CVSA Guardian 3rd Quarter 2010

Volume 17, Issue 3 Third Quarter 2010

Guardian

The New Carrier SafetyMeasurement System

New Interventions Processand Warning Letters

Explained

Introducing the NewInspection Selection System

About the cover:

Table of ContentsInsight

President’s Message ........................................................................................................1

Letter to the Editor..........................................................................................................3

The Legislative Rundown ................................................................................................4

Knowledge Matters ........................................................................................................6

Federal NewsAsk the Administrator ......................................................................................................7

FMCSA Streamlines the Process for Requesting Changes to Its

Information Technology Systems ................................................................................8

FMCSA Recognizes States at 5th Annual MCSAP Leadership Conference ..........................9

Innovation and Modernization Charts the Path for FMCSA’s National Training Center ........10

NTC News Briefs ..........................................................................................................10

FMCSA Launches Pre-Employment Screening Program....................................................11

TSA Highway & Motor Carrier Division Trains HazMat Shippers,

Drivers, Carriers on New Security Demands ..............................................................12

Transport Canada, FMCSA Agreement Allows Recognition of

HazMat Endorsement ..............................................................................................13

PHMSA Streamlines, Improves Procedures; Cross-Shares Critical Data;

Strengthens Emergency Response Capabilities ..........................................................14

CVSA NewsCVSA Urges Congress to Pass Long-Term Transportation Bill to Ensure Highway Safety ....16

Expanded MCSAC Tackles Distracted Driving ................................................................17

CVSA Members Selected to FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee ..............17

Brake Safety Model Prototypes Developed for Operation Air Brake ................................18

COHMED Not Just For HazMat Geeks ..........................................................................19

International Safety Team Award to Recognize CMV Safety Personnel ..............................20

Cover Story/FeatureRoadcheck Message Resonates That Maintaining Safe Vehicles and Drivers

Is Worth the Effort....................................................................................................21

Inspector’s Corner ..................................................................................................24

Committee NewsState Enforcement, Industry Work Together to Make Motorcoach

Destination Inspections a Win-Win for Everyone ........................................................25

Intermodal Equipment — What Inspectors Should Know About

Upcoming Marking Requirements ............................................................................26

Regional NewsIncreased Interaction Between South Carolina State Transport Police,

State Trucking Association Shows How Cooperation Counts ......................................27

New Mexico's Motor Transport Police Division Recognized for

Revolutionizing Highway Safety ................................................................................28

"Tragedy Averted - Why We Do What We Do" ..............................................................29

New York State Police Combine Partnerships with Education to

Net Comprehensive Highway Safety Effort ................................................................30

Maryland State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division

Assists with Nuclear Summit Security Operations ......................................................31

Regional Rap ............................................................................................................31

Industry Spotlight PrePass and CVSA: Partners for Safety Progress ..............................................................33

Executive Director’s Message ............................................................................35

RAD Inspection News ............................................................................................37

GuardianPublished by:Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

6303 Ivy Lane, Suite 310Greenbelt, MD 20770-6319

Phone: (301) 830-6143Fax: (301) 830-6144www.cvsa.org

Dedicated to government and industry workingtogether to promote commercial vehicle safetyon North American highways.

HEADQUARTERS STAFF

Stephen A. KepplerInterim Executive Director

Collin B. Mooney, CAEDeputy Executive Director

Larry D. SternDirector, Level VI Inspection Program

Richard D. HendersonDirector, Government Affairs

Francisco J. GomezDirector, Member Services and Technology

Laura M. ZabriskieDirector, Communications and Marketing

Iris R. LeonardProgram Manager

J. Craig DefibaughController

For comments, suggestions or information,please email us at [email protected].

Guardian is a publication of the Commercial VehicleSafety Alliance and the Federal Motor Carrier SafetyAdministration.

CVSA memberscome together whenit comes to helpingthe Alliance achieveits goals of uniformity,compatibility and rec-iprocity of CMVinspections.

Third Quarter 2010 www.cvsa.org

Guardian

We represent many different groups:truck and bus safety specialists, lawenforcement, federal, state, provincial andlocal government, and industry. Eachgroup has different perspectives but weconvene at many times throughout theyear through our events, programs, con-ferences and workshops from acrossNorth America. We all come together asfriends and colleagues all dedicated toassessing the processes, procedures andactivities that will improve commercialmotor vehicle and overall highway trans-portation safety. We come together unitedunder CVSA to work toward a commongoal: Preventing crashes and improvingsafety involving large commercial trucksand interstate buses takes a concertedeffort on the part of many stakeholders. Itmay seem like a monumental task at timesbut it need not be as long as we work withour partners to accomplish our task. Weneed to continue to seek out and expandour horizons by including partners whowill share their expertise, opinions andunique insights to help inform our path increating safer roads for all. We are theconduit that brings together many groupsand we are always reaching out andexpanding that circle. But ultimately, theprocess starts with each one of us.

As you will see from this issue of theGuardian we have focused our attentionon partnerships — The importance ofwhich cannot be underscored enough.Not only do we need to work with eachother but we need to be reaching out toother associations, coalitions and indus-try to ensure that safety stays in theforefront since decisions that are beingmade today will affect us many yearsfrom now through legislation and otherfronts. In this regard, CVSA is workinghard for you.

Our recent Roadcheck 2010 kickoffevent underscores how serious andimportant our task is – making sure wehave the optimum environment foroperating safely on our highways. Forlaw enforcement, we are focusing onremoving unsafe commercial vehicledrivers and vehicles from the highways.However, there is no one person, agencyor organization that feels we can solvethis alone. We need partners and theunique perspectives each one brings tothe table to solve this complex problem.All of us have an important role to play.The team we assemble gives us the abil-ity to work together toward a commonvision. It is the fuel that allows us toattain uncommon results.

We are here to convince others tojoin this cause. Crashes still occurbecause of faulty or ill-maintainedequipment. People still die because offatigued and unsafe drivers. We need toconvince others that they can make adifference in making the roads safer forall. I want to especially thank our indus-try partners as they are a critical part inhelping us on our journey towards zerodeaths on our roadways.

Roadcheck is a key step in ensuringhighway safety and is a clear example ofhow partnerships work. The CVSA-cer-tified inspectors all over North Americaevery June focus on conducting theNorth American Standard inspectionduring this 72-hour event. They have ahuge responsibility in ensuring that thecommercial vehicles that travel downroads alongside passenger vehicles hereare doing so safely and are sharing theroad responsibly. They know that crashesare preventable. Every time an inspectorchecks the brakes, tires, tie downs, a driv-er or other items while conducting aninspection what’s in the back of theirminds — is this — what I’m doing willsave a life. The people who we read aboutin the news are “our” family members andwe are here to protect them.

Through the North AmericanRoadside Inspection Program CVSAestablished — and continuously rein-forces — a standard and uniform processfor conducting these inspections acrossthe continent. The fact that more than10,000 people are doing these inspec-tions the exact same way every timeattests to a unified commitment to safe-ty. These roadside inspections do notjust occur over that 72-hour timeframe— they are being done each and everyday — nearly four million times a year.So if there is one thing you take away from this article, it should be this:Accountability starts with you. Everyonehas a role, no matter who you are orwhere you stand, Each of us can educateothers — whether they are commercialvehicle drivers or passenger car drivers— about the importance of safe driving,buckling up and maintaining safe vehi-cles, as well as the proper preparations toenhance security.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Partnerships Fuel CVSA’s Success Towards One Day Achieving Zero DeathsBy Buzzy France, CVSA President

1

Buzzy France

I N S I G H T

2


PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE(continued from page 1)

Another event that underscores CVSA’spartnerships is the North American InspectorsChampionship (NAIC). Throughout thisissue of Guardian, you will read how CVSAmembers in many jurisdictions both reachout to and are sought by industry partners tocollaborate on improving safety. But I can-not put it in better words than our NAIC2009 Grand Champion Alex Bugeya, aninspector from Ontario, who said that par-ticipating in NAIC provided him with agreater understanding of the partnershipsand community that is CVSA.

We are focused on a number of fronts toadvance the membership’s priorities in theforthcoming DOT Reauthorization Bill inthe U.S. We have 12 major priority areasthat were established by the membership.Several of these initiatives will have bene-fits beyond the borders in the U.S. to ourfriends to the north and south on suchitems as Safety Exemptions, Electronic OnBoard Recorders, Safety RatingReciprocity and Data Quality. I must saysome of these priority issues are bold stepsforward and are not an easy task. However,we remain diligent in working for you. Weare collaborating with key partner govern-ment organizations such as AASHTO,GHSA, AAMVA and IACP, as well as keyindustry organizations such as ATA, ABA,UMA and OOIDA to help in advocatingour positions on various issues.

We continue to push for legislation inthe U.S. Congress that would provide taxincentives for truck and bus companies topurchase various types of safety technolo-gies. This is good public policy — it givesincentives to private investment in provensafety technologies. With CSA 2010 anda number of other technology researchand demonstration programs in process atthe federal level in the U.S., Canada andMexico the future likely will look much

different than it is today. There are morethan 20 different organizations that arepart of a coalition effort on this issue.

CVSA signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding with CITA, an interna-tional not-for profit organization recog-nized by the European Union that, muchlike CVSA, represents all types of organi-zations and stakeholders who share acommon interest in exchanging informa-tion, developing best practices and draftinternational standards in the field of roadvehicle inspection to enhance road safetyand the environment. CITA has a mem-bership that represents over 50 countriesand covering more than 250 million vehi-cle inspections a year.

So as you can see from just these fewexamples, your Alliance is carrying out akey tenet of our mission – Leadership. Weare expanding our efforts to collaboratewith others to share and bring to bear thebest thinking on the planet in the realm ofcommercial vehicle safety.

I will say that in all my years of beinginvolved in CVSA I have never seen yourleadership more focused and engaged. TheExecutive Committee and CommitteeChairs are taking on major policy issueswhile at the same time focusing onadvancing the organization to be morenimble, effective and fiscally sound for thefuture. We are at a critical juncture. It isimportant now more than ever to contin-ue to share what we know with others andbring them into our circle, nurture andeducate, as well as learn from them so wecan continue our legacy to come up withinnovative solutions that will benefit soci-ety. It has been my great honor and pleas-ure serving you as President. So, with that,it’s my hope that during the next fewmonths we all get out of our comfortzones, and put our best minds at work tosolve these problems. Nothing is impossi-ble. As Henry Ford once said, “Comingtogether is a beginning. Keeping togetheris progress. Working together is success.”

CVSA President Buzzy France with FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro.

Guardian

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

CVSA – The Ultimate Partnership

Whether you are in enforcement, indus-try, safety advocacy, government regula-tion, security, public sector or private sec-tor, you will not succeed in our commongoal of providing for safety and securityin commercial motor vehicle operationswithout effective partnerships. In manyways CVSA may very well be the ulti-mate partnership as it brings together theresources of enforcement, engineering,education, industry, safety advocates andmore to collaborate on a common goal ofreducing commercial motor vehicleinvolvement in traffic crashes. Moreabout that later.

We can all think of many examples ofpartnerships that we have developed andnurtured throughout the course of ourprofessional careers in commercial vehi-cle enforcement and safety. For examplein the Midwest/Great Lakes region,Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohiohave formed a regional partnership forsharing information and best practicesand planning and executing cooperativejoint enforcement operations. Theresult of this multi-state partnership is asynergistic impact each state could notachieve individually.

In Michigan we have two commer-cial vehicle related partnerships thathave been especially successful. TheMichigan Truck Safety Commission(MTSC), created in 1988 brings togeth-er industry, education, engineering,enforcement and the general public in aunique partnership that promotes trucksafety through a combination of educa-tion and enforcement. For more infor-

mation about this one-of-a-kind part-nership please visit the MTSC websiteat www.truckingsafety.org.

Another partnership we are particular-ly proud of in Michigan is the MichiganState Police/Michigan Department ofTransportation Commercial VehicleStrategy Team. Developed in October2006, the CVST has been highly success-ful in enhancing communication, collabo-ration and cooperation between MSP andMDOT to levels never previously imag-

ined. The CVST, comprised of staff andfield representatives from both agencies,meets quarterly. The real benefit of theCVST partnership is that both agenciesnow understand each other’s policies, pro-cedures and limitations. Because of thispartnership, both agencies are now morewilling to share information and resourcesto achieve their common goal of enhanc-ing commercial vehicle safety and securi-ty and better protect Michigan’s highwayinfrastructure.

So what does all this have to do withCVSA? CVSA is the ultimate partner-ship in the world of commercial vehiclesafety. CVSA brings together partnersfrom state, local, and federal enforce-ment to work with industry, safety advo-cates, and others toward a mutual goal of

reducing CMV involved crashes,injuries, and fatalities. The sharing ofideas, information and best practices bythe members and staff at CVSA isinvaluable. The collaborative and unifiedvoice of CVSA on major issues such asUCR and reauthorization is priceless.Yes, CVSA is truly a partnership oninternational levels that has and will con-tinue to make a difference.

What is it that makes CVSA theultimate partnership? It is the mem-

bers and staff. The strength of CVSAis dependent on active involvement ofits members on the alliance’s standingcommittees and special ad hoc workgroups. It has been an honor for me topartner with CVSA and its membersfor the past 14 years. CVSA is a greatorganization and a great partnership.Please keep CVSA strong and relevantby getting actively involved at the con-ferences, at the regional meetings, atthe working committees, and by effec-tively deploying the principles, poli-cies, and procedures of your alliance atthe roadside.

Capt. Robert R. Powers, Michigan StatePolice, (Retired)

3

I N S I G H T

CVSA brings together the resources of enforcement, engineering, education, industry, safety advocates and moreto collaborate on a common goal of reducing commercial

motor vehicle involvement in traffic crashes

CVSA’s Guardian welcomes your letters and comments. To submit a letter, send an email to [email protected] write to CVSA, c/o Guardian, 6303 Ivy Lane, Suite 310, Greenbelt, MD 20770-6319.

THE LEGISLATIVE RUNDOWN

CVSA Testifies Before Senate and House CommitteesBy Richard D. Henderson, CVSA, Director, Government Affairs

CVSA President testifies at SenateHearing on Oversight of MotorCarrier Safety EffortsCVSA President Francis (Buzzy) Francerecently testified at a hearing before theSenate Surface Transportation andMerchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety,and Security on “Oversight of MotorCarrier Safety Efforts” on April 28,2010. Subcommittee Chairman Sen.Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) chaired thehearing and emphasized issues he con-sidered of greatest importance: electron-ic onboard recorders, hours-of-servicerules, CSA 2010 and truck size andweight. Ranking subcommittee memberSen. John Thune (R-SD) emphasizedthe importance of state efforts in mak-ing CSA 2010 successful and alsoexpressed concern about the lack of har-monization in truck size and weightstandards. Sen. Clare McCaskell (D-MO) expressed strong concern aboutthe lack of concern that driver pay ismost often determined by miles ratherthan hours worked and recommendedthat a study be conducted about theeffect of this on truck study. Questionsdirected to CVSA President France con-cerned hours-of-service, EOBRs, andtruck size and weight. He reaffirmedCVSA Reauthorization policy on eachof these issues. Chairman Lautenbergraised the possibility of a further hearingon truck size and weight.

CVSA Testifies Before HouseHighways and TransitSubcommittee on CSA 2010CVSA’s Interim Executive Director,Stephen A. Keppler testified before theHouse Subcommittee on Highways andTransit at a hearing on June 23, 2010called by Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-

OR) to review FMCSA’s plans to imple-ment CSA 2010. Keppler testified on apanel of witnesses that includedFMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro,representatives of the AmericanTrucking Associations (ATA), and theOwner Operators Independent DriversAssociation (OOIDA).

While there were concerns about theprocess and timing of the implementa-tion of CSA 2010, there was generalconsensus among all of the witnesses onthe overall need for the new plan.Members agreed if the implementationwas done carefully, a significant improve-ment in commercial vehicle safety wouldbe the result.

Key issues raised by ATA andOOIDA were crash preventability,violations being counted against thecarrier without an effective dueprocess procedure in place and usingVMT as an exposure measure ratherthan power units. Other issues werethe weightings being considered forthe Safety Fitness DeterminationRulemaking, as well as the possibilityof inconsistent enforcement amongthe states such as probable cause stateshaving a disproportionate amount ofviolations assigned to carriers for safe-ty rating purposes.

A key concern of CVSA, also sharedby Chairman DeFazio and other sub-committee members, was whether thestates will have adequate funding toimplement the new program since theywill have to expend the same resourcesas FMCSA for this purpose. Administra-tor Ferro said FMCSA would lookinto the possibility of letting states usefunding from the state safety grant pro-grams, including MCSAP, to help withthese costs.

