2010 Press Releases
2010
CVSA’S 2010 WORKSHOP BRINGS TOGETHER HUNDREDS TO ACTIVELY IMPROVE CMV SAFETY
Group Identifies, Evaluates Policies, Regulations and Training to Reduce Crashes
WASHINGTON, DC (March 4, 2010) – Truck and bus safety specialists, together with law enforcement, government and industry from across North America, will convene at the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) 2010 Workshop, April 19-22 in San Antonio, TX, to assess processes and procedures that will improve commercial motor vehicle and overall highway transportation safety.
“Proactively preventing crashes involving large commercial trucks and interstate buses takes a concerted effort on the part of many stakeholders,” said Stephen A. Keppler, CVSA’s Interim Executive Director. “To accomplish this, CVSA members actively work to implement new and critical traffic safety initiatives that enhance commercial vehicle enforcement and roadside inspections which ultimately save lives.”
“Now as we push forward toward the challenges of today and the future, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) thanks those participating in the CVSA Workshop in advance, for contributing their expertise and unique insights to help inform our path as we reach for even higher plateaus of safety accomplishment,” said Anne S. Ferro, FMCSA’s Administrator.
In addition to the regularly scheduled committee meetings, there will be two presentations on April 19th. The first is a presentation by Dan Blower from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, who will discuss the association between the mechanical condition of the truck and crash safety, using FMCSA’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) data. A second session on that afternoon will be a presentation on the CSA 2010 Carrier Safety Management System given by David Madsen from the Volpe Center.
Later in the week on April 21, the U.S. Department of Transportation, along with the Trucking Industry Mobility and Technology Coalition (TIMTC) will facilitate an IntelliDriveSM for Commercial Vehicles Workshop focused on advancing connectivity among vehicles and roadway infrastructure in order to significantly improve the safety and mobility of the U.S. transportation system. The IntelliDriveSM Program is a major initiative of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration’s (RITA) Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Program, in collaboration with NHTSA, FMCSA, and FHWA. The workshop is open to all attendees and has been structured such to be a hands-on interactive dialogue between government and industry. For more information on IntelliDriveSM, go to www.intellidriveusa.org and for information on TIMTC visit www.freightmobility.com.
Following the Workshop on April 22, the 5th Annual FMCSA MCSAP Leadership Conference will be held, in addition to the North American Cargo Securement Harmonization Public Forum – their first meeting of 2010. The Forum is unrestricted and open to all stakeholders and interested persons, such as; law enforcement personnel, roadside inspectors, regulators, shippers, motor carriers, drivers, and transportation safety directors. The meeting provides an opportunity to voice issues and concerns with the cargo securement regulations between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico; and promotes safe, harmonized requirements for the securement of cargo on or in commercial motor vehicles throughout North America.
For more information on the activities of the North American Cargo Securement Harmonization Public Forum, visit http://www.cvsa.org/committees/cargo_securement.aspx. For details on the Workshop or to register, please visit www.cvsa.org.
CVSA is an international not-for-profit organization comprised of local, state, provincial, territorial, and federal motor carrier safety officials and industry representatives from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Our mission is to promote commercial motor vehicle safety and security by providing leadership to enforcement, industry and policy makers. The Alliance actively monitors, evaluates, and identifies solutions to potentially unsafe transportation processes and procedures related to driver and vehicle safety requirements most often associated with commercial motor vehicle crashes. In addition, CVSA has several hundred associate members who are committed to helping the Alliance achieve its goals; uniformity, compatibility and reciprocity of commercial vehicle inspections, and enforcement activities throughout North America by individuals dedicated to highway safety and security. For more on CVSA, visit www.cvsa.org.
2010
CVSA RELEASES 2010 NORTH AMERICAN STANDARD OUT-OF-SERVICE CRITERIA
Publication Outlines Benefits to Carriers, Commercial Vehicle Safety Overall
WASHINGTON, DC (February 2, 2010) – The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is releasing the 2010 North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria (OOSC), providing law enforcement and the motor carrier industry with a valuable tool designed to improve commercial motor vehicle safety by promoting uniformity in compliance and enforcement throughout North America.
CVSA has been maintaining, updating, and publishing the OOSC annually for more than twenty years which becomes effective throughout North America every April 1st. The OOSC is used by highly-qualified, specially-trained and certified state, provincial, territorial, and federal law enforcement personnel in identifying Critical Vehicle Inspection Item violations following a roadside inspection that can prohibit a motor carrier or operator from driving or operating a commercial motor vehicle for a specified period of time or until the defective condition is corrected. Approximately four-million commercial vehicle roadside inspections are conducted annually across North America by government enforcement agencies. Issued upon the completion of a Level I or V inspection, CVSA decals are only applied to commercial motor vehicles with no violations of the Critical Vehicle Inspection Items contained in the OOSC. The OOSC is a component of the North American Standard Inspection Program, and is developed through a collaborative process that includes government and industry experts and which is focused on the issues most critical to maintaining the safe operations of commercial vehicles on our roadways.
