheim in 2010. Tom worked with me for another year as I served with him. I was so impressed with how Tom worked with many other agencies and industry members during his presidency. I was able to sit with Tom during CVSA functions and Executive Committee meetings and I learned a

great deal during that one year. But the truth is that one year was only a fraction of Tom’s involvement with CVSA. Tom Jacques became involved in CVSA during the Toronto conference in 2006. At that time, there were only two local CVSA members. Several years later, he became the Locals President and during his presidency the Local membership grew to 20 members. Some of the achievements that I know Tom was very proud of was voting with the Executive Committee to appoint Steve Keppler as the CVSA Executive Director, hosting a CVSA conference, hosting NAIC in Pittsburgh and then spearheading the efforts to have a local enforcement officer participate in NAIC. Tom also serves as a member of the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee where he works with other great members to advise FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro about motor carrier safety recommendations. Tom told me that one of his greatest accomplishments was his ability to form a bond with other law enforcement and industry members. Even though Tom has retired from Pittsburgh, he will still be involved with motor carrier safety as he moves into a role with Transport Investments Incorporated. I know that Tom will take with him all that he has brought to us at CVSA and the industry. It seems that industry has a tremendous amount of respect and confidence when they hire prior law enforcement inspectors to assist them with safety goals. I personally echo Tom’s thanks to Steve Keppler and Mark Savage for their tireless efforts in assisting Tom and the growth of the Local membership over the years. As the Local’s current president, I hope to continue the bonds made between enforcement and industry and keep growing our local membership. Because of members like Tom Jacques, departments such as ours are able to form a relationship with industry. A great example is “Gotta Go Trailways” here in Ft Worth who we have been working with to maintain high standards for their passengers, drivers and the motoring public. This company recently joined CVSA and has pledged “Safety First.” I don’t want to leave anyone out so I also have to thank the many other CVSA members who have come and gone throughout the years for helping shape CVSA to what it is today. In closing, thank you Tom for your tireless efforts over the years. The Local membership wish you the best in your new career.

regional news

REGIONAL RAP People on the Move Tom Kelly has accepted a position as Chief, Compliance Division, in the Office of Enforcement and Compliance at FMCSA. As the Division Chief, he will provide leadership, staff supervision, management and coordination for the following key programs: (1) Compliance, Safety, Accountability program implementation, (2) New Entrant Safety Audits, (3) Safety Management System, (4) Intermodal Equipment Providers, (5) Imminent Hazard Determinations, and (6) Drug & Alcohol. Each of these programs, individually and collectively, supports FMCSA’s safety mission, goals and strategic plan. Kelly served the Maine State Police for 25 years, and was Commander of Troop K, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement. He has 27 years law enforcement experience with Congressional and State legislative experience and is a 2010 FBI National Academy graduate.

He received his A.A.S Degree in Criminal Justice from Andover College.

Kelly most recently served as CVSA’s Vice President. He was elected in September 2010 to be the international Secretary/Treasurer; Served as the Vice-Chair of the Training Committee and the Vice President of Region 1 preceding the fall 2010 election.

CVSA’s Executive Commitee appointed Lt. Daniel C. Cusumano, as interim Secretary / Treasurer. A veteran with the Rhode Island State Police. Lt. Cusamano will take over the vacancy in Secretary-Treasurer, created when Maj. Mark Savage assumed the role of Vice President, following Tom Kelly’s retirement. Lt. Cusumano is currently a Night Executive Officer for the Rhode Island State Police.

After having served at each of the state barracks while in patrol, Lt. Cusumano joined the Rhode Island State Police Commercial Enforcement Unit in 1998.

Lt. Cusumano has served in the capacity of a Primary and Secondary Field Training Officer for both Patrol and Commercial Enforcement activities. Current duties include roadside inspections, personnel management and grant management. Lt. Cusumano is a sitting member of the Rhode Island Traffic Record’s Coordinating Committee, the Rhode Island State Traffic Commission.

Lt. Cusumano was named Chairman of the CVSA’s North American Inspector’s Championship Committee in 2007 and 2008 and was a competitor in 2001 and 2003. Lt. Cusumano has been appointed as the Driver Committee Vice-Chair and was recently elected to Vice President of Region I. Lt. Cusumano is currently the lead Defensive Tactics and Use of Force instructor for the Rhode Island Division of State Police.

Lt. Cusumano holds a Master’s Degree in Justice Administration from Anna Maria College as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice from Roger Williams University and is a graduate of the RI School of Photography.

