Paperless logs

No actually, they've already tried to shut my company down over very minor log infractions. They will be going after the tiniest errors, like if you don't write "24" at the bottom of your hours they will count that towards killing your entire company. An error, any error, will count equally. From what I understand, this was all found during audit, there weren't any road infractions.

 

There is a lot of truth there in regards to "random" scalehouse inspections.
My last job was with an outlaw outfit with a poor safety rating and getting inspected weekly was routine when running in our regular territory where our reputation preceded us.
In other areas I noticed being held on the scales for maybe half a minute before being told to proceed or pull around back.
What they were doing was checking our safety rating in the database via the DOT#.
It takes a lot longer to improve that score than it does to worsen it.
And more inspections increase the odds exponentially that the score gets worse before it gets better.

At my current job I have been inspected twice in three years. We have an excellent safety rating and it really does help avoid undue scrutiny.

 

Thanks for the info guys. I didnt think all this "Run legal" stuff was for saftey. I know some drivers are tryin to be safe, but sometimes I wounder if some of them just stand behind this stuff because they THINK they have an upper hand on their company, (Kinda like a union thing). I believe all this stuff is for BIG company control over the industry and has nothing to do with the driver, or saftey. But I ask myself that 65 million dollar question all the time, Whats the answer? How can a small o/o like myself follow the law, and make money? I still havent come up with that answer! I see some of you use terms like, OUTLAW, GREEDY, and some others, but here's one for you from me, "JUST POOR". All this stuff is just another way to attack the right to persue happiness and the American dream. So I say to all you drivers out there, take a look at who is behind this stuff, who is pushing it, and who is leading it. Your not going to find no poor men there, no O/O's there. So you can tell your children, or grandchildren, when they tell you they have a dream of owning their own truck, forget it!! Stuff like that we helped outlaw. No place in America for the poor man. So suck it up, and get yourself a job with a company that has enouph money to run under the laws and restrictions WE helped put on companys. The poor man has been outlawed, and marked as such!!

 

Who is they? Carriers receive a safety rating based on a comnpliance review (CR). The CR uses six factors to establish the carrier's rating:

Factor 1: = Part 387 Insurance and Part 390 General FMCSR
Factor 2: = Driver Part 382 D & A; Part 383 CDL; and Part 391 driver qualification
Factor 3: = HOS Part 395
Factor 4: = Part 393 vehicle equipment and Part 396, the factor is broke down by the carrier's OOS ratio and vehicle maintenance files, i.e. periodic isnpection and DVIR
Factor 5: = HM
Factor 6: = Accident ratio

Only acute and critical violations affect the CR process. All acute and critical violations are listed in Part 385 Appendix B:

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regu.../fmcsrruletext.aspx?chunkKey=090163348002436c

Incomplete logs are not an acute or critical violation. Therefore your claim they tried to shut you down for minor log violations such as not writing 24-hours is non-sense.

Critical violations have two thresholds:

1. More than 10%, i.e. checked 30 days logs and had three days of no logs or 11 hour violations or 14 hour violations or false logs.

2. A pattern, i.e. 1 of 5 no medical cards = 20% ratio however, one is not a pattern so for the violation to go critical it would have to be 2 of 5.

A safety audit is a tool to determine a carrier's level of compliance and ensure the carrier is aware of the regulatory requirements. The FMCSA has stiffened the safety audit process and there are more conditions that will cause a carrier to fail a safety audit. The conditions that will cause a carrier to fail a safety audit are listed in Part 385 Appendix A:

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regu.../fmcsrruletext.aspx?chunkKey=090163348002436b

It appears you were shaken by your safety audit as you were ill prepared for the level of compliance required to comply with the FMCSR. Perhaps you could be more exact in your allegations and identify the "Passed" and "Failed" portions of your safety audit. The information may prove useful for others facing their initial safety audit.

Drivers that fail to follow the FMCSR face jail time and personal law suits when an accident occurs after they ran out of hours. Many judges and DAs consider the space time continueium, i.e. if the driver had stopped when they ran out of hours they would not have been involved in the accident.

