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Sep 30, 2015

2015 ROADCHECK * USA: Lowest rates of out-of-service violations since 1991

* DC - Results: Inspectors found 3.6 percent of drivers and 21.6 percent of vehicles with out-of-service violations

-- The results are in, and the 2015 edition of International Roadcheck resulted in the lowest rates of out-of-service violations since the event started keeping records in 1991, according to the international association of commercial vehicle enforcement agencies... The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, which sponsors the three-day commercial vehicle enforcement operation in the U.S. and Canada, announced the results via press release on Tuesday, Sept. 29... From June 2 to June 4, commercial motor vehicle inspectors across North America completed 69,472 truck and bus inspections. Of the 69,472 total inspections during this year’s Roadcheck, 44,989 were North American Standard Level I Inspections, which is the most thorough roadside inspection. A CVSA spokesman confirmed for Land Line that no Mexican authorities participated in this year’s enforcement campaign... Of Level I Inspections, inspectors found 1,623 or 3.6 percent of drivers and 9,732 or 21.6 percent of vehicles with out-of-service (OOS) violations, historically the lowest rates for which CVSA has data, back to 1991, according to the release. Of all inspections, 777 seat belt violations were issued... Brake adjustment and brake systems were the top OOS violations for vehicles in 2015, accounting for 43 percent of all vehicle violations. Hours-of-service violations were the top violation for drivers, accounting for 46 percent of all violations... Each year, International Roadcheck places special emphasis on a category of violations. The special emphasis for 2015 was cargo securement. During the event, inspectors issued 2,439 violations for load securement. The leading load securement violations, by number of violations issued, were: 1) failure to prevent shifting/loss of load; 2) failure to secure truck equipment (tarps, dunnage, doors, tailgates, spare tires); 3) damaged tie downs (typically unacceptable wear on chain or cuts and tears on web straps); 4) insufficient tie downs; and 5) loose tie downs. Load securement enforcement is a normal part of Level I Inspections, but securing cargo and equipment are vital to safe operations... 
(Photo)  --  Washington, DC, USA - Land Line, by Greg Grisolano - 29 Sept 2015

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Sep 4, 2015

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA: Safety trucks

* Maryland - Heads Up! Brake Safety Week next week


-- Law enforcement agencies will conduct brake system inspections on large trucks and buses to identify out-of-adjustment brakes and brake-system violations as part of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) Brake Safety Week... The event is an annual outreach and enforcement campaign, organized by this group representing local, state, provincial, territorial and federal motor carrier safety officials and trucking industry representatives from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico... According to CVSA, brake-related violations made up the largest number of all out-of-service violations cited during Operation Airbrake’s companion International Roadcheck campaign in 2014, 46.2 percent, which is focused on both vehicles and drivers... Brake inspections conducted during Brake Safety Week include inspection of brake-system components to identify loose or missing parts, air or hydraulic fluid leaks, worn linings, pads, drums or rotors, and other faulty brake-system components. Antilock braking system (ABS) malfunction indicator lamps also are checked. Inspectors will inspect brake components and measure pushrod stroke where applicable. Defective or out-of-adjustment brakes will result in the vehicle being placed out of service... 
 (Photo: "Brake Safety Week” is here)  --  Greenbelt, MAR, USA - Today's Trucking (CAN)– Sep 2, 2015 


* DC - Operation Safe Driver in October

-- Another continent wide blitz will get underway, but it will also focus on trucking’s four-wheeled companions of the roadway... From Oct. 18-24 law enforcement agencies will engage in heightened traffic safety enforcement and education aimed at unsafe driving behaviors as part of CVSA’s Operation Safe Driver Week... Activities will be held across Canada and the U.S.A. with the goal of increasing commercial vehicle and non-commercial vehicle traffic enforcement, safety belt enforcement, driver roadside inspections and driver regulatory compliance, according to the group... Last year, during the week-long campaign, law enforcement officers pulled over 59,080 commercial vehicle drivers and car drivers for unsafe driving behaviors. Data was collected by 4,337 law enforcement officials at 1,549 locations across the United States and Canada. There also were outreach events throughout the week at high schools, state capitals, state fairs, truck rodeos, sporting events and other locations... The top five warnings and citations issued to CMV drivers were: (1) speeding, (2) failure to use a safety belt, (3) failure to obey traffic control devices, (4) improper lane change, and (5) following too closely...
(Photo: Research shows that too many drivers of passenger cars, especially young people ages 16 to 24 years old, unnecessarily endanger themselves due to inattention or reckless driving around the big rigs)   --  Washington, DC, USA - Today's Trucking (CAN) - Sep 2, 2015