“It is in the best interests of every driver and motor carrier to be familiar with the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria,” said Stephen A. Keppler, CVSA’s Interim Executive Director. “Knowing which commercial motor vehicle violations have been identified as being the most serious is helpful because it provides necessary focus in properly maintaining vehicles and it saves lives. It also helps prevent unnecessary delays and down time in transit as a result of having a driver or vehicle placed out-of-service.”
Roadside inspection results are used in part to identify motor carriers that present a high degree of risk to the motoring public. As a result, the data collected helps in determining which transportation companies will be selected for review under FMCSA’s new Comprehensive Safety Analysis (CSA 2010) initiative. “With full implementation of CSA 2010 activities on the horizon, such as the new Carrier Safety Measurement System, knowing the ‘Criteria’ in advance can assist a motor carrier ensure the accuracy of the roadside inspection data collected and contained within a motor carrier’s safety profile.” said Larry G. Woolum, Regulatory Affairs Director of the Ohio Trucking Association and Chair of CVSA’s Associate Advisory Committee.
“The information collected during a roadside inspection provides the foundation for data-driven traffic safety initiatives. As a result, the importance of this issue cannot be understated, as it has strong implications to not only CSA 2010 but all of our traffic safety programs,” said Buzzy France, CVSA’s President. “Commercial motor vehicle safety continues to be a challenge and we need the involvement of all affected parties to help us better understand these issues and put into place practical solutions. As commercial vehicle inspectors, our continued diligence will help us reach our ultimate goal of saving lives.”
For more information on the North American Standard Inspection Program, or on how to obtain the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria, visit www.cvsa.org. For more information on CSA 2010, visit http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/.
CVSA is an international not-for-profit organization comprised of local, state, provincial, territorial, and federal motor carrier safety officials and industry representatives from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Our mission is to promote commercial motor vehicle safety and security by providing leadership to enforcement, industry and policy makers. The Alliance actively monitors, evaluates, and identifies solutions to potentially unsafe transportation processes and procedures related to driver and vehicle safety requirements most often associated with commercial motor vehicle crashes. In addition, CVSA has several hundred associate members who are committed to helping the Alliance achieve its goals; uniformity, compatibility and reciprocity of commercial vehicle inspections, and enforcement activities throughout North America by individuals dedicated to highway safety and security. For more on CVSA, visit www.cvsa.org.
2010
CVSA OFFERS TRAINING, INSIGHTS INTO HAZMAT TRANSPORTATION ISSUES AT CONFERENCE
Cooperative HazMat Enforcement Development Program Educates Enforcement Community
WASHINGTON, DC (January 8, 2010) – The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) Cooperative Hazardous Materials Enforcement Development (COHMED) Program is holding their annual conference January 24-28, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency River Walk in San Antonio, TX. COHMED is an outreach activity of CVSA which works to foster coordination, cooperation, and communication between federal, state and local agencies having regulatory and enforcement responsibility for the safe transportation of hazardous materials and the industry that they regulate.
The five-day conference includes training sessions on inspections of bulk packages: MC338 and cryogenics, the preemption determination process, a live presentation of the capabilities of the hazmat intelligence portal, an in-depth look at the U.S. Coast Guard's Cargo Inspection Team, with a focus on how roadside inspectors can support its activities and many others.
In addition, regulatory updates will be provided by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Associate Administrator, Office of Enforcement and Compliance, William Quade; Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Acting Deputy Administrator Cynthia Douglass; Transportation Security Administration General Manager, TSNM/Highway and Motor Carrier Division, William "Bill" Arrington; Federal Aviation Administration Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Christopher J. Bonanti; and Transport Canada’s Donna McLean.
The conference’s keynote speaker, Randy Speight, Managing Director, and CHEMTREC will discuss some of the emergency response challenges related to the import of hazardous materials with foreign shipment origins and what CHEMTREC® is doing to address those challenges.
CVSA is an international not-for-profit organization comprised of local, state, provincial, territorial and federal motor carrier safety officials and industry representatives from the United States, Canada and Mexico. Our mission is to promote commercial motor vehicle safety and security by providing leadership to enforcement, industry and policy makers. In addition, CVSA has several hundred associate members who are committed to helping the Alliance achieve its goals; uniformity, compatibility and reciprocity of commercial vehicle inspections, and enforcement activities throughout North America by individuals dedicated to highway safety and security. For more on CVSA visit www.cvsa.org.
