With the need to navigate a big rig in and out of various delivery locations, it’s no surprise that backing accidents have for years been the highest frequency accidents with the lowest severity in the industry. However, the exposure – as with any type of accident – always exists for a fatality, injury and physical damage. And nobody wants an accident, regardless of severity, on their record.
Therefore to enhance your backing skills and to reduce the frequency and exposure of such accidents, it’s a good idea to adhere to the following safe backing procedures:
- Before starting your trip, conduct a thorough pre-trip inspection. Check the vehicle’s brakes, horn, back-up lights, 4-way flashers and back-up alarm and video camera (if equipped) for proper working condition.
- Clean windows and mirrors thoroughly to provide a clear view. Never back a vehicle when any mirror is covered with dirt, frost, snow or other substances that keep you from visually clearing the path the vehicle will take.
- Plan ahead and avoid backing whenever possible. Do not put yourself into unnecessary backing situations. When practical, avoid parking the vehicle in a way that will require it to be backed at a later time. If you learn your routes, you may be able to avoid certain backing situations.
- Get to know the vehicle’s blind spots. Mirrors can never give the whole picture while backing.
- Adjust mirrors for maximum visibility. Mirrors are a major key to any backing maneuver. Adjust your mirrors while the tractor and trailer are in a perfectly straight line and you are sitting in the driver’s seat in your normal comfortable sitting position. Get help adjusting the right side mirror, if possible.
- Park defensively. Carefully survey the parking opportunities when you arrive at the delivery site. If possible, choose an easy-exit parking space that does not crowd neighboring vehicles. Avoid the temptation of pulling into the most convenient location in order to speed up the delivery process. Sometimes, choosing a poor parking space is a matter of necessity - but in many cases, a better defensive position is available if you take the time to look and evaluate.
- Situate your vehicle in the best possible position before starting to back up. Make the turn on the driver’s side, if possible, in order to minimize turning and allow you to see the back of the vehicle swinging into position.
- Plan your exit when parking in an alley. If an alley does not permit driving all the way through or room to turn around, then back into it (if local ordinances permit) so that when leaving, you can drive your vehicle forward into the street.
- Walk around your vehicle and check and recheck your path of travel. Before any attempt is made to back, always get out of your cab to look and see what lies between you and your backing destination. Check for workers, pedestrians, soft or muddy areas, potholes, tire hazards and equipment hazards. When backing long distances, it doesn’t hurt to stop and recheck your path of travel.
- Don’t forget to look up! Look for awnings, pipes, framing, fire escapes, wires, etc. that will be in your way. Look up, down, all around and under the truck before backing. The entire path the vehicle will take must be clear of obstacles. Also, anticipate where another vehicle or pedestrian could reach the rear of the vehicle while you are backing.
- This is also a good time to determine space limitations. Is the space wide enough? Is the loading dock platform high enough or low enough? Be aware that the path may slope up or down, making it difficult to judge vehicle clearance at your destination point. Measure and determine proper distances vertically and horizontally to safely park or unload your freight.
- Although ultimately the responsibility of backing safely falls on the driver, it is helpful to use a reliable, well-trained guide or spotter whenever possible to assist when backing. An extra set of eyes could make all the difference, particularly in situations where there are blind spots or when someone or something could come into your path.
- When you must spot for yourself without a guide, return to the vehicle quickly. Start backing within a few seconds after finishing the walk-around check. This will allow very little time for people and/or obstacles to move behind the vehicle.
- Measure and mark the distance carefully before backing. As you back into your space, get out of your truck and pace off the length of the space from the dock to the rear of the trailer. Then pace off the same distance from your driver’s door back to the end of the trailer area. Place an object on the ground at this measurement point. Then as you back up, you will be at or near the dock when your driver’s door reaches the object.
- Once you are behind the wheel, with the engine running and the vehicle in reverse, check the area again by turning and visually clearing the path that the vehicle will take. Use all side mirrors to constantly check and visually clear your path.
- Use your 4-way flashers and back-up alarm (if equipped) and periodically tap your horn prior to backing and as you continue backing. These warning devices are designed to alert others of your presence and can make other drivers aware of your intentions. Assume that other vehicles or individuals do not see you coming.
- Back slowly and cautiously. Have complete control of your vehicle. Use the lowest possible gear or idle speed and do not accelerate.
Remember that every backing situation is new and different. Even if you visit the same location several times a day or each week, be watchful each visit.
Courtesy of the National Private Truck Council (NPTC)
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) recently launched a survey to identify CSA impacts on trucking operations, as well as carrier perceptions and attitudes toward FMCSA’s new regulatory program.
This survey, targeted to motor carriers, follows ATRI’s successful survey initiative at this year’s Mid-America Trucking Show, which assessed CSA impacts on nearly 5,000 commercial drivers.
The brief on-line survey asks carriers for information on how operations have changed or been affected since the full deployment of CSA in December of last year. The survey also seeks to capture attitudes toward the program and general understanding of its key components.
Motor carriers are encouraged to provide confidential input on CSA through ATRI’s survey, available online at www.atri-online.org. The results of the carrier and driver surveys will be available later this year.