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Feb 21, 2013

SAFETY ROADS * Australia

* NSW - Big drop in speeding truck drivers in 

  (Truck drivers have hit back at ‘rogue motorists’, releasing footage of cars doing the wrong thing as part of a new campaign designed to build respect between road users) 
Sydney,NSW,Australia -9 News National -February 18, 2013: ...  Roads Minister, Duncan Gay, told reporters in Sydney on Monday the campaign had been "hugely successful" with latest RMS figures showing a 79 per cent fall in the number of heavy vehicles detected speeding at more than 105km/h over the past year... NSW Police Superintendent, Stuart Smith, of the force's Traffic and Highway Patrol said that last year police and RMS Joint Heavy Vehicle Taskforce inspected more than 2600 heavy vehicles, resulting in 93 trucks being grounded for having non-compliant speed limiters. More than 800 defects and infringement notices were issued for a range of other offences, and officers carried out nearly 6000 random drug tests on truck drivers, with 70 returning positive results, he said... Supt Smith said police would continue to work closely with the trucking industry but would not tolerate the "small, rogue element" who continue to put lives at risk by speeding and recklessly tampering with their vehicles... Transport Workers Union, national secretary Tony Sheldon, said the campaign meant safer roads for all road users...

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Feb 24, 2012

SAFETY ROADS * Australia

* Australia - Issue defect notices to speeding trucks

Sydney,NSW,Australia -ATA Friday Facts -24 February 2012: -- The police should issue a defect notice to any truck found travelling on the flat at more than 100 kilometres per hour, ATA Chief Executive Stuart St Clair said this week... “Speeding is a major cause of truck accidents, and every trucking business needs to have a strong speed management policy. It’s a legal requirement, and also good business,” Stuart said... “But the police need to back up the operators that do the right thing with better on-road speed enforcement. Any truck found travelling on the flat at more than 100 kilometres per hour should be issued with a defect notice, because it must, by definition, have a defective speed limiter. Trucks found travelling at more than 115 kilometres per hour should be grounded until the defect is cleared" ...

* January Road Deaths Australia report

Sydney,NSW,Australia -ATA Friday Facts -24 Feb 2012: -- There were 1302 road deaths in Australia during the year ending January 2012. This was a 1.2 per cent decrease compared to the same period in the previous year... These figures are in the latest Road Death Australia report, released last week by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics. The report summarises Australian road toll data up to and including January 2012... It reveals that January 2012 saw 103 road deaths Australia wide, with 29 of them occurring in Victoria- over double last January’s toll of 18. However, South Australia managed to halve their January toll, from 12 deaths in January 2011 to 6 in January 2012...

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Jun 30, 2010

Safer Road Transport Industry * Australia - A step closer

The issue of concern is that current pay and conditions methods can result in drivers working excessive hours to meet schedules, overloading their trucks and cutting back on vehicle maintenance

Canberra,Australia -The Australia Business & World News -21 June 2010: -- Today the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Julia Gillard, met with truck drivers, members of the Transport Workers Union, employers and safety experts, marking another step in safer work conditions for our truck drivers... The Minister met with members of the Safe Rates Advisory Group this morning at Parliament House to discuss the options for a national approach to truck drivers’ pay and conditions to improve their safety... The Safe Rates Advisory Group will release its draft options paper in early July for a six week consultation period... Around 330 people are killed each year on Australian roads in crashes involving heavy vehicles, and about 16 per cent of the fatalities are truck drivers. Speed and fatigue are widely acknowledged as significant factors and can be a symptom of the pressure to work long hours to meet schedules... The draft paper will set out practical options for covering trucking employees and independent contractors in the transport industry to address the impact of payment rates and safety methods...

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Jun 14, 2010

SAFETY * USA - DMV sends signal to truckers

State officials say better enforcement of commercial vehicle laws will save lives

Roanoke,VA,USA -The Roanoke Times, by Jeff Sturgeon -June 10, 2010: -- Citing tractor-trailers as a major component of traffic deaths on Interstate 81, the state Department of Motor Vehicles is rolling out new technology to better pinpoint noncompliant commercial vehicles... Officials held up the Stephens City weigh station near Winchester on Wednesday afternoon as a state-of-the-art truck monitoring facility... They said that, by this fall, it will be equipped with an automatic license plate reader and a remote heat sensor that can detect hot brakes, tires or exhaust pipes that may violate equipment rules... Virginia's 13 weigh stations and 12 mobile units weigh commercial motor vehicles 18 million times a year and cite about 140,000, or less than 1 percent, for exceeding weight limits... Officials from the DMV, Virginia State Police, federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and trucking industry gathered to say they are alarmed by what they see as an inordinate number of deaths on I-81 resulting from wrecks involving at least one commercial motor vehicle... (Photo by KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times - Virginia's weigh stations and mobile units, like this one at Troutville, weigh commercial vehicles 18 million times a year)

