Have you heard? The number of trucks placed out of service during annual blitz and inspection weeks continues to grow. What is more staggering is that many of the reasons vehicles are placed OOS (out of service) are entirely preventable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
[wp_ad_camp_2] <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance\u2019s 72-hour\nInternational Roadcheck inspection blitz as just one example. Last completed in\nJune, the CVSA\u2019s blitz made over 67,000 inspections over the three-day period.\nOf that number, more than 12,000 were placed out of service. That represents\nnearly 18% of the overall number and seems incredibly high. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looked at from a different angle, nearly a fifth of all the\ntrucks on the nation\u2019s road this past June were deemed unfit to be on the road.\nConsidering we are about to ring in 2020 and have access to more technology and\ninformation than ever before, it is quite inconceivable that nearly a fifth of\nall the trucks on the road should not have been on the road. Even more, it\nrepresents a big safety problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
An Unfortunate Inspection Blitz<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The CVSA\u2019s June inspection blitz focused primarily on\nsteering and suspension systems. However, during a Level I inspection,\ninspectors can really look at anything and everything. So, what were the actual\nnumbers? CVSA inspectors found 408 instances of steering problems and 703\ninstances of suspension problems. All were serious enough to merit OOS\nviolations. Even more astounding, they discovered over 4,500 braking system OOS\nviolations. That represents more than four times more brake violations than\nevery other violation combined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Considering how important the braking system to safely\noperating a commercial motor vehicle, it is quite eye-opening to see so many\nfleets receive an OOS violation over brake system problems. Brake violations were\nfar and above the most, with 28% of the total violations coming for brake\nproblems. Tires and wheels accounted for just over 19%, or 3,156 of the totals.\nCargo securement came in third with 12.2%, or 1,991 violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The unfortunate thing is that most of those violations could\nhave been prevented through a comprehensive pre- and post-trip inspection.\nCertainly, some problems do happen during road travel. Vibrations cause bulbs\nto blow out and potholes wreak havoc on suspension systems. But with numbers\nthat high, it could not conceivably be simply a matter of issues occurring\nwhile the truck driver is operating the vehicle. Almost a fifth is a sign of\nsomething deeper going on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With some trucking companies seeing insurance premium\nrenewals jump by 20% or more, some are wondering where the bottom is. With so\nmany large truck crash settlements in 2019, we may see that number climb even\nhigher as we move into the new year. Could the uptick in trucking bankruptcies\nin 2019 be related? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even more, some insurance companies have left commercial\ntrucking altogether, while those that remain are taking an even closer look at\nwho they work with and what they charge for coverage. While collision\nmitigation systems and other safety technologies used to net trucking companies\na hefty discount, those are now expected. Instead of getting a discount, you\nsimply won\u2019t pay as much as you would without safety technology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The bottom line is that trucking companies must make sure\ntheir truck is roadworthy before it ever hits the road. After all, it doesn\u2019t\nreally matter if you have a fancy safety system on a truck that is technically\nunsound to begin with. Trucking companies should never be lulled into a false\nsense of security<\/a> just because they have invested in the latest new safety\ntechnology. There is no substitute for maintenance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting Vehicle Inspection in Line<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There is clearly something wrong when the DOT is flagging so\nmany violations for mid-trip inspections. Inspectors don\u2019t do anything that\nmaintenance technicians could not have looked at or done before the vehicle\never left the yard. They simply must be better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lot of the problem can be stemmed from a lack of talent.\nLow-quality inspections result when there is a rush to get new truck drivers\ntrained and out on to the road. A truck driver\u2019s ability to inspect their\nvehicle and find problems is just as important as their aptitude when they are\nbehind the wheel. So why is it that in June, nearly 60% of truck drivers who\nwere placed out of service weren\u2019t checking their wheels, brakes, or load\nsecurement? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fleets should begin implementing new technologies and methodologies for ensuring pre- and post-trip inspections are done quickly and effectively. Fleet, safety, and shop managers must check behind a truck driver inspection to ensure quality. Truck drivers who are effectively managing their pre- and post-trip inspections should also be rewarded. There is nothing wrong with incentivizing your truck drivers to be thorough when examining a vehicle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n [wp_ad_camp_2] <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n We recently featured a piece about using augmented and\nvirtual reality in shop training. Advanced technologies represent another way\nto ensure your truck drivers are engaged and doing the job right. Invest\ndollars you lose while your vehicles are OOS into things like training and\nbonuses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n ELD Deadline Extension? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Before we get your hopes up, let us be the first to tell you\nthe FMCSA has dismissed any chance that the agency will extend the compliance\ndeadline for the electronic logging device rule, which goes into effect on\nDecember 16, 2019. The original extension was in place to provide time for\nthose using AOBRDs to switch to more compliant devices. Now, that extension\ntime is almost up. Any carriers using an AOBRD or non-compliant ELD beginning\nDecember 16 will be placed out of service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The fact is, anyone who works in the trucking industry needs\nto be prepared. The FMCSA recently noted at an industry conference that since\nthe ELD rule went into effect December of 2017, hours-of-service violations\nhave dropped by half. Still, the number of violations for false logs has\nremained relatively unchanged. What is the reason for the disparity? Electronic\nlogs have simply made it easier for inspectors to catch false logs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the positive impacts from the ELD rule has been a far\nmore efficient roadside inspection process. Inspectors no longer need to review\nlogbooks on devices or look at paper records. Now data can simply be\ntransmitted through the electronic Record of Duty Status (eRODS) system. Since\nthe ELD mandate went into effect, there has been more than half-a-million\ntransfers of logging data made between trucks and the eRODS system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n