Brian Neal was appointed By CVSA President David Palmer as Chair, Operation Safe Driver. Neal replaces Lt. Col Jack Hegarty. Neal is the Manager for Safety Process and Regulatory Compliance, DOT, OSHA, HazMat, FAA.(air-restricted) at FedEx Ground Corporate Headquarters.

Neal began his career with FedEx as a Regional Quality Service & Safety Manager based in Boston, MA in 2004. In 2007, he was promoted to join the corporate safety team at FedEx Ground headquarters in Pittsburgh as the Manager of the Eastern U.S. Division safety team. In this position, Neal had responsibility over programming with DOT, OSHA, HazMat and defensive driving instructors. Neal was also a lead on the team that developed the FedEx Ground SAFE Driver program in 2008 and, in 2009, he became the Sr. Manager of the FedEx Ground SAFE Driver program for the U.S. and Canada.

In 2010 Neal was assigned the leadership role to implement a new safety support team based in Pittsburgh that provided support to the U.S. and Canada . In 2011, he became the Manager of Safety Processes and Regulatory Compliance for the U.S. and Canada. In his current role, Brian continues to evolve as a safety leader and champion for the “safety above all” culture at FedEx.

Capt. Doug Shackelford was elected

by CVSA Members as Region II President.

Capt. Doug Shackelford was born in Edenton, North Carolina and attended college at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and continues his education at Strayer University in efforts to obtain a degree in Criminal Justice with an emphasis in Homeland Security. He was sworn into law enforcement in 1987 and served both in the Size and Weight Section and the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) totaling 25 years experience in commercial motor vehicle enforcement. He also served as an instructor for the National Training Center in Arlington, VA traveling to multiple states training state and local law enforcement officers in the Part B portion (vehicle) of the CVSA Inspection process.

He is also a graduate of the 231st Academy in Quantico, VA. Capt.

Shackelford was promoted on October 3, 2011 with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and currently serves as the MCSAP Administrator.

Continued on page 31 SECOND QUARTER, 2012

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safet y I nnovators

CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) trucking environment. And today’s technologies are only going to improve with time – delivering even more benefits in the future.

The Four I’s of Active Safety Technologies

Active Safety

Performance on the Road, Insight from the Road

By Fred Andersky, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC

“The truck driver took the turn too fast and rolled over.”

How many times have you seen or heard that comment in a police report, newscast, or in litigation or other similar comments, from following too closely or being distracted to getting cut off or misjudging distance – all resulting in some type of commercial vehicle crash?

Today, active safety technologies are available to help truck and coach drivers either avoid a crash or help lessen the severity of impact. These technologies provide alerts to help make drivers aware of potential crash situations. In some cases, depending on the technology, they provide active interventions that automatically engage to help the driver slow or maneuver the vehicle.

Data from active safety systems can deliver insight to fleets regarding potential issues that must be addressed. These insights can be delivered almost immediately via telematics, allowing them to be accessed online or downloaded at a later time. In some cases, video is available, showing what occurred before, as well as after, an event.

Active safety technologies represent the future for commercial vehicle safety improvement, delivering tangible benefits for fleets and drivers in the current 30 THE GUARDIAN

Before getting into the technologies, keep in mind that all active safety technologies share key elements. Consider these the “four I’s” of active safety: information, intelligence, intervention, and insight.

Active safety starts with information. Sensors and other inputs provide critical information about the vehicle, the driver, and what’s going on around them. More sensors means more information, which can enable more robust alerts and actions to help the driver mitigate crashes. Information inputs are important for the growth and advancement of active safety technologies.

Information from on-vehicle technologies, such as lane departure warning, blindspot detection, and tire pressure monitoring – along with external inputs, such as GPS and ITS (Intelligent Transportation System) – may be utilized to provide more situational context.

Intelligence is the logic that resides in the vehicle’s electronic control unit, or ECU. Information from the sensors (or other vehicle inputs) travels the vehicle network (either via J1939 or direct from the sensor) to the ECU, which then analyzes the information to determine if an intervention is needed and, if so, what kind.

Intervention – alerts and actions – makes active safety real on the road. Alerts let the driver know something is happening and that they should engage. Actions such as brake interventions help the driver mitigate potential crash scenarios, such as rollover, loss-of-control, or collisions.