House DOT-HUD AppropriationsSubcommittee Marks Up 2011Funding BillThis subcommittee reported out its ver-sion of the bill to the full HouseAppropriations Committee on July 1.Since a new Transportation Reauthoriza-tion bill has not yet been passed, motorcarrier safety programs will be funded atthe maximum limits allowed underSAFETEA-LU, as was the case with the2010 funding bill. However, at therequest of FMCSA, an additional $20million was approved for their adminis-trative budget to help with the costsassociated with CSA 2010.

Final action on the 2011 budget isuncertain. The entire appropriationsprocess in Congress is behind scheduleand there is a possibility that Congresswill not complete work on the appropri-ations bills by the start of the new fiscalyear that starts on October 1 of this year.There will very likely be at least one ormore Continuing Resolutions beforefinal passage. Since this is an electionyear, Congress is anticipating an earlyadjournment.

Auto Safety Bill Extends Event Data Recorders Requirement toCommercial VehiclesBoth the House Energy andCommerce Committee and the SenateCommerce Committee have reportedtheir respective versions of the MotorVehicle Safety Act of 2010. The billnumber in the House is HR 5381 andin the Senate, S. 3302. As of thismoment, floor action in either theHouse or Senate has not been sched-uled. This legislation largely deals withissues raised by the Toyota crisis bystrengthening the power and authority

4


Richard Henderson

Guardian

of the National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration (NHTSA).

The Senate version (S. 3302) asreported out of the CommerceCommittee contained an amendmentoffered by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM)extending the requirement for event datarecorders to commercial vehicles. Theamendment reads in part, “Not later than3 years after the date of the enactment ofthis Act, the Secretary shall revise part563 of Title 49, Code of FederalRegulations, to require that all medium-duty vehicles and heavy-duty vehiclessold in the United States beginning withthe model year 2017 be equipped with aneven data recorder that meets therequirements of that part.”

Senate Commerce CommitteeApproves Bill Offering StatesIncentives to Ban TextingThe Senate Commerce Committeealso has approved a bill, S. 1938, thatwould make federal grants available tostates that enact laws prohibiting tex-ting and/or other use of handheld cellphones. NHTSA would administerthe grant program which requires that50 percent of grant money received bya state should be used to educate thepublic about the dangers of texting orusing a cell phone while driving, aswell as to enforce the law. While hear-ings have been held in the House, a billhas not been reported out ofCommittee.

In the meantime, CVSA has filedcomments on a proposal by FMCSA toprohibit texting in commercial motorvehicles. CVSA pointed out that thereare a number of other distracted drivingactivities that contribute to crashes anddriver performance.

CVSA Participates in Coalition“Toward Zero Deaths” (TZD)CVSA is participating in “Toward ZeroDeaths,” a national highway safety strate-gy with the purpose to serve as a nationalroadmap for reducing highway fatalitiesand serious injuries. The strategy will beto develop a national safety plan and anoutreach program as well as a process forimplementing the plan. Efforts will bemade to coordinate the plan with Canada’sRoad Safety Vision activity. The steeringcommittee is made up of representatives

of CVSA, Governors Highway SafetyAssociation (GHSA), American Associa-tion of State Highway and TransportationOfficials (AASHTO), American Associa-tion of Motor Vehicle Administrators(AAMVA), National Association ofCounties (NACO), International Associa-tion of Chiefs of Police (IACP) as well as FHWA, FMCSA, and NHTSA. Inaddition to a series of webinars held in June, a national TZD Summit will be held in Washington, D.C. on August25-26, 2010.

5

I N S I G H T

I have participated in the Alliance formore than 20 years and I can tell youthat nothing quite prepares a person forthe responsibility of representing thethousands of men and women who ded-icate their lives to making our highwayssafer. After a few months on the job, Iquickly learned how integral partner-ships and communications were inachieving shared goals. Both of thesewere critical not only with our ownmembers but especially with those out-side the organization. For the Allianceto continue to grow and improve, we lit-erally must take ownership of it andcarry out its activities in the spirit of ourStrategic Plan. I said that five years agoand I can attest to the fact that this hasindeed been the case. CVSA members,associate members, the headquartersstaff and others work with enthusiasm tohelp each president during their term tofurther build on the goals and objectiveswe set out some 25 years ago and I’mconfident that, 20 years from now, theywill continue helping to bring about itsgrowth and improvement.

I am very impressed with the progressthat has been made over the years interms of commercial motor vehicle safe-ty and of our Alliance’s role in helpingmake it happen. While we have madeprogress on reducing crashes and fatali-ties, much of the credit to achieving thatgoal goes to the high degree of coopera-tion CVSA fosters with its vast networkof partners in both in law enforcement,policy making and industry. Let’s getreal; while it would be a bona fide egoboost to think one single entity wasresponsible for the ongoing safetyimprovements – it’s just not the case! Amultitude of people and organizationsworking together are jointly responsible -

not just one or two individuals in searchof personal legacies. From my perspec-tive, such cooperation and hard work areimperative - particularly at the state andlocal level.

As one example, in my home state ofArkansas, Arkansas Highway Police(AHP) sent a contestant to NAIC in2004. Upon returning from the competi-tion, that contestant came back, sat down

and talked to me about what heobserved. At the time, Arkansas didn’thave a state competition. Instead wepretty much looked at the quality andnumber of inspections and more or lesshand-picked someone to recognize. Wediscovered what other states were doingand discussed how we could get thatstarted in our own state. It was at thattime that we reached out to our state’strucking association.

I would be hard pressed to name all ofthe individuals making a difference, so Iwill instead focus on the efforts of ourtrucking association’s SafetyManagement Council. The ArkansasTrucking Association has providedjudges, equipment and other resources forthe past several years to assist in conduct-ing the AHP Commercial Motor VehicleInspection Competition conductedannually in early to mid June. In turn,AHP contestants also serve as judges forthe Arkansas Truck DrivingChampionship later the same week.Even though to some it would seem to

run adverse to conventional wisdom, bothorganizations sit in the same banquet hallfor the awards presentations! And yes,we actually stand, cheer and applaud eachother. Go figure. And to think all of thisstarted out with someone reaching out toanother organization and asking the sim-ple question: How can we work togetherto reach our common goals? As a result,the Arkansas Trucking Association’s

Safety Management Council alwaysinvites us to talk to them. When I wasCVSA President they asked me to comeand give a presentation. We always needto remember to reach out to industrywhen we gather around the table.

And as you will see throughout theregional news section of Guardian, manyother states, such as New York and SouthCarolina, do this as well. This is a greattestament to the fact that while we oftenhave differing opinions on transportationand funding issues, when it comes to thecritical question of safe operation ofCMVs and other vehicles along thehighways, our philosophies run parallel.It truly is an equation of 1+1=3.

As Arkansas pursues its CVISN/intelligent transportation goals, readiesitself for full implementation of CSA2010 and works through various chal-lenges (not just of the DataQs variety),enforcement and industry both recog-nize the mutual dividends to be gainedby coming to the same table as a singlegroup focused on saving lives.

KNOWLEDGE MATTERS

Partnerships, Communications Integral inAchieving Shared GoalsBy Paul Claunch, Major, Arkansas Highway Police, CVSA President 2004-2005

6


While we have made progress on reducing crashes and fatalities, much of the credit to achieving that goal goes to the high degree of cooperation CVSA fosters

with its vast network of partners….

Guardian

FMCSA Anne S. Ferro answers ques-tions from CVSA members. In thisissue, the Administrator talks abouttraining in preparation for CSA 2010,the success of Roadcheck and theplanned course of strike forces.

Question: What is the latest updatefrom FMCSA regarding CSA 2010training for state enforcement per-sonnel? What can we do at the statelevel to get ready for CSA 2010?

Answer: We are entering a very excitingchapter in the history of FMCSA withthe evolution of focused commercialvehicle safety enforcement — theComprehensive Safety Analysis. Therollout for CSA 2010 began in April thisyear with the data preview for carriers.The actual safety measurement systemwill be previewed in late August, fol-lowed by full view of all data to the pub-lic at the end of the year. The remain-ing components, which include warningletters, the notice of proposed rulemak-ing on safety fitness determination, thenew intervention process and more willcontinue to be rolled out to the end ofFiscal Year 2011. By that time, CSA2010 will be only known by its initials —Compliance, Safety and Accountability.

We have come a long way and wehave further to go. Many of our CVSAmember partners have contributed theirexpert knowledge in the development ofCSA 2010; many more have beeninvolved in the pilot testing. Let meoffer my sincerest appreciation to all whohave been a part of laying the ground-work for this important safety program.

Training is a critical component forstate enforcement personnel and we arewell into the development stage. The

training package will include webinarsthat address the basics of CSA as well asCSA “BASICS” — Behavioral Analysisand Safety Improvement Categories.The critical importance of roadside dataand how the data informs the SafetyMeasurement System (SMS) will bethoroughly covered.

The four 50/50 test states convertingto 100 percent CSA will undergo train-ing throughout July and August begin-ning with Colorado on July 12 and end-ing with New Jersey on August 16. Forstate personnel involved in theCompliance Review process, plans callfor an incremental roll out beginninglater this fall in preparation for theDecember 5, 2010, rollout of the newsafety measurement system. Training willcover four key components: performancebased sampling procedures; red flag driv-er; focused CR procedures, and; thedirect-to-NOV (Notice of Violation)concept. A one day seminar will beoffered for state and federal supervisorsand intervention managers and trainingfor the field staff will be delivered in aseries of webinars.

In the meantime, I urge everyone to bepro-active in learning about CSA 2010. Ifyou have not yet visited the website, pleasemake it a favorite. It is a great resource thatis continually being updated. The addressis: http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov

Question: What were your impres-sions of the Roadcheck activitiesthis year?

Answer: Each time Roadcheck is held itproves to be a tremendous undertaking.The “continental coordination” acrossNorth America was unbelievable. I amconvinced that it’s only through working

together can we gain ground in commer-cial vehicle safety. And when I say work-ing together, I mean federal, state andprovincial governments, commercialtruck and bus industries, carriers anddrivers, safety organizations, as well asthe motoring public — all of us have acrucial role to play.

The bottom line is about saving lives.Every unsafe vehicle or driver taken off theroad protects every traveler. Every passen-ger vehicle driver who gives extra space tolarge trucks and buses and who drives withalertness and courtesy does a great deal inpreventing needless crashes and injuries.

I am confident that this fall’s “OperationSafe Driver” will be highly successful aswell, and I look forward to taking part inour joint educational efforts. CVSA mem-bers are outstanding partners not only forRoadcheck and Operation Safe Driver butthroughout the year and each and every dayon the roadside.

Question: Will enforcement strikeforces be continuing? Are anyplanned for this fall and winter?

Answer: Strike forces are valuable toolswithin our larger enforcement toolbox.This past spring, along with state enforce-ment agencies, we conducted anotherhighly successful household goods moversstrike force that led to civil actions against31 moving companies that were operatingwithout USDOT Operating Authority.Another 74 companies are facing penal-

F E D E R A L N E W S

7

Ask the FMCSA Administrator

8

FMCSA Streamlines the Process for RequestingChanges to Its Information Technology Systems By Hesh Ansari, FMCSA, Chief, IT Development Division


Submitting a request to change orenhance an FMCSA InformationSystems (IT) system just got faster andeasier, thanks to a new automatedprocess that is now available online.

No longer is a paper-based “ITSystems Change Request Form” neces-sary. By accessing the InformationSystems Web site via the FMCSAPortal, it is now possible to submit arequest electronically. Simply click on alink to enter or update a change request.The first time a user accesses this link,the system will ask that a profile be cre-ated. This profile includes an emailaddress so that automatic updates can besent about the request. When finished,click “Submit,” and the request will beautomatically routed for processing. To

check on the status of a request, simplyre-enter via the FMCSA Portal and readany messages that have been added.

The convenience of an online requestmechanism will not alter the reviewprocess by CVSA’s Information SystemsCommittee. All requests will be careful-ly reviewed and considered by the CVSAIT Committee, and if ultimately accept-ed, a formal recommendation will besubmitted to FMCSA, where it will gobefore an Enterprise Change ControlBoard (ECCB). The ECCB providesthe technical review required for all sys-tems enhancements, manages the controland pace of IT infrastructure systemchanges, and ensures that the recom-mended modifications are aligned withFMCSA’s strategic objectives.

In the event that a requested ITchange is not adopted or delayed andabsent of explanation, begin by first con-tacting CVSA’s IT Committee.

For technical glitches — such as a bugrequiring a fix — with any of FMCSA’sonline systems, please contact FMCSATechnical Support at (617) 494-3003 oremail [email protected]. Thematter will be logged in and staff willwork to resolve the matter.

For general feedback regardingFMCSA’s IT systems, please send com-ments to [email protected]. TheFMCSA IT Team is constantly strivingto provide better service; we recognizethe life-and-death importance of road-side officers possessing critical safetydata.

ties for violations of Federal MotorCarrier Safety Regulations.

This year’s strike force in particularfocused on the most egregious householdgood movers with an emphasis on com-panies that advertise through the inter-net. We found that the majority ofmovers are good companies but there aresome bad apples. We are committed toweeding them out.

We have more strike forces plannedfor passenger carriers as well. Consistentwith FMCSA’s continued focus on pas-senger safety, the National PassengerCarrier Strike Force is planned for allFMCSA Division Offices and MCSAPPartner Agencies from Monday, August23 through Saturday, September 4, 2010.A sustained effort to conduct passengervehicle inspections and related enforce-

ment activities will occur during this peri-od. Passenger Carrier Strike Forces arejust one of several enforcement strategiesidentified by FMCSA as part of compre-hensive approach to ensure that passengercarriers are operating in regulatory com-pliance upon our nation’s highways.

By capturing data through roadsideinspections and other enforcement activ-ities, those carriers with poor perform-ance indicators will be targeted for com-pliance reviews through SafeStat andCSA 2010. This initiative also offers anopportunity to execute the motorcoachinspection program which is now arequired component of each state’sCommercial Vehicle Safety Plan.

In the long term, we’ll be looking atmore passenger carrier strike forces andother focused regional and national

activities. The success resides, onceagain, in the fact that we all have sharedgoals in our important safety mission.

Working together we can raise the safe-ty bar to enter the motor carrier industry;maintain high safety standards to remainin the industry, and remove high riskbehaviors and operators from operating.

Keep up the good work. What you doeveryday prevents crashes, saves lives andmakes our roads safer for everyone.

Have a question for FMCSA Admini-strator Anne Ferro? Send it [email protected] for inclusion in afuture Guardian column by theAdministrator. Due to limited space notall questions can receive a personalresponse or be published in a future issueof the Guardian.

ASK THE FMCSA ADMINISTRATOR (continued from page 7)

Guardian

9


FMCSA Recognizes States at 5th AnnualMCSAP Leadership Conference

MCSAP LEADERSHIP AWARD CATEGORY #1DATA QUALITY (Fiscal Year 2009)

Standing left to right: Wyoming: Capt. Shannon Ratliff, Lt. Douglas Dome,Wyoming Highway Patrol; Louisiana: Mark Morrison, Lousiana State Police;Indiana: Maj. Jeffry L. Walker, Indiana State Police; DOT Deputy SecretaryJohn Pocari.

MCSAP LEADERSHIP AWARD CATEGORY #2TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT (Fiscal Year 2009)

Standing left to right: Massachusetts: Lt. Thomas Fitzgerald MassachussettsState Police; Idaho: Lt. William Reese, Idaho State Police; Indiana: Maj.Jeffry L. Walker, Indiana State Police; DOT Deputy Secretary John Pocari.

MCSAP LEADERSHIP AWARD CATEGORY #3COMEMRCIAL VEHICLE FATALITY RATE (Calendar Year 2006- Calendar Year 2008)

Standing left to right: Massachusetts: Lt. Thomas Fitzgerald, MassachussettsState Police; Rhode Island: Captain Darren Delaney, Rhode Island State Police,Rhode Island State Police; New Jersey: Shari Lechter, Paul Truban, New JerseyDepartment of Transportation; DOT Deputy Secretary John Pocari.

MCSAP LEADERSHIP AWARD CATEGORY #4COMPLIANCE REVIEWS (Fiscal Year 2009)

Standing left to right: New Mexico: Maj. Ron Cordova, Capt. Chris Mayrant,New Mexico Department of Public Safety; Ohio: Alan Martin, PublicUtilities Commission of Ohio; Illinois: Ed Hoover, Illinois Department ofTransportation; Montana: Montana Department of Transportation (not pres-ent); DOT Deputy Secretary John Pocari.

CSA 2010 OPERATIONAL MODEL FIELD TEST PARTICIPATION

Standing left to right: Colorado: Sgt. Rocco Domenico, Capt. Mark Savage,Colorado State Patrol; Georgia: Chief Mark Mcleod, Georgia Department ofPublic Safety; Missourri: Jan Skouby Missouri Department of Transportation;New Jersey: Shari Lechter, Paul Truban, New Jersey Department ofTransportation.

