At the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s workshop in Louisville, KY this week, Phil Byrd, First Vice Chair of the ATA addressed the crowd and proposed that in order to make roads safer, law enforcement officers should perform fewer vehicle inspections. It’s not that vehicle inspections don’t help keep dangerous equipment off the road, it’s that the time and resources would be more effectively used doing something else, he said.
While only 10% of crashes are caused by vehicle malfunctions, 87% of all crashes “are the result of driver error or driver behavior,” Byrd said. “Examining driver credentials is not the best way of enforcing driver behavior.” So instead of focusing so much time and effort on something that only causes 10% of crashes, why not redirect them at something that’s a much bigger problem?
“Coupled with some inspection activities, [such robust enforcement] is four times more effective than roadside inspections – it makes sense for us to place far more emphasis of traffic enforcement,” said Byrd.
He also addressed the fact that so much is being done to try to reduce the number of accidents involving truck drivers, but steps are only being taken on one side of that equation: The driver of the 4-wheeler – who is far more likely to be at fault – isn’t being educated at all.
“Recognizing these statistics,” he added, “we must admit that focusing almost exclusively on the condition of trucks and the behavior of the truck driver will” be a mere drop in the safety bucket. “We must focus on the behavior of cars around trucks.”
Of course, if you stop performing inspections, won’t companies stop properly maintaining their trucks? But in response to that, Byrd said; “Focusing on traffic enforcement is an appropriate direction of our resources toward improving driver behavior.” You may have noticed that he didn’t actually address that issue with his response. We noticed that too.
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Source: overdriveonline
Kwamie says
It’s not about safety, it’s about money. The main reason trucks are targeted is because they provide lots of money for these cash strapped states and the money hungry federal government. Truckers represent a unlimited source of income for states and the federal government.
Robert Whitlow says
The trucking companies that are not at present maintaining their trucks will not begin doing so because of an inspection, and those that do maintain them will continue to do so with less inspections. The reason for maintenance has little to do with fear of inspections, but is both sound economic policy and tort control. Down time due to repairs on the road cost more for parts, labor, and towing services than preventative maintenance. While in the event of a lawsuit the lack of proper maintenance records would prove extremely costly due to negligence issues. It is for this reason that the first production request from an attorney to a trucking company is for the maintenance records of the tractor and trailer as well as the logs of the driver. While logs records are only kept for six months, the vehicle records are kept at minimum five years after the vehicle is removed from service.
Maxwelltie says
Vehicle inspections are the reason most drivers do any kind of inspection. These inspections, under the threat of tickets or OOS violations cause drivers to do their job. That is the principle reason equipment issues are at the base of 10% of the accidents.
If the drivers know that inforcement is lax, they will become lax in doing their job, hence an increase in equipment failures.
In states or areas where speed enforcement is lax, you will see vehicles of all type running faster. Texas is an example. Most Texas drivers wouldn’t know a speed limit if it hit them in the head.
But in Ohio, you see far more drivers staying closer to the speed limit.
Why?
ENFORCEMENT!
The whole idea of targeting other areas of enforcement is to increase revenues.
It’s nothing to do with safety.
It’s all about the money.
Slipkid says
Maybe it’s only 10% because of the enforcement. I’ve had many roadside and scale house inspections over the last 18 years and only once been put out of service when my trailer lights went out while crossing the scale. Still I didn’t get a ticket. They allowed me to bobtail out to get another tractor at a nearby company yard. Keep your equipment in good repair and don’t be an ass when dealing with DOT. Some drivers think they don’t have to get things fixed if they make it back to the yard without getting caught. I’ve found everything from lights out and flat tires to air lines dragging the ground and stripped lugs nuts on the steers. If you’re trusting that the last driver post tripped that trailer you’re picking up you’re fooling yourself. And if your not pre and post tripping your tractor that you drive everyday you’re not just asking for it at a DOT inspection you’re putting yours and everyone around you life’s in peril. As for the DOT using these inspections just to make money may have more to do with the attitude and appearance of the driver. If you look like a turd you probably will make a negative impression. If drivers look like they do at truck stops and talk like they do on the CB then you might get the attention you deserve. Lets put the “professional” back into professional truck driver.
OWNER says
I have had good inspectors and inspectors that purposely broke air lines, put a hole in my muffler that was a week old. This is all about revenue.
The front air line was pulled while he was under the truck it was not leaking when I pulled in you could actually hear the leak after he had me start the truck up.
The puncture in my muffler was done in BRUNSWICK OHIO there is a scale they open on occasion behind there fire station and direct all trucks behind. The puncture in the muffler was pushed in with what looked like a Phillips screw diver when I ask the inspector how the hole could be pushed in and NOT blown out he told me he was not a mechanic.
At the same inspection I watched a
another inspector leaving air out of a trailer tire on another truck, he saw me watching and told me to mind my own business.
I have met some nice inspectors that respected me as I did them. So there are good and bad out there, but it all comes down to revenue.
mike says
The answer to the maintenance is yes to a small point. Things that aren’t deemed safety related most likely, and drivers will not for a very good pretrip is more an issue I think. I do believe the inspections should be redirected to traffic enforcement by 50%. The inspections should be done at a traffic violation time. That would increase revenue and safety same time and free up wasted man hours.