Lastly, insight from the system delivers value to the fleet in the office. Active safety technologies can provide performance and diagnostic data and deliver it to the fleet. Insight from these systems can help fleets strengthen their operations, including driver training. In today’s trucking environment, driven by CSA scores, insight can be the difference between scores that comfort or caution customers.

Stability Systems – The Foundation of Active Safety The first true active safety technology, stability, was introduced in 2004. It represents a major advancement in helping drivers deal with rollover and loss-of-control situations.

Stability comes in two forms – roll-only stability and full stability. Roll-only stability addresses rollover situations on dry surfaces. Full-stability systems – known in the industry as ESP (Electronic Stability Program) or ESC (Electronic Stability Control) – help drivers avoid rollovers and loss-of-control situations on a wide variety of road conditions, including snowy, ice-covered, and slippery surfaces.

Information inputs from the systems vary, which has an impact on the time they need to assess a situation. Both roll-only and full-stability systems use a lateral acceleration sensor to deliver information about potential rollover conditions. Full-stability systems, however, utilize two additional sensors – a steer-angle sensor, which collects information about driver intent, and a yaw-rate sensor, which provides vehicle direc-

S afet y I nnovators

tion information. More sensors translates into more information for the system. Thus, these additional sensors enable a full-stability system to read and react to situations typically earlier than roll-only systems.

Interventions are also different. Full-stability systems rely on automatic brake interventions involving the steer, drive, and trailer axles, whereas roll-only systems typically apply the brakes only on the drive and trailer axles. With the recently enacted 30 percent reduction in stopping distance, more braking power is now concentrated on the steer axle. Slowing the vehicle quickly helps mitigate rollovers faster, while slowing and redirecting can help the driver maneuver in loss-of-control situations. Both actions need braking support from the steer axle.

As fleets consider stability options, and as the NHTSA is poised to propose a stability regulation in late April, Bendix believes the right stability choice is full stability – ESP/ESC technology. Through ongoing field testing and evaluation, we have extensive evidence to support the position that full-stability technology for commercial vehicles provides the maximum rollover and loss-of-control mitigation potential available. In a nutshell, ESP/ESC delivers more power, more performance, with minimal additional cost.

Collision Mitigation Braking – The Next Step in Active Safety Because of its superior braking power and balanced braking distribution, full stability, in our opinion, is the basic building block on which all other active safety technologies that deliver alerts and actions should be built.

In 2009, there were over 85,000 collisions involving heavy trucks on our nation’s highways.

-five percent of these were rearend collisions, where the truck struck the vehicle in front. That’s about 2.5 rear-enders every hour of every day.

Building on stability technology, collision mitigation braking systems today use a radar sensor mounted to the front of the vehicle that tracks metallic objects down the road in front of the truck. Delivering both warnings and active interventions, these systems help drivers potentially avoid rear-end collisions or lessen their severity.

Evolving from adaptive cruise control with braking systems, which are still sold today, collision mitigation braking systems combine adaptive cruise control with braking technology. These systems enable drivers to maintain a set following distance behind a forward vehicle plus collision mitigation braking technology, which delivers braking whenever the system determines a collision is imminent. Of course, along with interventions, the driver is always alerted before any braking is applied, giving him or her the opportunity to apply more brakes sooner or steer to avoid a potential collision.

Integrated with full stability, collision mitigation braking offers the most active braking power and performance available today, helping drivers mitigate collisions, rollovers, and loss-of-control crashes.

Both stability and collision mitigation braking systems provide insights that fleets can use to help improve safety performance in their operations. Data, along with other technologies and the future of active safety are discussed in part II of this article.

Continued from page 29

Trp. Steven Bedard will serve as interim Vice-President for Region I. Trp. Bedard has served the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) for 19 years, and in Commercial Vehicle Enforcement for 11 years. He has been the Regional Training Coordinator for MSP CVE since June, 2010. Bedard holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law Enforcement from Western New England College. A three-time contestant, Bedard has been involved with NAIC since 2003.

In addition, he has been an associate instructor for FMCSA NTC since 2006, and currently instructs NAS Part A, B and Level I Inspection Review, is a NTC Master instructor and Train the Trainer for CVSA Level VI program.

After several years with DOT, Curtis Johnson will be leaving the FMCSA’s Governmental Affairs Office to take a position with the State Department in Indonesia. CVSA wishes him a fond farewell as he sets off to start the next exciting chapter of his life.

