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Load Securement and Unintended Consequences of CSA 2010

Load Securement and Unintended Consequences of CSA 2010
By Jim Park, Equipment Editor

What will happen to open-deck carriers when the CSA 2010 points for cargo securement violations start piling up? The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has developed a weighted point system for determining the severity of various violations of the FMCSRs, listed in a document called the Safety Measurement System (SMS) methodology. The section dealing with cargo securement lists 95 violations. All but five carry a 10-point rating.

According to Al Koenig, the “retired” chairman of Midwest Specialized Transportation of Rochester, Minn., open-deck carriers are going to accumulate points at a great rate, and that could cause a few shippers and insurance companies to question the integrity of their carriers.

“Overall, the CSA 2010 concept is a good one, but there are some unintended consequences,” he says. “More than 50 percent of the violations that end up in the load securement category are not load securement violations at all. They are primarily violations of certain state permit requirements.”

For example, one of Koenig’s trucks was cited at a scale for violating permit conditions prohibiting travel when temperatures exceeded 85 degrees. The thermometer at the scale facility showed 88 degrees. That kind of problem, Koenig says, is just part of the heavy-haul world – but under CSA 2010, it’s also a 7-point violation in the cargo securement category. In other instances, he notes drivers and carriers are being cited for “shifting cargo” that resulted from non-preventable crashes, but not contributing to crashes.

“If you have hours of service problems, or driver or mechanical problems, you can fix those things,” he says. “You cannot fix ‘load securement’ the way it is right now because there are other things going in there that will turbocharge the score.”

He’s referring to the degree to which the regulations are interpreted differently in various jurisdictions, and to the issue of warning tickets. In the past, warnings were just that. Under CSA 2010, warnings are recorded too – at 10 points a pop. That kind of thing is causing a lot of people to question the need to rate nearly every cargo securement violation a 10.

“What conclusions am I supposed to draw about a 4-point violation for brakes out of adjustment, and 10 points for failing to chain down the screed on a paving machine?” he asks. “We’re not supposed to compare points accrued across other categories, but to a shipper, an insurance company, and to enforcement, an 80 is an 80. That’s going to attract attention in a hurry.”

Discussions are taking place with DOT already, and everyone at the table has an open mind at this point. In the meantime, Koenig urges carriers to bring this issue to the attention of their customers and insurers.

From the July 2010 issue of Heavy Duty Trucking.

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Hey y’all it’s me Jimmy B, the Load Securement king. Hawaii sure was sweet, but I started gettin island fever, you know being cooped up without any interstates to drive on. Me, I’m a man of the highway. Can’t keep me away from truck tie downs for too long fore I start to go crazy.

Anywho, I’m settin out for a big haul this week down to the bayous of Norlins. That’s how they say it these days. Makes me remember a story from back when I wore my hair long.

I was pulled over down near the Everglades takin a nap. It was hottern hell and I had all my windows rolled way down. When alluva sudden, I heard me the loudest squawk you ever seen. There was a big ole pelican fightin with an alligator. Now this alligator musta been a baby, cause he was only bout 4 feet from head to tail and he sure was struggling with a big ole pelican. He had the thing all caught up in his mouth like its legs were bound with truck tie downs or winch straps – he wudn’t letting go. The pelican was bonkin him on the head, but after a while, he kept chompin at his feet, and the pelican knew what he had a-comin.

It’s a sad tale, y’all, but that there’s the circle of life. You gotta do the eatin’, else you’ll get ate.

TweetI’ve been trucking for a long time now, and I’m still amazed to see some fleet companies that take proper load securement so lightly. Having stuff fall off your truck could cost you your life, another driver’s life, and cost your job depending on how much cargo you actually lose.

So that’s why it’s so crazy to me that people still aren’t using the truck tie downs. Personally, I can’t drive unless I’ve triple and sometimes, quadruple check my load to see if all my winch straps, ratchet straps and chains are in the right place.

