Highly Concerned .... 1

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