Overdrive

October 2014

Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info

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40 | Overdrive | October 2014 finding fault Bielucki tries to avoid the Connecti- cut DMV when possible – not easy given that a typical day of hauling might take him out of the state and into Massachusetts, Rhode Island and back home. His 30 years of experi- ence tell him the department "seems to have an anti-trucker bias," though he does give kudos to the Connecticut State Police for the professionalism of a trooper who handled an accident he was involved in years ago. Lt. Donald Bridge, lead Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program coordinator for the division, says the overall program is made up of about 150 certified inspectors from DMV, state police and a variety of local jurisdictions. Bridge is aware of the state's repu- tation for being tough on truckers who are put under the microscope of the state inspection program. "We hear that a lot from the drivers," he says. "We're thorough." In 2013, a scant 15 percent of Connecticut's inspections resulted in the driver coming away with a clean re- port, far below the national average of 39.5 percent. Measuring violations per inspection, Connecticut also leads the nation at 3.2, just above second-place finisher Wisconsin at 3.1. Bridge dismisses charges of nitpicking enforcement and praises officers for focusing on what he calls the "bad op- erators" – those who tend to show their colors by "following too close, speeding, doing things that they shouldn't be doing." Vehicles that obviously are in questionable condition are more apt to be selected for Level 1 inspection by weigh-station personnel, Bridge says. Officers are trained to not waste time on brand-new trucks. A big part of the department's hiring process for inspectors is to assess the candidate's mechanical expertise, and Bridge points to himself as an exam- ple. A former trucker, he's also been a mechanic and a safety manager. "A lot of my personnel are licensed mechan- ics, and all have some sort of mechan- ical experience, which helps a lot even when picking out the trucks that should be checked," he says. Connecticut's violation profile bears Bridge out: While the state's rankings in violation categories fall close to the mean in most cases, it shows more strength on the maintenance side, ranking 18th for maintenance attention overall, with 68 percent of all written violations contrib- uting to carriers' Vehicle Maintenance scores in the CSA Safety Measurement System. The good news? If Bielucki's right about those troopers, you're most likely to catch a Connecticut inspection away from the weigh station, and that's rela- tively unlikely unless you're committing a moving violation. In 2013, inspections at one of Connecticut's six scales accounted for only 33 percent of its inspections. As in other states covered in Overdrive in recent months (Maryland, Pennsylvania), mobile roadside enforcement has been on Percentage of violation-free inspections 13.4 16 15.1 37.9 39.3 39.5 2011 2012 2013 Connecticut National average Violations per inspection: most difficult states, sHoWiNG tHe HiGHest NumBeR Connecticut 3.2 Wisconsin 3.1 Texas 2.9 Rhode Island 2.9 Virginia 2.8 Arizona 2.6 Idaho 2.5 South Carolina 2.2 Iowa 2.1 Massachusetts 2.1 WATCH OUT FOR THE RED ZONE: States coded red are also in the top 10 for number of inspections per lane-mile. Violations per inspection 4 3.4 3.2 1.8 1.7 1.6 2011 2012 2013 Connecticut National average connecticUt Violation category Maintenance Lights Brakes Tires Moving violations Hours of service Percentage of all violations 68% 17% 17% 4% 8% 9% National rank 18 22 20 38 31 35 Connecticut: 15.1% Louisiana: 16.1% Idaho: 16.5% Wisconsin: 17.7% Indiana: 18.5% Michigan: 19.9% Texas: 21.5% South Carolina: 23.2% Rhode Island: 23.7% Massachusetts: 25.2% Source: Unless otherwise noted, all numbers based on 2013 federal data analyzed by RigDig Business Intelligence (rigdig.com/bi). 2013 inspections per LAne-MiLe: 5.7 NATIoNAL AVeRAge: 5.6 clean inspections: touGHest states, sHoWiNG tHe loWest peRceNtaGe

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