I’ve found that frequently checking on your load throughout your trip is the only way to truly prevent accidents from happening. The world is an imperfect place. Bolts weaken, straps fray, and screws come undone all the time. So you should have a watchful eye over your load at every break you take. If you really want to be careful, check your load securement after every 30 miles.

It’s worth avoiding a messy accident.

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According to an article by Fleet News senior editor Sean Kilcar, ill-maintained roadways are a huge problem in truck driving and cargo securement fields today. The article brings up a rousing point: despite all of the stringent regulations enforced by the DOT about proper load securement, the roads are still unsafe and no one is to blame but those in charge of the keeping the highways and surrounding infrastructures safe for driving.

Read the eye-opening article from FleetOwner.com:

Based on a detailed report claiming that more than half of U.S. highway fatalities are related to poor roadway conditions – costing the nation some $217 billion annually – a leading transportation safety economist is calling for major changes in the design parameters for America’s highway infrastructure.

“The cost of crashes involving deficient roadway conditions dwarf the costs of crashes involving alcohol, speeding, or failure to wear a safety belt,” said Ted Miller, Ph.D., with the Beltsville, MD-based Pacific Institute for Research & Evaluation (PIRE), in testimony before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this week.

“Focusing as much on improving road safety conditions as on reducing impaired driving would save thousands of lives and billions of dollars each year,” Miller added, pointing out that the upcoming highway and transit authorization bill provided an important opportunity to make additional investments to “improve the safety built into roads and bridges.”

In July 2009, Miller authored a study titled On a Crash Course: The Dangers and Health Costs of Deficient Roadways for the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) , a group founded in 1996 and co-chaired by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).

In his research for the report, Miller found that crashes related to road deficiencies cost American businesses $22 billion and governments $12 billion, and result in $12 billion in medical spending annually.
Beyond assessing costs, the report outlined what were dubbed “practical” roadway improvements that could help reduce highway fatalities.

“Immediate solutions for problem spots include: using brighter and more durable pavement markings, adding rumble strips to shoulders, mounting more guardrails or safety barriers, and installing traffic signals and better signs with easier-to-read legends,” said Miller.

“More significant road improvements include replacing non-forgiving poles with breakaway poles, adding or widening shoulders, improving roadway alignment, replacing or widening narrow bridges, reducing pavement edges and abrupt drop-offs, and clearing more space on the roadside,” he added.

Brian Turmail, AGC senior director of public affairs, told FleetOwner that a key take-away from this report is to remember that highway safety rests on a “three-legged” stool – driver behavior, enforcement, and roadway conditions.

“We do a very good job in the U.S. focusing on those first two elements – but we need to remember there are three elements in the safety equation,” he said. “We can’t lose sight of the impact roadway conditions have on safety. Flattening out intersections or changing the shape of highway on- and off-ramps to improve line-of-sight for drivers is but one example of how roadway conditions can improve or hinder highway safety efforts.

TweetLife on the road can be a little boring and a little lonely when all you have to think about is what winch straps you need to buy for proper cargo securement. Sometimes it’s nice to have a little escape from the world of trucking. Cell phones have done a great job at helping us drivers keep in touch with friends and loved ones, without interfering with our work—or so we though. According to research done by the FMCSA, drivers who send and receive text messages take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds while texting. Those recent finding have lead Roy LaHood to announce a proposal that places an interim ban on texting for truckers behind the wheel. 

In February, the DOT issued sample legislation to make it easier for state traffic officers to enforce federal regulation banning truck drivers from texting while driving. They also announced a partnership with Cornell University to increase community collaboration with the public on the rulemaking process. This will be done through an online forum where people can learn and discuss the proposed federal regulations. This exchange of feedback should be helpful for the department.

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Trucking is my life and my passion. I live and breathe for the road, and it shows wherever I go.
But you can’t just talk to any ol’ goon about the art of proper load securement and how much you love winch straps. People look at ya like you’re crazy!

