Month: May 2017

DOT Compliance Checks

The Roadcheck event gives government, industry, and academia an opportunity to get a measurement of the level of motor carrier safety and security by comparing roadside inspection data to prior years. The 62,796 truck and bus inspections completed during Roadcheck 2016 offered a sizable sample for assessing the current level of motor carrier safety. The Roadcheck is an opportunity to highlight safety and security on our highways. Finally, the Roadcheck event allows an opportunity for those interested in promoting truck and bus safety to participate.

Drivers need to be trained on how an inspector inspects a vehicle and how to follow the instructions. Training should also cover how drivers should handle themselves during a roadside inspection.

A driver could be directed to pull into a fixed or mobile roadside inspection site. The roadside inspection procedure begins with a driver interview.
The interview will include a check of the:

• Driver credentials (Driver’s License/CDL, medical certificate)
• Driver’s hours-of-service compliance (logbook or electronic logging device)
• Carrier and vehicle credential documents (markings, lease agreements, proof of annual inspection, IFTA, IRP, etc.)
• Shipping papers (bills of lading, HM shipping papers, etc.)

During this time, the officer will also be assessing the driver’s condition. If the driver cannot answer simple questions, cannot follow simple instructions, or appears to have some type of problem, the officer will investigate the driver further to determine if the driver is impaired,fatigued, or cannot speak English. If the vehicle will be inspected as well, the officer will also provide the driver with instructions related to the vehicle portion of the inspection.

CVSA has announced that the special emphasis area at this year’s Roadcheck is cargo securement. As well as emphasizing the securement regulations during inspections, officers will also be checking that drivers are conducting the required enroute cargo securement inspections.

For more information go to the CVSA Webpage

Effective Date

MSHA is delaying the effective date of the final rule from May 23, 2017 to October 2, 2017. This extension offers additional time for MSHA to provide stakeholders training and compliance assistance. The extension notice will be published in the Federal Register on Monday, May 22, 2017. It is available for viewing at the Office of the Federal Register.

The final rule improves miners’ safety and health by requiring mine operators to: (1) conduct working place examinations to identify hazards before work begins in an area, (2) notify affected miners of hazardous conditions that are not corrected immediately; and (3) record the locations examined, the adverse conditions found, and the date of the corrective action.

MSHA is developing a variety of compliance assistance materials to assist the industry, which the agency will make available to stakeholders and post on the website at www.msha.gov.

Free Safety Webinar

The North Carolina Dept. of Labor is offering a series of free 90-minute webinars on the hazards of heat stress in construction and general industry. At the end of the course, students should have a basic understanding of methods to prevent or minimize exposure to excessive heat in order to prevent heat stress. In addition, students will be able to recognize symptoms of heat stress along with tips on how to treat heat stress victims.

 

Check out the NCDOL webpage for dates and registration information.

During the month of April the National Safety Council offered distracted driving webinars and now the training materials are available online. Join us in increasing awareness by sharing this information both throughout the workplace and with friends and family.

Access training materials here.

Miners working alone

On last week’s MSHA quarterly training call, Patricia W. Silvey, deputy assistant secretary of labor for operations, highlighted the number of mining related fatalities this year in which miners were working alone at the time of a fatal accident. In the first three months of 2017, five miners died in accidents that occurred when they were working alone on mine property. Due to this startling fact, MSHA announced an initiative to raise awareness of the hazards miners face when working alone can not be avoided.
MSHA points out that among other best practices minders should:

 

• Think about the task:
  • Does the miner have adequate training, knowledge, skills and equipment to do the job safely?
  • Does the miner need help to complete the job?
• Always inform a responsible person where the miner will be working and traveling in the mine.
• Before beginning any task, identify the hazards.
• Don’t take shortcuts.
• Use customary check-in/check-out procedures.

For more details on the outreach initiative and about these fatalities, visit MSHA’s website.

What you need to know

It’s official! The new law to ban the use of a hand-held device while driving went into effect May 1st. The Mayor and Tucson City Council voted in March to make violation of the ban a secondary offense, meaning you must be pulled over for another reason before police can cite you. Texting while driving already was banned in the city, but the new rules expand that ban to phone calls and the use of other hand-held mobile communication and electronic devices. The new violation is classified as a civil traffic matter, starting with a $100 fine for a first non-accident offense, $250 for the second offense, and subsequent offenses are $500. For violations involving a traffic accident, there will be a penalty of $500. Mayor and Council agreed to review the ordinance in six months to see how it’s working and whether it needs to be strengthened. If you don’t have bluetooth available in your car, you can search the internet for adapters and other ways to make it possible to be hands free while in your vehicle.

Check out the PSA provided by Channel 12