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Jun 9, 2010

Trained Drivers * Europe - Save lives and money

"Generally speaking the proficiency level is low,” says Vladimir Myslik at Volvo Trucks in the Czech Republic. “We have a major shortage of drivers and many of them are young and lack experience. The older drivers can also be suspicious as they think they know it all already, but quickly change when they have done a course"

Gothenburg,Sweden -Fleet Directory (UK), by Lee Sibbald - June 7, 2010: -- A poorly secured load can cause major financial losses and every year people die on Europe’s roads due to inadequate driver training... To improve the skills of truck drivers, including in areas such as the securing of loads, Volvo Trucks is the first vehicle manufacturer to roll out an extensive programme of driver training throughout Europe... The requirement for further training is only one of a series of measures adopted in recent years to make the requirements on professional drivers more stringent, and this is something that is changing the role of the professional. The digital tachograph, on-board computers, telematics and the development of the sector as such are some examples... An Paepen, Manager of Volvo Trucks Driver Development programme, explains that load securing training normally takes just over a morning and the afternoon is spent on transport security; that is to say how the driver can protect himself and his load against crime. In addition to load securing and transport security Volvo’s courses for profession... (Photo: The incline gradually approaches 60 degrees. On the cargo bed is a two-tonne heat exchanger, strapped down with tensioning straps and restrained with a wooden beam secured by four nails. The heavy heat exchanger does not move an inch. We are at the Volvo Truck Corporation’s facility in Gothenburg, Sweden where load safety training is in progress. Another practical exercise is to see if the weight of the load has any effect on how easily it starts to slide)

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Aug 11, 2008

Safety * USA - Remains Strong

Trucking Insurance Industry Journal Roemer Report: During Roadcheck 2008 inspectors across North America placed the fewest number of commercial trucks out of service since Roadcheck inspections began in 1988

Toledo,OH,USA -The Roemer Report - August 11, 2008: -- The August edition of trucking insurance industry journal, details the results of the recent Roadcheck 2008, observing that contrary to analyst predictions, motor vehicle fleets are not focusing less on safety. Vehicles underwent level 1 inspections, the most comprehensive roadside inspection, and only 23.9 percent of vehicles were put out of service. In June, more than 9,000 certified inspectors performed 67,931 truck and bus inspections. Some 5.3 percent of drivers were placed out of service, compared to 6.2 percent last year; 20.8 percent of vehicles were placed out of service versus 21.5 percent in 2007... The August edition of The Roemer Report also notes that at a time when fuel prices are at record highs, Americans have hit the brakes on driving... The current edition of The Roemer Report discusses the fact that more trucks traveling in Ohio have been hitting overpasses, Fifteen such accidents have occurred in the last year, costing the agency $1.9 billion in emergency repairs, compared to about $600,000 the previous year. Officials are not sure why overpass accidents are on the rise and can’t say yet whether the increase is a trend or whether other states are experiencing similar rises Crashes have resulted in damage to bridge supports and to beams, resulting in a lower clearance than before the accident...

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Mar 17, 2008

SAFETY INITIATIVE * Ireland - Gardai seize trucks at Dublin Port

Dublin,Ireland -NGV Ireland -15 Mar 2008: -- A number of trucks were seized by Gardai at Dublin Port earlier this week as part of a new EI wide road safety initiative... Under the new initiative police across Europe are checking HGVs to make sure that vehicles are road worthy and that drivers aren’t in breach of their driving hours... Under the new initiative hauliers can expect to face checks at border crossings and all major roads across Europe...

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Blind Spot Mirrors * UK - London truckers to get their use

Truck drivers in London are being given so-called “Fresnel Lenses” to help them spot cyclists in their “blind spot”

London,England,UK -HGV (Dublin,Ireland) -15 Mar 2008: -- Some 10,000 of the blind spot mirrors, costing £40,000 are being handed out by Transport for London (TFL) to help drivers spot cyclists in their "blind spot", especially when turning left... TFL says the campaign will tackle the biggest cause of cycle fatalities in the capital. More than half of all cycle deaths on London roads follow collisions with goods vehicles. "This is one of those simple ideas which will make a huge difference to Londoners' lives. It is a relatively cheap way for lorry drivers to avoid stress for themselves and death and injury to others. All lorries in London should have these lenses and all drivers should be reminded regularly to use them,” a TFL spokesman commented...

