|
• Inspections
and Inspectors
• Alabama Inspections
Compared
• Truck accidents and
Fatal Accidents
The Gadsden Times: Reports
rolling in on toll-free number concerning truck safety (pdf)
BIG RIGS, LITTLE OVERSIGHT:
A SPECIAL REPORT
| Related
News Stories
|
|
Safety
official fights for laws, without success
Birmingham
News (AL)—For two years, Alabama Department of
Public Safety Capt. Harry Kearley has asked state legislators
to strengthen laws on truck inspections. For two years,
he's walked away empty-handed.
http://www.bhamnews.com/archives/
(must register to access)
Parking
unsafe trucks
http://www.bhamnews.com/archives/
(must register to access)
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| Alabama
Truck Inspections Compared
|
| STATE |
#
OF PERMANENT INSPECTION STATIONS |
#
OF TRUCKS INSPECTED |
| Alabama |
1 |
27,311 |
| Florida |
20 |
63,831 |
| Georgia |
19 |
96,068 |
| Mississippi |
32 |
49,573 |
| Tennessee |
10
|
56,742 |
|
Unsafe trucks
go uninspected
May 15, 2005
Section: NEWS , Page: 1-A
GINNY MacDONALD and BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE News staff writers
THE
DANGER: State's accident, death rates among highest in the nation
THE CAUSE: Truckers know
they're unlikely to be caught in 'hammer state' By the time Julius
Blackwell saw the truck coming, it was too late.
He and other workers heard the
tires squeal while they were trying to remove a tree from a power
line off Alabama 89 in Wilcox County. When they looked up, the big
truck loaded with logs had left the road and was barreling toward
them. ...
... Many of those dangerous
trucks in recent years have been involved in accidents that have
killed hundreds, injured thousands and cost millions in highway
repairs.
Nationwide Truck Accidents
and Fatal Truck Accidents
About 10 times a day, on average,
a truck crashes on an Alabama highway, giving the state one of the
nation's highest accident rates. (See chart below)
Nationwide
Truck Accidents and Fatal Truck Accidents, 2003
(Based on 100 miles traveled) |
| RANK |
STATE |
ACCIDENTS |
RANK |
STATE |
FATAL
ACCIDENTS |
| 1 |
Maine |
188.4 |
1 |
Kansas |
7.12 |
| 2 |
New
Jersey |
158.2 |
2 |
ALABAMA |
3.24 |
| 3 |
Kansas |
139.3 |
3 |
Kentucky |
3.06 |
| 4 |
Rhode
Island |
124.6 |
4 |
Florida |
2.93 |
| 5 |
Michigan |
85.0 |
5 |
Nebraska |
2.88 |
| 6 |
Wisconsin |
77.4 |
6 |
Nevada |
2.80 |
| 7 |
Montana |
77.1 |
7 |
Colorado |
2.78 |
| 8 |
ALABAMA |
74.5 |
8 |
Delaware |
2.78 |
| 9 |
Iowa |
68.2 |
9 |
Arkansas |
2.77 |
| 10 |
Missouri |
66.5 |
10 |
Virginia |
2.76 |
 SOURCE:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 2003
Alabama's inspection program—responsible
for taking dangerous trucks off the road—is much smaller than
similar programs in surrounding states, with just a few dozen inspectors
and only one permanent weigh station. The result is more unsafe
trucks on Alabama's highways. (Read about inspections and inspector
roles below.)
| About
Inspections and Inspectors
|
| TRAINING |
A person
must be a state trooper before joining the trick inspection
unite of the Alabama Department of Public Safety.
Inspectors
must pass an 80-hour course designed by the Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administration.
They must
work with a certified inspector for 32 truck inspections before
being allowed to inspect alone.
Inspectors
must remain certified with additional training each year.
|
| TYPES
OF INSPECTIONS |
1. A walk
around
2. An
inspection of the driver: driver's license, medical card and
log book. The log book is required if truck is traveling more
than 100 miles, and shows how much time and how far the driver
drove.
3. A thorough
truck inspection.
A typical
inspection takes about an hour.
|
| WHAT
INSPECTORS DO |
•
Measure tire tread depth
• Check for fuel, oil an air leaks
• Look for missing or cracked lug nuts.
• Check for proper pressure in air brakes.
• Make sure all lights are functioning.
• Make sure load is secure |
| "OUT
OF SERVICE" |
Out
of service means the truck must be repaired before it is put
back on the road. A driver can be placed out of service for
10 to 80 hours for log book infractions and indefinitely for
other violations, such as an invalid commercial driver license. |
SOURCE: Birmingham
News/Post Herald, May 15, 2005
Nearly one out of three trucks
or drivers checked in 2003 by Alabama troopers had a safety problem
so serious that officers wouldn't let them back on the road until
the problem was fixed, the News analysis shows.
These were 18-wheelers, trailers
hauling timber or wood chips, flatbeds carrying steel coils, fuel
tankers, dump trucks. No matter the type of big truck they're driving,
truckers often take more chances in Alabama for one reason—they're
likely to get away with it. ...
(continued at source website)
SOURCE:
www.bhamnews.com/archives/
(must register to access)
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