10

Innovation and Modernization Charts the Pathfor FMCSA’s National Training CenterBy Joe DeLorenzo, FMCSA, Director, National Training Center


The National Training Center (NTC) iscommitted to following a path of inno-vation and modernization. While ourexisting catalog is tried and true, a num-ber of the courses were developed almosta decade ago — long before the existenceof today’s teaching technology resources.

NTC has assembled a team of highlyqualified Instructional Systems Designspecialists to work with state and federalsubject matter experts to review our exist-ing curriculum and course content for instructional improvements andenhancements. And with interactive for-mats, students have an opportunity toactively participate in the training course.

Classes currently in the process of undergoing a complete cur-riculum overhaul include: Compliance Review; New EntrantSafety Audit; Roadside Enforcement; Enforcement Procedures,and; Instructor Development. The Hazardous Materials courses

are in the review phase and are in thequeue to be updated next.

NTC is also actively pursuing accred-itation from the Commission onAccreditation for Law EnforcementAgencies (CALEA).

Our goal is to provide the best prod-uct possible to our state and federalpartners. We appreciate the contribu-tions of all the individuals who haveparticipated on review panels and cur-riculum redesign teams. In fact, if youhave an interest in sharing your expert-ise as a subject matter expert or as aninstructor, please let us know by e-mail-ing [email protected].

We value your feedback. Let us know what you think andwhat ideas you might have to further strengthen and improveNTC. Our website is www.fmcsa.gov/ntc. From there, click on“Contact Us.”

Instructor DevelopmentNTC is in the process of creating an Instructor DevelopmentCourse. It will cover concepts of presentation development;design and delivery of instructional material; adult learning the-ory; preparation of lesson plans; testing; evaluations and assess-ments as well as other areas. The course will meet two long-standing goals: first, to continually elevate the skill sets of NTCinstructors and, second, to ensure a high degree of instructionalconsistency as required to obtain accreditation.

DIAP Making Strides in EnforcementThe Drug Interdiction Assistance Program — DIAP —was launched in 1988. The NTC-DIAP training staff pro-vides criminal interdiction training to approximately 7,500local, state and federal law enforcement officials each year.DIAP works closely with the El Paso Intelligence Center(EPIC) State and Local Liaison Group. DIAP deliverspost and pre-seizure investigative support, predictive analy-sis and “Carriers of Interest” data for law enforcement per-

sonnel. Predictive analysis and seizure data compiled atEPIC drive DIAP’s Commercial Vehicle CriminalInterdiction training curricula as well as EPIC’s CriminalInterdiction courses.

Between February and May 2010, DIAP-trained enforce-ment highlights have included: 5,944 pounds of marijuanaseized by U.S. Border Patrol Agents seizing; 99 kilos of cocaineseized by Alabama State Troopers; 29,000 pounds of untaxedtobacco seized by New York State Troopers, and; $2.3 million inU.S. currency seized along with the recovery of three pallets ofstolen electronics valued at over $50,000 by Iowa Motor VehicleEnforcement Officers.

During Fiscal Year 2009, EPIC staff analyzed reports fromlocal, state and federal, officials detailing an incredible 859 in-transit illicit drug and currency seizures from commercial vehi-cles. The cumulative contraband removal during the 12-monthperiod consisted of: 18,645 pounds of cocaine; 79 pounds ofheroin; 845,315 pounds of marijuana; 1,036 pounds of metham-phetamine and $48.4 million in illicit U.S. currency.

NTC News Briefs

GuardianF E D E R A L N E W S

11

“Commercial Skills Test InformationManagement System” Now AvailableBy Quon Kwan, FMCSA, General Engineer, Office of Analysis, Research and Technology

On May 11, 2010, FMCSA launchedthe Pre-Employment ScreeningProgram (PSP), which allows com-mercial truck and bus companies toelectronically access inspection andcrash records of drivers who are beingconsidered for employment. PSPoffers access to up to five years ofdriver crash data and three years ofinspection data — regardless of thestate or jurisdiction. By using driversafety information during pre-employment screening, commercialcarriers will be able to better assessthe potential safety risks of prospec-tive driver-employees. PSP also pro-vides drivers additional opportunitiesto verify the data in their driving his-tory and correct any discrepancies. Adriver’s records are protected in accor-dance with federal privacy laws.

“Safety is our highest priority. ThePre-Employment Screening Programsends a strong message to commercialcarriers and drivers that we are seriousabout having the safest drivers behindthe wheel of large trucks and buses,”said Transportation Secretary RayLaHood in announcing the launch ofthe program.

“Commercial carriers will have anessential tool for making informedhiring decisions that will lead to saferdrivers on our roads,” added FMCSAAdministrator Anne S. Ferro. “ThePre-Employment Screening Programraises the safety bar for the motor car-rier industry and helps to make ourroads safer for everyone.”

How it WorksThe PSP is populated monthly by

FMCSA’s Motor Carrier ManagementInformation System (MCMIS),which is comprised of driver perform-ance data including inspection andcompliance review results, enforce-ment data, state-reported crashes andmotor carrier census data. State andlocal Motor Carrier Safety AssistanceProgram (MCSAP) partners may rec-ognize this dataset as the DriverInformation Resource (DIR). ThePSP database is the same as the DIR;however, use of PSP is limited tomotor carriers who are conductingchecks on specific drivers who havegranted their consent. When aninspector pulls up a driver record filein the DIR during a roadside inspec-tion, it is the same data that a hiringofficial will be able to view on a driverin accessing PSP.

HazMat Courses Under ReviewThe content for “General HazMat,” as well as “Cargo TankInspection” and “Other Bulk Packages and Cargo Tank FacilityReview” are going through NTC review. The goal will be todevelop streamlined materials for course modules that can beefficiently and effectively presented. Instructional SystemsDesign specialists are continuing to meet with subject matterexperts on the project.

Evaluating EvaluationsIn late March 2010, NTC began a test of the online survey toolSurveyGizmo for collecting course and instructor evaluations atthe FMCSA Academy in Austin Texas. The inaugural test wasdeemed a major success. The web-based application was easy tobuild for staff and easy and convenient for students to use. In a

second phase of the test, NTC created course registration andevaluation survey forms for the safety training classes held thisspring in Texas.

NTC will be expanding its registration and survey systemutilizing SurveyGizmo. State and local partners interested inlearning more about this online registration and evaluation sys-tem, including IT requirements, please contact [email protected].

CALEA Accreditation In November 2010, the clock will start on NTC’s applicationwith the Commission on Accreditation for Law EnforcementAgencies (CALEA) for accreditation. If the process goessmoothly, NTC’s training programs will receive CALEAaccreditation by October 2012.

For more information, go to http://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov.

12


TSA Highway & Motor Carrier Division Trains HazMat Shippers, Drivers, Carriers onNew Security DemandsBy David Cooper, Acting Branch Chief Threats, Vulnerabilities & Consequences, DHS, TSA, Highway & Motor Carrier Division

The Transportation Security Admini-stration (TSA) has a strategic goal ofimplementing preventive measures tomitigate potential terrorist threats andother risks to the hazardous materials(HazMat) transportation sector. TSA’sTransportation Sector NetworkManagement Office (TSNM), Highwayand Motor Carrier Division (HMC),identified a need to promote a betterunderstanding of the new demands fortransportation security on HazMat driv-ers, shippers and carriers.

HMC’s first step in this process wasthe development of the HazMat MotorCarrier Security Self-AssessmentTraining program. This program is basedon existing U.S. DOT regulatory guid-ance, and increases the HazMat trans-

portation community’s awareness ofsecurity planning requirements, and theuse of security self-assessments to identi-fy security shortfalls.

The next step was the development ofa program to give HazMat drivers, ship-pers, and carriers a set of recommendedsecurity actions based on industry bestpractices, they could implement toreduce their security vulnerabilities andmitigate the risk of a HazMat trans-portation security incident. These rec-ommended security practices are knownas Security Action Items (SAIs). The useof the SAls is currently voluntary, not aregulatory requirement or standard.

HMC developed the Security ActionItem Training (SAIT) program for theHazMat transportation community,

based on the SAIs. The SAIT packageemploys a multi-faceted approach,including a self-instructional computerbased training (CBT) module, a guideand materials for instructor-led trainingby larger companies, and an award win-ning scenario based DVD that illustratesthe SAIs in practical use. The goal ofSAIT is to enable HazMat transporta-tion stakeholders to identify their securi-ty vulnerabilities, and determine whichSAIs are appropriate to mitigate therisks. SAIT emphasizes the benefits ofimplementing the SAIs in all areas ofHazMat transportation including gener-al security, personnel security, unautho-rized access, and en-route security.

The SAIT program builds uponHMC’s previous HazMat Motor CarrierSecurity Self-Assessment Training pro-gram, and provides an incremental stepfor preparing the HazMat motor carriercommunity for future TSA codified secu-rity requirements. The training empha-sizes the wide range of security actionsHazMat drivers, carriers, and shipperscan implement; from no/low cost securi-ty practices any company can adopt, tohigh technology hardware solutions forenhancing the security of the most dan-gerous HazMat in transport.

HMC developed the SAIs in con-junction with security partners includingrepresentatives from the chemical manu-facturing industry, chemical transporta-tion industry, and appropriate Federalagencies. Industry and government focusgroups considered threats to HazMat inthe transportation cycle, identified secu-rity best practices, and considered com-mon regulatory compliance issues duringdevelopment of the SAIs.

In June of 2008, HMC introduced theSAIs and associated documents to the

Following an agreement withFMCSA, Transport Canada hasposted the following alert on theirweb site.

Part 6 of the Transportation ofDangerous Goods (TDG) Regulationsrequires anyone who handles, offers fortransport or transports dangerousgoods (HazMat in the US) to hold avalid training certificate.

Subsection 6.4(1) of the TDGRegulations provides for US driverswho hold a document valid in theUnited States that shows they aretrained as set out in sections172.700 to 172.704 of 49 CFR(Code of Federal Regulations).

In the US, drivers that transport HazMat in quantities that require placardsmust pass a state-level exam required by Section 383.93 of 49 CFR. The state willthen add a HazMat endorsement to their Commercial Driver’s License. InCanada, Canadian drivers are not required to have a HazMat endorsement ontheir driver’s license when transporting dangerous goods.

An agreement between the US Department of Transportation - Federal MotorCarrier Safety Administration and Transport Canada states that:• Transport Canada will recognize:

- the HazMat endorsement of the Commercial Driver’s Licence;- a copy of the certification stipulated in section 172.704(d)(5) of 49 CFR; or - a TDG training certificate issued under Part 6 of the TDG Regulations.

• The US will accept a Canadian driver’s TDG training certificate in lieu of aHazMat endorsement.

• Canadian TDG Inspectors can request further verification by contacting theDirector, Compliance and Response, Transport Dangerous Goods Directoratewithin Transport Canada.

To find out more, please contact your regional Transport Dangerous Goods

Office or visit the TDG website at: www.tc.gc.ca/tdg/safety/menu.htm

Atlantic Region 866-814-1477 [email protected]

Quebec Region 514-283-5722

Ontario Region 416-973-1868 [email protected]

Prairie & 888-463-0521 or [email protected]

Northern Region 204-983-3152

Pacific Region 604-666-2955

Guardian

13


HazMat motor carrier industry as awhole.

The SAIs consist of four separatedocuments:• TSNM Letter to Highway and

Motor Carrier Stakeholders • Appendix A — Description of

Voluntary Security Action Items forTier 1 Highway Security SensitiveMaterials (Tier 1 HSSM) and Tier2 Highway Security SensitiveMaterials (Tier 2 HSSM)Transported by Motor Carrier

• Attachment 1 to Appendix A —TSA Highway and Motor CarrierDivision Guidance for BackgroundChecks for Motor Vehicle HazMatEmployees other than MotorVehicle Drivers

• Appendix B — List of Tier 1Highway Security SensitiveMaterials (Tier 1 HSSM) and Tier2 Highway Security SensitiveMaterials (Tier 2 HSSM) withCorresponding Security ActionItems

In 2009 TSA’s Highway & MotorCarrier Division (HMC) partnered withthe U.S. Department of Transportation’s(DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous MaterialSafety Administration (PHMSA) toconduct half-day workshops in eightlocations around the U.S. Due to thesuccess of the program, TSA’s HMCDivision has again partnered with DOT’sPHMSA to offer a revised curriculumand full-day workshops throughout theU.S. beginning in July 2010 and ending inApril 2011. These single day workshopsare also being offered for two consecutivedays in each location. A full schedule ofthe workshops can be found by visitingwww.tsa.gov/highway.

Transport Canada, FMCSA Agreement AllowsRecognition of HazMat Endorsement

14

PHMSA Streamlines and Improves Procedures;Cross-Shares Critical Data; StrengthensEmergency Response Capabilities


The Regulatory Program GoesBeyond the HMRThe 49 Code of Federal Regulations(CFR) Hazardous Materials Regulations(HMR) are issued by the U.S.Department of Transportation (DOT),Pipeline and Hazardous Materials SafetyAdministration (PHMSA) and governthe commercial transportation of haz-ardous materials (HazMat) by highway,rail, vessel, and air. The HMR addressHazMat classification, packaging, haz-ard communication, emergency responseinformation, and training requirements.The HMR are generally performance-based regulations that provide the regu-lated community with a certain amountof necessary flexibility in meeting safetyrequirements.

PHMSA recognizes that the HazMatcommunity is particularly strong atdeveloping new materials, technologies,and innovative ways of moving materials.For these reasons, not every transporta-tion situation can be anticipated and builtinto the HMR, even when regulationsare performance-based. Therefore, aprocess of issuing HazMat special per-mits and approvals has been built into theregulatory system to address those unex-pected situations. A special permit is anauthorization permitting a person to per-form a function that is not otherwise per-mitted under the HMR. An approval isan authorization, classification, or regis-tration for a shipper, carrier, manufactur-er, or package retester to perform anactivity that requires prior authorizationunder the HMR.

For a special permit to be granted,applicants must first submit a thoroughapplication demonstrating an equivalentlevel of safety as provided by the regula-tions or, if not, an equivalent level of

safety as consistent with the public’sinterest. Working with its modal part-ners, such as FMCSA, PHMSA verifiesand evaluates special permit applicationsto determine if the proposed actionsachieve the necessary result.Applications for approvals provide simi-lar information as required for specialpermits. Depending on the type ofapproval being sought, PHMSA maycoordinate with its modal partners toevaluate the fitness of the applicant.

PHMSA is in the process of stream-lining and improving procedures forreceiving and evaluating HazMat specialpermits and approvals. On May 1, 2010,PHMSA launched an on-line specialpermit and approval application process.This on-line process will facilitate fasterprocessing and turnaround, provideapplicants with 24/7 system access, allowthe ability to attach supporting docu-mentation, and provide immediate con-firmation and tracking.

The agency has also identified a num-ber of special permits and approvals withlong-standing safety records that arerepeatedly and widely used by industry,and will be converting them into theHMR for broader use across industry.Doing so will eliminate the need forrepeated special permit and approvalrenewal requests and facilitate commercewhile maintaining an appropriate level ofsafety. On May 14, 2010, PHMSA pub-lished HM-233A, which is the first finalrule in a series of rules to accomplish this.

To further assist HazMat stakehold-ers, PHMSA also provides Letters ofInterpretation clarifying the HMR basedon the stakeholder’s specific request. Forexample, on March 12, 2010, PHMSAissued a letter stating that HazMat neednot be stored in the rear of a tractor trail-

er to allow for inspection in accordancewith 49 C.F.R. part 177.802, and thatthe driver of a tractor trailer is notrequired to unload the contents of thetrailer at a place other than the truck’sorigin or destination as doing so wouldplace an unreasonable burden on thedriver. PHMSA issued this letter whenit became aware of some state enforce-ment officials stopping tractor trailersand, citing the HMR, demanding thatthe driver allow for immediate inspectionof the HazMat packages.

The Importance of Information SharingPHMSA recognizes that each agencywith HazMat responsibility approachesits mission differently and independent-ly. PHMSA is also aware of the criticalroll data has in decision making. There isan ongoing need to use quality data, ana-lytical techniques, and collaborationtools to help manage, minimize, andmitigate the risks to public safety andsecurity. Quality data not only serves asthe foundation for PHMSA’s regulatoryinitiatives, but helps the agency deter-mine priorities and the needs of itsstakeholders. Therefore, effective infor-mation sharing across agencies is neces-sary for improving HazMat programsand increasing safety performance.

PHMSA, along with its interagencyand Federal partners, has launched theHazMat Intelligence Portal (HIP),which is a web-based resource integrat-ing and sharing data on inspections, inci-dents, regulations, penalties, and otherdata from PHMSA, the FederalAviation Administration, FMCSA, andthe Federal Railroad Administration.Also, HIP is integrated with the U.S.Coast Guard and U.S. Environmental

GuardianF E D E R A L N E W S

15

Protection Agency. HIP provides theFederal government with the ability tocross-share critical data and make effec-tive decisions. In the future, HIP will beavailable to enforcement personnel toreview information on companies thattransport HazMat.

