The Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), an agency within the Department
of Transportation (DOT), is strengthening efforts to increase the use of safety
seatbelts among truck drivers. Recent research has shown that truck drivers
are less likely to wear seatbelts while driving. This increases the rate of
injury or fatality among truck drivers when involved in a crash. FMCSA California
Division's goal is to encourage truck drivers to make use of their seatbelt
to reduce any sort of major injury or fatality that might occur in a crash.
In 2000, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 7.1%
of total vehicles involved in fatal crashes in California were large trucks.
Each year, at least 5,000 people are killed in truck-related crashes and over
100,000 people are
injured. About 600 truck drivers die each year and more than half of these are
because of rollovers. Rollovers are a major factor in these truck-related deaths.
Ejection also plays a very significant role. So to avoid any sort of major injury
or fatality in a crash, it is important for truck drivers to make use of their
seatbelts at all times.
The FMCSA believes more education and awareness efforts are needed to increase
seatbelt usage of commercial motor vehicle drivers. FMCSA California Division
is generating this seatbelt awareness for truck drivers and its industry and
will form alliances with several agencies and/or companies whose primary mission
is to prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries. Our
objective is to encourage all commercial motor vehicle drivers, motor carriers
and associations to implement seatbelt education and awareness in their everyday
activities.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta recently announced a Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) final rule establishing pass/fail
criteria for use with performance-based brake testers (PBBTs). These devices
measure the braking performance of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs).
The final rule allows motor carriers and federal, state and local enforcement
officials to use this new technology to determine whether a truck or bus complies
with brake performance safety standards. PBBTs are expected to save time and
their use could increase the number of CMVs that can be inspected in a given
time. The final rule represents the culmination of agency research that began
in the early 1990s.
“We need to take advantage of new technology to help reduce the number of fatalities
related to truck and bus crashes,” Secretary Mineta said. “This new safety technology
can help prevent crashes by ensuring that trucks and buses have sufficient braking
capacity.”
A PBBT assesses vehicle-braking capability by measuring brake forces at each
wheel or by measuring overall vehicle brake performance in a controlled test.
This final rule means that certified roller dynamometers, breakaway torque testers,
and flat-plate testers, all of which measure brake force, can be used to measure
brake compliance and help determine whether a truck or bus’s brakes comply with
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR).
“By making it possible to check more trucks for bad brakes, PBBTs will save
lives and help ensure that our sons, daughters, mothers, fathers and other loved
ones get home safely each day,” FMCSA Administrator Joseph M. Clapp said. “This
is an example of the kind of technology that can help us reach our goal to reduce
truck and bus-related fatalities by half by 2010.”
Only PBBTs that meet specifications developed by the FMCSA can be used to determine
compliance with the FMCSR. This new final rule does not replace existing brake
performance requirements, but provides an alternative testing method to the
little used 20-mph stopping-distance test that requires a testing site with
adequate space requirements.
Under the FMCSA specifications, a PBBT manufacturer self-certifies that its
PBBT meets specifications and also states which specifications, if any, its
PBBT does not meet. A PBBT that is certified to meet FMCSA specifications is
eligible for funding under the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP).
The MCSAP is a federal program administered by FMCSA, to provide funds to states
and U.S. territories in support of CMV safety. States and territories may use
MCSAP funding to purchase PBBTs for use in CMV brake inspections.
The new rule applies to all CMVs and CMV combinations weighing over 10,000 pounds,
and is effective on February 5, 2003. The six-month period from publication
of the final rule (August 9, 2002) until its effective date is intended to allow
time to establish standard test procedures, operator training, and brake repair
guidelines. You can find the new rule in its entirety on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.
The docket number for the final rule is FHWA-1999-6266.
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2002 10-4 Magazine and Tenfourmagazine.com
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