Secretary Ray LaHood and FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro announce the appointment of John Drake to the post of Director for Governmental Affairs at FMCSA. In this position John will lead FMCSA’s work with Congress. For the past nine years, John has worked in Congress with the past six on key transportation oversight committees. Specifically, between 2009 to the present, John managed Full Committee and Subcommittee hearings for the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on matters related to freight policy, highway safety, transportation research, and economic policy, and worked on such matters as the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act (CMVSEA) of 2011 and the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2010. From 2006 to 2009, John worked for the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure where he served in a variety of staff roles, including acting Subcommittee staff director, and worked on surface transportation policy matters and other legislative activities.

John received his BA in Philosophy from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has pursued graduate degree courses at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and George Washington University.

SECOND QUARTER, 2012

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A ssociate M ember N ews

The Business of Highway Safety Aligning Principles, Practices to Enhance Safety

By Thomas W. Clark, Con-way Freight, Senior Vice President of Operations

The dedicated government and law enforcement personnel of CVSA are tasked with a difficult mission. Every day, these professionals do the difficult work of ensuring that commercial vehicles and drivers are in compliance with state and federal safety laws, and that only those operators who adhere to these important rules and regulations are permitted to run on the nation’s highways. Their critical roadside decisions save lives. At Con-way Freight, we commend and honor this mission and, as a sponsor of CVSA’s International Safety Team (IST), strive to support these important principles.

As part of our effort to support the CVSA’s safety mission and their values of integrity, professionalism, leadership and teamwork, Con-way Freight is adopting Lean principles of continuous improvement. These help us identify ways to standardize work, improve safety in all that we do, and become a more efficient carrier.

Lean is first and foremost about respect for people and integrity of action. These two themes could not resonate better with the integrity and accountability our nation’s safety inspectors

demonstrate every day. The greatest form of respect for employees is establishing an environment where they can return home safely. We place great trust in our drivers. We hold them accountable for their own conduct and ourselves accountable for providing them with training and tools for self-improvement and performing in the safest, most professional manner possible. That’s why safety is Con-way Freight’s No. 1 core value. And that’s why we wholly support the goals and objectives of CVSA and the professional safety officers charged with inspecting commercial trucks. When one of our vehicles pulls into a weigh station, we want to support that inspection officer by making their job as efficient and effective as possible. By respecting, empowering and engaging our employees, we hope to contribute to an improving process.

At Con-way, safety and security measures are deeply ingrained in the company culture and remain at the forefront of all procedures. During training, all drivers are instructed in standard pre-trip vehicle safety inspections. These uniform inspections, completed before each run, help streamline operations and ensure that our drivers are well-prepared to meet official inspection requirements prior to leaving the service center. The goal is to put safe and efficient trucks on the highway that arrive at roadside weigh and inspection stations with no surprises.

Lean is about continuous improvement and is an ongoing, dynamic effort. We continually reassess how we operate, how we maintain our equipment, the working procedures that guide our employees, and where these can be made more efficient and effective. We also invest in advanced technologies to help our drivers be the safest on the highways. To this end, we have

introduced a suite of safety technologies in new Con-way Freight trucks to reinforce safe behaviors and enhance drivers’ acquired skills.

These systems include forward-looking radar that helps drivers maintain safe following distance, and automatically decelerates the truck if safe distance is compromised; an automatic lane-departure alert system, and an advance warning system that alerts the driver to a potential rollover condition. This suite of safety technologies has been deployed in nearly 2,000 trucks in our fleet today, and is standard equipment for every new truck we buy. The safety implications are remarkable: data collected since we first deployed these systems in 2010 shows that these high-tech trucks have 50 percent fewer accidents. It is this type of commitment that helps us reach ever-rising standards for safety and efficiency.

As a large player in the trucking industry, our responsibilities extend far beyond our daily operations. We consider the time and resources we invest in partnerships with CVSA and our support for the International Safety Team to be worthwhile and necessary contributions to a common mission: making today’s highways as safe as possible.

At all levels of business, we must prioritize measures that help to mitigate and reduce risks.

We are in partnership with CVSA to make sure safety is at the top of that priority list. It is our responsibility to show up with the right attitude, proper paperwork and properly secured shipments so that inspection officers can maximize their efficiency and effectiveness, and focus on the business of saving lives.

UPS Feeder Driver Achieves 50 Years of Safe Driving Ohio Valley District Feeder Driver Ron Sowder has spent years rolling up and down I-75 in southwestern Ohio and I-71 between Cincinnati and Louisville. Each way is a challenge during the 306-mile round trip.

“It’s rush hour going down in the morning and I catch it coming back in the afternoon,” Sowder says of the traffic he experiences during his day.