ATRI is the trucking industry’s 501(c)(3) not-for-profit research organization. It is engaged in critical research relating to freight transportation’s essential role in maintaining a safe, secure and efficient transportation system.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
CVSA’s annual 72 hour enforcement campaign, Roadcheck, was conducted June 7-9. The results from the effort were recently announced, and the numbers look better than they have for years. The data reveals that the commercial motor carrier and motor coach industries continue to improve the maintenance and safety of their operations, with overall out-of-service (OOS) rates being the lowest since Roadcheck began.
Nearly 8,000 CVSA and FMCSA certified inspectors across North America performed 70,712 truck and bus inspections during the three-day event. Inspectors focused on the North American Standard (NAS) Level I inspection, motorcoach inspections, hours of service logbooks, and household goods (HHG) carriers.
Drivers were pulled over or directed into weigh stations or other inspection locations and asked to show their commercial driver's license, medical examiner's certificate and record of duty status. Brakes, tires, lights and every major safety component of the truck or bus, plus proper load securement were also examined during Roadcheck.
Once again, hours of service (HOS) logbook violations lead overwhelmingly as a percentage of all driver violations cited, as over 50% of drivers placed OOS because of HOS violations. With CSA’s Fatigued Driving BASIC, these HOS violations affect both the driver’s and the carrier’s CSA scores. Only 14% of those drivers inspected indicated they were using electronic logs.
This year’s data shows the overall vehicle compliance rate at 80.7% (80.0% in 2010), with an overall driver compliance rate of 95.8% (95.6% from last year). For Level I inspections, the compliance rates were up to 77.2% for vehicles (76.7% in 2010) and 96.3% for drivers (unchanged from 2010). In addition, there were 296 fewer safety belt violations in 2011 (863 vs. 1,159 in 2010).
"Although overall out-of-service rates are at record lows, there is room for improvement until the roads are free from vehicle and driver violations," said CVSA's Executive Director Stephen A. Keppler. "Events that focus on ensuring vehicles and drivers are complying with the law, like Roadcheck and all roadside inspections, draw critical attention to out-of-service rates and are shown to also impact crash reductions."
This is especially true with as we ALL look to improve our CSA scores.
If you are a driver who was inspected during Roadcheck 2011, please share your experience by commenting on this post. Were you cited for anything, warned for anything, or did you get a clean inspection?
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
Rumors continue to circulate that the FMCSA is discussing the idea of including drivers in the ranking system under CSA, and making that driver safety data public.
The FMCSA is said to be seeking the necessary authority to rate CDL drivers as part of the next highway bill.
A source within FMCSA stressed that making public the driver percentile rankings in the CSA BASICs “has always been the long-term vision.” Currently, drivers are not ranked against their peers in the BASICs, and data from drivers’ inspection histories is only accessible officially by prospective employers through the Pre-Employment Screening Program.
A recently released five-year plan (2011-2015) was released by the FMCSA. It made no specific mention of the concept of ranking drivers, suggesting achieving this goal could be more than five years away. However, the plan does refer to continuing development of “a methodology to assess the safety fitness of drivers to further identify unsafe drivers who should not be in the industry.”
Making driver safety data and rankings public may be a bigger project than FMCSA and Congress will feel is worth the trouble, says Joe Rajkovacz, government affairs specialist with the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA).
Regardless of the outcome, this is certain to be an extremely contentious topic.
I encourage you to express your thoughts on the subject by commenting on this post.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
The FMCSA has added a page to its website with links to information about sleep apnea and its potential effects on CDL drivers.
Although the driver qualification regulations in 49 CFR Part 391 do not specifically list sleep apnea as a disqualifying condition, a response to a Frequently Asked Question on the FMCSA website states that “drivers should be disqualified until the diagnosis of sleep apnea has been ruled out or has been treated successfully. As a condition of continuing qualification, it is recommended that a CMV driver agree to continue uninterrupted therapy such as CPAP, etc. monitoring and undergo objective testing as required.”
The FMCSA also states, “A driver with a diagnosis of (probable) sleep apnea or a driver who has Excessive Daytime Somnolence (EDS) should be temporarily disqualified until the condition is either ruled out by objective testing or successfully treated.”
The FMCSA makes it clear that the information on the new sleep apnea page is not considered to be regulations or even guidance. A disclaimer is included, stating: “The materials contained on this page were developed under a contract with the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) and are being disseminated by the FMCSA in the interest of information exchange. The FMCSA assumes no liability of the contents or use thereof. The materials contained on this page do not establish FMCSA policies or regulations, nor do they imply an endorsement or partiality by FMCSA of any product, the NSF, or the conclusions and/or recommendations contained in the materials. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names may appear herein only because they are considered essential to the object of the materials.”
The concerns about sleep apnea among the CDL driver community continue to garner a great deal of controversy. I encourage you to share your thoughts on the subject by commenting on this article.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
In late June, the FMCSA announced its draft strategic plan that will serve as a five-year guide to
achieving its mission to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities involving large commercial trucks and interstate buses.
