OPERATION TRUCKER CHECK 15 UNDERWAY SEEKING UNSAFE COMMERCIAL VEHICLES AND DRIVERS IN SOUTHERN OREGON

News Release from: Oregon State Police

Impaired truck drivers and unsafe commercial vehicles are again the focus of the 15th interagency police and motor carrier operation currently underway in southern Oregon at the Klamath Falls Port of Entry on Highway 97. During the 72-hour operation that began at 12:01 a.m., September 23rd, and runs through 11:59 p.m., September 25th, police officers and truck inspectors will be working with Drug Recognition Evaluators (DRE) and K9 officers targeting operator impairment and vehicle safety.

“Operation Trucker Check”, a successful enforcement and inspection program that provides an ongoing look into commercial vehicle and driver safety, involves a team of police officers and Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) commercial vehicle inspectors looking for driver impairment related to alcohol, drugs, or fatigue, and vehicle equipment safety. First held in 1998 at the Ashland Port of Entry, and now being held for the second time held at Klamath Falls Port of Entry, trucker checks have also been held in Woodburn, Ontario, and Cascade Locks.

The last “Operation Trucker Check” was held April 15 – 17, 2008 at the Farewell Bend Port of Entry westbound Interstate 84 in the Huntington area. Of the 574 inspections conducted, 12 percent resulted in commercial vehicles being placed out of service and 14 percent of the drivers were placed out of service. Officers and inspectors issued 24 motor carrier-related citations and 542 warnings. Six arrests were made for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants; four of which were commercial truck drivers.

“The value of this inspection and enforcement program helps keep a keen eye on vehicle and driver safety concerns with the support of the Oregon Trucking Association,” said Sergeant Dave MacKenzie, who oversees the OSP Motor Carrier Enforcement Unit. “These around-the-clock unannounced safety inspections have yanked several impaired drivers and unsafe vehicles off the road before something bad happens.”

Sergeant MacKenzie pointed out the program’s four goals for “Operation Trucker Check XV”:

1) Identifying commercial vehicle driver and equipment violations, with an emphasis on out-of-service violations;
2) Detecting operator impairment by alcohol and/or substance abuse;
3) Detecting operator impairment by fatigue; and,
4) Detecting any criminal activity occurring in conjunction with commercial motor vehicle operations.

Oregon State Police (OSP) and ODOT will work toward these goals by conducting Level I, Level II, and Level III truck inspections to identify drivers impaired by fatigue or substances, compliance with federal hours of service regulations, and federal requirement for commercial motor vehicle safety equipment. Trained Drug Recognition Evaluators (DREs) from OSP, Albany Police Department, Tualatin Police Department, and Klamath Falls Police Department will evaluate and identify drug or alcohol impaired drivers.

According to 2007 statistics provided by ODOT’s Motor Carrier Transportation Division:

* The total number of truck crashes dropped in 2007 from 2006 by over 11%
* 61,349 truck safety inspections were conducted in Oregon, up from 59,064 in 2006
* During inspections, critical safety violations were found in 20% of the vehicles and 14% of drivers
* Most common mechanical violation found during inspections continues to be brake-related
* Over 7,000 truck drivers were caught during inspections falsifying log books or keeping inaccurate driver logs books, a sharp rise from the more than 5,000 drivers caught in 2006

Additional motor carrier related information and statistics is available on ODOT’s Web site at http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/MCT/SAFETY.shtml .

Revenue Generating System

A Revenue Generating System – sounds like several emails I receive on a daily basis. Somebody tries to get me to click on a link taking me to the greatest money making system on the net. Does this sound familiar?

You’d think that I was going to talk about a great money making opportunity or a plan to really generate a tremendous amount of money. Well, I am, sort of. But what I am talking about isn’t something you can find on the net. It’s not even anything you could find searching Yahoo or Google. Are you intrigued yet? Do I have you wondering what could be such a great “Revenue Generating System”?

Well here it is, the greatest revenue generating system in the world and it is geared towards the trucking community, it’s the local Department of Transportation / State Police Scale House / Weigh Station! Whoopie! Why do they even call it a scale house or weigh station anymore? Do they actually care that the truck is overweight anymore? I am sure that they do, but you have to be so grossly overweight that it makes it worth the dot officers time to pull you in. They should call it the Log Book Enforcement Center, or something to that effect.

