The Fleet Business Authority
Issue link: http://heavydutytrucking.epubxp.com/i/307131
3 2 1 a "A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers," the Greek philosopher Plato once said. Too bad he wasn't around when the government was coming up with CSA. Now four years old, the safety enforcement program known as Compliance, Safety, Accountability relies on al- most nothing but numbers. And as numerous studies keep telling us – and as many trucking professionals already know – those numbers are not always reliable. At the top of the list are your CSA scores, perhaps flawed but visible to the world and used to decide if the DOT needs to pay you a visit, or at least send you a letter. Pull the curtain on those scores and you can find a mass of interesting and (arguably) more reliable data: the raw numbers coming in from enforcement person- nel on the front lines. Besides giving insight into your CSA scores, the enforcement data can reveal important clues about your drivers and overall safety management. It can tell you where to focus your compliance efforts. Let's examine the top three CSA violations for both ve- hicles and drivers across the industry, and discuss practices that can help bring the numbers down. Daren Hansen • J.J. Keller & Associates Safety&Compliance; 22 HDT • MAY 2014 www.truckinginfo.com How to avoid 6 common CSA violations VIOLATION Lighting Ironically, broken lights are among the most "visible" of all violations. Maybe that's why a whopping 28% of all roadside vehicle violations last year, out of 2.4 million inspections, dealt with lights or reflective materials. A broken or missing light, reflector, or reflective tape is like an "Inspect Me!" sign and can result in a loss of six severity points in CSA for each violation (Three points for reflective tape). Prevention: Drivers and maintenance personnel need to be aware that every light and reflector listed in Sections 393.11 and 571.108, even the license-plate lamp, needs to be operational at all times. The only way to verify compliance is to inspect the vehicle on a regular basis. By conducting adequate pretrip and post-trip inspections and report- ing what they find, drivers should be able to spot violations – and get them fixed – before an inspector does. Carrying spare fuses is required, and spare bulbs can help too. Non- required lights do not have to be working, but any broken lamp can draw attention. VIOLATION Brakes One-fourth of all vehicle violations are for brakes, with over 1 million brake violations last year, each with four CSA points. As with lights, brakes need to be inspected before and after every trip, but drivers need to be fully trained and qualified before doing any brake adjustment. Prevention: Training is key. Make sure drivers know what to look for and when to get assistance with their brakes. The only way to find a brake adjustment problem is to care- fully measure the stroke, and adjust- ing a brake that has an automatic adjuster won't fix the problem (and may make it worse). VIOLATION Tires As with lights, bad tires are a sure- fire way to be stopped and inspected. The biggest culprit: tread depth. Overall, 11% of vehicle violations are for tires (half for tread depth), with a CSA severity of eight points. Steer tires must have 4/32 inch of tread depth; other tires must have 2/32 inch. A broken or missing light, reflector, or reflective tape is like an "Inspect Me!" sign. The truck s a f e t y & c o m p l i a n c e _ m a y . i n d d 2 2 4 / 2 9 / 1 4 4 : 5 6 P M 4/29/14 4:56 PM