Enhancing First ResponderCapabilityPHMSA understands that career andvolunteer emergency first responders arethe first to arrive at the scene of aHazMat transportation accident or inci-dent. Furthermore, PHMSA under-stands that communities often rely ontheir first responders to help prepare fora potential HazMat incident, and pro-vide objective information about thetypes of HazMat being transported to,and through, their areas. Therefore,strengthening the capabilities of the firstresponder community is a key element ofPHMSA’s strategy to mitigate the con-sequences of HazMat incidents that can-not be prevented.

PHMSA and the InternationalAssociation of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) areleading an effort to create the NationalHazardous Materials Fusion Center(HazMat Fusion Center), whose pur-pose will be to support and enhance firstresponder HazMat response capabilitiesnationwide via a secure, web-based por-tal. Focusing on the safety of HazMatfirst responders, no matter their primarydiscipline, the HazMat Fusion Centerwill collect and analyze HazMat incidentdata, and distribute free training materi-als on the latest HazMat trends therebyenhancing first responder tactics, opera-tions, policy, and training. This nation-wide portal will allow HazMat teams toshare knowledge in real time, and build

off of the knowledge acquired duringeach incident.

In another HazMat safety effort,PHMSA publishes the EmergencyResponse Guidebook (ERG), which isdeveloped jointly by PHMSA, TransportCanada, and the Secretariat of Transportand Communications of Mexico, withcollaboration of Centro de InformaciónQuímica para Emergencias (CIQUME).The ERG is a guide to aid first respondersin quickly identifying the specific orgeneric hazards of the material(s)involved in an incident, and protectingthemselves, and the general public, duringthe initial response phase of an incident.

PHMSA’s goal is to place one ERGin each emergency service vehicle,nationwide, through distribution to stateand local public safety authorities. Todate, nearly 11 million hard copies of theERG have been distributed withoutcharge to the emergency response com-munity throughout the United States.The ERG also is available electronically.

The ERG is reviewed and refreshedevery four years in order to reflectchanges in domestic and internationalregulations, and the needs of the usercommunity. The next version of theERG is scheduled for publication in2012. The development cycle for the2012 edition is currently underway. Asignificant component of this process iscollecting and addressing feedback fromYOU. During this period, PHMSAopens the door to its partners, members

of the emergency response community,Federal agencies, and other users of theERG to help explore:• Challenges facing the emergency

response community in the 21st cen-tury and how those challenges impactthe use and distribution of the ERG;

• Recommendations on ways the ERGmay be enhanced to better supportthe emergency response community,and pros and cons of those recom-mendations;

• How the ERG is currently meetingthe needs of the emergency responsecommunity; and

• In what formats the emergencyresponse community uses and receivesthe ERG — via hard copy, electronic,or other format.

On March 18, 2010, PHMSA hostedan Emergency Response Guidebook2010 Roundtable for Responders.PHMSA thanks the CVSA for its activeparticipation in this meeting.

A Federal Register notice will be pub-lished in June 2010 to solicit public com-ment. PHMSA is eager to hear your per-spectives and encourages all CVSAmembers to comment. Your input is vitalto ensuring the ERG continues to meetyour needs. In addition to the FederalRegister notice, comments can be submit-ted through PHMSA’s ERG webpage.

For more information on PHMSA’sOffice of Hazardous Materials Safety,visit HazMat.dot.gov.

16


Testifying before the Committee on HouseTransportation and InfrastructureSubcommittee on June 23, 2010, CVSA’sInterim Executive Director Stephen A.Keppler, urged Congress to ensure there areadequate resources for increasing safety onU.S. highways — citing the 4,229 deaths in2008 resulting from commercial vehicles asunacceptable — and pass a long-termtransportation bill as soon as possible.

“The large truck fatality rate dropped by12.3% in 2008, and is down 20.8% since2005, resulting in 1,000 fewer deaths in2008 from large truck crashes than therewere in 2005,” said Keppler. “Significantcredit for this goes to the more than 12,000commercial vehicle safety inspectors andlaw enforcement officers in North Americawho are working hard each and every day(as well as) to the many responsible mem-bers of the truck and bus industries who aremindful every day of the need to keep ourhighways safe. However… we still haveplenty of work to do in our march towardszero deaths on our roadways.”

CVSA strongly supports theComprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA2010) concept and credited the FMCSA formoving it forward. It offers significantpromise to transform compliance andenforcement activities to be more surgical innature and to allow for more proactive safe-ty interventions with motor carriers, whichwill ultimately save more lives. It also is con-sistent with one of CVSA’s major reautho-rization priorities — to streamline the com-pliance review process to make it moreeffective, as well as to establish a better safe-ty rating process for motor carriers.

“With a program of this size and scopethere are bound to be some bumps alongthe way,” said Keppler. “The key to suc-cess is to keep an open line of communi-cation and for FMCSA to work together

with the states, industry and other affect-ed parties to ensure they are fully aware ofwhat is happening and when.”

CVSA outlined several reasons forthe need for CSA 2010 during the hear-ing on the ‘CSA 2010: UnderstandingFMCSA’s New System of Motor CarrierOversight,’ but indicated it requires along-term and sustained federal invest-ment, and needs to be appropriatelyresourced at both the federal and statelevels for it to be successful.

“This can only happen through a signif-icant increase in funding and the passage ofa long-term bill. A glimpse of the addition-al resources needed at the federal level forCSA 2010 is evidenced by the President’srequest for an additional $20 million beyondSAFETEA-LU authorized limits for hisFiscal Year 2011 budget for the purpose ofrolling out CSA 2010,” said Keppler whoexplained the CSA 2010 experience thus far(through nine pilot states) is it having a pos-itive impact and is being received well byboth enforcement and industry.

“We fully understand why FMCSArecently announced that they are modify-ing their timelines for implementing this

program and fully support their doing so.A program of this size and scope needscareful planning, as well as input from allaffected parties. Throughout this processFMCSA has been listening to us andothers, and we appreciate them doing so.While we understand that schedules andtimelines must be set to allow for properplanning and budgeting, we do notbelieve timelines should be set for thesake of timelines. We need to be realisticabout what our expectations are andcommunicate them to all who have aneed to know,” Keppler added.

CVSA supports FMCSA’s request foran additional $20 million beyondSAFETEA-LU authorized limits for itsFiscal Year 2011 budget for rolling outCSA 2010. However, CSA 2010 will alsorequire the states to expend more resourcesfor implementation just as it has requiredthe FMCSA to do so. In this regard, theAlliance sees several key issues that need tobe appropriately resourced: Training; Workforce adjustments; Information Technologychanges/upgrades; Roadside inspections;Data challenges and adjudication; and,CVSP and grant-related changes.

CVSA also outlined concerns membershave. In particular, states would like to bemore informed on items such as implemen-tation, program funding and its impact, andschedule, deliverables and timelines.FMCSA is implementing a peer-to-peerprogram to help with this; however, a keypiece of the puzzle is to ensure the FMCSADivision Offices in the field are communi-cating effectively with their state counter-parts.Another key issue is whether FMCSAwill be able to implement the informationsystems and software changes to supportfield operations in a timely manner.

To view the full congressional testi-mony, visit www.cvsa.org.

CVSA Urges Congress to Pass Long-TermTransportation Bill to Ensure Highway Safety

GuardianC V S A N E W S

17

An expanded FMCSA Motor CarrierSafety Advisory Committee met June 8 -10, 2010 in Alexandria, Va. tasked withproviding FMCSA with specific ideas,concepts, and information for theAgency to consider in addressing thesafety risk posed by in-cab distractionsother than texting and cell phone use byCMV drivers operating in interstatecommerce. The Committee is expectedto complete work on this task (#10-02)by the conclusion of its next meeting thatwill be held August 30 - September 1,2010 at the Hilton Old Town inAlexandria, Va.

Task #10-02 specifically excludedtexting and cell phone use becauseFMCSA already published a Notice ofProposed Rulemaking (NPRM)regarding texting on April 1, 2010 andis currently preparing a NPRM toaddress cell phone use by CMV driversoperating in interstate commerce.FMCSA recognizes that there aremany other potential sources of in-cabdriver distractions, hence the latestcharge for the MCSAC.

In addition to work on Task #10-02,the Committee provided feedback tothe Agency regarding revisions to theFMCSA Strategic Plan during aninteractive presentation by TrethaChromey, Leader of the FMCSAStrategic Plan Team.

When the MCSAC was first estab-lished on March 5, 2007, then FMCSAAdministrator John Hill appointed 15individuals from industry, law enforce-ment, and safety advocacy to serve twoyear terms on the Committee. Mostmembers were reappointed to an addi-tional two year term on October 1, 2010.Recently, current FMCSA AdministratorAnne Ferro decided to expand the mem-

bership of the MCSAC to a full comple-ment of 20 members as authorized byCongress.

Newly appointed members to theMCSAC are: Capt. Bill Dofflemyer,a 25-year veteran of the MarylandState Police and a member of CVSArepresenting enforcement; MasterPatrol Officer Thomas Jacques, a 16-year veteran of the PittsburghBureau of Police and a member ofCVSA representing enforcement;Mr. Kevin O’Brien, New YorkDepartment of Motor Vehicles, rep-resenting enforcement; Mr. LamontByrd, International Brotherhood ofTeamsters, representing labor; Mr.John Lannen, Truck Safety Coalitionrepresenting safety advocacy; Ms.Jane Mathis, Parents Against TiredTruckers (PATT) representing safetyadvocacy; Mr. Peter Pantuso,American Bus Association repre-senting industry; and, Mr. DannySchnautz, Clark Freight lines repre-senting industry.

In addition to achieving an expansionof the Committee to 20 members, thesenew appointments also fill vacancies thatwere created by the departure from thecommittee of Roger Vanderpool,Michael Irwin and Clyde Hart. Due tomy recent retirement from the MichiganState Police, I too will be ending myservice on the MCSAC.

For complete biographies of all of theMCSAC members and other informa-tion regarding the MCSAC, please visitwww.FMCSA.DOT.GOV/MCSAC.

The newly appointed members of theCommittee have jumped right in and weshould all look forward to the great workthe MCSAC will continue to do toenhance truck safety.

Expanded MCSAC Tackles Distracted DrivingBy Capt. Robert Powers (Retired), Michigan State Police

Two CVSA members, Capt. Norman

Dofflemyer, Commercial Motor Vehicle

Division Commander, Maryland

Department of State Police and Thomas

Jacques, Commercial Motor Vehicle

Enforcement Officer, Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania Bureau of Police, were

recently appointed to FMCSA Motor

Carrier Safety Advisory Committee

(MCSAC).

“CVSA is proud to see Capt.

Dofflemyer and Officer Jacques recog-

nized for their outstanding service

to commercial vehicle safety,” said

Stephen A. Keppler, CVSA’s interim

executive director. “Their appointments,

in addition to previous CVSA members

appointed to the MCSAC, underscore

our mission to promote commercial

motor vehicle safety and security by pro-

viding leadership to enforcement, indus-

try and policy makers.”

The MCSAC membership is bal-

anced and is comprised of fifteen

experts from the motor carrier industry,

safety advocates, and safety enforce-

ment sectors. Members are appointed

by the FMCSA Administrator and serve

two year terms and were chosen from a

field of many qualified candidates who

possess a wide range of motor carrier

experience and expertise.

To obtain a complete summary of all

MCSAC members and for details on

upcoming MCSAC public meetings,

visit http://mcsac.fmcsa.dot.gov.

CVSA MembersSelected to FMCSA’sMotor Carrier SafetyAdvisory Committee

18


Automatic brake adjusters (ABAs) havebeen required on all commercial motorvehicles (CMVs) manufactured on orafter October 20, 1994. As older vehi-cles are retired, it would be expected thatthe number of vehicles with manualbrake adjusters would decrease, and thepropensity for inspectors to find brakesbeyond the adjustment limit (“out-of-stroke”) would also decrease with the useof ABAs.

Unfortunately, the statistics obtainedfrom Operation Air Brake events(Spring Brake Check and Fall BrakeSafety Week), as well as those reportedto the FMCSA through the MCMIS

system do not bear this out across theboard to the extent hoped. Inspectorsstill place more than 1 in 10 vehicles outof service (OOS) for brake adjustmentviolations.

There may be a number of reasons forthe continued surprisingly high numberof vehicles placed out of service forbrakes found to be out of adjustment(OOA). However, the CVSA believesthat education of drivers, mechanics andfleet safety officials is a key componentamong the ongoing Operation Air Brakeefforts needed to lower the percentage ofbrakes found to be OOA, and toimproved roadway safety.

Improved education appears to bewarranted in two areas; the importanceof proper brake adjustment and theimportance of properly diagnosing abrake system in which an ABA is foundto be out of adjustment.

As such, in 2009, CVSA, with fund-ing support from FMCSA and participa-tion from industry (in particular theHeavy Duty Brake Manufacturers’Council — HDBMC), developed twoprototype brake safety demonstrationmodels. The models, which are availablefor loan to CVSA members, are aimed at:1) Demonstrating the importance of

proper brake adjustment, and 2) The importance of properly diagnos-

ing the cause of an automatic brakeadjuster (ABA) that is found to beOOA.

While the first display is aimedtoward drivers and the second towardmechanics and safety directors, both dis-

plays created a lot of “Wow, I didn’tknow that!” responses from each groupwhen first exhibited at NAIC andNTDC held in Pittsburgh.

“The primary reason drivers don’trealize their brakes may be out of adjust-ment is that under normal braking con-ditions, at 20 psi or less application pres-sure, an out of adjustment brake mayexhibit the same behavior as a brake inproper adjustment, and the driver can’tfeel any difference,” says Steve Shaffer ofthe Battelle Memorial Institute, wherethe displays were developed for CVSA.So when a situation arises for a “highdemand” brake application (at 100 psi),adequate brake force may not be avail-able if the brake is OOA.

These concepts are further illustratedin the two informational posters devel-oped to accompany the demonstrationmodels. Links to PDF versions of theeducational posters are available atwww.cvsa.org. Select Programs, thenOperation Air Brake.

For information on the loan of the models,contact Steve Keppler at [email protected].

Brake Safety Model Prototypes Developed forOperation Air BrakeBy Stephen A. Keppler, CVSA’s Interim Executive Director

Student intern Amy Long with the brake safetydisplays at the NAIC/NTDC in Pittsburgh.

One of two informational posters developed toaccompany the demonstration models. A PDFof this poster may be accessed at www.cvsa.org.

GuardianC V S A N E W S

19

If you regulate, teach, ship, carry, or enforce hazardous materi-als in transportation, then COHMED is for you. You don’thave to be a HazMat geek to get the most out of whatCOHMED has to offer, but beware — after attending just oneCOHMED conference you might want to reconsider and justgive in and become a HazMat geek.

COHMED has been around for quite awhile, spanningthree decades, and yet our purpose and goal of CooperativeHazardous Materials Enforcement Development is still ournumber one objective. Now you ask, what is ‘enforcementdevelopment’? Well, we look at it as the process of getting allthe players involved in the safe transportation of hazardousmaterials on the same page by understanding the issues andhurdles that we all face during transportation and enforcementactivities.

By attending COHMED conferences, you have the oppor-tunity to obtain some of the most up to date information in thehazardous materials community. You have the opportunity tospeak with representatives of each of the modal regulatory agen-cies in the U.S. and Canada; including, FMCSA, PHMSA, TC,FAA, TSA, Coast Guard, and sometimes FRA. You have theopportunity to speak with representatives from industry to tryand understand their particular industry or iron out issues youor your jurisdiction might be having. You can send two or threetop hazardous materials trainers, who will have the chance togain up to date training and information to take back and passalong to your other HazMat personnel. This relates to lots oftraining for a limited budget.

All of this interaction and training between so many variedmembers of the hazardous materials community can pay off inmultiple ways. One of those ways occurred on September 11,2001, when representatives of the New York State Police wereable to directly contact representatives of the packaged gasindustry they had met during COHMED. They shaved hoursoff the time needed to coordinate the delivery of needed sup-

plies to the rescue efforts at Ground Zero. This is one of biggestways that contacts made during COHMED have paid off.Every year, numerous issues are ironed out between enforce-ment, industry and regulators in a more economical way, due inpart to contacts made at COHMED.

COHMED is currently held in mid to late January and inthe southern latitudes, not for the warmer climate, but to avoidthe conference location being hit by a major snow or ice stormand causing numerous travel issues and the possibility of moretime away from the office (although the warmer climate doesn’thurt). COHMED 2011 will be held in the Tampa Bay, FL areafrom January 31st to February 4th. We tentatively have the fol-lowing training planned for COHMED 2011:• Inspection of industrial and home medical use cylinders• U.S. / Canadian Safety Marks – Differences and Similarities• Class 7 (RAM) Packaging Standards• Batteries – All Kinds• Transportation of Non-Bulk Combustibles• IBC’s• Local Emergency Assistance Program (LEAP)• IAEA and the 49 CFR• Intro to ICAO• HazMat/DG transportation Chemistry for Dummies

One attendee can’t make all sessions, so don’t miss out onanything by sending just one representative.