I remember stopping off at a diner in Tulsa and this waitress was chatting me up about my truck. I forgot she was just a waitress and was workin’ for her tip, and I started going off about how I got some new rachet tie down straps from DC Cargo Mall. She gave me that blank deer-in-the-headlight stare that I knew all too well. It was like I was speakin’ Chinese! But I couldn’t help it, you can’t help but talk about what you like doin’. I suppose if I was a surgeon, I’d want to talk about slicin’ folks up all day too.

I was getting’ frustrated with not being able to find like-minded folks who really understood trucking, the trucking industry, and everything about it. I was making a joke about it to a buddy of mine, and he told me about the American Truck Historical Society.

I became a proud member, and now get Wheels of Time magazine, to read up on the latest trucking news.
They even have an online calendar where I can keep up with the latest events and meet up with some fellow truck connoisseurs.

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I’m writing this from Hawaii where I’m gonna be stayin fer a while, I reckon. I figgered I wouldn’t be thinkin much bout cargo securement bein on an island with no interstate, butI swear it’s like the load securement finds me. I was walking to the beach, oilin’ up fer some sun, when I saw a lil’ tugboat haul in to port. These fellers had bout 100 tons of Brazilian rosewood they was shipin and, bein able to spot a poor tie a mile away, I went on over to these folks and greeted em, “Howdy there pardners.” Now they knew I weren’t from round here, but they was still nice as flowers. So I went ahead an said, “Y’all should really invest in some better cargo securement for that there tug. She could use some winch straps, or load binders of some sort, somethin more than what y’all are working with. That way you never need to worry none bout your load.” Told em to go to DC Cargo Mall for their cargo securement needs. An they thanked me fer my advice.

Then, some lil’ Hawaiian mamas seen what I been up to, and hell, they were so impressed, they asked if they could lather me up. I said “Sure thing lil’ darlins.” So we went on to the beach for some cargo securement of our own.

Well, when you get 100 million miles under yer belt, you owe it to yourself to take a lil vacation now an’ then. Guess that’s why they call me King of the Highway, heheh.

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Well I’m takin’ some time off from writin because I’m a heading to Hawaii next week fer vacation. Now I know I mostly write about my recent stories with load securement and whatnot, but for this one, I’m going to take it back. Way back.

The time was 1971, and I was a skinny kid from Missouri just learning the ins and outs of cargo securement. It was one of my first real runs, a cross country from Pennsylvania all the way to California. At the time, I hardly knew a thing bout ratchet straps or load binders, but what I did know was that there was gonna be a Grateful Dead concert out in San Francisco that I was goin to see.

I’m sure even you youngsters know the song “Truckin.” Well that was just about my theme song the whole ride there. I trucked on out, making sure that my load securement was alright about every 300 miles, I reckon. Well when I finally got to old San Fran, everybody was smoking dope, and I made sure that my cargo securement was okay before I started to party. Those boys sure can play some gee-tar, I tell ya. It was hands down best show I’ve ever seen.

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Howdy y’all, it’s the cargo securement king, Jimmy B. I done some driving out west lately. Reckon I got some good load securement stories for y’all this week.

Now when a man is trucking 12 hours a day, Lord knows he could use a drink when he finally pulls over. I got a few favorite waterin’ holes around this great big country. I was at one way out west in Oregon with a nice frother and some famous Tad’s Chicken and Dumplins. Mighty tasty after a day on the road, when alluva sudden a pretty little mama comes a walking on in there. She recognized that there was a boy from out of town with that truck out there. Now I’d never seen her before but she sure was a perty one – real nice gams, and a tight little body, with some really great…teeth. So she takes a look at me, sizing me up, and asks me, “Hey big boy, what do you use for your truck tie downs with a load like that?”

And I said, “Why’s that darling? Lookin for a transport service? Or you just interested in rachet straps and truck tie downs?”

She replied, “Well, quite frankly, I just like to compare rachet straps from boys around the country. I’ve seen some real sturdy ones in my time.” She smiled.

Heheh. To that I tipped my hat and paid my bill. I know when a woman’s trouble – load securement knowledge or no.