On Wednesday, January 25, he once again successfully negotiated his spoke in the UPS network and made UPS history – achieving 50 years of safe driving.

Ron was joined by two Ohio state troopers for the last 17 miles of his leg. The state troopers gave Ron an official escort back to the West Carrollton facility just south of Dayton.

The flashing of the state patrols cars glowed in the twilight as he entered the property at the building. Dozens of UPSers, including Ohio Valley District Manager Zack Scott, were on hand.

32 THE GUARDIAN

His historic run ended with confetti flying and Ron and his tractor breaking through a banner representing the finish line.

Ron was fresh out of the Navy when he started working for UPS in Dayton, OH. Ron began his UPS career in the early 1960s as a package car driver. He delivered and picked up packages 16 years before becoming a feeder driver.

Little did he know at the time that he would one day attain another 34 years of safe driving.

A native of Springboro, OH, Ron figures during the course of his career he’s driven more than 4million miles; transported more than 22 million packages, and climbed into a UPS truck more than 12,000 times.

“I’ve had good training from the start,” Ron says when explaining his success. “Space and visibility is always my tip. Don’t follow too close and don’t run in packs.” Those are important words from a man everyone calls the “Big Dog.”

Ohio Valley District Feeder Driver Ron Sowder

Several news media outlets covered the story, which also included a ceremony and full breakfast Thursday morning for all employees at the West Carrollton building. Central Region Manager Stan Deans joined Ohio Valley District Manager Zack Scott at the event. Rep. Mike Turner (R-3, OH) and representatives of other federal, state and local government officials were on hand to recognize Ron.

associate member news

Melton Truck Lines Share Safety Practices That Work

By Angela Buchanan, Melton Truck Lines, Vice President of Safety & Human Resources

When CSA 2010 was eminent, the Melton Safety Department spent a lot of time educating our drivers on what was measured and how it was measured. Every driver who got any notation on an inspection received counseling, and depending on the severity of the violation, disciplinary action ranging from a phone call, a face to face counseling with a written warning, to safety probation, suspension, or termination.

In the past, we had always been conscientious and diligent in our follow-up on roadside inspections, but after the CSA launch, the focus was magnified significantly – in particular on

We have fantastic scores in fatigue driving and have prided ourselves in running a legal log. When EOBRs were released, we decided early on that it would benefit our business despite the pricetag. So, now we have more than 50% installed and are moving to implement fleet-wide. To keep our D&A BASIC low, we launched Contraband Searches in trucks at all of our terminals – conducted by off-duty police officers -- specifically looking for drugs, alcohol, and weapons. In addition, we are adding Hair Follicle testing to our drug testing regiment, added a Confidential Hotline for Drivers to report illegal or shady activity.

In January, we implemented a CSA Bonus / Fee program.

When a driver gets a clean inspection, he gets $25, and when he gets a warning or notation on preventable violations, he gets a $25 fee. Unsafe driving is a struggle for many companies, and we wanted to create a system that will promote personal accountability and rewards for our drivers who are doing the right things. Initial reports show that inspections with violations have dropped in February!

We appreciate the officers being reasonable, patient, and fair. the areas that carried the most weight. Our SEA and ISS scores through the SMS system always kept us focused and honest, but we recognized the CSA Driver Scores as a way to hold the driver personally accountable for their actions on preventable issues.

As a company that strives for total quality and zero defects, we signed on with Vigillo, found a way to analyze the data and our trends better and, developed a strategy to improve our numbers. Each month we publish our CSA trends and violations and as well as Benchmark 20 of our closest competitors to Executives, Managers, Sales Representatives, CSRs, the Safety Team, Maintenance, and Recruiting. We have found that sharing this information helps us understand where our issues are and what each of us can do to fix it.

To help mitigate collisions, we have installed Lane Departure Warning systems in almost every truck, record and follow up on “Hard Brake” applications, and are experimenting with various camera systems that capture critical incidents and help us monitor and manage driver behavior behind the wheel. We are always looking for ways to improve our safety record and reduce crashes.

Hats off to the law enforcement agencies who are struggling with the requirements of the new system. We hope that we all move to more cohesive, unified enforcement throughout the North America and appreciate the officers being reasonable, patient, and fair. We all have our work cut out for us!

2012 New CVSA Associate Members Baker Hughes

Gotta Go Trailways

Oklahoma Trucking Association

Beaumont Police Department

Hendrickson Truck Suspensions

Oregon Trucking Association

Calfrac Well Services, Ltd.