The COHMED leadership is looking at several ways of keep-ing our cost down. We are looking at industry sponsorship,realigning conference events and possibly grant options. Our cur-rent leadership consists of a National Chair, National Vice Chair,two Canadian representatives, two industry representatives, and aChair and Vice Chair, from each of our four U.S. regions.

As you can see, by attending COHMED conferences youwill be getting a rather large bang for your buck. You also mightdiscover that being a HazMat geek isn’t as bad as it sounds.

COHMED Not Just For HazMat GeeksBy Tpr. Rex Railsback, Kansas Highway Patrol

Every year, numerous issues are ironed out between

enforcement, industry and regulators in a more economical way,

due in part to contacts made at COHMED.

20


Individuals making the biggest impacton commercial vehicle safety are oftenthose with their “boots on the ground.”These are the dedicated government andlaw enforcement personnel who are onthe front lines each and every day ensur-ing that trucks and buses are operating incompliance with safety regulations.Often times, they are making criticaljudgments that can have life and deathconsequences. These individuals also goout every day and actively promote com-mercial vehicle and highway safety to thegeneral public through their educationand public awareness efforts.

The CVSA International SafetyTeam award was created to recognize theefforts of these dedicated government

and law enforcement personnel fromacross North America, who go above andbeyond the call of duty of their normalresponsibilities and have such a signifi-cant impact on CMV safety, highwaysafety, and an overall reduction in crash-es and deaths.

These are the individuals that arereaching beyond themselves and trulyexemplify the Mission and Values ofCVSA; These are the individuals that arehaving a significant impact on safety andultimately are saving more lives becauseof their dedicated efforts.

The primary goals of the InternationalSafety Team are to:1) Honor CVSA member motor carrier

safety professionals in government/

law enforcement for their work in the furtherance of motor carriersafety; and,

2) Use these individuals to help furtherthe message of commercial vehiclesafety and public awareness.

Although nominations have closed asof July 31, 2010, please visit www.cvsa.orgfor more information about the program,how to apply for the award, and the selec-tion criteria.

International Safety Team Award to Recognize CMV Safety Personnel

Aldridge ElectricAllied Automotive Group

APL. LtdAtlantic Provinces Trucking Association

BGY LSFMBonilla Trucking LLC

CalportlandCDTA

Collier Transportation LLCDEKRA Commercial Fleet Performance Systems

Farmland TransportationFleetwood Transportation Services, Inc.

Great White Pressure PumpingGulfMark Energy, Inc.

Harrison CompanyKiewit Infrastructure South Co.

Layne ChristensenM. Gerace Enterprise Inc.

Maersk Equipment Service CompanyMcClane Company, Inc.

Midland TransportMiller Family Transport

National District Attorneys AssociationPGT Trucking Inc.

Reno Police DepartmentRepublic Services

Roland J. Montbrand & Sons Trucking LLCSGS North America, Inc.

Suffolk County Police DepartmentTIP National, Inc.

Trailways Transportation SystemTransX USA

TSCiVeolia Transportation Services, Inc.

XATA Corporation

NEW CVSA ASSOCIATE AND LOCAL ENFORCEMENT MEMBERS

GuardianC O V E R S T O R YGuardian

21

C O V E R S T O R Y

ROADCHECK MESSAGE RESONATES THAT MAINTAINING SAFE VEHICLES AND DRIVERS IS WORTH THE EFFORT

Commercial Vehicles, Drivers Maintaining Close to Record

Low Out-of-Service Rates

Results from CVSA’s Roadcheck 2010 reveal that the commercial motor vehicle(CMV ) industry is hovering close to the record low out-of-service rates set during2009. Additionally, while overall inspection totals are down from the previousyear’s records, more inspectors participated at more locations in this year’s event.

Roadcheck 2010


22

This seems to indicate during 2010 that there was a shift to anincreasing focus on mobile roadside inspections. In 2010 road-side inspectors focused on the North American Standard (NAS)Level I Inspection, safety belt enforcement; and motorcoachinspections. More than 9,856 CVSA and FMCSA certifiedinspectors at 2,482 locations across North America performed65,327 truck and bus inspections. Of that total, there were48,970 NAS Level I inspections, the most comprehensive road-side inspection. The total inspection output is a 10.2 percentdecrease over the previous record total, and the NAS Level Ioutput is a 14.1 percent decrease over the previous record, bothof which occurred in 2009.

“The number of CMV inspections is an indicator that, evenin these continued tough economic times, state, provincial, localand federal agencies are committed to enforcing truck and bussafety standards,” said CVSA’s Interim Executive DirectorStephen A. Keppler. “Roadside enforcement remains commit-ted to this critically important role in saving lives on NorthAmerica’s highways and helping to provide all travelers a safeand secure place to travel.”

This year during Roadcheck approximately 15 trucks orbuses were inspected, on average, every minute. During the 72-hour inspection blitz, which took place from Canada to Mexicofrom June 8-10, 2010, drivers were pulled over, asked to showtheir commercial driver’s license, medical examiner’s certificateand record of duty status. Brakes, tires, lights and every majorcomponent of the truck or bus were also examined duringRoadcheck. While Roadcheck has taken place every year since1988, it is important to note that roadside inspections occurevery day across North America, to the tune of more than 3.8million in 2009. CVSA sponsors Roadcheck each year with theFederal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA),Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators(CCMTA), Transport Canada, and the Secretariat ofCommunications and Transportation (Mexico).

“Roadcheck has once again successfully reinforced the criticalimportance of safety, compliance and crash prevention – livesdepend on both safe and well maintained trucks and safe andwell trained drivers,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro.

Data from 2010 show the overall vehicle compliance rate at

Percent of Total OOS Volation Data OOS Violations

VEHICLES 2008 2009 2010

Brake Adjustment 25.0 24.7 23.7

Brake System 27.5 26.9 27.1

Tires/Wheels 9.5 10.5 11.2

Lights 11.7 11.6 13.2

Safe Loading 10.4 9.8 9.1

Steering 2.1 2.2 2.1

Frame 1.8 1.6 1.6

Suspension 4.8 4.5 4.7

Coupling Devices 0.7 0.8 0.8

Fuel System 0.6 1.0 0.6

Exhaust System 0.2 0.3 0.4

Roadcheck 2010

Guardian

23

C O V E R S T O R Y

80.0 percent (80.4 percent in 2009), with an overall drivercompliance rate of 95.6 percent (unchanged from last year).For NAS Level I inspections, the compliance rates were 76.7percent for vehicles (77.8 percent in 2009) and 96.3 percentfor drivers (96.1 percent in 2009). In addition, there were 189more safety belt violations in 2010 than there were last year(1,159 vs. 970), a 19.5 percent increase. Inspections of passen-ger carrying vehicles resulted in an increased vehicle compli-ance rate (91.0 percent in 2010 vs. 88.5 percent in 2009) anda driver compliance rate in 2010 that was unchanged from lastyear (96.4 percent). Hazardous materials inspections resultedin a vehicle compliance rate of 83.7 percent (83.0 percent in2009) and driver compliance rate of 97.5 percent (97.0 per-cent). There were 26,605 CVSA Decals issued to vehicles thatpassed the inspection, which was down from the numberissued in 2009 (29,972).

“Brake-related defects continue to account for half of all out-of-service violations,” said CVSA Region V (Canada) PresidentSteve Callahan. “As such, we strongly encourage governments,industry associations and individual carriers and drivers alike to

take an active part in the upcoming 2010 Brake Safety Week,September 12-18. We need all industry players to continueworking together to achieve a further sustained drop in theOOS rate in the years ahead.”

CVSA held an international press conference at Fed ExField in Landover, MD, June 8, 2010 at 10 a.m. which includ-ed speakers from FMCSA and other federal agencies, safetyorganizations and industry partners. In addition, MarylandState Police pulled commercial motor vehicles, including unoc-cupied motor coaches off the inner loop of I-95 screening vehi-cles that need to be inspected.

“Every time an inspector checks the brakes, tires, tie downs,a driver or other items while conducting an inspection, what’s inthe back of their minds is this — what I’m doing will save a life.The people who we read about in the news are “our” familymembers and we are here to protect them,” said CVSA’sPresident Buzzy France. “There is no one person, agency ororganization that feels we can achieve zero fatalities alone. Weneed partners to solve this complex problem. All of us have animportant role to play.”


DRIVERS 2008 2009 2010

HOS 55.8 53.1 52.1

False Logs 12.5 10.4 13.3

Suspended 4.8 4.7 4.3

Expired License 1.4 1.3 1.2

Cancelled License 0.3 0.3 0.4

DQ’d 3.2 4.7 3.7

Revoked License 0.5 0.6 0.4

Endorsement 2.8 3.2 2.5

Age 0.6 0.4 0.4

Drug/Alcohol 0.8 1.1 1.4


HM 2008 2009 2010

Shipping Papers 30.0 27.5 21.0

Placards 24.4 25.1 29.0

Bulk Packagings 2.6 3.7 8.8

Marking 8.2 7.9 6.3

Loading 26.5 26.9 28.1

Package Integrity 8.4 9.0 6.8

As my year of writing articles forGuardian has come to an end, I decidedI should put a fair amount of thoughtinto what topic I would like to cover asmy “finale.” Ultimately, I felt I shouldlook at the experiences and opportunitiesthat have been opened up to me throughmy participation in last year’s NorthAmerican Inspectors Championship(NAIC).

A year ago around this time, I wasfortunate enough to be selected to repre-sent Ontario at NAIC in Pittsburgh, PA.In preparing for the competition, I spokeso several Inspectors from Ontariowhom had participated in NAIC in pre-vious years. Their biggest piece of advicewas to simply enjoy the experience. Theygave glowing reviews of their time spentat the competition, talking about how it

was something they would never forget.As such, I went to Pittsburgh with highexpectations. Needless to say my timethere did not disappoint.

NAIC provided me with a chance totest my skills and knowledge as well asbeing presented with new challenges. Itallowed me to evaluate the roadsideinspections I complete and improve onthem by applying what I had learnedduring the competition. In addition, thetraining sessions that were provided atNAIC were led by instructors who arethe best in their field. These sessionshave proved invaluable. They helpedenhance my knowledge base for roadsideinspections and helped me enforce com-mercial vehicle safety standards moreeffectively. Essentially, the added infor-mation that I have taken with me since

last year’s competition has allowed me tobecome a more complete Inspector.

NAIC has also proved to be a greatopportunity to meet with fellow inspec-tors from across North America. Thetime spent learning with and about fel-low competitors is thoroughly enjoyable.Each one brings a unique perspectiveand background to the event, which isshared amongst all the competitors. Thepartnerships, contacts and friendshipsthat develop over the course of the weekare second to none. There are many con-tacts that I made and that I continue toutilize as part of my day to day work.Perhaps most telling of the NAIC expe-rience is that several people I met duringmy week have now become good friends.

Over the course of the past year, myappreciation and understanding ofCVSA as an organization has beengreatly enhanced. The chance to make asmall contribution to the organization,whether it has been working on articlesfor Guardian or simply talking to thoseinvolved with CVSA, has been veryrewarding. For me, these doors wereopened through my participation inNAIC.

Finally, to those of you who areattending NAIC in Columbus, OH thisyear; Congratulations for representingyour home jurisdictions! I know many ofyou participated in competitions for theopportunity to participate at NAIC.Similar to the advice that was providedto me before attending last year’s compe-tition, the only suggestion I would giveto everyone is to enjoy yourself! NAIC isa great experience, so make sure you takethe time to step back, relax and just havea good time. Enjoy the city, enjoy theevents and have fun. All the best, goodluck and I’ll see you in Columbus!

INSPECTOR’S CORNER

NAIC: A Look at the Experiences and Opportunities That Await Contestants, Future ChampionsBy Alex Bugeya, Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Transportation Enforcement Officer, NAIC 2009 Grand Champion

Alex Bugeya

24


25

Timothy Davis

GuardianC O M M I T T E E N E W S

The wheels on the bus go round andround all through the town, but that chil-dren’s nursery rhyme never mentionedthe behind the scenes inspection processthat motorcoaches go through to ensurethe safe transport of its passengers. Formany in the motorcoach industry, inspec-tions en route with passengers can be anuntimely delay in reaching their destina-tion. To alleviate that concern withoutlessening the safety compliance stan-dards, the Massachusetts Department ofPublic Utilities (MassDPU), MassachusettsState Police, as well as FMCSA, Massa-chusetts Division, decided to conduct ajoint effort to work with some local des-tinations to see if they could use theirproperty to perform safety inspection onincoming motorcoaches.

When the MassDPU initiallyreached out to Six Flags New England, alarge amusement park in our region andcontacted the director of safety to discusswhat we wanted to do they were unsureand a little reluctant to imposition theirmotorcoach travelers. We suggested tothem that inspections would be unobtru-sive. Customers/passengers would be offloaded and motorcoaches and driversdirected to the back of property wherethe safety inspections would take place.Iif there was a major problem the motor-coach operators would have plenty oftime to have repairs made or have thedriver replaced. We explained to man-agement that this was a win-win foreveryone. We were able to inspectmotorcoaches from surrounding statesand that ensured their customers wouldhave a more pleasant experience becausethe bus was just inspected and travelingsafely. In many cases passenger aren’teven aware that buses are inspected.

At this point we reached out to the

American Bus Association (ABA),which Six Flags is a member of, andasked them to provide assistance. ABAproved to be very helpful and were ableto convince management it would be awin-win for all parties.

“There are many misconceptionsamong destination representatives aboutthe inspection process. Some see it ashaving police in uniform with lightsflashing in front of their property. Othersworry about the reactions of passengersor visitors, especially if the passengers’bus or driver is placed out of service,”said Norm Lilttler, Vice President ofRegulatory and Industry Affairs at ABA.

“Destinations that embrace and pro-mote on-site motorcoach inspections givevisible proof that they care about theirvisitors’ well-being and want them tocome back and tell their friends abouttheir great experiences,” said Littler. “Theinspections also encourage visits by qual-ity carriers, help get bad operators off theroad and send a message to substandardproviders that destinations care aboutsafety. Bad operators—those who don’tpay proper attention to safety—hurt theentire motorcoach travel industry, includ-ing destinations. Because it is possiblethat carriers will select a destination that

does not require inspections over one thatdoes, all destinations should work togeth-er to help protect their customers’ well-being by embracing inspections.”

The MassDPU has conducted numer-ous individual motorcoach inspectionsduring the four inspection events in lasttwo years.The Six Flags safety managerhas remarked that as a result motorcoachcompanies only send brand new buses totheir destination making passenger trav-el both better and safer.

In a similar situation, the MassDPUapproached the owner of the Boston MassBus Terminal to discuss the benefits of des-tination safety inspections, especially forcurb side operators. Due to traffic andpedestrian safety concerns, the City ofBoston instituted an ordinance that restrictspick up and drop off on city streets whichforce them to go to the bus terminal. As aresult, we see a lot of interstate bus compa-nies. On average we see roughly 20 to 30buses on any given morning and we try togo once a month. As a result of our onsiteinspections at the bus terminal, we haveseen a marked improvement over the pasttwo years. In addition, equipment defectsare not being found anymore, driver logbooks are more accurate.

State Enforcement, Industry Work Together to Make Motorcoach Destination Inspections a Win-Win for EveryoneBy Timothy Davis, Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, CVSA Chair, Passenger Carrier Committee

CONNECTICUT DMV PERFORM SAFETY CHECKS ON CHARTER BUSES

Connecticut’s Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) inspectors areinspecting charter buses after their passengers have been droppedoff at area casinos. Working in teams, inspectors perform safetyinspections (level I, II or III as appropriate) on motor coaches andcheck for properly functioning equipment and driver logs for hoursof service compliance. The state inspects roughly 1,000 buses a year,but there are slightly more than 10 percent declared out-of-serviceand pulled off the road.

26


FMCSA recently amended the intermodalchassis marking requirements [390.21(g)(4)]to provide for a fifth option in regards toidentification of the Intermodal EquipmentProvider (IEP). To provide a little back-ground, on December 17, 2008 FMCSApublished a final rule phasing in new regu-latory requirements for IEPs. In that finalrule the IEP’s were required to file a MCS-150C and obtain a USDOT number byDecember 17, 2009. Furthermore, byDecember 17, 2010 the final rule outlinedfour marking options for identifying inter-modal chassis: (1) mark the intermodalchassis equipment on the curbside with theIEP’s name and USDOT number; (2)place a label on the curbside of the inter-modal chassis marked with the IEP’s nameand USDOT number; or (3) identify theIEP’s USDOT number on an interchangeagreement that accompanies the inter-modal equipment; or (4) identify the IEP’sUSDOT number on a document placed ina weather-tight holder attached to theframe of the intermodal chassis.

