Ref.No.151/2016 Date: 14 October 2016
Dear
Shanker,
Nice
talking to you yesterday (13 October 2016) on various aspects of long haul
driver training, safety aspects of commercial vehicle running etc.
Am
sure this would come as a pleasant surprise to you as well that the authorities in United States
have shut down - yes, shut down - a five fleet transport company for not
adhering to driver qualification, drug testing, maintenance regulations etc.
recently.
Yes,
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) literally collapsed
Industrial Transit for its violation of above-mentioned charges. One of the
company's vehicles, ferrying hazmat material crashed in the neighborhood of
Texas causing damage to property and people. Investigations proved the two
drivers failed to meet the safety and driver training standards. Industrial
Transit is focused on ferrying automotive parts and the hazmat in question was Takata
airbag components for passenger cars, presumably.
Here's
the operative part of FMCSA order: Industrial Transit "does not have safety
management controls in place to ensure drivers are qualified to operate its
commercial motor vehicles, drivers operate its CMVs safely, and its CMVs are
properly inspected, repaired and maintained."
To
make it simple, take a look at the bullet points of violations committed:
#Failing
to comply with any driver qualification requirements
#Failing
to sufficiently implement a random alcohol and drug testing program
#Failing
to ensure that its vehicles were regularly inspected
#Failing
to properly monitor its drivers to ensure compliance
#Failing
to provide any of its HM employees
#Failing
to comply with other related federal safety regulations
#Failing
to have HM security or communication plans
I
really appreciate the approach to road safety. Like the Japanese say, to become
better or perfect you don’t have to do anything spectacular. Regularly cleave
out or eliminate negative aspects in howsoever small measure. Such removal
would automatically usher in good practices outweighing bad ones. Elementary
and easily doable, no?
Shanker,
more than the news report I was having a ball reading reactions of the
stakeholders.
"As
long as companies will allow unfit drivers to be in a truck we will always have
this type of problem. The
driver should spend time in jail for negligence along with the owner of the
company and the safety manager. That is if they had a safety
department," writes Twade.
He
adds: “Drivers want to be treated like intelligent and professional drivers but
will do stupid things to prove that they are not. If you as a driver are unable
to do your job safely, legally, and professionally then go home and work at
McDonalds where the worst can happen to you is you burn your finger on the
grill. Too many drivers want to be the company fool by running illegal or unsafe
because dispatch will pat you on the back and call you the company hero and
then laugh behind your back to how stupid you are to take chances on getting
tickets or having a serious accident for the company. And they will call on
this driver to do it again with a "hot" load because they are dumb
enough to do it." Spot on, right?
Rickey
Gooch from www.causes.him/JusticeforTruckers seems to be a cool guy.
Here's what he has to say: "The Constitution of the United States does not
allow any of us to pick and choose which laws we like or don't like. In
trucking you face prison at max or ending your career at best if you don't follow
the law. Ever OTR driver in America and Canada is suffering equally and in 2017
these laws will change and be even more difficult to manage than ever
before."
So
what is the remedy? Simple. "My advice is to learn how these rules work
against you so you can manage your trucking business under the law to make more
money. One thing for sure, if you are sitting on the side of the road being
inspected or being ticketed you will not be making money. Don't get mad, get
CSA smart!" adds he.
Interestingly,
they are debating the responsibility of shipper. Hear this out: "... the
shipper has no control over a negligent carrier. In this case, 100% of the
stupidity and negligence is on the carrier," avers one. Echoes David
Ciufo: Ïf they make the
shippers responsible, they would think twice about using carriers like this."
Well,
Shanker, let us turn the spotlight onto India.
Leave
alone Hazmat ferrying where you had spent a lot of time, monitoring safety for
a MNC. Even non-hazmat carriage is a serious issue. Not a single day passes
without some ghastly accident across Indian highways. As a member of FriendsofDrivers
group on Whatsapp you would have not missed regular postings of highway
accidents by Harbans Singh from Charnaka Roti, on National Highway 8. Of
course, his complaint mostly is that the concessionaire managing that stretch
(IRB Infra in this case) is lackadaisical in providing emergency services
whenever any mishap happens. Am sure you would have noticed the large number of
accidents involving commercial vehicles.
That's
just one location, but a critical stretch. There must be 100s of accidents
happening on a daily basis which I wonder whether monitored and collated or
not.
My
key questions: what kind of mechanism we have in place when accidents happen?
How long the driver/s are put off from driving again? What kind of
rehabilitation course drivers have to undergo post accident? What kind of
penalty vehicle owner has to bear? In this age of outsourced model, when asset
light or zero asset transporters or 3PLs jumping into the fray in a big way,
how are their alleged complicity in these accidents tackled under the prevailing
legal framework? Does the revised and yet to be passed Motor Vehicle Amendment
Bill address these concerns?
I am
ignorant. But worth mulling.
By
the way, the outsourcing model while it is convenient for shippers (actual end
users), it should not mean abdication of responsibility. So any accidents
involving their materials (inbound or outbound) anywhere in India they need to
be pulled up. Because at the end of the
day, it is THEIR materials being moved on highways. While outsourcing is fine,
adequate safeguards in tendering out transporters should have taken place.
Stiff Service Level Agreements (SLAs) between shipper and carrier is okay, but
very little of its contents get implemented in letter and spirit. Just
paperwork and hogwash, sorry to say.
Safety
is a major concern for all of us. Indian government set a goal to slash
accidents by 50% over the next five years time. This is easily doable through
strict vigil by all stakeholders. Let's remember it is JUST NOT the work of
government - Federal and States - alone. It involves all. You, me and everyone.
Cheers
Ramesh Kumar
Reference:
1.http://www.ccjdigital.com/carrier-shut-down-by-fmcsa-for-driver-qualification-hazmat-violations-more/
2.
http://fleetowner.com/fleet-management/fmcsa-shuts-down-georgia-carrier
Copy
to:
Mr
Nitin Gadkari, Minster for Road Transport & Highways, Govt of India
Mr
Abhay Damle, Joint Secretary (Transport), Minster for Road Transport &
Highways, Govt of India
Secretariats
of CII, FICCI, Assocham & SIAM
Offices
of AIMTC, AITWA & ACOGOA
