Tennessee Truck Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Morgan Adams : Trucking Accident, Truck DUI DWI, Semi-Truck Accidents

EOBR's (Electric On Board Recorder's) have been the subject of earlier posts and on the whole are a step forward for safety. EOBR's can be very beneficial in ensuring tired truckers are not allowed on the roads in violation of the law. Unfortunately there are ways to "fix" the EOBR's to allow violations of the FMCSR Hours of Service (HOS) regulations. Knowing how to prove an EOBR was "fixed" in order to allow a driver to stay on the road longer than the HOS regulations allows is an important reason to hire an experienced tractor trailer attorney.

This story appears in the Aug. 20th print edition of Transportation Topics:

HILTON HEAD, S.C. — Four months after the public comment period for the proposed electronic onboard recorder rule closed, a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration official said those comments were still being reviewed and no final rule was imminent.

At the same time, a trucking official suggested the uncertainty regarding hours-of-service rules for drivers could delay any final EOBR rule.

“No final decision has been made about the outcome of the rulemaking,” Debbie Freund, senior transportation specialist for FMCSA, said here Aug. 14 during a presentation at the 2007 PeopleNet user conference.

“The [notice of proposed rulemaking] is a proposal based on the best information available at the time it was developed,” Freund said.

Announced in January, the rule would mandate EOBRs for the worst violators of its hours-of-service rules and provide incentives in the form of relaxed record keeping requirements for carriers who adopt them voluntarily (1-15, p. 1).

The public comment period closed April 18.

When the rule was published, officials estimated it would take four years between the time a final rule was published and full implementation.

But Dave Potts, director of safety and operations for American Trucking Associations, said here that last month’s decision by a federal appeals-peals court to overturn the HOS rule (7-30, p. 1) could push that potential timetable back.

He said any change, through a new FMCSA rule or other methods, in on-duty time, driving hours, the 34-hour restart or sleeper-berth time could result in the need for new EOBR performance specifications, updates to vendors’ EOBR software programs and additional time to train drivers, management and law enforcement.

Freund declined to discuss the hours-of-service case, other than to say the “agency was still reviewing the court’s decision,” or the case’s potential effect on the EOBR proposal.

She did say, however, that in response to the comments on the EOBR proposal, the agency may conduct additional technology assessments to ensure that data obtained from EOBRs not integrally synchronized with the engine or vehicle are accurate.

She added that other EOBR subjects drawing the agency’s attention, based on comments it received, included data security and integrity, interoperability and manufacturer self-certification.

Still, Freund said the agency believes its proposed rule provides the greatest safety benefit because the small number of carriers required to use EOBRs have a much higher crash rate than all other carriers.

Increasing the level of compliance with HOS rules would decrease the incidence of fatigue-related crashes, she said.

Potts, meanwhile, reiterated that ATA generally supports FMCSA’s proposed EOBR rule but said the federation believes more definitive performance specifications were needed and a pilot program should be undertaken to obtain and analyze “real-world data” before any final rule is implemented.

He also said a larger number of the worst HOS violators — 10% or more — should be required to use EOBRs.

Gerry Krolikowski, chairman of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s driver-traffic enforcement committee, gave a similar assessment of the proposed EOBR rule.

He said that, while the law enforcement community is in favor of electronic onboard recorders, CVSA wants to be sure the devices are tamper-resistant and standardized for easy accessibility.

Krolikowski is a lieutenant with the Nebraska State Patrol.

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Transportation Topics Online reported the following today:

The Transportation Department needs tighter controls on Mexican truck and bus drivers with driving convictions and greater ability to inspect vehicles at the border, DOT’s inspector general’s office said Tuesday, Bloomberg reported.

The IG’s office released its assessment of the U.S. readiness to open its border to Mexican trucks, just as DOT prepares to begin a one-year pilot program to give some Mexican trucking companies and drivers open access to U.S. roads, Bloomberg reported.

The improvements “are needed more urgently than ever because Mexican motor carriers may be granted long-haul authority in the near future,”' Rebecca Anne Batts, acting assistant inspector general for surface and maritime programs, said in the report, Bloomberg reported.

