Did you know that almost one out of every four commercial motor vehicles in trucking that is stopped by law enforcement during a “Level One” DOT inspection is deemed unsafe, found to be unfit to continue on its way, and is placed “out-of-service”?

According to the most recent Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration statistics published at www.safersys.org (2003), the average Industry “out-of-service” percentage for all CMVs inspected is almost 23%. That, is nearly 23 out of every 100 trucks stopped are found to be in serious violation of the federal safety regulations.

There are essentially three different classifications of federal safety violations: minor, critical and acute. Of course, it is the worst of these that warrant an “out-of-service” sticker. Law enforcement uses the CVSA “out-of-service” criteria to determine whether a vehicle needs to be shut down. Whenever a truck is stopped and placed “out-of-service”, the vehicle cannot be lawfully moved unless it’s towed away or a mechanic repairs the deficiencies on the scene. While most violations are usually adjudicated administratively, should you move a vehicle placed “out-of –service” before the vehicle is repaired, you run the risk of arrest and criminal prosecution.

There are a number of resources available in the Industry to make sure carriers and drivers are aware of the Vehicle Maintenance and Repair regulations. One such resource is DOTAuthority.com’s compilation of federal safety regulation documents and forms published in our “How to Survive a USDOT Safety Audit” book. We also offer safety seminars. No matter how you choose to manage your operations, please maintain your vehicles and adopt proper safety management controls.

Whenever I work with carriers or brokers in our seminars, I talk about a hypothetical scenario in which a tractor-trailer is hauling a load from New York to California. During the run, the truck hits a school bus filled with children in Pennsylvania because it can’t stop. I use this example not because I mean to be callous… but because accidents like this actually happen. Such was the case in Florida last January when 7 children from one family perished due to an accident with a semi. Truckers sometimes die in accidents as well, as was the case a few months ago in upstate New York.  It is because of these statistics that I refuse to drive on the Interstate near trucks whenever I have my children in my car. Many accidents could easily be avoided if only carriers and owner-operators did the right thing and properly maintained their equipment.

It wasn’t too long ago that I performed DOT inspections at truck stops on the New York State Thruway. Although I recognized that being placed “out-of-service” was a major inconvenience to truckers and carriers, I’d feel pretty good at the end of the day knowing that but not for my actions that day, a bus load of kids in the Pocono’s and a trucker might have found themselves in danger’s path. 23%? Surely, we as an Industry can do better than that. Safety Starts Here.