A truck can fail a safety inspection and be safe to drive. That may sound absurd, but having experience in the industry, I know that to be fact. Having said that, I would love to see that number below 2%. If we have to start screening for sleep disorders, the cost of trucking will dramatically increase, but may be worth it.
Part of the problem is the hours that they run. Commerce is conducted during the day, so the loads that result move between destinations overnight. This makes for difficult sleep patterns as the driver (like nurses and others who work overnight) sleeps when the majority of Americans are awake.
We had a driver who caused a double fatality and the lone surviving driver was a quadriplegic. $17 million loss. The driver had a spotless driving record, went to bed every night by 9:30 PM, did not drink or do drugs, worked daylight hours only,and had good habits generally. Sleep apnea caused him to fall asleep behind the wheel and hit two parked semi trucks causing the loss.
Crain – can you shed any light on one or more of those situations where a truck would be safe to drive after it fails a safety inspection? I can only think of scenarios where the vehicle is not safe to drive – such as bald tires, improper lights, a damaged crash bar, etc.
When a truck has a minor flaw/crack in the fifth wheel, it will be considered a safety violation. The truck is likely safe to operate, but not for years. Many of these flaws are only found by the inspectors who know exactly for what to look. Bald tires are not common, but one issue that is a problem and not a safety violation occurs with ocean going containers or trailers parked for long periods of time. The frames on which these ride may set at a dock or wharf for months or longer. The truck tires may have limited mileage, but the tires may be in bad condition due to age and degradation from exposure. Very few drivers would know that problem exists when picking up the trailer since the tire holds air and shows good tread. When the trailer pulls a heavy container, the tires may overheat due to being old or not perfectly round. The result is a blowout. Blown out tires are extremely dangerous as they throw debris that is damaging and are quite alarming to nearby drivers. A load that I was hauling in Colorado had a blowout. The driver next to me reacted poorly and hit the barricade in the median. No one injured, but two adults and three kids in the car. Rosenblatt, good question and I am glad that you challenged it. That is why I said 2% would be a better number.
Interesting scenario, Crain — not the injuries the family sustained in the loss, of course! I definitely would NEVER have thought of the shipping container/frame/tire situation without your detailed reply. Thank you for explaining that to me; it was very helpful to understand one way a failed safety inspection doesn’t always have to mean the truck is unsafe.
We are numb to the large losses and the risks here. Just like we were to drunk driving, smoking, concussions, asbestos, you name it. It is far past time to care about our roads and those on them and stop writing off so many lives and losses every single year.
I think we need to also be aware of other statistics about fatalities on the road…for example there are 1.3 million people killed every year in automobile accidents. That’s over 3,000 each and every day! And not that transportation companies don’t need to be more pro-active, but what are we doing with all of the other licensed people on the road. I’m married to an over-the-road driver who has been doing this job for 28 years. And he’s also a trainer. The people he has had behind the wheel of his truck scare the you-know-what out of me! The candidates sit so many hours in a classroom, and then get in his truck for OTJ training. He’s had several who are illiterate or are ESL. Are you kidding me? How are these people getting a CDL from whatever state they reside in??? These truck drivers are hauling a 35 ton missile!! We need to stop pointing fingers like shown in this article and start at the beginning with who each state is allowing to become licensed, regardless of the class of vehicle…as a 2 ton vehicle can do as much damage as an 18-wheeler.
It would be nice if some of these articles would tell the whole story. I’m not saying the industry is perfect…there are still rogue trucking companies out there but there are less and less each day. Here are some facts:
Trucks have an overall crash rate almost half that of other vehicles.
In 89% of fatal head-on collisions between a large truck and a passenger vehicle, the passenger vehicle crossed the median into the truck’s lane of travel.
The preponderance of research studies find that car drivers are principally at-fault in approximately three-quarters (70-75%) of fatal car-truck crashes.
See my point?
20% of trucks inspected failing safety inspections?
4000 fatalities in truck related accidents?