Illinois Trucking Association

Praxair, Inc.

Central Penn D.O.T. Consulting Services, LLC

Independent Stave Company, LLC

Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary

Indiana Motor Truck Association

Simmons Foods, Inc.

Commercial Vehicle Safety Associates of Florida, Inc.

Inmark

Triple G Enterprises, Inc.

Manitoba Trucking Association

Virginia Intermodal Management

MyCardio, LLC

Washington Trucking Associations

Frederick Intermodal, LLC Garland Police Department Gateway Distribution, Inc.

Nebraska Trucking Association SECOND QUARTER, 2012

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A ssociate M ember N ews

2012 CVSA SPONSORS Premier

Platinum

gold

diamond

Silver ABF Freight System, Inc. Austin Powder Company DiSilva Companies Great West Casualty Company Groendyke Transport, Inc. Help, Inc. Landstar Transportation Logistics Mercer Transportation Company R + L Carriers, Inc. Sims Metal Management, Inc. Specialized Carriers & Rigging Assn STEMCO Sysco Corporation 34 THE GUARDIAN

bronze Arizona Trucking Association Cambridge Systematics, Inc. Chesapeake Energy Corporation Coach USA Code Corporation Compliance Safety Systems, LLC DATTCO, Inc. Dibble Trucking, Inc. Greatwide Truckload Management Herzig Hauling, LLC Hoffman Transportation, LLC Intercomp Company

J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. NATC, Inc. National Tank Truck Carriers Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. Praxair, Inc. Schneider National, Inc. Wal-Mart Transportation, LLC Warren Transport YRC Worldwide, Inc.

CVSA

Executive Committee, Committee & Program Chairs CVSA Executive Committee President Maj. David Palmer Texas Department of Public Safety

Vice President Maj. Mark Savage Colorado State Patrol

Interim Secretary/Treasurer Lt. Daniel Cusumano Rhode Island State Police

REGION PRESIDENTS Region I Sgt. Raymond Weiss New York State Police

REGION VICE PRESIDENTS (Non-Voting) Region I Tpr. Steve Bedard Massachusetts State Police

Past Presidents Capt. Steve Dowling California Highway Patrol

Region II Capt. Douglas Shackleford North Carolina State Highway Patrol

Region II Vacant

Region III Alan Martin Public Utilities Commission of Ohio

Region III Maj. Lance Evans Iowa Dept. of Transportation

Region VI Lt. Bruce Pollei Utah Highway Patrol

Region VI Capt. Chris Mayrant New Mexico Department of Public Safety

Region V Reg Wightman Manitoba Infrastructure & Transportation

Region V Pierre Pratte Contrôle Routier Québec

LOCAL PRESIDENT Officer Robert Mills Fort Worth Police Department

LOCAL VICE PRESIDENT (Non-Voting) Sgt. James Slykhuis York Regional Police

COMMITTEE CHAIRS Associate Advisory Committee Gerald Krisa, MBA R+L Carriers, Inc. Driver-Traffic Enforcement Committee Lt. Thomas Fitzgerald Massachusetts State Police Hazardous Materials Committee Sgt. Thomas Fuller New York State Police Information Systems Committee Capt. William “Jake” Elovirta Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles

Frances “Buzzy” France Maryland State Police Darren E. Christle Manitoba Infrastructure & Transportation

Passenger Carrier Committee Lt. Don Bridge, Jr. Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles Size & Weight Committee Capt. Jay Thompson Arkansas Highway Police Training Committee Sgt. Rocco Domenico Colorado State Patrol Vehicle Committee Kerri Wirachowsky Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Government Non-Voting Members William “Bill” Quade, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) William “Bill” Arrington, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Ryan Posten, Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Doug MacEwen, Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA), CRA Chair Mauricio Hinojosa, Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) ASSOCIATE NON-VOTING MEMBER Gerald Krisa, MBA, Chair, Associate Advisory Committee, R+L Carriers, Inc.

PROGRAM CHAIRS Level VI Inspection Carlisle Smith Public Utilities Commission of Ohio COHMED Capt. William “Bill” Reese Idaho State Police International Safety Team Capt. Bill Dofflemyer Maryland State Police Driver Excellence Award Sgt. David Medeiros Rhode Island State Police

Operation Airbrake John Meed Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways & Infrastructure Roadcheck Lt. Mike Junkin Alabama Department of Public Safety North American Inspectors Championship (NAIC) Paul Tamburelli Checkmark Vehicle Safety Services, Inc.

