Volvo I-shift and Lunging Issues?
Another driver called in to tell me that she also has had problems with Volvo's I-shift and with their 2009 Volvo lunging.
What is the consensus out there, are Volvo's good trucks?
ROADCHECK SCAM BY CVSA CONTINUES
Roadcheck is a 72-hour event in which inspectors set up more than 1,000 checkpoints on highways across North America to monitor truck safety compliance. While this sounds like a good thing, the fact is the event is publicized within the industry MONTHS in advance, allowing dangerous truckers time to get off the road. Even with the advance notice almost 20% of truckers WHO BELIEVE THEY ARE SAFE are found to have safety violations! Imagine how high the numbers would be if it was a random safety check that was not preannounced?
The industry allows touts the success rate but turns a blind eye to the failures. June 8-10 will be the 2010 Roadcheck. Expect a self serving "we are safer this year than ever before" shortly thereafter. How bad is the problem? By my estimation in 2008 there were 92,500 commercial drivers DUI drivers daily on our roads!
Do Volvo Trucks have a Defect Causing Brakes to Apply Without Driver Input?
Recently I was contacted about a Volvo tractor trailer whose brakes allegedly spontaneously applied to the parking brakes. This is supposedly true even with positive air pressure showing on the gages. Volvo is apparently fully aware of this problem and no immediate recall has been issued.
Has any driver had this sort of problem? Can anyone else substantiate this problem?
CSA 2010 PUSHED BACK
I have blogged about CSA 2010 before (click here for a general overview) and was looking forward to the new system which, allegedly, will be able to asses more than the 1-2% of trucking companies that under the current system are currently evaluated. Unfortunately the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it was pushing back the start of CSA 2010 until late 2010, with some portions delayed until 2011. The schedule, published in the Federal Register April 9th, can be read in full here.
CSA 2010 was to originally start this summer, but unsafe trucking companies have realized that it will be tougher to circumvent the new rules and have asked for more time. Surprisingly, the FMCSA agreed. The trucking industry continues to try to water down the new regulations to continue "business as normal."
The new schedule calls for a so-called “data preview” to run through Nov. 30, at which time FMCSA will begin issuing warning letters and using CSA 2010 scores to target fleets for compliance reviews and extra roadside enforcement. Full, nationwide implementation of all of CSA 2010's new enforcement tools will not begin until 2011.
The public will not be able to view the Crash Indicator scores in November because of concerns about the quality of the underlying crash data. As I understand the concerns some states don't report all the information that they should, making the crash data LOWER than it should be if all the crashes were reported. While this may make the data imperfect, it can certainly be used to find and get off the road unsafe trucking companies. If the imperfect data shows the companies are bad, the real data would show they are WORSE!
FINAL RULE ON EOBR's ISSUED BY FMCSA
The FMCSA just issued its final rule on Electric On Board Recorders (EOBR's) which replace paper driver logs. Paper logs are often called comic books in the industry because the contents are so funny, because they are so false. A switch to EOBR's will try to eliminate this known problem in the trucking industry. The full text of the rule may be seen here. For known problems with EOBR's click the link to my prior blog here. For past posts regarding EOBR's just past EOBR into the search box and you will have a number of posts on the topic.
The FMCSA has new performance standards for electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) installed in commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) manufactured on or after June 4, 2012. On-board hours-of-service (HOS) recording devices meeting FMCSA’s current requirements and installed in CMVs manufactured before June 4, 2012 may continue to be used for the remainder of the service life of those CMVs. Motor carriers that have demonstrated serious noncompliance with the HOS rules will be subject to mandatory installation of EOBRs meeting the new performance standards. If FMCSA determines, based on HOS records reviewed during a compliance review, that a motor carrier has a 10 percent or greater violation rate (‘‘threshold rate violation’’) for any HOS regulation listed in the new Appendix C to part 385, FMCSA will issue the carrier an EOBR remedial directive. The motor carrier will then be required to install EOBRs in all of its CMVs regardless of their date of manufacture and use the devices for HOS record keeping for a period of 2 years, unless the carrier (i) already equipped its vehicles with automatic on-board recording devices (AOBRDs) meeting the Agency’s current requirements under 49 CFR 395.15 prior to the finding, and (ii) demonstrates to FMCSA that its drivers understand how to use the devices.
The FMCSA also changes the safety fitness standard to take into account a remedial directive when determining fitness. Additionally, to encourage industry-wide use of EOBRs, FMCSA revises its compliance review procedures to permit examination of a random sample of drivers’ records of duty status after the initial sampling, and provides partial relief from HOS supporting documents requirements, if certain conditions are satisfied, for motor carriers that voluntarily use compliant EOBRs. Finally, because FMCSA recognizes that the potential safety risks associated with some motor carrier categories, such as passenger carriers, hazardous materials transporters, and new motor carriers seeking authority to conduct interstate operations in the United States, are such that mandatory EOBR use for such operations might be appropriate, the Agency will initiate a new rulemaking to consider expanding the scope of mandatory EOBR use beyond the ‘‘1 x 10’’ carriers that would be subject to a remedial directive as a result of today’s rule.
The Agency is still moving forward with new Hours of Service Rules.