If these were air travel safety statistics, the airlines would be grounded and the airports padlocked.
A truck can fail a safety inspection and be safe to drive. That may sound absurd, but having experience in the industry, I know that to be fact. Having said that, I would love to see that number below 2%. If we have to start screening for sleep disorders, the cost of trucking will dramatically increase, but may be worth it.
Part of the problem is the hours that they run. Commerce is conducted during the day, so the loads that result move between destinations overnight. This makes for difficult sleep patterns as the driver (like nurses and others who work overnight) sleeps when the majority of Americans are awake.
We had a driver who caused a double fatality and the lone surviving driver was a quadriplegic. $17 million loss. The driver had a spotless driving record, went to bed every night by 9:30 PM, did not drink or do drugs, worked daylight hours only,and had good habits generally. Sleep apnea caused him to fall asleep behind the wheel and hit two parked semi trucks causing the loss.
Crain – can you shed any light on one or more of those situations where a truck would be safe to drive after it fails a safety inspection? I can only think of scenarios where the vehicle is not safe to drive – such as bald tires, improper lights, a damaged crash bar, etc.
When a truck has a minor flaw/crack in the fifth wheel, it will be considered a safety violation. The truck is likely safe to operate, but not for years. Many of these flaws are only found by the inspectors who know exactly for what to look. Bald tires are not common, but one issue that is a problem and not a safety violation occurs with ocean going containers or trailers parked for long periods of time. The frames on which these ride may set at a dock or wharf for months or longer. The truck tires may have limited mileage, but the tires may be in bad condition due to age and degradation from exposure. Very few drivers would know that problem exists when picking up the trailer since the tire holds air and shows good tread. When the trailer pulls a heavy container, the tires may overheat due to being old or not perfectly round. The result is a blowout. Blown out tires are extremely dangerous as they throw debris that is damaging and are quite alarming to nearby drivers. A load that I was hauling in Colorado had a blowout. The driver next to me reacted poorly and hit the barricade in the median. No one injured, but two adults and three kids in the car. Rosenblatt, good question and I am glad that you challenged it. That is why I said 2% would be a better number.
Interesting scenario, Crain — not the injuries the family sustained in the loss, of course! I definitely would NEVER have thought of the shipping container/frame/tire situation without your detailed reply. Thank you for explaining that to me; it was very helpful to understand one way a failed safety inspection doesn’t always have to mean the truck is unsafe.
We are numb to the large losses and the risks here. Just like we were to drunk driving, smoking, concussions, asbestos, you name it. It is far past time to care about our roads and those on them and stop writing off so many lives and losses every single year.
I think we need to also be aware of other statistics about fatalities on the road…for example there are 1.3 million people killed every year in automobile accidents. That’s over 3,000 each and every day! And not that transportation companies don’t need to be more pro-active, but what are we doing with all of the other licensed people on the road. I’m married to an over-the-road driver who has been doing this job for 28 years. And he’s also a trainer. The people he has had behind the wheel of his truck scare the you-know-what out of me! The candidates sit so many hours in a classroom, and then get in his truck for OTJ training. He’s had several who are illiterate or are ESL. Are you kidding me? How are these people getting a CDL from whatever state they reside in??? These truck drivers are hauling a 35 ton missile!! We need to stop pointing fingers like shown in this article and start at the beginning with who each state is allowing to become licensed, regardless of the class of vehicle…as a 2 ton vehicle can do as much damage as an 18-wheeler.
It would be nice if some of these articles would tell the whole story. I’m not saying the industry is perfect…there are still rogue trucking companies out there but there are less and less each day. Here are some facts:
Trucks have an overall crash rate almost half that of other vehicles.
In 89% of fatal head-on collisions between a large truck and a passenger vehicle, the passenger vehicle crossed the median into the truck’s lane of travel.
The preponderance of research studies find that car drivers are principally at-fault in approximately three-quarters (70-75%) of fatal car-truck crashes.
See my point?