Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/455137
February 2015 | Overdrive | 31 Commission of Ohio's Transportation Department, in partnership with the Highway Patrol. The state's inspectors rank No. 2 for the percentage of viola- tions written for tires, No. 7 for brakes and No. 5 overall for maintenance. Queries to the PUC about enforce- ment strategies received no response. Tom Balzer, president of the Ohio Trucking Association, notes that Ohio inspectors have "always been very ag- gressive when it comes to enforcement and inspection programs. A lot of our members have grown to be used to the heavy inspection presence." Mobile-patrol-type enforcement is Ohio's M.O., with eight in 10 inspec- tions in 2013 conducted away from a fi xed location. Balzer says that could change, as he knows of investments being made in weigh station and inspection facilities across the state. An upgraded facility in West Ohio on I-70 recently reopened, and the state also is aiming for facilities "with prescreening and other technologies" to help better target carriers, he says. "There may be a slight shift back to weigh scale usage" for inspections, "but a lot of it will continue to be at traffi c stops." Speculating about the preponder- ance of light violations, Balzer says PUC inspectors and highway patrol offi cers both work the road. The PUC inspectors "have limited power as far as when they can pull someone over," he says. Without an ability to enforce speeding or traffi c-law violations like a trooper, inspectors reach for other easy pickings. "Running with a light out is like having a big old sign that says, 'Pull me over'," Balzer says. Carlson says, "Ohio does more mo- bile patrol than any state I know. You do your job, you won't have to talk to them too often." McCarter, however, relays an an- ecdote that suggests Ohio patrolmen aren't always engaging in targeted enforcement of errant driver behaviors or equipment scoffl aws. Offi cers will post up in their vehicles "in the medians facing one direction or another," he says. "They'll sit there and they'll count, and when your num- ber's up, you'll get a random roadside inspection." He once was running at about 60 mph in a 65 mph zone on I-70 when another hauler came by him "doing at least 75," he says, as they passed a parked offi cer. The patrolman entered the highway and pulled McCarter over. "He did the Level 1 inspection and went through everything," McCarter says. "After he got all done, I said, 'Out of curiosity, what tagged me to get pulled over on this random?' He said, 'You were number 10.' I guess the guy that went past me was number 9." This randomized approach to in- spections, if as widespread as McCar- ter believes, has an element of fairness, though in another sense it may miss violators like that No. 9 speeder. Balzer believes that mobile enforce- ment aimed at clear violators is the most effective kind, but also sees the value in a random approach: "Some- times enforcement comes down to very simple tactics – they count 10 trucks, and there you go." The knowledge that inspectors are out there – visibly present, at least – keeps equipment and traffi c-law compliance high in opera- tors' minds. "Technological advances will help INSPECTIONS PER LANE-MILE: 4.1 NATIONAL AVERAGE: 5.6 VIOLATIONS PER INSPECTION: 2 NATIONAL AVERAGE: 1.6 Ohio ranks below the national average in overall inspections per lane-mile, but it makes up for that with being tough during those inspections. The state ranks 11th in the nation for violations per inspection. But if trends continue, the climate for truckers could improve. Just as overall state inspection numbers have fallen the last two years from about 75,000 total annually to just under 72,000, the 2013 level of 2.0 violations per inspection is down from 2.2 in 2011. Violation Category Maintenance Lights Brakes Tires Moving violations Hours of service Percentage of all violations 76.3% 30.5% 21.1% 8.3% 8.2% 9.4% National rank 5 1 7 2 32 32 Source: Unless otherwise noted, all numbers based on 2013 federal data analyzed by RigDig Business Intelligence (rigdig.com/bi) VIOLATION PROFILE OHIO LEADS THE NATION IN PERCENTAGE OF LIGHT VIOLATIONS 31.8% 24.6% 30.5% 25.1% 2011-12 2013 Ohio Next closest state OHIO INSPECTION, VIOLATION INTENSITY SHARE OF INSPECTIONS CONDUCTED AT ROADSIDE: 81% NATIONAL AVERAGE: 59% CSA's FALLOUT STANDOUT STATES Ohio Ohio led the nation in recent years for light violations as a percentage of all violations. Runner-up states were Florida in 2011-12 and Rhode Island in 2013. LIGHT LEADER