{"id":13597,"date":"2022-04-30T10:46:52","date_gmt":"2022-04-30T08:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=13597"},"modified":"2022-04-30T10:46:52","modified_gmt":"2022-04-30T08:46:52","slug":"roadside-inspections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2022\/04\/30\/roadside-inspections\/","title":{"rendered":"Roadside inspections: A necessary evil"},"content":{"rendered":"

Out-of-service rates in some areas are at a stagnant high, but a little prep can go a long way to help fleets and truck drivers avoid red-flag events and unplanned downtime on the road.<\/p>\n

Roadside inspections can be a necessary evil for carriers and drivers alike. While they are designed to remove unsafe tractor-trailers from the roadways, these inspections can be a time suck for commercial drivers who are already in constant competition with their hours-of-service clock.<\/p>\n

No matter how roadside inspections are viewed, the reality is that an inspection gone wrong is a mark against trucking companies and drivers.<\/p>\n

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration\u2019s Inspection Selection System (ISS)<\/a> is a guide for safety inspectors in selecting commercial motor vehicles for inspection. ISS scores are based on carriers\u2019 safety performance data in areas of crash history, inspection history, driver history, and safety management experience. Law enforcement officers use ISS values to determine whether they will inspect certain vehicles over others.<\/p>\n

ISS values fall under three categories: inspect (inspection warranted) for carrier scores falling between 75 and 100; optional (may be worth a look) for scores between 50 and 74; and pass (no inspection required) for carriers showing an ISS value between one and 49.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of drivers I talk to say inspections are just random. Most of the time, they\u2019re not,\u201d explained Mike Yonka, director of safety services for transportation at Sentry Insurance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Yonka started his career as a truck driver and has hauled everything from dairy, beef, poultry, fuel grade tankers, and auto parts from Mexico up to Canada. He\u2019s no stranger to roadside inspections, and since his days as a driver, Yonka has worked his way up the ranks to fleet safety director and human resources director. Now, in his role at Sentry Insurance, Yonka helps fleets implement safety and training programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome carriers out there just don\u2019t share that ISS information with their drivers,\u201d Yonka said. \u201cDrivers don\u2019t understand that every time you are getting inspected or there\u2019s a violation depending on what category it is, it drives up your score.”<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you explain to a driver that if you\u2019re going through a weigh station and you have an ISS score of 85, and you\u2019re in the red, and someone else is going through with an ISS score of 30, they are probably going to pick you,\u201d he continued. \u201cIt\u2019s not so random. And inspectors already know by looking at the profile of the carrier that they have an issue with inspections and vehicle maintenance.\u201d<\/p>\n

During his time as a fleet safety director, Yonka made it a point to share out-of-service violation numbers and ISS scores with everyone in the corporation. That, he added, goes a long way in helping drivers understand why they have been flagged and are being inspected at a higher frequency than others might be.<\/p>\n

To avoid a red-flag event from safety inspectors, trucks, trailers, and drivers must be prepared before they even hit the road. That\u2019s where proper preventive maintenance (PM) and quality pre- and post-trip inspections come into play.<\/p>\n

Proper PMs<\/h3>\n

For long-time trucking industry veteran Kevin Pfost, technical service coordinator for Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems<\/a>, if fleets are conducting the right PMs regularly, they should never have a problem during a roadside inspection.<\/p>\n

For technicians, proper PMs include measuring strokes on drum brakes and making sure slack adjusters are all positioned at the same angle. Drivers can check that out, too, during their pre- and post-trip walkarounds, Pfost noted.<\/p>\n

That will be especially important this year from May 17 through 19 as the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance\u2019s (CVSA) 2022 International Roadcheck safety blitz will focus on wheel ends<\/a>.<\/p>\n

See also: <\/b>Roadcheck 2022: Concentrate on wheel ends<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI do a lot of training for drum brakes, disc brakes, and a lot of fieldwork for Bendix, and every year, it\u2019s the same thing,\u201d Pfost said. \u201cWe are looking at a 20% to 25% failure rate in wheel ends.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Photo: Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The results of Roadcheck in 2021<\/a>, for instance, show that brake systems took the top spot for violations in North America, accounting for 26.5% of all driver out-of-service conditions. Brake adjustments was the fourth highest violation in 2021, totaling 12.4% of overall violations.<\/p>\n

According to CVSA, violations involving wheel-end components historically account for about one-quarter of the vehicle out-of-service violations discovered during Roadcheck. Furthermore, past data from the annual inspection blitz routinely identified wheel-end components as a Top 10 vehicle violation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I find with fleets a lot is that the brakes don\u2019t get measured,\u201d Pfost said. \u201cThey look at them, a technician will grease them, but they don\u2019t really measure the strokes. When you get pulled over in a roadside inspection, one of the very first things inspectors do is they measure your brake strokes at 90 to 100 psi of application pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Photo: Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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When law enforcement is looking at wheel-end components, they’re actually doing a Level I inspection, meaning they’re crawling underneath the cab and looking at the slack adjusters as well as the inside of the brake drums.<\/p>\n

Underneath the truck, the DOT inspector marks the pushrod where it exits out of the bottom of the chamber, and then has the driver pump air down in the tanks until it\u2019s between 90 and 100 psi, Pfost added. The inspector then applies the full brake and measures from the base of the chamber to that mark made on the pushrod. Chamber type and size tell inspectors at what distance that brake can extend and still be within the DOT brake limits, Pfost advised.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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During roadside inspections, inspectors will measure brake strokes at 90 to 100 psi of application pressure.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cEvery year we are at 20% violations for brakes,\u201d Pfost pointed out. \u201cWhen the DOT inspector writes that ticket, he just has to give a causal problem. So, if the brake measures out of stroke, the inspector will call it the slack adjuster. It could be something totally different in the mechanism some other place, but all he has to do is write ‘brakes out of adjustment spec.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Pfost reiterated that these issues can all be avoided during daily driver pre- and post-trip inspections and bringing in the truck for repair right away before it\u2019s hooked and rolling down the road with a trailer full of freight.<\/p>\n