Operation Safe Driver Brian Neal FedEx Ground Corp.

SECOND QUARTER, 2012

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R A D I nspection N ews

DOE SELECTS TWO SMALL BUSINESSES TO TRUCK TRANSURANIC WASTE TO WIPP The Department of Energy (DOE) awarded two small-business contracts to CAST Specialty Transportation, Inc. and Visionary Solutions, LLC, to provide trucking services to transport transuranic (TRU) waste from DOE and other defense-related TRU waste generator sites to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plan (WIPP) site, near Carlsbad, NM. The contracts are firm-fixed-price with cost-reimbursable expenses over five years.

CAST Specialty Transportation, Inc., of Henderson, CO, will begin services immediately. Visionary solutions, LLC, of Oak Ridge, TN, will begin their contract in July 2012. Both companies are the incumbent contractors, performing truck services for TRU waste since 2007.

The total maximum value of the CAST Specialty Transportation, Inc. contract is $119 million, if all options are exercised. The total maximum value of the Visionary Solutions, LLC contract is $120.5 million, if all options are exercised.

The transportation of TRU waste is performed by DOE-contracted trucking carriers that use public highways on custom designed trailers. WIPP receives defense-related TRU waste shipments at the average rate of 20-35 shipments per week.

TRU waste must be transported in Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved, Type-B packaging. The truck drivers must meet and maintain stringent safety and hazardous materials hauling qualifications. WIPP is the only facility in the U.S. specifically designed for permanent disposal of defense-generated TRU waste.

GO, CANADA Our neighbors to the north are making progress in moving their spent nuclear fuel forward. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) takes a slightly different approach than the U.S. when it comes to the long-term management of spent fuel. Utilities shoulder the burden (and the costs) for developing a final solution for dealing with Canada’s nuclear waste while the government itself retains the decision-making authority. In 2007, the government exercised that authority by selecting Adaptive Phased Management (APM) as the approach. This option was crafted after three years of public consultation.

Indeed, the NWMP describes APM as “a goal that Canadians themselves identified: safe and secure long-term containment and isolation of used nuclear fuel produced in Canada, with flexibility for future generations to act in their own best interests.”

LEVEL VI CLASSES SCHEDULED FOR

2012 Under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. DOE, CVSA has scheduled the Level VI Classes for 2012 to certify inspectors to conduct Level VI inspection on all transuranic waste and Highway Route Controlled Quantities (HRCQ) of radioactive materials. CVSA provides Level VI training to inspectors who meet the prerequisite of being Level I and HazMat certified. The following are the remaining classes scheduled: Springfield, IL—June 18-21 Scranton, PA-October 1-4 Sacramento, CA-October 15-18 Austin, TX-November 5-8

Any state interested hosting a class or needs inspectors trained is asked to contact Larry D. Stern, Director, Level VI Program, at larrys@cvsa.org or 301-8306147.

The program is now in the implementation phase, with the siteselection having gotten underway back in May 2010. Five principles guide the site-selection process: • Focus on safety • Select an informed and willing host community • Foster the long-term well-being of the host community • Involve those who are potentially affected • Respect Aboriginal rights, treaties, and land claims For any potentially interested community, NWMO will arrange for a third party to conduct an initial screening to determine whether any geological formations in the community are likely to be suitable for a geologic repository. The initial screening focuses on five criteria: • The site must have available land of sufficient size to accommodate the surface and underground facilities.

36 THE GUARDIAN

RAD Inspection News is made possible under a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy.

R A D inspection news

• Available land must be outside of protected area, heritage sites, provincial parks, and national parks.

• Available land must not contain known groundwater resources at the repository depth that could be used for drinking, agriculture, or industrial uses, so that the repository site is unlikely to be disturbed by future generations.

• Available land must not contain economically exploitable natural resources as known today, so that the repository site is unlikely to be disturbed by future generations.

• Available land must not be located in areas with known geological and hydrogeological characteristics that would prevent the site from being safe.

To date, three communities in Saskatchewan and six in Ontario have undergone an initial screening. All but one of the sites—Red Rock, Ontario—have formations that warrant further study for site suitability. If a community passes the initial screening and chooses to continue the process, the area would be subject to additional studies that get progressively more detailed as tie goes on and the community’s interest continues. According to the NWMO, the siteselection process is estimated to take seven to ten years. Taking the concept of a “willing host community” to heart, the NWMO states that, in order for a site to be selected, “the whole community would need to clearly demonstrate that is willing to host the repository.”

