IT PAYS TO BE SAFE

No. 28, July, 2010
CSA 2010, Number 2--Fatigue and Hours of Service

This is the second of our seven-part series for drivers on the new safety measurement system that has been put into place by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, known as CSA 2010 BASIC (Behavior Analysis & Safety Improvement Categories).

The second installment of the series pertains to driver fatigue. This is not to be confused with the issues regarding the use of controlled substances or alcohol. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration considers that an entirely separate issue among the seven areas drivers will be judged on.

Rather, fatigue pertains to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's evaluation of hours of service violations discovered during off-site investigations, i.e., at weigh stations or in driver pull-over situations, on-site investigations, road-side inspections or post-crash inspections.

This means that now, more than ever, it is vital that drivers in conjunction with their employers comply with the hours of service regulations (already covered earlier this year in It Pays to be Safe). It is critical to have your log book up to date! It is a technical violation to fail to have the log book current, ultimately affecting your driver and carrier rating.

Section 392.3 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act clearly provides that no driver shall operate a commercial motor vehicle while the driver's ability or alertness is so impaired, or is so likely to become impaired, through fatigue so as to make it unsafe for him or her to begin or continue to operate their truck.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will also look to crash reports to see if driver fatigue is listed as a contributing factor. This is obviously a subjective determination that will be made by investigating officers, thus your professional approach to the officers and having an updated log book will go a long way as to whether or not the investigating officer comes to the belief that you as a driver were fatigued, and that this resulted in an accident.

The principle item that officers will use to determine compliance with this rule of law is whether or not your log book is accurate and up to date. Plus, remember it always pays to take care of the paperwork along with safe driving, just as it always pays to be safe!