Subsequently, on December 29, 2009FMCSA granted a request of the

Intermodal Association of North America(IANA) to provide for an electronic meansto identify the IEP. That amendment pro-vides for a fifth marking option under sec-tion 390.21(g)(4) by basically cross-refer-encing the intermodal equipment’s licenseplate number, license plate state, or thealpha numeric equipment number to theIEP’s USDOT number using a real-timeinternet connection or through telephonicaccess. This fifth marking option (or IEPidentification method) will be accom-plished by through a website that accessesan electronic database of intermodalequipment known as the GlobalIntermodal Equipment Registry (GIER)maintained by IANA.

Based on discussions with industryofficials, most IEPs will likely exercisethis fifth option of marking (or identify-ing) their intermodal equipment, via theGIER system. This is due to the natureof how intermodal equipment is owned,interchanged, and pooled to together byvarious entities. For example, an inter-modal chassis might be owned by a bankor leasing company and furnished to a

chassis pool operator; the chassis pooloperator in turn may offer the equipmentto various IEPs as needed. Consequently,the IEP responsible for a particular pieceof equipment may change several timesduring a week or even multiple timesduring a given day. The intermodalindustry has indicated that changing thephysical markings on each chassis everytime the IEP changes would be cost pro-hibitive. They believe that this electronicclearinghouse (GIER) provided forunder this new fifth marking option willbe the most accurate and effective meansof identifying the IEP for all partiesinvolved.

According to IANA, the GIER web-site will be accessible by roadside inspec-tors at some point in late summer. Onceaccessibility is granted enforcement thathas web access would be able to querythe system using an online public queryfeature that would allow the singlelookup of any specific intermodal chas-sis. The beta test site can be accessed at:www.gierregistry.com. Inspectors areencouraged to visit the GIER website tosee a mockup of how this cross-referenceintermodal database will work. FMCSAis also exploring various options forroadside inspectors to access the GIERdatabase using current FMCSA tech-nologies in a seamless manner, such asthrough the Query Central website andthrough ASPEN.

In addition, CVSA has established asubcommittee of the Training Committeeto assist enforcement with understandingthe many nuances associated with identi-fication of intermodal equipment, under-standing the industry jargon and bringingclarity to portions of the regulations. Thesubcommittee is made up of CVSA,FMCSA and IANA representatives.

Intermodal Equipment –What Inspectors Should Know AboutUpcoming Marking RequirementsBy Capt. John E. Harrison, Georgia Dept. of Public Safety, CVSA Vehicle Committee

Capt. John E. Harrison

REGION IConnecticut, Delaware, District ofColumbia, Maine, Maryland,Massachusetts, New Hampshire, NewJersey, New York, Pennsylvania, PuertoRico, Rhode Island, US Virgin Islands,and Vermont.

REGION IIAlabama, American Samoa, Arkansas,Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana,Mississippi, North Carolina,Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee,Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

REGION IIIColorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota,Missouri, Nebraska,North Dakota, Northern MarianaIslands, Ohio, South Dakota, andWisconsin.

REGION IVAlaska, Arizona, California, Guam,Hawaii, Idaho, Mexico, Montana,Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah,Washington, and Wyoming.

REGION VAlberta, British Columbia, Manitoba,New Brunswick, Newfoundland andLabrador, Nova Scotia, NorthwestTerritories, Nunavut, Ontario, PrinceEdward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan,and Yukon.

Guardian

27

R E G I O N A L N E W S

I

V

IVIII

IIThe expression “Cooperation CutsClaims” has been used in the safety andrisk management industry for manyyears. It is no secret that working togeth-er allows groups to identify processes,solutions and achieve their goals quicker.

Seventeen years ago, the SouthCarolina Trucking Association’s SafetyManagement Council (SCSMC) andthe South Carolina State TransportPolice (SCSTP) decided to cooperatemore during South Carolina’s annualTruck Driving Championships (TDC).For years the South Carolina safetygroup would ask the State TransportPolice to serve as judges on the fieldcourse, driver vehicle pre-trips, and driv-er interviews. It was noticed that theinteraction between the officers, driversand council members during theChampionships increased the safetyawareness of everyone in attendance.

The South Carolina State TransportPolice Officer “Challenge” is held everyApril in conjunction with the SouthCarolina Truck Driving Championships.The trucking industry provides thejudges for the Challenge, and theTransport Police continues to providethe judges for the TDC. In addition tothe judges, educational activities are heldfor the drivers and the officers. SC StateTransport Police do regulatory classroomtraining on current issues and the truck-ing industry provides classroom educa-tion on current industry issues and con-cerns. This allows both groups to betterunderstand the other and how they oper-

ate, what they face, which results in agreater understanding and respect foreach other and highway safety issues.

At the conclusion of the Truck DrivingChampionships and the Challenge, at theawards banquet, the top performers (bothtruck drivers and officers) are recognizedfor their knowledge and personal perform-ance. The top scoring Transport Policeofficer from Challenge along with theTruck Driving Championship Classchampions go to the Nationals, each rep-resenting South Carolina.

Recent South Carolina industry-enforcement highway safety task forcemeetings again continued to reveal thatSC highway crashes involving smallervehicles and larger commercial motorvehicles (CMVs) continue to show thatthe driver of the smaller vehicles are atfault the majority of the time in SC.SCTA’s SC Road Team (active drivers)have for years visited schools (middle,junior and senior high), civic groups andother gatherings to discuss highway safe-ty using their trucks to demonstrate anddiscuss Sharing the Road and how todrive safely around larger vehicles. It wasdecided that adding a SC StateTransport Police officer to the SC RoadTeam would be a benefit and add insightto the program. That State TransportPolice officer would be the annualChallenge champion and would partici-pate on the SC Road Team for a year. Yetanother way industry and enforcementare working together to provide highwaysafety education.

Increased Interaction Between South Carolina State Transport Police, State Trucking AssociationShows How Cooperation Counts By Sgt. William (Don) Rhodes, South Carolina State Transport Police

Courtesy Counts — Safety Saves — Cooperation Counts

28


New Mexico’s Department of PublicSafety (DPS) Motor TransportationPolice Division (MTPD) is being recog-nized by the Intelligent TransportationSociety (ITS) of America for its SmartRoadside Inspection Program – a pro-gram which changes the way commercialmotor vehicle safety screening is con-ducted in New Mexico and will act as amodel for other law enforcement agen-cies to revolutionize the delivery of high-way safety using innovative technologiesand improve roadside commercial vehi-cle operations practices. ITS Americaselected MTPD’s entry as finalist in theInnovative Practices category of the 2010Best of ITS Awards.

“This technology represents a power-ful new tool set for our agency, it enablesa strategic shift away from the ineffectivepractices of the past and helps us promotesafer highways in our state,” said MTPD’sMaj. Ron Cordova. “In addition, it holdsthe opportunity to revolutionize the deliv-ery of CMV safety and security opera-tions in the state and around the nation bypromoting a future model of CMV safetyin North America.”

Screening intelligence at the roadsideis a radical departure from traditionalscreening methods that were either limit-ed to the weight, dimensions and obviousphysical defects or based on simple ran-dom inspections. With a current nationalequipment out-of-service rate of around22 percent, traditional methods offer lim-ited success, saddle enforcement agencieswith inefficient use of resources and rein-force an unlevel playing field in the trans-portation industry, where irresponsiblecarriers can skirt maintenance and safetycosts with impunity.

The MTPD began deploying astatewide Smart Roadside Program that uses

advanced technology systems to improve theefficiency and effectiveness of its roadsideoperations.The program includes the instal-lation of next generation camera systems onthe ramps that lead up to inspection facilities.Each passing vehicle is identified by itslicense plate and USDOT number. Otheronsite sensor data from traditional roadsideelectronic devices like weigh-in-motion sys-tems and over dimension devices are inte-grated and pooled together with the vehicleand carrier identification. Smart Roadsideuses the identification data to access multipleremote databases and utilizes the informa-tion returned, in conjunction with other sen-sor data, to determine whether the identifiedvehicle warrants a follow-up inspectionaccording to MTPD’s risk profiles. Smart

Roadside’s connectivity to remote safety andsecurity databases includes informationsources such as Federal DOT safety pro-grams like SAFER and PRISM, the FBI’sNational Crime Information Center, andNew Mexico’s Taxation and RevenueDepartment.

“Smart Roadside brings the power ofmultiple information systems to the road-side to enable the automated pre-screen-ing of vehicles in motion,” said Maj.Cordova. “It ends the anonymity andguesswork at the roadside and offers frontline officers access to timely and criticalinformation before pulling a vehicle fromthe flow of traffic which then allows ourofficers to focus attention and resourceson high-risk vehicles,” said Cordova.

Winners were announced at theAnnual Meeting and the Best of ITSawards ceremony on May 3-5, 2010 inHouston. ITS America is the leadingadvocate for technologies that improve thesafety, security and efficiency of thenation’s surface transportation system. Ourmembers include private corporations,public agencies, and academic institutionsinvolved in the research, development anddesign of Intelligent TransportationSystems technologies that enhance safety,increase mobility and sustain the environ-ment. For more information about ITSAmerica visit www.itsa.org.

The New Mexico DPS MotorTransport Police Division mission is topromote safety on New Mexico high-ways by providing law enforcement traf-fic services to the motoring public, toensure the safe and legal operation ofcommercial motor vehicles and to pre-vent the introduction of illicit contra-band into New Mexico while facilitatingtrade. For more information visithttp://www.nmmtdpolice.org.

New Mexico’s Motor Transport Police Division Recognized for RevolutionizingHighway SafetyState Smart Roadside Program Selected as Finalist by National Safety Group

Maj. Ron Cordova accepting the award onbehalf of the New Mexico Motor TransportPolice Division.

The Smart Roadside

Inspection Program will

act as a model

for other law

enforcement agencies….

Guardian

29


During the week of April 12, 2010, theMissouri State Highway PatrolCommercial Vehicle EnforcementDivision (CVED) conducted a truckcheck in Boone, Callaway and ColeCounties in Missouri. The truck checkinvolved 14 Commercial VehicleEnforcement Troopers and CommercialVehicle Officers who focused theirenforcement activities on Interstate 70,and U.S. Highways 54 and 63.

On April 14, 2010, I was on a fieldday, riding with CVED TrainingCoordinator, Sgt. Kevin Kelley on I-70W/B near the 145 mile-marker inCallaway County when we observed aneastbound tractor-trailer with tintedwindows pulling a flatbed trailer carryingfour generators. Median cable barriersprevented us from flipping around to runthe vehicle down, so Sgt. Kelley radioedTpr. Eddie Walker who was east of ourlocation to stop the vehicle.

Trp. Walker stopped the vehicle onthe ramp from I-70 E/B to U.S. 54 high-way and made his initial contact with thedriver. When Sgt. Kelley and I arrived onscene and took a closer look at this truck,it became clear to us that this vehicle wasin need of a full inspection due to itscargo leaking diesel fuel. The truck wasmoved to a safe location and the inspec-tion began.

During the inspection, the 35-yearold male driver from Gallipolis, OH stat-ed to Tpr. Walker, “You won’t find acleaner 1990 Peterbilt anywhere.” Thedriver seemed to be very confident andproud of his truck and equipment, butwhen the inspection was over, the truecondition of the vehicle was revealed.

The inspection began at 1020 hoursand ended at 1145 hours. During this 1hour and 25 minute long inspection, Sgt.

Kelley and Tpr. Walker discovered 21safety violations, 5 of which required thevehicle to be placed out of service. Themost notable out of service violations(OOS) are as follows: mis-matchedbrake chambers on the steering axle, theleft chamber was size 20 and the rightwas size 30, brakes out of service – thenumber of defective brakes is equal to orgreater than 20 percent of the servicebrakes on the vehicle or combination,leaking cargo, excessive diesel fuel leak-ing from one of the generators beinghauled, damaged securement devicesfront and rear securement straps torn.

The inspection also revealed the dri-ver’s record of duty status was not currentand nearly all of the brakes on the truckand trailer were out of adjustment. Thevehicle’s rear brake lights and turn signal

lights were also inoperative. The sad real-ity is, the condition of this truck is repre-sentative of a significant number of com-mercial vehicles travelling on our nation’shighways every day. The safety violationsfound during this inspection averted atragedy and this is why we do what we do.The driver of this truck must have hadsome idea about the poor condition of hisvehicle and load. Just as I know when thetires feel a little low or the brakes feel a lit-tle soft on my patrol car or personal vehi-cle, this driver must have known his truckhad some safety issues. Whether he wasaware of it or not, he put himself andcountless others across the country inharm’s way by driving an unsafe commer-cial vehicle with a registered gross weightof 80,000 pounds on our roadways.

I am confident that the implementa-tion of the FMCSA ComprehensiveSafety Analysis (CSA) - 2010, theemployment of Smart Roadside initia-tives and similar emerging technologieswill provide roadside inspectors with bet-ter information to target and select unsafedrivers and vehicles for inspection.Safety and the reduction of the numberof serious injury and fatal accidentsinvolving commercial vehicles is our pri-mary goal. From 2007 through 2009,Missouri experienced a 46.5 per centdecrease in the number fatal traffic crash-es involving commercial vehicles. Thisreduction can be attributed to a numberof reasons such as, persistent enforce-ment, compliance reviews/safety audits,safer trucks, drivers and equipment, etc.

Truck checks and other enforcement/regulatory strategies, coupled with goodworking partnerships with federal, state,local and private industry are necessaryto ensure our roadways remain safe for allto travel.

“Tragedy Averted - Why We Do What We Do”By Capt. Londell Jamerson, CVED Division Director, Missouri State Highway Patrol

The employment of SmartRoadside initiatives…will

provide roadside inspectorswith better information

to target and select unsafe drivers and vehicles

for inspection.

CVSA’s Quality Assurance Statementreads: Our mission is to promote commer-cial motor vehicle safety and security byproviding leadership to enforcement,industry and policy makers.This is accom-plished by establishing effective trans-portation safety standards for motor carri-ers, drivers, vehicles, and inspectorsthrough compliance, education, training,and enforcement programs.

CVSA fulfills this mission statementon an international level. Each jurisdic-tion has the same obligation on a locallevel. We are all striving for the samegoal, a crash free environment on ourhighways. What we do to achieve ourgoal should be continuously evaluatedand re-evaluated to ensure that ourefforts are effective. We should be look-ing for new programs and utilizing newtools to help us grow and become bettertomorrow than we are today.

Laws, regulations, and policies are inplace to guide us on how to travel thehighways safely. Education is essentialfor compliance. Law enforcement needsto be properly trained in order to haveuniform application of the laws andinspection procedures. Industry needs to

be properly trained in order to be able tocomply with the laws. With good part-nerships, we can educate each other.Partnerships between government agen-cies and private industry are essential toan effective and comprehensive highwaysafety program.

New York State has an annual TruckSafety and Education Symposium co-sponsored by the New York State MotorTruck Association, New York StateDepartment of Transportation and theNew York State Department of MotorVehicles with cooperation from NewYork State Police and Federal MotorCarrier Safety Administration. Thissymposium brings government andindustry together in a local forum whereeach learns from each other. New laws

and regulations are announced, industryand law enforcement concerns areaddressed information is shared andideas are expressed to help all attendees.

The theme for 2010 was “RPM:Reducing Risk, Providing Protection,Managing Mandates.” There werenumerous sessions including DistractedDriving, CSA 2010, Roadside InspectionDemonstration, Sleep Apnea, StayingHealthy on the Road, The Detection ofDeception: The Art of Getting the Truthfrom Applicants, and HazMat Security tomention a few. There is also a “ResourcesFair” where government personnel set upbooths to answer questions and providehandouts, and a Law EnforcementRoundtable discussion where specificissues and be addressed by representativesof various government agencies.

This two-day annual event has beentremendously successful and is scheduledto continue through the foreseeablefuture. We all need as much help as wecan to keep on top of the changing laws,regulations, technologies, equipment andservices being made available to us. Thesymposium in New York is just one exam-ple of how we can all help each other.

