CSA2010 and log book form and manner violations

Believe it or not there are rules regarding how a penalty is determined, it's not a simple matter of a person saying you killed some one here's a $100,000 penalty.

Any time a case is considered a program called Uniform Penalty Accessment (UFA) is used. The information is imported into UFA from the software program used to perform the compliance review called CAPRI. Both CAPRI and UFA are programed to follow the guidelines established to generate the penalty. If a carrier does not have previous enforcement then UFA takes that into account. UFA has a penalty range that must be met. UFA and CAPRI have public versions available at:

http://infosys.fmcsa.dot.gov/Public...spx?SOFT_NAME=UFA&NAMEGROUP=UFA&DOC_TITLE=UFA

Crete was penalized $52,440 for violations discovered during the compliance review.

Since there is no rating information the penalties were most likely generated from a streamline review that targeted the areas of concern.

http://ai.volpe.dot.gov/SafeStat/SafetySea.asp?ais=&dot=73705&WhichForm=&PageN=LR#LR

For a first time enforcement Crete recevied a significant penalty.

Regarding the qualcom messages, keep in mind the driver in the accident in Florida was an intrastate driver and was not subject to the FMCSR for the HOS. The FMCSA has jurisdiction over HM, CDL, and D & A testing in intrastate commerce. The FMCSA has no jurisdiction over intrastate HOS, maintenance, vehicle equipment standards, or medicals. Therefore, the FMCSA had no jurisdiction over the HOS for the driver in the Florida crash!

I'm not sure what you mean. A smaller carrier's penalty would have been less as they are smaller. UFA takes several things into consideration when calculating the first penalty. Carriers are compared side by side to other carriers of equal size and UFA generates a penalty appropriate to the size of the carrier and the number of violations discovered:

The carrier listed has 850 drivers, probably 45 operate in iterstate commerce the remainder operate in intrastate commerce.

The carrier was cited at a critical rate for random D & A testing and prosecuted for HM, D & A, and CDL issues.

It doesn't matter what you suspect, it's what you can prove with documentation.

How many trucking companies have you ever seen placed OOS by the US DOT? You may have seen carriers go under because they filed bankruptcy; however, I challenge you to name one carrier shut down by the FMCSA with the appropriate news link. I believe some passenger carriers have had their authority revoked for no insurance; however, I cannot recall any property carriers being shut down for a while. Carriers that fail to pay their penalties have their authority revoked. I'm aware of the arbitration process and know carriers can have penalties reduced and make payments; provided they avoid any other penalties the bulk of their penalty may go away.

One slight problem, the carrier retains the driver's points for three years after the driver is gone. Carriers that fail to take care of equipment and train drivers will have problems remaining in business.

Carriers have other problems as well, insurance companies use the fit/marginal/unfit ratings to determine the carrier's risk and assign insurance premiums based on the carrier's risk. Carriers in the marginal area will pay higher insurance premiums than those in the fit category.

Insurance companies are already using FMCSA data to assess risk for insurance premiums.

Some shippers refuse to use a carrier with a less than satisfactory rating or whose vehicle or driver SEA scores are too high. The high vehicle/driver SEA scores indicate a reliability problem as vehicles/drivers are parked OOS with their freight.

Carriers have to maintain customer service to avoid loosing major contracts.

The FMCSA has no arresting powers. The Office of the Inspector General or Attorney General would have to press charges and prosecute for a person to go to jail. The driver in Florida was prosecuted by the Florida Attorney General.

I understand drivers see the lower end of the spectrum when it comes to penalties and the peace officer is a formable foe as it's your word against theirs; however, during a compliance review the violation has to be documented and you have to demonstrate:

1. The violation existed

2. The rule applied, i.e. bill of lading listing placardable amounts of HM or the freight was over 10,001 pounds or 26,001 pounds depending on the charge

3. Commerce occurred.

The evidence must demonstrate to a reasonable person the violation occurred, i.e. GPS indicates driver is in Denver, CO but log indicates driver is in Colorado Springs, CO. The evidence may consist of additional information to explain how GPS works which would be included as an Exhibit.

I had to chuckle at Stanger's comment:

Yeah you can see right through them, now find one stand alone or two pieces of supporting documents to prove your theory. You figure drivers fuel once a day and pick up a load every other day. A driver may have tolls and may not. GPS wasn't used until earlier this year. Yeah, a fifth grader could pick the picture apart, now let's see them put it back together.

I cannot say for certainty, but I would venture there are fewer than 40 carriers with more than 5,000 trucks. There are approximately 742,526 registered motor carrier in the US:

http://ai.volpe.dot.gov/SafeStat/Ca...ubmit1=Search&PageN=PlsWait&WhichForm=advance

Carriers are visited based on their roadside inspection performance. Many stipulate that CSA 2010 will cause carriers that have never been on the radar to pop up changing the way carriers do business.

CSA 2010 will change the way carriers do business. Carriers inherit the points of drivers they hire and retain the points of drivers they fire. I have long advocated that training is the key not termination. The problem with termination is the carrier doesn't know what they're getting in exchange.

Be safe.

 

You found an Office of Inspector General where the owners were arrested for criminal activity.

The FMCSA didn't shut the carrier down the OIG did.

Then perhaps they should not have been in business in the first place. Sorry no sympathy here.

Be safe.