Remember in days past, the “Weigh Station” was actually used to weigh trucks so they didn’t overload our highways and bridges. It wasn’t so much a safety deal as it was a roadway protection deal. When did it become the state dot’s job to slap exorbitant fines on truck drivers. It really has moved away from a safety issue, to a way of states and counties to entrap unsuspecting drivers into “Scale Houses” to slap huge fines on the drivers. Do you think that large trucking companies would stand for large fines if they were responsible for the fines? They would take the jurisdiction involved into court so fast, that the local scale house would shut down. Why is it a truckers burden to bail out a counties financial woes by paying $500 – $1500 – $3000 – $6250 in fines for something as simple as a logbook mistake? Get an overweight fine in California or Oregon and pay about $150 to $180 bucks. Forgetting to sign a log sheet or miss flagging an Oregon scale and pay upwards of $1,000 to $1,800 dollars in fines, be shut down for 10 hours and miss two days work! Does this sound like a great “Revenue Generating System” to you? Probably not, but for the thousands of DOT Scales around the country, it’s a real “Cash Cow”!

Log Book Law vs. The Truck Driver

I wonder how many variations of the federal Hours of Service (HOS) law I will here about this year. Does anyone know what the current version of the HOS law is? Would you know how to defend yourself in a court of law if given an “Out of Service” violation? These and many other questions are baiting my breath as the issue of the HOS rules rages on in our court system. Is the HOS law still in court?

This month, I have listened to several drivers talk about their rendition of the HOS rules as pertaining to their particular circumstance. I’ve heard at least four different drivers and two DOT officers offer their opinion on their interpretation of the HOS law. The DOT officers were from Oregon and had differing opinions on what the correct procedure was in pertaining to a split sleeper berth. I appear in court later this month to try to get clarification from a DOT judge. I am still looking for a DOT attorney to represent me in Oregon.

When it comes to a split sleeper berth, I’ve heard that DOT officers from California to Washington have varying opinions on the correct amount of time one spends in the sleeper berth. I was talking to a driver who was stopped at a scale in California and DOT told him to take an 8 or 10 hour break, drivers choosing! An officer in Oregon had the same opinion, but he said that drivers had to stick to one or the other. There also seems to be confusion about whether or not the 14 hour rule is still in effect. I know that in Oregon, they are very strict about a driver going over his or her 14 hour limit. Oregon is also one of the only states that I know in the Northwest that requires a driver to flag ALL open scales. Even when “pre-passed”, a commercial driver must flag that passing of the scale. If the scale is closed, a driver who gets the green light when passing a closed scale must flag the crossing. Next time you pass the Farewell Bend POE or the POE south of Portland, notice how many trucks are placed out of service. Yes, Oregon WILL place you OOS for not flagging Oregon scales. Remember, they can go back several weeks to check.

I wish OOIDA or other truck driver organizations would organize and fight the HOS rules to get a precise ruling in regards to the law. It’s been way too long for drivers to wonder if they are breaking the law when crossing a scale. I don’t think of scales as a legitimate way of DOT making sure drivers are legal and following the rules anymore. Scales seem to be a “trap” anymore, generating revenue to keep pet projects going in their particular county. I have been running legal for over 10 years, I keep a tight log book, and keep my truck and equipment in top operating order. Instead of DOT doing trucking a favor, they have made it almost impossible for a truck to pass a scale without violating some rule or regulation.

OR DOT Hard at It

Oregon DOT is at it again. I suppose it is for our own good, but if you plan on taking a little trip through the state of Oregon, make sure your paperwork is in order and you have flagged all of your recent scale crossings. It seems as if the scale crossing issue has put several dozen trucks out of service the past few weeks. Today, the Farewell Bend crossing in eastern Oregon had at least 6 trucks shut down because of various log book issues. Yes, in Oregon, you MUST flag all scale crossings whether or not you are from Oregon or not. They just like to cause problems for those out-of-stater’s. Trust me, I get pulled in at least once a week between Oregon, Washington and Montana.

It used to be said that we had an “emphasized enforcement” period around the first week of June throughout the United States. It seems like Oregon forgot to read the memo on that one and decided to implement it when “revenues” were low. You know, Oregon likes out-of-stater’s quite a bit. They can’t contest their tickets as easily as a local. Trust me again, I got hammered three years ago for $180. dollars and it still comes back to haunt me. So if you are behind me in the state of Oregon and I’m only doing 55, please don’t cuss, yell at me on the radio or try to force me off the road, I am only trying to do my part and keep Oregon’s freeways safe! And if you believe that last sentence, I’ve got some “cheap” swampland in Florida I’d like to sell you. Oh, and please don’t give me the little courtesy blink when I don’t give you the lights to come back over when you pass. It’s my opinion that you are taking the chance on driving like an idiot and speeding, I guess you’ll just have to take that chance that you have cleared my front bumper when you do pass.