To learn more about Canada’s program, visit the NWMO website.

VISIT CVSA’S LEVEL VI WEBSITE for the up-to-date information regarding the Level VI Program. Information including the minutes of the Level VI Program Committee, Level VI training and public outreach schedules on the CVSA’s Level VI Inspection Program is located on CVSA’s website,. Also, you can ask questions concerning the Level VI Inspection Program on the Level VI Online Forum (blog).

Visit www.cvsa.org click on Programs, then click on the Level VI radiation symbol and you are in the Level VI website.

LEVEL VI REFRESHER TRAINING NOW AVAILABLE ON LEVEL VI WEBSITE The Level VI refresher training course is now available on the CVSA website (www.cvsa.org) in the Level VI website section. This course can now be downloaded for the use by the State’s Level VI Train the Trainer so they can provide the Level VI refresher training to the Level VI certified officers in their state to maintain their certification.

To maintain their Level VI certification they must have eight hours of refresher training every two years. The State must send the Level VI refresher training status report (officer’s name/date of refresher training) to Larry D. Stern, Director Level VI Program at larrys@cvsa.org.

Representatives From 36 States Participate in 2012 Refresher “Train the Trainer” Class in Arizona Representatives from 36 states participated in the CVSA’s Level VI Train the Trainer Course held in Mesa, AZ, February 15 and 16. The students were from Massachusetts State Police, North Carolina Highway Patrol, New Mexico Motor Transportation Police, Maryland State Police, Washington State Patrol, Arizona Department of Public Safety, Nevada Highway Patrol, Colorado State Patrol, Kansas Highway Patrol, Oregon DOT, South Carolina State Transport Police, Nebraska State Patrol, California Highway Patrol, Iowa DOT, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Louisiana State Police, Mississippi DPS, New York State Police, and Illinois State Police. The Level VI National Instructors attended and participated were: Carlisle Smith and Rob Rohr, Ohio PUC; Tom Fuller, New York State Police; Rion Stann, Pennsylvania State Police; Todd Armstrong, Illinois State Police; Tony Anderson, Idaho State Police; Richard Swedberg, FMCSA; Reggie Bunner, West Virginia PSC; and Pat Fiori, California Highway Patrol.

The Train the Trainer students were given the latest updates to the Level VI Training Course and 2012 Level VI Inspection/Outof-Service criteria and were assigned a Level VI training module to teach before the group and they were critiques by members of the National Level VI Instructors. Mr. Bill Mackie, Institutional Affairs Manager, U.S. DOE at the Carlsbad Field Office, gave the recent updates from DOE’s shipping campaigns and training on how to use the go-no-go gauges for the tie downs for the TRUPACT II. Attending and participating in this course enables students to return to their jurisdictions and provide the Level VI refresher training to their Level VI certified officers so they will be able to maintain their Level VI certification.

The Level VI refresher material is posted on the Level VI website or contact Larry D. Stern, Director Level VI Program at 301830-6147 or at larrys@cvsa.org.

DOE’S TRU WASTE SHIPPING ACTIVITY The following is DOE’s TRU Waste Shipping Activity Plans to WIPP for FY 2012: Argonne National Laboratory Idaho National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory Sandia National Laboratories Savannah River Site

64 487 227 12 14 206

Total

1,010

LEVEL VI INSPECTION PROCEDURES CHANGE The use of the TRUPACT II Tiedown Assembly Go/No-Go Gauge has been changed in the 2012 Level VI Inspection Procedures and Out-of-Service Criteria (page 209). The following is the change: Continue to insert the thin (0.070”) end of the Go/No-Go gauge into the gap until the thick (0.100”) end of the gauge contacts the compression plate and compression block. If the thick (0.100”) end of the gauge can enter the gap completely without the use of force, the tiedown is out of adjustment. See arrows in the figures noting the measurement area.

SECOND QUARTER, 2012

37

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

CALENDER OF EVENTS 2012 CVSA WORKSHOP April 24 – 26, 2012 Bellevue, WA ROADCHECK 2012 June 5 – 7, 2012 Budget Committee Meeting August 6, 2012 Minneapolis, MN Summer Executive Committee Meeting August 6, 2012 Minneapolis, MN NAIC 2012 August 6 – 11, 2012 Minneapolis, MN CVSA ANNUAL CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION September 24 – 27, 2012 Portland, ME