Speeding & Time Management: Change the behavior to change the result

The dangers of speeding while driving a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) are well

recognized. Motor carrier management, safety professionals, and law enforcement

officials often warn about the devastating outcomes that can occur as the result of

speeding.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA’s) Traffic Enforcement

Violation Detail found CMV driver speeding violations during 2008 and 2009

constituted 73 percent of the total CMV driver moving violations.

Motor carriers, federal and state agencies, and others have developed many approaches

to attempt to reduce CMV speeding, including posting reduced speed limits for large

vehicles and installing and regulating speed governors on vehicles. These attempts

address speeding as a behavior. However, the root behavior may be something entirely

different.

Speeding is a result of another behavior

When a collision occurs, a safety professional will conduct a root cause analysis to

determine why the collision happened. For instance, a tractor-trailer may roll over or

be involved in a rear-end collision. While there are always several factors to consider,

speeding is often determined to be a primary cause. Although speeding may, in fact,

be a primary factor, a root cause analysis may reveal that identifying speeding as a

collision cause may be a step short of determining the real cause.

Often speeding is not the behavior but a result of another

behavior – poor time management. Poor time management

could be the behavior of the driver and/or dispatcher. If one

or both of these individuals engage in poor time management,

a situation can be created where the driver feels as though

he/she needs to speed to meet the delivery and/or pick-up

deadlines before exhausting their allowable hours of service.

If you change the behavior ( from poor to good time management), you can

change the result ( from speeding to not speeding).

Poor time management can also lead to other violations, such as driving while

fatigued, reckless driving, hours-of-service violations, etc., which are frequently cited as

causes of or aggravating circumstances in traffic accidents.

What makes good time management?

Much of good time management comes down to planning a trip before leaving.

Obviously, one cannot plan for all unexpected events that might delay a trip, but proper

planning reduces the adverse effects when something unexpected does occur. One

method for planning a trip is “backward planning.” Backward planning is a process

through which every task required to complete a trip has a plan of action and a

corresponding time allotment. The completion of each task results in completion of the

trip. In order for this method to be successful, the amount of time available, start time,

and finish time of the trip must be determined.

collision cause

Identifying speeding as a

may be a step short of determining the

real cause.

Example: Mr. Smith needs to drive from home to work. He must be at work by 8:00 am

and knows that he must drive 60 miles to get to work. He also knows that after waking

up, he has to shave, shower, iron his clothes, get dressed, and feed the dog. In order

for him to arrive at work on time, he must develop a plan. Mr. Smith knows that he

can drive an average of 60 mph, which will make his drive time one hour. This brings

his time line back from 8:00 am to 7:00 am. Mr. Smith estimates that he can iron his

clothes, get dressed, and feed the dog in 30 minutes. This brings his time line back to

6:30 am. He then decides he can shave and shower in approximately 30 minutes as well.

This moves his time line back to 6:00 am. This means that the latest time, and possibly

the optimal time, for Mr. Smith to wake up and begin his first task (shave and shower)

needs to be 6:00 am in order to be at work by 8:00 am without speeding.

Educate 

Since speeding is the most common CMV driver moving violation, it is important

to identify the behavior that produces it. When poor time management proves to

be the root cause of speeding, training on time management techniques may be a

useful tool to reduce speeding, fatigued and reckless driving, and hours-of-service

violations, as well as preventing collisions and other unsafe acts.

Addressing the issue of time management requires educating drivers about

these techniques and recognizing the processes specific to motor carrier

operations. Not all motor carriers’ operations are the same, and there are

a variety of tasks that must be completed by a driver based on their motor

carrier’s procedures and type of operation. Drivers need to be aware of the

amount of time they will need to spend accomplishing the various tasks

during their trip, such as inspecting the vehicle, fueling, driving, taking breaks,

completing paperwork, accounting for weather and traffic delays, etc.

Protective Insurance Company suggests utilizing safety meetings to teach the

backward planning process. Have each driver follow the above 3-step process to plan a

specific CMV pick-up or delivery trip. Have them list and include in the plan each task

that must be completed during that trip, with an accompanying allotted time for each

task. Then compare and discuss each person’s plan and time line to determine how the

process and plans can be improved.

Use these concepts to develop methods to measure drivers’ trip-planning performance,

Be at work by 8:00 am

Iron clothes, get dressed, and feed dog (30 minutes)

Shave and shower (30 minutes)

Arrive at work 8:00 am

Drive to work (8:00 am - 60 minutes = 7:00 am)

Iron clothes, get dressed, feed dog (7:00 am - 30 minutes = 6:30 am)

Shave and shower (6:30 am - 30 minutes = 6:00 am)

Start time: 6:00 am

Drivers need to be aware of the

amount of time they will need to

spend accomplishing the various

tasks during their trip.

tracks, measures, and evaluates a

carrier’s and driver’s compliance with

driver qualification regulations.

