Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/734262
October 2016 | Overdrive | 41 display visually during any low-air event. An inoperable alarm is an out-of-service violation. After the driver consulted with Wike, however, he made it known to the inspector that the scale was just a few miles from the Caterpillar location that had done all of the recent work. "Instead of putting him out of service, the DOT officer told the driver he could take it back to the Cat place and get them to fix it," Wike said. "He didn't have to do that. He actually helped us out when he didn't really have to." Though he did issue a ticket for the violation, it would have been a bigger hit to have been placed out of service and have "to call a service truck out to fix it." Such treatment, as inspectors from North Carolina and elsewhere have not- ed, is a matter of officer discretion and thus can be influenced by all manner of things, from a truck's exterior and interior appearance to the driver's professionalism and congeniality. "I think they're pretty fair," McKel- vie emphasized about North Carolina's officers. "But then again, you're talking to somebody that doesn't get out of the truck and cuss them out or disrespect them." He says he stays clean-shaven and typically wears a nice shirt, jeans and work boots when he's on duty. McKelvie keeps his truck as clean as possible while hauling hoppers region- ally. He believes that image helps what might be the most common result of any violation incurred during a run-in with a North Carolina safety enforce- ment officer. At the roadside stop during Roadcheck week, McKelvie was pulled into a median on a state highway, where the officer noted a simple problem. But, "instead of writing me up for it," he waved the owner-operator on. North Carolina Highway Patrol Officer C.V. Barrett in 2015 stressed the value he himself placed on inter- actions with drivers during inspections. While Barrett noted with pride that he led his unit in out-of-service orders, he didn't lead in violations. Following the introduction of the Compliance, Safety, Accountability program, he had something of a "come to Jesus" moment on violations' new import for a driver's record and how that can affect his future employment and standing with his current carrier. Barrett said he was careful about what he marked on inspection reports, never letting any out-of-service violations go but pointing out others to the driver that may not be safety-related. "Any violation I see, I'll bring the driver out and point to what it is," he said then. "I think it's only fair." Barrett said that if the driver obviously cared about what he was doing and the problem was remedied easily, odds are it wouldn't appear on the final report or the driver's or carrier's record. Light-related violations as a percentage of all violations 25.1 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 North Carolina National average 23.2 24.2 25.1 18.9 18.2 18.1 18.4 24.2 17.9 Category Maintenance Lights Brakes Tires Moving violations Hours of service Percentage of all violations 73.2% 24.2% 12.9% 8.8% 4.4% 7.8% National rank of percentage 6 3 30 3 31 40 INSPECTIONS PER LANE-MILE: 5 NATIONAL RANK: 18 FOR INSPECTION INTENSITY NATIONWIDE VIOLATION PROFILE 48.5 PERCENT OF NORTH CAROLINA'S INSPECTIONS IN 2015 WERE VIOLATION-FREE, MAKING IT A SOMEWHAT FAVORABLE STATE FOR TRUCKERS IN CLEAN- INSPECTIONS RANKINGS. Source: Unless otherwise noted, all numbers based on 2015 inspection data analyzed by RigDig Business Intelligence (rigdig.com/bi) and Overdrive. Oregon – 8.9% Maintenance overall: 66.9% - No. 19 nationally Texas – 8.9% Maintenance overall: 86.9% - No. 1 nationally North Carolina – 8.8% Maintenance overall: 73.2% - No. 6 nationally California – 8.7% Maintenance overall: 81.4% - No. 2 nationally Montana – 8.2% Maintenance overall: 73.5% - No. 5 nationally Mississippi – 7.4% Maintenance overall: 79.7% - No. 3 nationally Alabama – 7% Maintenance overall: 67.2% - No. 18 nationally Ohio – 6.8% Maintenance overall: 70.2% - No. 9 nationally Missouri – 6.7% Maintenance overall: 68.3% - No. 15 nationally Maine – 6.1% Maintenance overall: 72% - No. 8 nationally TOUGHEST STATES FOR TIRE VIOLATIONS North Carolina's roadside/weigh station inspec- tion program ranks in the upper half of states for inspection intensity. But some measure of fairness is evident with its clean-inspections and violations-per-inspection rankings in the 30s among states. When truckers are inspected there, as also evidenced anecdotally, they're more likely to walk away with a clean inspection than in well more than half the rest of the con- tinental states. Percentages represent the violation catego- ry's share of total issued violations. The seven red-shaded states among this top 10 showing the most intense focus on tire violations are also in the top 10 for maintenance violations overall.