The plan, titled “Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 2011–2016 Strategic Plan: Raising the Safety Bar,” is shaped by three core principles:
- Raise the bar to enter the motor carrier industry
- Maintain high safety standards to remain in the industry
- Remove high-risk carriers, drivers and service providers from operation
The plan lists 10 goals, each with the strategies it will pursue to achieve them. Some of these initiatives are already under way, such as CSA, the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners, and the pending drug and alcohol clearinghouse. But there are some new ideas here, as well:
- Develop a new credentialing standard to make sure that everyone covered by the rules understands the rules. This would be part of an overall effort to raise the bar for entry into the business and prevent carriers from reincarnating themselves in order to dodge enforcement actions.
- Use safety and risk analysis to create a system of enforcement priorities that covers the entire transportation community, including shippers, cargo tank manufacturers or repair facilities and intermodal equipment providers, as well as bus and truck operators and drivers.
- Emphasize expanded traffic enforcement for car as well as truck and bus drivers.
- Expand the range of its partnerships beyond the enforcement, carrier, medical, and safety advocacy communities to include the judicial, education, insurance and shipping communities.
- Continue to look for incentives to push the use of safety technologies such as collision warning and stability control.
- FMCSA wants to become the authoritative source of safety data, and to assemble all that data in a single system that all can enter.
- Also on the list is continuation and expansion of the effort to research driver risk factors to support rulemakings and promote health, wellness and a culture of safety.
For itself, the FMCSA wants to clean up its “regulatory closet” by getting rid of obsolete or conflicting rules, and get better at hiring new people. Among its goals: get onto the Top 10 of the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government.
A key strategy will be to identify gaps in its authority that prevent the FMCSA from reaching entities (shippers, receivers, brokers, freight forwarders) that have an influence over safety. The greatest potential for improving safety lies in focusing outreach, oversight, and enforcement on everyone who is a part of that cycle, the agency said.
The FMCSA is asking for public comments on this and other aspects of the 17-page strategic plan. “This strategic plan represents a fresh and bold new view on issues critical to bus and truck safety, and I encourage Americans across the country to provide feedback and help shape the final plan,” said DOT Secretary Ray LaHood.
Comments on the draft strategic plan can be submitted to the Federal Docket Management System at www.regulations.gov, Docket ID No. FMCSA-2011-0098. In addition, FMCSA has set up an IdeaScale Community on its main Web site at www.fmcsa.dot.gov to comment on the plan. Public comments at the www.regulations.gov and www.fmcsa.dot.gov web sites will be accepted through July 29, 2011.
“The safety gains we have made as a nation are the result of people working together toward a common vision,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro. “It’s vital that our stakeholders – starting with the American motoring public – participate in this dialog to shape the future course of truck and bus safety.”
For a copy of the FMCSA’s draft strategic plan, please click here.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
The FMCSA’s Medical Review Board recently met to review studies on sleep apnea and diabetes as they affect a CDL driver’s fitness. The Board also reconsidered its recommendations to the FMCSA regarding the medical qualification of drivers who have been diagnosed with sleep apnea or diabetes.
Studies conducted in the United States indicated a significantly greater crash risk for drivers who are insulin-dependent. The Board recommended that the FMCSA streamline the medical exemption process to make the exemption due to diabetes available to more drivers.
The reports also identified sleep apnea as the largest safety concern of any area in which the FMCSA regulates drivers. There is a significant prevalence of sleep apnea in the driver population. Methods to screen for, diagnose, and treat sleep apnea remain controversial.
The Board discussed the use of Body Mass Index (BMI) as a marker for screening drivers for sleep apnea; the Medical Review Board had previously recommended using a BMI of 30 or greater to refer a driver for a sleep study diagnosis. The FMCSA’s Medical Expert Panel, however, had previously recommended using a BMI of 33 or higher for sleep study screening. One commenter suggested using a BMI of 33 or higher plus a neck size of 17 inches or more (for males) and other factors to refer drivers for a sleep study.
It was noted that portable diagnostic systems for sleep apnea were an effective alternative to a sleep study, but a concern exists whether the use of these systems would create more false positive or negative results.
Regarding sleep apnea treatment, the studies reflect that CPAP is the only treatment shown to be effective at this time in reducing crash risk. The studies indicated a reduction in crash risk of 72% following use of a CPAP device for one year, but noted that the studies are inconclusive on whether drivers using CPAP therapy return to a “normal” rate of risk or some "still-elevated" risk level.
The Board considered recommending that the FMCSA develop a step level of screening, diagnostic and treatment protocols. But the Board also noted that it would meet in conjunction with the FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee on August 29, 2011 in Alexandria, Virginia to discuss sleep apnea issues, and deferred making any new recommendations on guidance until after that meeting.
To further inform the transportation industry about the concerns of sleep apnea, the FMCSA has created a special sleep apnea page on their website.
With the controversy about how to screen for, diagnose, and treat sleep apnea continuing to grow among the CDL driver community, I encourage you to share your thoughts on the subject by commenting on this article.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.