New York State Police Combine Partnerships with Education to NetComprehensive Highway Safety EffortBy Sgt. Raymond Weiss, New York State Police

30


REGIONAL RAP

Guardian

31


As a part of the security operations for theMulti-Nation Nuclear Security Summitheld in Washington, DC, April 12 – 14,2010, the Maryland State PoliceCommercial Vehicle EnforcementDivision (CVED) and the MarylandDepartment of the Environment con-ducted homeland security operations inareas around and leading to WashingtonDC. The CVED operation known asGuardian Angel encompassed intensecommercial vehicle enforcement effortsfrom the early morning hours of April12th through mid morning on April 14that undisclosed facilities and numerousmobile enforcement teams. As troopersand inspectors encountered commercialvehicles operating in the region, particularattention was given to the drivers of thecommercial vehicles as well as anythingunusual about the vehicle or the load itwas carrying. During Guardian Angelthere were 934 commercial vehicle inspec-tions conducted; 75 of which were carry-ing hazardous materials. As the result ofthe inspections 135 vehicles, (2 of whichwere carrying hazardous materials) and 47drivers, were placed out-of-service fornon-compliance with federal and statesafety regulations. In addition, 48 vehicleswere stopped and determined to be over-weight with 13 of those vehicles requiringparts of the load to be redistributed toanother vehicle before continuing theirtrip. Troopers and inspectors also issued403 citations and 869 warnings for safetyand overweight violations.

Maryland State PoliceCommercial VehicleEnforcement DivisionAssists with NuclearSummit SecurityOperationsBy Capt. Norman Dofflemyer, Maryland State Police, CommercialVehicle Enforcement Division

CVSA Congratulates CVSA Members for their Recent PromotionsMARK SAVAGE, GARY ALBUS PROMOTED TO RANK OF MAJOR

Capt. Mark Savage, a 15 year veteran with the Colorado StatePatrol (CSP), was recently promoted to the rank of Major of theOperational Services Branch. Savage joined the CSP in January1995 and served his first duty station in Idaho Springs, CO.Three years later he was transferred to the HazMat Division inIdaho Springs and promoted to HazMat technician after one year. Since then,Savage was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and assigned to MCSAP in March2002 and subsequently Captain September 2006. Maj. Savage currently serves asCVSA’s Region III President.

Capt. Gary Albus, a 31-year veteran with the Texas Departmentof Public Safety Highway Patrol, was recently promoted to therank of Major. Albus started his career in 1979 as a Patrolman-Trainee. His first duty station as a trooper was in Odessa inHighway Patrol. In 1987 he was transferred to License & Weight(L&W, now know as Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Service (CVE). and waslater appointed to License & Weight Corporal in Odessa. Following that appoint-ment Albus was promoted in 1993 to Sergeant L&W; in 1995 promoted toLieutenant L&W; and promoted to Captain in L&W and transferred to El Paso.

NEW BRUNSWICK DPS CVE HOSTS TRAINING SESSION IN MONCTON NB

Five provinces were represented at a CVSA Part A and B NASI course inMoncton NB May 1-14 for Instructor development and Inspector certification.

Walt McKinney NB Department of Public Safety (DPS) Instructor Candidate, Eric Roy NB DPSInspector participant, Joel Turner NS Vehicle Compliance Instructor Candidate, Kerri WirachowskiMTO Evaluator Developer, John Lunney DPS Host and Evaluator Developer, Brenda Dorion NB DPSand inspector Candidate, Cody Stevens NS Vehicle Compliance Instructor Candidate, JamesTrombley Alberta CVE and Instructor Candidate, Steven Noonan Prince Edward Island HighwaySafety and Instructor candidate, Mark Bishop NB DPS and Inspector Candidate

REGIONAL RAP

RETIREMENTSTWO VETERAN CVSA MEMBERS, CAPT. BOB POWERS, JIM MCFARLIN, RETIRE

Capt. Robert R. Powers, Jr., commander ofMichigan Department of State Police (MSP)Traffic Safety Division and 37-year veteran,was honored at the Governor’s Traffic SafetyAdvisory Commission (GTSAC) annualawards for his efforts to improve commercial motor vehicle(CMV) safety. Powers received the Richard H. Austin Long-Term Traffic Safety Award, which is presented to individuals ororganizations that have made significant long-term contribu-tions to the field of traffic safety.

Powers administers the department’s traffic safety programsincluding Michigan’s commercial vehicle safety and enforcementprograms, the operation of 19 weigh stations and the School BusSafety Inspection program. He also directs motor carrier safetyand security at three international border crossings.

During his tenure, Powers has promoted partnershipsbetween local, county, state and federal agencies. These effortshave resulted in the creation of CMV enforcement training pro-grams for law enforcement, prosecutors, magistrates and judges;the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police Award forExcellence in Commercial Vehicle Safety that honors lawenforcement agencies for innovative programs to enhance trucksafety; and the Midwest Multi-State CMV Enforcement coali-tion, an initiative that coordinates enforcement efforts betweenIndiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan.

Under his leadership, crashes and fatalities involving CMVsin Michigan have declined 20 percent over the past four years.In 2009, the MSP Traffic Safety Division was honored by theFederal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for having thenation’s lowest CMV fatality crash rate.

Capt. Powers’ presence in highway and commercial vehiclesafety circles will be sorely missed, said Stephen A. Keppler,

CVSA’s interim executive director. “His willingness to try outnew ideas and his ability to inspire and motivate people hastruly made an impact on saving countless lives in his home stateand across North America,” said Stephen A. Keppler.

James W. McFarlin, Director of Safety andSecurity at ABF Freight System, Inc., hasannounced his retirement effective August 6,2010. Jim began his ABF career in 1986 as aSecurity Supervisor, progressed to Manager ofSecurity in 1990, and became director of the department in 1997.In his twenty-four years with the company, McFarlin’s profession-alism, knowledge, and years of experience played a major role in theSafety and Security Department being considered the transporta-tion industry’s best-in-class. ABF is the only five-time winner ofthe American Trucking Associations President’s Trophy for Safetyand the only five-time winner of the Excellence in Security Award.Through his career, McFarlin has been recognized by many indus-try awards and accolades. In October 2003, he was named as theSafety Director of the Year by the American Trucking Associations.The award recognizes ABF’s and McFarlin’s leadership in safetyand security in the transportation industry.

“Your presence in highway and commercial vehicle safetycircles will be sorely missed,” said Keppler. “You should beextremely proud of your accomplishments with ABF FreightSystem, Inc. as well as those you have achieved in your con-tributions to CVSA. Your efforts have truly made an impacton saving lives. Your dedication to the job, to the missionand to people has been nothing short of exceptional. Lastbut not least, your ability to work collaboratively with oth-ers to solve problems has been a valuable asset to increasingsafety on our highways.”

32


CITT’S MANITOBA AREA COUNCIL CREATES DARREN CHRISTLE INNOVATION AWARD

Darcy Calder, CITT, Chair of the CITT’s Manitoba Area Council, recently announced the creation of a new scholarship awardnamed after former CVSA President Darren Christle. The Darren Christle Innovation Award will be given to a Grade 12 studentat Windsor Park Collegiate Institute in Winnipeg interested in a career in supply chain management. Darren Christle, CITT, is cur-rently the Executive Director of the Motor Carrier Division of the Manitoba Department of Infrastructure and Transportation.

“I would like to thank the Manitoba Council for putting this scholarship in my name,” said Mr. Christle. “The key to success iseducation, and I am honored to be associated with all future recipients of this award who share in this belief.”

The first Darren Christle Innovation Award will be presented on Thursday, June 17 at the Manitoba Council Annual Dinner andConvocation ceremony.

Guardian

33

A S S O C I A T E M E M B E R N E W S

The PrePass® system and CVSA sharemuch in common. Both have as theircore mission the improvement of high-way safety. Many of CVSA’s current andpast leadership actively serve on the gov-erning board of the public-private part-nership that offers the nation’s largestroadside screening system that is opera-tional in nearly 300 locations in 29CVSA-member jurisdictions. And now,the two are closely allied in launchingthe inaugural International Safety Teamaward announced last April. PrePass andCVSA have become partners in thetruest sense of the word.

“Without the involvement andsupport of CVSA’s volunteer leader-ship and staff, the widespread accept-ance of PrePass among out nation’scommercial vehicle enforcementleaders could not have been realized,”said Richard P. Landis, President andCEO of HELP Incorporated, thepublic-private partnership that offersPrePass and the former head of theU.S. Department of Transportation’sOffice of Motor Carriers (now theFederal Motor Carrier SafetyAdministration).

“Similarly, by electronically ensur-ing compliance with state safety, cre-dential and weight regulations, PrePassassists CVSA member jurisdictions inimproving safety, reducing roadsideinfrastructure needs and reducinggreenhouse gas and related emissions,”added retired Chief Steve Vaughn ofthe California Highway Patrol andPast President of CVSA.

Recent collaboration between CVSA-member jurisdictions and PrePass arehaving a positive impact on the PrePasssystem and how it is advancing publicsafety and related goals.

Looking Beyond Federal DataSystemsFirst and foremost, PrePass is a safetyprogram. PrePass uses technology toadvance safety on our highways, assistenforcement personnel in focusing onthose carriers that need a closer look, andpromoting safety to carriers and the gen-eral public.

According to Vaughn, “By utilizinginformation collected through theweigh-in-motion scales associated withPrePass, California as well as other statescan utilize aggregate information of traf-fic volumes and equipment to establishthe proper deployment of personnel inthe most cost effective manner, as well asdesign future roads and bridges for real-world traffic conditions.”

Among the most important commit-ments made by PrePass states is its bestpractices screening criteria which takesthe federal Inspection Selection System(ISS) system, and refines it into a screen-ing criteria that really makes sense forroadside enforcement. By minimizingthose aspects of the ISS score about

which commercial enforcement officerscan do nothing, a PrePass SafetyAlgorithm (PSA) indentifies thosetrucks with deficiencies that can beaddressed at the roadside. The PSA hasbeen voluntarily adopted by all 29PrePass states.

“Rather than taking the easy way out,the PrePass states developed a screeningmechanism that does a better job thanISS of identifying the variables that canbe enforced at the roadside.” asserts Col.Terry Maple, Superintendent of theKansas Highway Patrol. “Although thePSA can be confusing to some roadsideofficers because it can conflict with theaggregate ISS score, it offers a superiorselection tool for identifying those vehi-cles most in need of attention at weighstations and ports of entry.”

While the total crash history of amotor carrier can be an indicator forfuture crashes, PrePass states believe thatidentifying those crashes in which thecarrier is at fault is a better indicator andmeasure for determining the safety of acarrier. As a result of numerous discus-

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

PrePass and CVSA: Partners for Safety ProgressNext Year, the Nation’s Largest Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) for Commercial Vehicles Will Turn 15 Years Old

287 Operational Sites in 29 States & Growing

34


sions among PrePass states the PSA wasestablished. PrePass assists the states byanalyzing safety and credential informa-tion identified by the states and determin-ing which carriers will be permitted toparticipate in the program, and then on anindividual event basis, which will be per-mitted to by-pass. This approach is con-sistent with both the PrePass and CVSAmission of promoting highway safety.

The PSA minimizes the safety man-agement and crash Safety EvaluationAreas (SEAs) for roadside screening,instead focusing on the vehicle and driv-er SEAs. “PSA offers an important les-son for FMCSA as they finalize theCSA 2010 program: What’s good forterminal inspection and compliancereview targeting is not necessarily theright tool for the roadside,” said RickClasby, Director of Motor Carriers forthe Utah Department of Transportation.

More information about the PrePasssafety criteria can be found athttp://www.prepass.com/services/prepass/pages/SafetyCriteria.aspx

International Safety Team AwardProgramWhen CVSA announced the inaugura-tion of the International Safety TeamAward Program in April, it was an ideainitiated by PrePass.

According to Lauri Brady, theDirector of Site Operations forPrePass, and the primary liaison withcommercial vehicle enforcement offi-cials in PrePass states, “The purposeof the CVSA International SafetyTeam award is to annually recognizethe efforts of the dedicated govern-ment and enforcement personnelwhose efforts go above and beyondthe call of duty of their normalresponsibilities. Their efforts ensurecompliance with safety regulationsand assist in promoting education andawareness of safe commercial vehicleoperations and with the general publicabout operating safely around com-mercial motor vehicles.”

In 2010, PrePass is the sole spon-sor, and has committed to recruit

additional support from other spon-sors in future years to continue andexpand the Safety Team award pro-gram. Brady added, “We need tomake this program grow. It’s good forsafety. It ’s good for CVSA. And, it ’sa great incentive for the roadside offi-cer, whose tireless efforts go unrecog-nized far too often.”

For more information on theInternational Safety Team Award,http://www.cvsa.org/programs/ist.aspx

Transportation SustainabilityAlthough PrePass is predominantly atool to assist officers in selecting trucksmost in need of attention at the roadside,it has played a very significant role inbolstering the sustainability of trans-portation through reduced fuel con-sumption and related greenhouse gasemissions.

Trucks have successfully compliedelectronically nearly 400 million timeswith state safety requirements. As aresult of this system, the motor carrierindustry has saved more than 158 mil-lion gallons of fuel, over 33 million hoursof driver time and nearly $2.5 billion inoperational savings.

“According to estimates based on datafrom the Environmental Protection Agency,PrePass reduced greenhouse gas emissionsby over 350 thousand metric tons,” saidDoug Donscheski, MCSAP Manager forthe Nebraska State Patrol. “Although safe-ty is our core mission, the fact that PrePasshelps improve Nebraska’s air quality is a welldocumented fact recognized by manythought-leaders in our state.”

For more information on savingsaccru ing a t each PrePass s i t e ,www.prepassmap.net

Guardian

35

As you can see from this issue ofGuardian, our members and associatemembers are going the extra mile toforge relationships and partnerships allin furtherance of the ultimate goal — tosave lives. This has been a key tenet ofPresident France’s year in office, and hecontinues to encourage all of us to get“outside of our comfort zone” to searchout those who share in our cause. It isclear from reading about all the successstories in this issue of Guardian that itpays off to join with others in sharingthoughts, ideas and best practices. I trulybelieve this is one of CVSA’s principalstrengths and in fact, is embodied in oneof our core values: Teamwork. In addi-tion, two CVSA’s organizational goals inour strategic plan also are relevant topartnerships:1. Enhance CVSA’s position as the “go-

to” organization for advice and sup-port on issues related to commercialvehicle safety.

2. Enhance collaboration with nationaland international organizations withsimilar goals and values as CVSA.

There have been several importantrecent events that go to the heart of thesetwo goals. On item 1, CVSA was invitedto testify several times before the USCongress on two key strategic items withrespect to commercial vehicle safety: theDOT Reauthorization legislation andCSA 2010. On item 2, we signed severalMemoranda of Understanding, one withthe Pipeline of Hazardous MaterialsSafety Administration (PHMSA) of theUS DOT and another with theInternational Motor Vehicle InspectionCommittee (CITA), an organizationbased in Belgium and recognized by theEuropean Union and the United Nations.

Also on point 2, CVSA has joined with anumber of other state and local govern-ment based safety organizations (AASH-TO, GHSA, AAMVA, IACP andNACO) in the U.S., along with the threemajor highway safety surface transporta-tion modal agencies of the U.S. DOT(FMCSA, FHWA and NHTSA) in aneffort to further a dialogue on the devel-opment of a national highway safety strat-egy called “Toward Zero Deaths.” You

will be hearing more on TZD in the com-ing year. We are also making efforts tocoordinate this activity with Canada’s suc-cessor to their Road Safety Vision 2010.

We will not be successful at fulfill-ing our mission unless we figure outhow to effectively work with others.Many of you contributing to and read-ing Guardian get it. You understand theimportance of bringing people togetherof different backgrounds and areas ofexpertise to help solve problems. Thatis what CVSA is all about. We need tocontinue down this path. The chal-lenges are not getting any easier, and inmany instances it really does take a vil-lage to move us further down the roadtowards zero deaths on our highways.We also need to lead by example andbring others along on this journey. Itgenerally is not easy, but as my highschool baseball coach used to tell me,nothing worth anything was ever easy.Challenge yourself and others to takethings head on and partner with others— you won’t regret it.