On Friday, DOT said it planned to start the pilot program, involving as many as 100 Mexican trucking companies, as soon as Mexico is ready to reciprocate on access to roads.

The House voted overwhelmingly in July to put restrictions on the program, which was announced in February by Transportation Secretary Mary Peters.

The full report may be downloaded bl clicking the following link: www.truckinjurylawyerblog.com/http___www.oig.dot.gov_StreamFile_file=_data_pdfdocs_NAFTA_Annual_8-20-07_FINAL_508_compliant.pdf

See other articles at:

1. www.ooida.com/at_issue/NAFTA/NAFTAcrossborder.html
2. www.wnd.com/news/article.asp

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The day after I posted my blog on the Minnesota bridge collapse on I-35, Chattanooga Times Free Press ran an article on page A8, col 2, that shows the wear and tear on the bridges and highways by the increased truck tonnage. The article was actually written a few days prior to my post and makes it clear that "in just a decade, from 1995 to 2005, the weight load on urban highways increased by half." Bridge loads are increasing at the same time that weather and fatigue weakens the bridges and reduces resistance. Since 1980 the number of tractor trailer miles has more than doubled and risen to 145 billion miles a year. See the full article at: www.newsvine.com/_news/2007/08/10/890168-heavier-trucks-take-toll-on-aging-roads

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Electronic On Board Recorders (EOBR's) have been touted as the best way to eliminate chronic Hours of Service (HOS) violations which lead to fatigue, a major cause of trucking collisions. For example on Aug 9, 2007 the Chattanooga Times reported that in an Atlanta collision which killed 4, the driver state "he had fallen asleep at the wheel."  Anything that would eliminate these tragedies should be applauded, but EOBR's are not a panacea.

In my business I often represent severely injured truckers that have been hung out to dry by their own trucking company. One of my clients recently told me that when he drove a truck with an EOBR, the company gave him the company code which places the EOBR into a "test" mode. While in the test mode the EOBR is offline and doesn't record his hours. He could therefore drive longer hours, in violation of the HOS regulations.

Without the use of an experienced trucking lawyer critical issues like this are likely to be overlooked. A case involving a tractor trailer is not just a big car wreck case and requires significant expertise to handle properly. Make sure any lawyer you hire has that experience.

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The Interstate 35W Bridge that collapsed in Minnesota was built in 1967. Since then there has been significant increases in the size, weight and numbers of trucks on our interstate highway system. There is no question that the additional numbers, and the increasing weight, of tractor trailers on our highways causes additional wear and tear on our roads and bridges. What impact did this have on the Minnesota bridge collapse?

The last change to national policy on truck size and weights was promulgated through the 1982 Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA). Since the 1982 STAA, 14 states adopted some type of incremental expansion (state-by-state) which promoted the use of longer combinations vehicles (LCV) though special access highway systems before it was halted by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). 

Truck size and weight regulation standards can be divided into three types: prescriptive standards, like those currently applied in the U.S.; parametric standards, which include parameters known to be related to performance; and pure performance-based standards. Most size and weight regulation in the U.S. are not based on pure performance tests or on performance-related parameters. They are based on historical compromises between trucking and shipping interests and state and federal highway agencies. These are prescriptive standards, and they are relatively simple to enforce.

Assuming one pass of the 8-tonne axle is equal to 10 passes of light vehicles, as
used in current chipseal design and performance modelling, then one pass of a 12-
tonne axle is equal to 23 passes.

The American Society of Civil Engineers stated it this way in a 2006 report:

Trends continue toward larger trucks and smaller passenger vehicles along with increasing truck volumes. Operational and safety issues and highway pavement and geometric design aspects, of mixing large trucks and smaller passenger vehicles will continue to be a subject of importance to highway administrators and designers...