The two previous issues of IC Safety addressed the CSA 2010 unsafe driving and fatigued

driving BASICs and provided strategies for improving your company’s and your drivers’

safety performance and rating in each category. This article will address the driver fitness

What does driver fitness involve?

Driver fitness involves the operation of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) by drivers who

are unfit to operate a CMV due to lack of training, experience, or medical qualification.

Data includes:

1. Inspection violations for failure to have a valid and appropriate commercial

driver’s license (CDL) or medical or training documentation

2. Crash reports citing a lack of experience or medical reason as a cause or

contributory factor

3. Violation from an off-site or an on-site investigation for failure to maintain proper

driver qualification files or use of unqualified drivers (49 CFR, Parts 383 and 391)

The FMCSA reports this category has led to some confusion. “Driver

fitness” has nothing to do with “new” medical requirements, body

mass index, or drivers exercising more. Rather, driver fitness tracks,

measures, and evaluates a carrier’s and driver’s compliance with

driver qualification regulations in 49 CFR, Part 391.

The driver fitness BASIC uses violations related to driver training, licensing, and

qualifications (as found in 49 CFR, Parts 172, 177, 383, 386, and 398) noted on roadside

• Operating a CMV without a CDL

• Driving a CMV while disqualified

• Operating a CMV with improper CDL group

• Failure to notify licensing jurisdiction of traffic law conviction

• Failing to notify carrier of conviction within 30 days

• Operating a CMV without the proper CDL required endorsement

• Failing to train hazardous materials employees as required

• Allowing a driver to operate with a suspended/revoked CDL

• Using a driver not medically re-examined after medical certificate has expired or

who is medically unqualified

• False entry on a medical examiner’s certificate

Each driver fitness violation is assigned a severity rating from 1 to 10 based on the

likelihood the violation will result in a crash. The lowest crash risk has a severity rating

of 1 and the highest has a severity rating of 10. Driver fitness violations with the highest

severity rating of 10 include the following:

• Operating a CMV with more than one driver’s license

• Allowing a driver with more than one CDL to drive a CMV

• Failing to comply with an operations out-of-service (OOS) order

• Allowing a driver to operate during a driver, vehicle, or motor carrier OOS order

• Failing to comply with an Imminent Hazard OOS order

Train and qualify drivers NOW

Compliance with all federal regulations is essential in order for Protective Insurance

Company’s insureds to meet our Minimum Loss Prevention Standards. Among the many

• Evidence of a valid Commercial Driver’s License

• Completion of a physical examination confirming physical fitness to operate

a CMV. The physical examination must be completed by a licensed health care

professional, as defined by the FMCSR, as follows:

a) Within three months prior to the date of employment

b) Following any physical or mental impairment from injury or disease

c) At least every two years

• A minimum of one year of experience as a driver of CMVs similar to the type of

Go to the FMCSA website to view a sample Medical Examination Report. Additional crucial

driver qualification and eligibility requirements are explained in our Minimum Loss

Prevention Standards Manual.

To avoid receiving a poor performance score for driver fitness, Protective

Insurance Company recommends reviewing all paperwork with your

drivers to ensure all drivers have a current and valid CDL with the proper

endorsements and current medical certificate and that they carry these

documents with them at all times. Also consider reviewing your training

programs for required training, such as for hazmat employees, and update

the training to coincide with current requirements. (Refer to 49 CFR,

172.704) Review the Carrier Safety Profile for the company to which you

are leased. Place a large focus on retraining and awareness for drivers

who affect compliance. Understand how to recognize and correct violations, especially

before they have a chance to occur. Helping drivers understand how CSA 2010 will affect

them as individuals will have a direct effect on helping to improve your company’s

performance rating as well.

For further information regarding the CSA 2010 BASICs and/or the Safety Measurement

Ensure all drivers have a

current and valid CDL with

the proper endorsements and

a current medical certificate.

© Protective Insurance Company

Most headlights only illuminate up to 450 feet when using high beams and no more than

350 feet when using low beams (when lights are properly maintained and clean). When

driving a Class 8 tractor with a trailer at a speed of 55 mph, you will need 141.2 feet of

perception distance plus 60.5 feet of reaction distance plus 275 feet of braking distance

to come to a complete stop. That means you need a combined total stopping distance

of 476.7 feet from the instant you see a hazard. If you are using properly maintained low

beam lights, then you will only have 350 feet of visibility in front of you. The likelihood of

avoiding a collision with a hazard in your path is very low since you will have out-driven

your headlights by approximately 127 feet. Even if you are using properly maintained high

beam lights, you will have out-driven your lights by 27 feet. If the driver is not alert, the

distance is even greater.

Do your part to share the road SAFELY.

Yours in Safety,

Dennis L. Shinault, CDS

Vehicle Pre-trip inspection.pdf click here !