Executive Director’s MessageBy Stephen A. Keppler, CVSA, Interim Executive Director

Stephen A. Keppler

PRESIDENTFrancis (Buzzy) FranceMaryland State Police

VICE PRESIDENT Capt. Steve DowlingCalifornia Highway Patrol

SECRETARY/TREASURER Maj. David PalmerTexas Department of Public Safety

CVSA Executive Committee andCommittee Chairs

REGION PRESIDENTS Region I Sgt. David MedeirosRhode Island State Police

Region II Capt. Bruce BuggGeorgia Department of Public Safety

Region III Maj. Mark SavageColorado State Patrol

Region IV Lt. Bruce PolleiUtah Highway Patrol

Region V Steve CallahanAlberta Transportation, Commercial Vehicle

Enforcement

LOCAL PRESIDENT Tom JacquesPittsburgh Police Department

REGION VICE PRESIDENTS (Non-Voting)Region I Lt. Thomas KellyMaine State Police

Region II Capt. Craig MedcalfOklahoma Highway Patrol

Region III Alan MartinPublic Utilities Commission of Ohio

Region IV Capt. Chris MayrantNew Mexico Department of Public Safety

Region V Reg WightmanManitoba Infrastructure and Transportation

LOCAL VICE PRESIDENTTom MuellerReno Police Department

PAST PRESIDENTS Darren E. Christle, Manitoba Infrastructure

and TransportationCapt. John E. Harrison, Georgia Department

of Public SafetyLt. Donald Bridge, Jr., Connecticut

Department of Motor Vehicles

GOVERNMENT NON-VOTING MEMBERS William (Bill) Quade, Federal Motor Carrier

Safety Administration (FMCSA) William (Bill) Arrington, Transportation

Security Administration (TSA)Peter Hurst, Canadian Council of Motor Transport

Administrators (CCMTA), CRA ChairMauricio Hinojosa, Secretaria de

Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT)Adolfo Spinola, Secretarìa de Seguridad Publica,

Policìa Federal Preventiva

ASSOCIATE NON-VOTING MEMBER Larry Woolum, Chair Associate AdvisoryCommittee, Ohio Trucking Association

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Associate Advisory Committee Larry WoolumOhio Trucking Association

Driver-Traffic Enforcement Committee Capt. Dan MeyerKansas Highway Patrol

Hazardous Materials Committee Capt. Bruce BuggGeorgia Department of Public Safety

Information Systems Committee Capt. William ( Jake) ElovirtaVermont Department of Motor Vehicles

Intelligent Transportation SystemsCommittee Cpl. Rick KoontzPennsylvania State Police

North American Inspectors Championship Committee M/Tpr. R.C. PowellVirginia State Police

Passenger Carrier Committee Timothy DavisMassachusetts Department of Public Utilities

Program Initiatives Committee Sgt. William (Don) RhodesSouth Carolina State Transport Police

Size and Weight Committee Capt. Jay ThompsonArkansas Highway Police

Training Committee Sgt. Raymond WeissNew York State Police

Vehicle Committee Kerri WirachowskyOntario Ministry of Transportation

36

Guardian

37

Guardian

37

R A D I N S P E C T I O N N E W S

Level VI Classes Scheduled for 2010

Under a cooperative agreement with theU.S. DOE, CVSA has scheduled theLevel VI classes for 2010 to certifyinspectors to conduct Level VI inspec-tions on all transuranic waste andHighway Route Controlled Quantities(HRCQ) of radioactive materials.CVSA provides Level VI training toinspectors who meet the prerequisite ofbeing Level I and HazMat certified.The following are the remaining classesscheduled for 2010:

■ Nashville, TN–July 12-15

■ Albany, NY–August 9-12

■ Sacramento, CA–September 27-30

■ Vaughn, NM–October 18-22

■ Austin, TX–November 8-11

■ Austin, TX–January 12-13, 2011Level VI “Train the Trainer” Course

Any state interested in hosting a classor needs inspectors trained is asked tocontact Larry D. Stern, DirectorLevel VI Program, at [email protected] 304-292-1601.

RAD Inspection News is madepossible under a CooperativeAgreement with the U.S.Department of Energy.

Blue Ribbon Commission On America’s Nuclear FutureMeets in D.C.

The federal government is pushing aheadwith identifying alternatives to YuccaMountain. The first meeting of the BlueRibbon Commission on American’sNuclear Future (BRC) was held inWashington, D.C., on March 25-26. Themeeting which was attended by approxi-mately 100 members of the public waswebcast live on the DOE website.Timothy A. Frazier with DOE’s Office ofNuclear Energy, who has been appointedthe Designated Federal Officer for thecommission, facilitated the meeting. The15-member panel is being co-chaired byformer Congressman Lee Hamilton, andformer presidential national security advi-sor Brent Scowcroft.

On the first day, the BRC heard anoverview of the National Waste PolicyAct, the history of the repository program,and a summary of commercial spent fuelinventories from the CongressionalResearch Service. DOE speakers thenprovided details on the inventories ofdefense high-level waste, other sources of spent nuclear fuel, and projections forgrowth in nuclear energy and spent fuel inventories.

The following day the commissioners held several hours of discussion on how theywill conduct their work. The BRC promised to move quickly in completing its tasks,with the co-chairs suggesting that the commission may not need the entire two yearsit has been given to issue its recommendations.

Before the close of the meeting, the commission heard comments from 21 mem-bers of the public, each of whom were given three minutes to speak. Initially only 15minutes had been allotted for the public comment period. Among those deliveringpublic comments were members of host communities to DOE facilities, industry rep-resentatives, and officials from Nevada, and stakeholder organizations. Many of thoseproviding comments urged the BRC to consider Yucca Mountain as a final destinationfor high-level waste, in spite of the administration’s insistence that Yucca is “off thetable.” Others commented that the BRC should be transparent and solicit input fromthe communities in which high-level waste is currently located.

There has been a great deal of controversy over whether the BRC would considerYucca Mountain among the alternatives for waste management. The commissionreportedly has been instructed to focus on “non-site specific solutions.” At the com-mencement of the meeting, Secretary Chu reiterated that the BRC is not to focus itsattention on whether Yucca Mountain can be used as a repository in the future.

The list of communities, states, lawmak-ers, organizations, and other interestedparties that have publicly objected toDOE’s cancellation of the YuccaMountain Project continues to grow.DOE’s motion to withdraw the YuccaMountain License Application was filedon March 3rd, and is currently beingreviewed by the NRC’s Atomic Safetyand Licensing Board. The states ofSouth Carolina and Washington, andcounty of Aiken, S.C., and the PrairieIsland Indian Community of Red Wing,MN, have all filed petitions with theNRC objecting to the withdrawal of thelicense application. The Prairie IslandIndian Community, which resides nearMinnesota’s Prairie Island nuclear plant,is the first entity from the Midwest tointervene in DOE’s attempt to withdrawthe application.

Aiken County, the state of SouthCarolina, and a group of private citizensfrom the Tri-Cities community inWashington State have all filed lawsuitsagainst DOE for violating the NuclearWaste Policy Act by canceling the YuccaMountain Project. The NationalAssociation of Regulatory Utility

Commissioners has filed paperworkobjecting to the withdrawal of the licenseapplication, and the Nuclear EnergyInstitute plans to do so as well, accordingto the Las Vegas Review-Journal.Approximately a dozen members ofCongress have spoken out publiclyagainst the Obama administration’sabandonment of the Yucca MountainProject. Five Congressmen fromWashington and South Carolina recent-ly sent a letter to Energy SecretarySteven Chu outlining the negative finan-cial consequences of canceling the repos-itory at Yucca Mountain.

More Yucca MountainDevelopmentsThe state of Washington filed a courtinjunction to put a halt to DOE’s disman-tling of the Yucca Mountain Project whilethe court case is pending. The followingday, April 15, DOE said it would put onhold its efforts to shut down the projectfor 21 days to give the court time to con-sider the legal issues. However, the three-week delay will not provide adequate timefor the legal questions to be resolved.Yesterday, DOE responded toWashington’s request for an injunction bysaying that canceling the Yucca Mountainproject will not have an adverse effect oncleanup efforts at Hanford.

DOE’s motion to withdraw thelicense application had been submittedto the NRC’s Atomic Safety andLicensing Board, but that three-memberpanel decided earlier in April to refrainfrom making a decision on DOE’smotion until the legal questions havebeen settled in court. The parties suingDOE then asked the courts to expeditethe cases and begin hearing oral argu-ments in June.

Conversely, DOE and State ofNevada requested that the U.S. Court ofAppeals in Washington, D.C., refrainfrom taking up the lawsuits until thelicensing board makes a decision on thewithdrawal of the license application.These parties asked the NRC to reversethe Atomic Safety and Licensing Board’sdecision and make a prompt ruling onwhether DOE can withdraw the licenseapplication.

On April 23, the NRC did just that.Four commissioners directed the AtomicSafety and Licensing Board to continuehearings on whether to allow DOE towithdraw the license application andissue a decision by June 1st. In the order,the Commissioners stated that it isimportant for the NRC to act expedi-tiously and that the court “may well ben-efit from NRC’s consideration of theissues surrounding DOE’s motion.”DOE and the state of Nevada werepleased with the NRC’s order, whilesome critical of the decision fear that theNRC is being pushed to make a politi-cally rather than scientifically-baseddecision. The federal court cases on theissue will proceed.

38

Yucca Mountain Update: Objections to License Application Withdrawal


Approximately a dozen

members of Congress

have spoken out publicly

against the Obama

administration’s

abandonment of the Yucca

Mountain Project.

Guardian

39

R A D I N S P E C T I O N N E W S

This is the first of several articles regardingthe DOE’s Site cleanup program.

Oak Ridge ReservationEnvironmental Management (EM) isthe largest DOE program in Oak Ridge,TN, with cleanup programs under wayto correct the legacies remaining fromseveral years of energy research andweapons production. Many key develop-ments in DOE cleanup of the OakRidge Reservation took place in FiscalYear (FY) 2009. The most notable wasthe additional $755 million that the OakRidge Environmental ManagementProgram received as a result of theAmerican Recovery and ReinvestmentAct. The increased funding allowed usto expedite many planned cleanup proj-ects on the Reservation.

In December 2008, Oak Ridge initiat-ed demolition of the K-25 Building WestWing at East Tennessee Technology Park(ETTP). Although bringing down such amassive gaseous diffusion facility postedmany challenges, our focus was and con-tinues to be on safely accomplishing thiscomplex demolition project. At the end ofFY 2009, two-thirds of the west wing hadbeen demolished. Approximately 5,500loads of demolition debris, 1,300 compres-sors, and 700 converters were shipped tothe Environmental Management WasteFacility (EMWMF) for disposal.

Final stages of the West Wing of K-25 have been completed, the shipment ofwaste will continue to the EMWMFthrough 2010.• Oak Ridge implemented a Radio

Frequency Identification Device sys-tem that tracks waste shipments fromETTP to the EMWMF via eight-mile dedicated Haul Road. The sys-tem not only tracks each individual

truck, but also identifies its contents.This system has lead to greatlyincreased efficiency in the disposal ofETTP waste.

• Other facilities at ETTP weredemolished during FY 2009, includ-ing the K-1035 former maintenancefacility and three high-risk buildingin the Poplar Creed area. A large,contaminated pond near the K-1007Building was drained and re-con-toured.

• FY 2009 marked the last full year ofoperation for the Toxic SubstancesControl Act Incinerator, a one-of-a-kind facility that has treated morethan 34 million pounds of waste sinceit began operating in 1991. At theend of the fiscal year the Incineratorwas in the process of being shut downwill completely cease operations inFY 2010.

• The K-33 Building at ETTP covers34 acres. The ARRA D&D projectwas recently awarded to Lata-Sharpe.Transportation of over 12,000 leadsto the EMWMF will start sometimeafter October 2010 thru 2011.

• The Reindustrialization Program hadmany notable achievements in FY2009. It transferred three buildingsand two land parcels to theCommunity Reuse Organization ofEast Tennessee as it continued itseffort to transform ETTP into a pri-vate sector industrial park. To date,11 buildings and five land parcels atETTP have been transferred to pri-vate companies. Construction hasalso begun on speculative buildingson two of the parcels.

• Bechtel-Jacobs statistics thru the firstquarter of FY 2010.

U.S. DOE’s EnvironmentalManagement Site CleanupProgram

Demolition of the K-25 Building West Wing.

40


CVSA Scheduling2011 Level VI Classes

CVSA is planning the 2011 Level VI

Basic Classes for radioactive shipments

inspection program. Under a coopera-

tive agreement with the U.S.

Department of Energy, CVSA will

schedule eight classes for inspecting

motor carriers and their drivers trans-

porting transuranic waste and Highway

Route Controlled Quantities (HRCQ)

shipment of radioactive material.

Under this cooperative agreement,

CVSA will provide the Level VI training

to jurisdictional inspectors who meet

the prerequisite (CVSA Level I and

HazMat certified).

Any jurisdiction that needs inspec-

tors trained and/or can host a Level VI

Class in 2011 is asked to contact Larry

D. Stern at 304-292-1601 or at

[email protected] by August 31, 2010.

Hanford Resumes Shipments

In March, Washington State’s Hanford Site resumed shipments of TRUwaste to WIPP. Prior to March, waste had not been shipped from Hanfordsince September 2008.

The Department of Energy (DOE) had not planned to resume shipments fromHanford until 2014, but the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) fund-ing made acceleration possible.

“This investment has allowed Hanford to speed up preparing the waste for ship-ment,” said Chat Twitchell, of the Carlsbad Field Office Recovery Act ProjectPlanning & Execution Office. “ARRA is allowing us to significantly reduce thenation’s nuclear waste footprint by accelerating the cleanup process across the country.”

The DOE has started with two shipments to WIPP a week from Hanford andplans to build to five a week by late spring and summer. By fall, WIPP may be receiv-ing up to seven shipments a week from Hanford.

Hanford became the fourth DOE site to ship waste to WIPP on July 12, 2000.WIPP has received over 450 shipments from Hanford.

Level VI Refresher Training Now Available on LevelVI Website

The Level VI refresher training course is now available on the CVSA websitewww.cvsa.org in the Level VI website section. This course can now be downloadedfor the use by the State’s Level VI Train the Trainer so he/she can provide the LevelVI refresher training to the Level VI certified officers in their state to maintaintheir certification.

To maintain their Level VI certification they must have eight of refresher trainingevery two years. The State must send the Level VI refresher training status (officer’sname/date of refresher training) report to Larry D. Stern, Director Level VI Program,at [email protected].

Visit CVSA’s Level VI Website for the Latest ProgramInformation and Online Blog…

for the most up-to-date information on the CVSA’s Level VI Inspection Program, the minutes of the RAM Subcommittee, Level VI training and

public outreach schedules, and other information. Also, you can ask questions concerning the Level VI Inspection Program on the Level VI

Online Forum (blog). Visit www.cvsa.org, click on the Level VI radiation symbol, and you are in the Level VI website.

Academy Express, LLCAMBEST, Inc.

Bestway Express, Inc.Boyle Transportation

Brown Line, LLCCambridge Systematics, Inc.Compliance Safety Systems

DATTCO, Inc.DiSilva Companies

G & D Trucking, Inc. / HoffmanTransportation, LLC

Greyhound Lines, Inc.Greyhound Canada Transportation

CorporationGrocery Haulers, Inc.

James Burg Trucking CompanyLynden, Inc.

Motor Transport Association of Connecticut, Inc.New Jersey Motor Truck Association

Registrar of Imported VehiclesRegScan, Inc.

Rubber Manufacturers AssociationThe Besl Transfer Co.Travel and Transport

Universal Truckload Services, Inc.YRC Worldwide, Inc.

ABF Freight System, Inc.Arizona Trucking Association

Austin Powder CompanyContinental CorporationCovenant Transport, Inc.

Daecher Consulting Group, Inc.Groendyke Transport, Inc.

Help, Inc.Intermodal Association of North AmericaInternational Road Dynamics, Inc. (IRD)

LandstarOhio Trucking Association

Schlumberger Technology Corporation STEMCO

SYSCO CorporationTML Information Services, Inc.

Transport Service Co.United Motorcoach Association Vehicle Inspection Systems, Inc.

A & R Transport, Inc.DEKRA America, Inc.

Great West Casualty CompanyJ.J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

May Trucking CompanyMercer Transportation Company

Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA)R+L Carriers

Shell Oil Products, USSpecialized Carriers & Rigging Association

Tyson Foods, Inc.

2010 CVSA SPONSORSDIAMOND

BENEFACTOR

Dibble Trucking, Inc. Mid-West Truckers Association

PLATINUM

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

NAIC 2010August 2-8, 2010Columbus, OH

SUMMER EXECUTIVE COMMITTEEMEETINGAugust 2, 2010 Columbus, OH

BRAKE SAFETY WEEK 2010September 12-18, 2010

CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROLCOMMERCIAL VEHICLE SAFETYSUMMITSeptember 19, 2010Anaheim, CA

NORTH AMERICAN CARGOSECUREMENT HARMONIZATION PUBLIC FORUMSeptember 19, 2010Anaheim, CA

2010 CVSA ANNUAL CONFERENCESeptember 20-23, 2010Anaheim, CA

OPERATION SAFE DRIVER 2010October 17-23, 2010

2011 COHMED CONFERENCEJanuary 31 – February 4, 2011Tampa, FL

WINTER EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGFebruary 2, 2011Tampa, FL

6TH ANNUAL FMCSA MCSAPLEADERSHIP CONFERENCEMarch/April 2011Chicago, IL

NORTH AMERICAN CARGOSECUREMENT HARMONIZATION PUBLIC FORUMMarch/April 2011Chicago, IL

2011 CVSA WORKSHOPMarch/April 2011Chicago, IL

Presorted Standard

US POSTAGE

PAIDBALTIMORE, MD

PERMIT # 33616303 Ivy Lane, Suite 310Greenbelt, MD 20770-6319

CVSA Guardian 3rd Quarter 2010

Documents

Transcript of CVSA Guardian 3rd Quarter 2010