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- Tale Lites Issue 18
CVSA Wants FMCSA to Crack down on Personal Conveyance
-Lombard
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is a non-profit organization consisting of local/state officials and “industry representatives” that compiles data in order to lobby to Congress and the FMCSA on what they believe needs to happen to make highways safer.
After collecting data from over 41,000 roadside inspections, the CVSA say they are “convinced” that improper use of personal conveyance (PC) is on the rise, and federal crash data shows that companies hiring drivers who don’t use PC properly are 4x more likely to get in an accident, and have higher out-of-service (OOS) rates. The data from the 41,000 inspections showed that 38% of drivers who used PC, used it incorrectly. Because of this the CVSA plans on filing a petition with the FMCA to seek revisions on the use of PC. The CVSA has put in two petitions over four years on the matter, but believe this time it will succeed.
“In addition to requesting the two-hour cap on use of personal conveyance in a calendar day, CVSA’s petition will ask FMCSA to consider:
Prohibiting time spent in personal conveyance from counting as “off-duty” time.
Requesting official written guidance that states it is not acceptable to continue driving after reaching an hours-of-service limitation to get to a “safe haven” because there is no available parking.
Requesting clarification for “enhancing operational readiness.”
Requesting official written guidance that states an owner-operator cannot use personal conveyance to return home or leave home.
Defining “yard move.”
Clarifying the difference between personal use and personal conveyance.
CVSA’s leaders say that the current guidance on the use of personal conveyance is incomplete, which adversely affects safety by allowing drivers to utilize personal conveyance to drive beyond the hours-of-service limits, increasing the risk of fatigued driving.”
Where CVSA might have a case, like anything in trucking this comes incredibly short sighted. The CVSA is still simply a non-profit, and in reality is a lobbying firm. They have no authority granted by Congress, and who’s membership isn’t compromised of the largest stakeholders in the industry ie: the drivers themselves. Their recommendations are another spit in the face of drivers’ day to day lives that are already the most regulated in any profession. The most egregious being trying to clarify the use of finding a safe haven for parking when we have been in the midst of a truck parking shortage. If they cared about data they would look at the over 4,000 accidents and 55 fatalities per year due to trucks not having a safe place to park, and the murder of Jason Rivenburg.
History proves to us that more regulations only come with more problems, or worse being less safe ways to undermine them. Instead of frantically extracting data in order to make more rules, to really increase safety we need to ask the question of WHY before dishing out petitions to the FMCSA.
Where this is overall a topic for a different day, one immediate action that could be taken to reduce the alleged misuse of PC would be to start paying drivers hourly, or for Congress to pass the Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act which would remove the FLSA exemption from truckers being paid overtime. In a world where drivers are required to race against the clock, they are going to take that race literally and figuratively.
Source: Transport Topics
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Two Diners - Two Perspectives
When I was over the road I was pretty disciplined on living a healthy lifestyle, but I still had plenty of days where I got some long runs in, or good workouts where I “earned” myself some calories. I’ve covered the lower 48 and Canada, but these two diners, and the towns they’re in, will always stand out as places that delivered a great dose of perspective on just how big the country is, and to be grateful in all things.
The first is the Mid-America Travel Plaza which is a Conoco in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. It was June of 2022, I was hauling a load from Pryor, OK to Spokane, WA, and the only reason I took this load was because months prior I had signed up to run the Missoula Marathon with a friend of mine. I got my last long run before the race in that town, I did 8 miles exploring Belle Fourche, which is French for “Beautiful Forks.” Come to find out this little town became the geographical center of the United States after the addition of Alaska and Hawaii to the US. The town itself is really only driven by livestock, wool, and bentonite mining, and you could tell the town took pride in all of it, but overall you could tell the town saw better days. You get a feel for it at that diner at the Conoco, where I had an incredibly polite server, but you can tell they certainly didn’t want Belle Fourche to be their forever home. While I was there I was telling her about the run I had been on and asked about all the tarps on the houses, and that’s when I learned about a terrible hail storm that absolutely bludgeoned the town. Disasters in remote parts of the country like that, far from ports, airports, and heavy manufacturing will leave them reeling. I come from the Northeast, and I feel like in general if you’re east of I-35 it’s pretty easy for people to pack up and leave and be more mobile, but in a place like Belle Fourche I’m sure a lot of people would love to leave, but if they did, there would be nothing left. Not enough credit goes to these nooks and crannies of the country like Belle Fourche.
Next is the Oasis Travel Plaza off of I-44 In Missouri. This is a stop off the Old Route 66, and a place that was actually recommended to me. I’ve stopped here several times for liver and onions of all things, but a moment that stands out was when I had my wife with me. The server there was maybe in their 50’s, and was the sweetest woman you’d ever meet. Someone who was casted for the role even, called you baby, or honey, refilled drinks without asking, and highly encouraged you to eat dessert. It wasn’t busy, so she spent some time talking with us where we found out how her husband passed away unexpectedly, and she was raising two kids, and working multiple shifts, and mostly 7 days a week. Through all this, she still smiled, and was still grateful, especially for the health of her kids, and was always appreciative of America’s truckers. When you really sit back and think about it, is this how she thought her life was going to be when she was 17? What about her dreams, goals, etc? It’s a story of resilience that I won’t soon forget, and one I lean on whenever I’m going through something.
Some people have extravagant ideas for when they win the lottery, but for me you wouldn’t know it unless you stopped thru either of those travel centers.
Here’s a shot of what that hail storm looked like below
Health Tip of the Week
What is your Basal Metabolic Rate
Your Basal Metabolic Rate, also known as resting metabolic rate (RMR) is the number of calories you burn simply by existing. This is with no exercise, and not including any other daily movement. Even when you sleep you are burning calories! Another word for calories is energy, so to put simply your Resting Metabolic Rate is simply how much energy your body consumes just to stay alive!
Specifically your BMR defines your basal metabolism rate which makes up about 60-70% of the calories we use (“burn” or expend). This includes the energy your body uses to maintain the basic function of your living and breathing body, including:
The beating of our heart
Cell production
Respiration
The maintenance of body temperature
Circulation
Nutrient processing
Your unique metabolism rate, or BMR, is influenced by a number of factors including age, weight, height, gender, environmental temperature, dieting, and exercise habits.
Your basal metabolism rate is produced through the following basal metablic rate formula:
Men: BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 x weight in kg) + (4.799 x height in cm) – (5.677 x age in years)
Women: BMR = 447.593 + (9.247 x weight in kg) + (3.098 x height in cm) – (4.330 x age in years)
Knowing this minimum requirements will give you a baseline to know where you need to be calorie wise to manage your weight.
Use the link below which will also take into account your activity level to give you solid numbers to go by if you’re looking to lose or maintain your current weight!
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Partner Post of the Week
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