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Sep 15, 2007

Conference * USA - Improving Fleet Safety

New Technologies Aimed at Improving Driver Safety Tops American Society of Safety Engineers'

Atlanta,GA,USA -Layover -14 Sept 2007: -- As transportation accidents continue to be the number one cause of on-the-job deaths, occupational safety and health professionals, law enforcement and academia from 27 states, Canada and Switzerland met at UPS headquarters in Atlanta, GA, this week for a sold-out American Society of Safety Engineers' (ASSE) "Improving Fleet Safety" symposium to identify additional ways to prevent injuries and fatalities on the roads... The focus of the symposium was to offer safety, health and environmental professionals an opportunity to participate in sessions and panel discussions on new challenges faced within the transportation industry, management processes and best practices... Pilot programs involving new technology aimed at understanding driver behavior and the lone-worker environment were some of the many topics discussed at the two-day conference... In addition, the presentations went beyond addressing large trucks to include personal vehicles used for work, vans, utility vehicles and more... (Photo from mlive/The Chronicle, by Becky Walachovic, files: Norton Shores firefighters and members of Muskegon County's Hazardous Materials Team survey the scene of a double-tandem dump truck accident)

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Aug 22, 2007

“Brake Safety Week” * USA - CVSA schedules nationwide brake blitz for Aug. 26-Sept. 1

USA -Land Line Magazine -August 20, 2007: -- The same people who organize the annual Road Check inspection blitz say there’s another round of road-side inspections coming up next week – and that this time, the focus will be on brakes... A press release from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is calling it “Brake Safety Week” and states there will be a combination of enforcement and educational activities. CVSA initiated Brake Safety Week in 2005 as part of its Operation Air Brake campaign... “More than 3 million roadside commercial vehicle inspections are conducted annually throughout North America, and by far brakes make up the largest percentage of out-of-service violations cited during these inspections,” said CVSA Executive Director Stephen F. Campbell in the press release...

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Aug 21, 2007

“Trucks On Patrol for Safety” * USA - Troopers join truckers in making roads safer

Officers ride shotgun to patrol for violations

Lawrence,KS,USA -The Lawrence Journal World, by Erin Castaneda -20 Aug 2007: -- ... Accidents like this prompted the highway patrol and the trucking industry to join forces to create the “Trucks On Patrol for Safety” program, which began in April. The program allows troopers to ride with semitrailer drivers so they can see the violations that occur... According to the Kansas Department of Transportation, there were 68 fatal collisions involving large trucks in 2005, which is the latest data available. That same year, large trucks were involved in 5.7 percent of traffic crashes and 17.7 percent of fatal crashes... Lt. Chris Turner of the Kansas Highway Patrol said, “Most of the time, the truck is not at fault”. But often they get blamed for accidents... As part of the TOPS program, Turner and Lt. Richard Jimerson are riding along with semitrailer drivers in the northeast Kansas region. During a ride-along, each truck is equipped with a $10,000 five-camera system. The cameras record the violations of both passenger vehicles and other large trucks... If a violations occurs, Turner or Jimerson radio other officers along the highway to pull the violator over. Regardless, the individual is informed about the TOPS program, which helps educate people about road safety... The number of citations was unavailable. On average, about 50 people are pulled over for violations in an eight-hour day, Turner said... Since April, 407 citations and 316 warnings have been given in Kansas as part of the TOPS program... (Photo by Richard Gwin - Chris Jones, of Ottawa, drives his semitrailer while Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Lt. Chris Turner works radar and cameras, which record violations of both passenger vehicles and other large trucks)

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Jul 27, 2007

Safety Test * USA - 50 percent of trucks fail random ODOT ones

The Oregon Department of Transportation said Wednesday more than 50 percent of trucks and 20 percent of drivers in this week's safety inspections were taken out of service for safety violations

OR,USA -kgw.com -July 25, 2007: -- ... So far 126 drivers out of 524, and 27 vehicles out of 46 inspected were taken out of service. Most of the violations were logbook deficiencies or driving too many hours without rest breaks... Inspectors said they would focus on drivers but also do vehicle inspections in some cases... The most common violations for trucks were related to tires and wheels, brakes and secured loads... (Photo by KGW - A semi truck splashes through a puddle on a Portland street)

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Jul 25, 2007

* Australia - Rage against the machines

A woman's terrifying encounter with a truck has led to a grassroots road-safety campaign targeting tailgating and speeding heavy vehicle drivers across NSW

Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -The Sydney Morning Herald, by Heath Gilmore -July 22, 2007: -- ... Lyndal Denny could not forget the sight of a truck bearing down on her small sedan on the Pacific Highway earlier this year, and decided something had to be done... She has launched a website for aggrieved motorists to report misbehaving truck drivers across the state, and she is petitioning the NSW Government to make it mandatory for truck drivers to maintain a minimum of 60 metres distance between themselves and the car in front... Any incidents emailed to the campaign's website, will be taken up with the trucking company, Ms Denny said. If the industry response was unsatisfactory, the incident would be reported to the police and media... Australian Trucking Association CEO Stuart St Clair said any initiative that raised the level of performance of drivers would be welcome... (Photo by Sahlan Hayes - Too-close encounters ... Lyndal Denny is behind the Coast to Coast 100 campaign - a website for aggrieved motorists to report misbehaving truck drivers)

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