I know I sound a little irritated, but my life is drained. I am tired and the joy of driving for a living has long passed. With fuel prices skyrocketing, cost of living on the road outrageous, my health deteriorating and wages plummeting, I just don’t feel like driving for a living anymore. If anyone has any advice or job offers, please pass them along to me by sending me an email. Otherwise, have a great week and be safe!

Tanker Tangle on I5 in Seattle

I5 Northbound at Washington SR18, Seattle, WA

This picture shows the aftermath of two big rigs colliding on Interstate 5 at SR 18 in Federal Way, Washington just south of Seattle. Apparently, a bobtail semi and this tanker collided just north of the DOT scales along I5. I am not sure who was at fault or what actually happened, but the incident snarled traffic for hours along I5.

I entered the freeway from Fife, Washington just after this occurred. This happened on Friday, July 27th at about 1430 hours in the afternoon. It took me at least 2 1/2 hours to maneuver my way though the mess, or travel about 4 miles. The backup on I5 was at least 20 miles long at the peak of rush hour, snarling traffic from Seattle to Tacoma in both directions.

The biggest problem of this incident was the diesel fuel spill. The tanker was carrying a full load of diesel and quite a few gallons spilled onto the roadway. This is a great reminder to always look twice at your blind spots to make sure there isn’t another vehicle in that spot. Fortunately, no one got injured in this accident.

ISS Recommendation

This is the latest ISS Recommendation for a DOT officer evaluating the need for an inspection when a commercial vehicle passes over a DOT inspection facility or scale. When the DOT officer enters our DOT number or MC number into their computer, this is the information that the officer will see. As you can see below, this is the score that the company I drive for recently received. Most of our drivers are on a first name basis with our local DOT office. This score takes into account all of our terminals across the country. Out of our terminal, we have a total of 7 drivers, with a combined total of over 60 years driving experience and several million miles of safe driving. It just goes to show how another terminal can affect your local office.

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Inspection Selection System (ISS-D) Recommendation* (As of April 27, 2007) Carrier Name: ***, INC US DOT #: 730273 MC #: 334086 INFORMATION CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE ISS Inspection Value: 98 ISS Recommendation: INSPECT Basis for Recommendation: Safety * The ISS-D monthly run evaluates carriers’ recent inspections activity. The ISS results are generated along with SafeStat on a monthly basis and are posted on A&I Online. The Inspection Selection System (ISS-D) The Inspection Selection System (ISS-D) is a decision-aid for commercial vehicle roadside driver/vehicle safety inspections, which guides safety inspectors in selecting vehicles for inspection. ISS Inspection Value: The ISS Inspection Value is based on the motor carrier’s safety performance data. In the case when there is sufficient motor carrier safety performance data available, the value is assigned from information derived from SafeStat results, which reviews safety performance in areas of crash history, inspection history, driver history, and safety management experience. When a motor carrier has little information on file, the ISS Inspection Value is based on an ‘Insufficient Data Algorithm’, which determines the inspection value by weighting the carrier size and the number of past inspections. Refer to the Inspection Selection System description, for an explanation of the value’s calculation. ISS Recommendation: The ISS Inspection Value forms the basis for the ISS recommendation. The recommendation ranges from ‘Inspect’, for motor carriers with poor safety performance in one or more Safety Evaluation Areas (SEAs) and for carriers with little or no safety data, to ‘Pass’ for carriers with good safety performance data. The three recommendations listed are below. Recommendation ISS Inspection Value Inspect (inspection warranted) 75-100 Optional (may be worth a look) 50-74 Pass (no inspection required) 1-49 Basis for Recommendation: The Basis for Recommendation describes the method that was used to calculate the ISS Inspection Value. There are two methods for calculating an ISS inspection value: The “Safety” method assigns this recommendation based on SafeStat results, which applies to carriers with sufficient safety performance data. The “Insufficient Data” method is based on an ‘Insufficient Data Algorithm’, which applies to carriers that have little or no safety performance data available. Click here to access the Inspection Selection System description, a system designed to prioritize carriers for roadside inspection. This link defines “How ISS-D works”.