Increases in truck sizes and weights impact negatively on the structural life and geometric adequacy of the present road network. All highway users will experience reduced service levels, delays, increased vehicle wear and operation costs, and reduced safety. These negative impacts must be balanced against productivity gains and reduced commodity costs.

see: www.asce.org/pressroom/news/policy_details.cfm

Given the above, what is the remedy? Is it enough that we have cheap goods, whatever the cost in lives? I believe Congress will be debating these issues shortly. What should we tell our representatives? Your thoughts greatly appreciated. 

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Lane Departure Warning (LDW) Systems

Trucking companies that are concerned about safety, of their drivers and the public, have ways to assist truck drivers in preventing some of the most common and tragic of collisions, those caused by lane departure. When a tractor trailer leaves its given lane of travel, other motorists on the road frequently pay the price. Frequently, lane change collisions are caused by drowsiness, fatigue and distraction. Trucking companies are aware of how these collisions occur and their frequency (see below link to FHWA fact sheet). They are also aware that technology exists, and is in use, which would significantly reduce this type of collision if they only chose to use it. Trucking companies can empower their drivers to stay safe by using a lane departure warning system or they can gamble with the lives of the drivers and the public. 

Computers and technology now can monitor the position of a vehicle within a roadway lane and warn a driver if it is unsafe to change lanes or merge into a line of traffic. These systems use imaging technology or radar to warn drivers when they are leaving their lane and can also assist drivers who are intentionally changing lanes by detecting vehicles in the driver's blind spot.

One such imaging system is manufactured by Iteris, which states the following on their website about lane change collisions and their product:

Source: safety.fhwa.dot.gov/facts/road_factsheet.htm

What is LDW?
LDW uses a technology called Machine Vision to track a vehicles position relative to the lane markings. Using image recognition software, the system can detect when a vehicle drifts towards an unintended lane change. When this occurs, the unit automatically emits a distinctive rumble strip sound from the left or right speaker (depending on which way the vehicle is drifting), alerting the driver to make a correction.

LDW works effectively both day and night and in most weather conditions where lane markings are visible. LDW is capable of detecting both solid and dashed lines even if the lines are heavily faded.

"Virtual" rumble strips
U.S. Government accident statistics, collected for over 20 years, show that highway rumble strips, where installed, have proven to effectively reduce run-off-road accidents by 30 - 70%. LDW warns drivers before they hit the rumble strip.

LDW provides all the functionality of highway rumble strips, electronically, everywhere there are lane markings. LDW works on the shoulder, centerline and between lanes.

Lane Departure Warning Features & Benefits
	Promotes use of turn signals when changing lanes
	Conditions drivers to have a keen sense of "lane position awareness"
	Emits no warning for planned lane departures (with turn signals on)
	Zero maintenance with functioning wipers and clean windshield
	Disabled below 37 mph (design for highway travel)
	Designed for 10-12 year life
	OEM available through Freightliner, Mercedes, and MAN
	Can be installed on most power units
	Many truck drivers report that it is an effective aid in rain, sleet, fog and general low visibility conditions.
	False warnings are near zero
	Can warn drivers of impending fatigue before it becomes a problem

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While a majority of tanker truck rollovers are caused by driver error, if trucking companies increased training and used current safety technology the number would be reduced according to a recent report by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The trucking companies appear to be withholding the very tools necessary to protect drivers and the public from these types of wrecks.

The report also noted "drowsiness and inattention together contribute to one in five cargo tank rollovers." Fatigue is a topic covered in my earlier posts at length and continues to be an issue of public safety.

See: www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx

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According to JJ Keller, hours of service violations and brake problems were the top violations found during the  2007 Roadcheck. Between vehicle problems, and driver problems, approximately 49% of the inspections showed either the vehicle or the driver should not be on the road. JJ Keller reported:

A total of 62,370 inspections were conducted during the 72-hour Roadcheck 2007 event from June 5–7, 2007. The following out-of-service (O-O-S) statistics emerged for drivers and vehicles:

The number of U.S. state inspections totaled 53,451 (85.70%); Canadian inspections totaled 7,274 (11.66%); U.S. FMCSA inspections totaled 1,506 (2.41%); and Mexican inspections totaled 139 (0.22%).

See: www.jjkeller.com/news/newsinfo/T_news2194.htm

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