Sounds asine to me, when drivers run over hours, operate unsafe equipment, or drive when not medically qualified or properly licensed there are severe safety practies that affect the public and place the driver and public in danger. Not recognizing the hazard indicates you are not aware of the danger.

Perhaps poor business practices best describes your problem. What was your business plan when you started trucking? Buy a truck and hope for the best?

The rules and regulations that affect trucking have been in place since about 1927. While the rules have been tweaked to protect the public they have been in place as is since at least 1992 when the CDL and D & A testing were introduced.

If you are poor and cannot afford to safely operate the 80,000 pound rolling mass then perhaps you should sell the truck and become a company driver.

There is nothing in the Consitution that indicates you have a right to endanger others in the pursuit of your American drean. Just as Freedom of Speech does not allow you to yell "Fire" in a crowded theater, you cannot operate a 80,000 pound vehicle in an unsafe manner and endanger other citizens.

A misconception, many O/Os started small and have suceeded. It has to do with business sense and seeking better customers to get better rates.

Keep in mind the government is reactive not proactive. Any new rule was established after someone lost their life, lost property, or was hurt. When the 1%'s kill school children by falling asleep at the wheel the masses demand action. Statistics show that since Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) was introduced and carriers are rated based on roadside activity reports fatalies dropped dramatically. The problem is the statistics have flatlined and the government had to find a new mechanisum to reduce the fatality rate. EORB is one such tool, for too long drivers have called the log book the comic book and fudged their logs to get-er-done. The consequences of a few highly visible crashes has driven more adverse action to deal with the driver's log.

Not exactly, advise your children to seek a better education using the tools available to them, i.e. military service with free college for their service. As a veteran I see no problem with every American serving their country. Develop a business plan with realistic goals and to investigate the career they are considering. By planing ahead the potential of success is much better.

Be safe.

 

The laws are to protect the public from companies making drivers drive 20 hours straight, which you know they would if they could. To be honest driving 11 hours a day ( not to mention a drop and hook + whatever else) is about all I can do before needing to stop and sleep so I don't really see how these laws are super unfair.

 

Right. As a driver I get copies of all safety audits faxed to my truck immediately, even three years before I work at a company. Don't pretend the feds are on our side after the way we are treated every day.

 

Mike MD
I agree with you when it comes to saftey, but you prove my point when you say "If you are poor and cannot afford to safely operate the 80,000 pound rolling mass then perhaps you should sell the truck and become a company driver." As I said, No room for a poor man! I'm not going to argue against your points, because I believe your right. But, good things can be used in bad ways, for reason's not obvious. I've been in trucking sence I was 16, and I've said it before, Trucking has not changed, only the people behind the wheel. It has never been my intention to put anyone in harm's way, only to make a living. But as they say, "The road to nowhere was paved with good intention's". Am I poor, Yes, Uneducated, Yes, and my buisness plan has always been simple, "Work hard". Don't mean as much as it use to, but its all I know. Nobody wants to be poor, sure we may make poor decisions, LOL, after all I am a Trucker. Sorry, just had to throw that in there. Perhaps one day we will live in that perfect world, where everybody is equal, everybody runs legal, and nobody wrecks. Till that day comes, guess I'll do what I have to. Hope to see you out there some day, (I'll be the one in the hammer lane, fenders flappin in the wind)

 

There's only one federal safety audit performed within the first 18 months of starting operation. If you're being sent copies of multiple safety audits, it's internal safety audits.

With the introduction of CSA 2010 carriers will have to ensure their roadside inspection history is kept clean to avoid undesirable flags.

There are approximately 300 federal Special Agents that perform roadside inspections. If the address in the upper right corner does not state Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration with a badge number at the bottom left starting with "US" the inspection was performed by a state inspector.

Federal inspectors don't write tickets, they send notice of claims for violations.

If you haven't violated the rules the inspection report is clean, violate the rules and the inspection report has violations listed.

Be safe.

 

Set the standards, ensure that someone else enforces them, and feign innocence. The one thing the government sometimes does a good job at.

 

Amen, My thoughts exactly. Well put.