Pre- and post-trips<\/h3>\n

In collaboration with regular PM schedules, a secure trip on the road comes back to thorough, quality pre- and post-trip inspections<\/a> from drivers.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy conducting pre-trip inspections, drivers can catch the \u2018low-hanging fruit\u2019 law enforcement officers look out for on the road, such as turn signal lights, having a fire extinguisher\u2014those are the things you should be checking in your pre-trip,\u201d Fred Fakkema, VP of safety and compliance at Zonar Systems<\/a>, told FleetOwner<\/i>. \u201cWe always tell our customers that if you don’t take care of your vehicle, you’re going to get inspected a lot. It\u2019s all part of the safety mindset. If the driver is in that mindset of always being safe, they’re looking at their equipment and doing the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fakkema, a former state patrol officer for over 25 years and a graduate of the FBI National Academy, recalled his time as a state trooper and said that the biggest common denominator for mistakes on the road is complacency.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s really easy to get complacent,\u201d Fakkema urged. \u201cI always tie it into my law enforcement days when you see people have an \u2018Oh no\u2019 moment because they weren’t really paying attention. And it’s the same concept when driving a truck: You get comfortable. And once you’re comfortable, you get a little complacent and then that’s when mistakes can happen. That\u2019s when you overlook something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bendix\u2019s Pfost explained that during pre-trip inspections, drivers also should check for air-line chafing and ensure that brake chambers aren\u2019t rusted or have internal parts poking out. They should also check that the slack adjuster isn\u2019t disconnected from the pushrod.<\/p>\n

See also: <\/b>Drivers, technicians are key to avoiding OOS violations<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

When it\u2019s safe to do so, Pfost recommends drivers get under the truck to see what\u2019s going on because that\u2019s what enforcement officers will do during roadside inspections.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, it\u2019s up to the driver to walk around the truck, listen for air leaks, and look underneath the truck with a flashlight,\u201d Pfost advised.<\/p>\n

Keeping a tidy cab also goes a long way.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen inspectors walk up to the door and chat with the driver, they look at the truck\u2019s interior,\u201d Pfost said. \u201cIn their brain, if the driver doesn\u2019t do good maintenance inside the cab, he isn\u2019t going to do good maintenance outside of the cab. I had an inspector tell me one time that it was one of his keys right off the bat that let him know how far he\u2019ll go in the inspection.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a former driver, Sentry\u2019s Yonka feels most comfortable interacting with drivers at truck stops and over the road when possible. Often, after drivers drop a trailer, Yonka sees them get in their trucks and go without doing an inspection. That\u2019s a mistake. During the trip, a tire could\u2019ve gone flat, or lights might have stopped working.<\/p>\n

Yonka uses his practical knowledge and over-the-road experience when talking to drivers. For instance, he\u2019ll often ask truckers if they know the definition of flat tire. CVSA says anything 10 lb. of pressure less than what it\u2019s rated at is flat and should be taken off, Yonka explained. But all too often, drivers don\u2019t understand that.<\/p>\n

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A proper pre-trip inspection involves drivers checking tire pressure before they hit the road.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cOne of the issues I bring up with carriers all the time is just because they have a CDL doesn\u2019t mean they necessarily know the inspection process very well,\u201d he advised. \u201cThat\u2019s why we do training.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from making sure the truck can stop safely by looking at brakes to see if any seals are leaking or whether there is oil or grease on the brake linings, Yonka said drivers should also pay attention to that low-hanging fruit Fakkema had mentioned.<\/p>\n

That means double-checking for emergency equipment, like triangles, and making sure fire extinguishers are fully charged and hanging up properly.<\/p>\n

See also:\u00a0<\/b>Five things your drivers don’t know about roadside inspections<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cMy comment to drivers is whenever you are driving, you have to think of it as your family in that car in front of you,\u201d Yonka urged. \u201cDo you want to have bad brakes if that\u2019s your family in front of you? Do you want to have anything wrong with your truck or be tailgating or speeding if that\u2019s your family you\u2019re following? You always have to think about that because it is somebody\u2019s family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having proper documentation is also an important part of the inspection process, Yonka pointed out. Drivers should be able to show law enforcement officers the steps that they followed during their pre-trip inspections.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there is a severe accident and you are going into court, they are going to ask from an insurance perspective what you did,\u201d Yonka said. \u201cDo you have a process? Did you follow a certain way of handling those inspections? Did you do your pre-tip inspection and make sure everything was good before you hit the road?\u201d<\/p>\n

Yonka often urges carriers to train drivers on their processes, as high out-of-service violations and ISS scores can impact insurance premiums. And when drivers find a better way to conduct their inspections, Yonka advised carriers to take note and always listen to driver feedback.<\/p>\n

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Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series on roadside inspections. The next part focuses on advancements in e-inspections.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Cristina Commendatore<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Source https:\/\/www.fleetowner.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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Out-of-service rates in some areas are at a stagnant high, but a little prep can go a long way to help fleets and truck drivers avoid red-flag events and unplanned downtime on the road. Roadside inspections can be a necessary evil for carriers and drivers alike. While they are designed to remove unsafe tractor-trailers from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[53],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13597"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13597"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13599,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13597\/revisions\/13599"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}