GUELPH, Ont. – Drivers and employers alike were thrilled to discover that the year 2015 saw the lowest out-of-service results ever according to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. However, simple violations during roadside inspection seem to be a recurring problem. In order to improve each company’s truck fleet, employers at the seminar hosted by the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC) are emphasizing the importance of drivers doing even more to keep their trucks safe enough that simple violations will hopefully become a thing of the past.
In order to improve results for the 2016 International Roadcheck, there are a number of things drivers can do to further decrease simple violations.
The first is in regard to attitude, said MTO’s spokeswoman Kerri Wirachowski at the March 29 seminar. Depending on how a driver comes across at the beginning of an inspection will determine how the rest of the process will go. If attitude is poor, the driver can expect a much longer inspection than that of one who is willing to cooperate.
Being well-organized will prevent a lot of potential violations. If documents can not be found, tickets will be issued. The same is true if documents can not be read. Drivers must have decent penmanship when recording information in their logbooks. Wirachowski emphasized the importance of making all of the necessary information match or risk dealing with a chargeable offense.
Another issue drivers in a truck fleet need to address is how to improve being familiar with technical terms. Drivers should be well trained in using the ELD once a truck fleet has implemented them. Drivers who do not know how to scroll back and forth in the digital log information present a problem during an inspection. Requested information must be accessible and if a driver can’t produce it, it’s a chargeable offense regardless if the information is in a digital or tangible form.
Companies are hopeful these small changes will be easily adopted by their truck fleets to have an even more successful International Roadcheck next year.
