Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/85086
Your CSA Scores Improve Show You How Let Grote Fleets are fi nding that lighting problems are a leading contributor to poor CSA scores. Six points for a malfunctioning Stop/ Tail/Turn lamp, for instance. score. A lighting acquisition strategy based on low initial cost usually ends up with higher overall lighting expenses – and a higher CSA Wind PREVENTABLE OR NOT? Doe fl ip-fl ops on windy road company's profi tability. Use only Grote Investment Grade LED lamps, harnesses, and power cords – products that vastly outperform and outlast products from bargain basement suppliers. in your Grote only provides Investment Grade products – that's why Grote products are worth your investment. Invest regulatory interpretations, Darmstadter said Plimpton was subject to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations whenever "the intent of the transportation being performed is interstate in nature, even when the route is within the boundaries of a single state." Huh? Gleefully aware of Plimpton's confusion, Darm- T hanks to intrastate driver Chucky Plimpton and long- hauler Slim Darmstadter, lunch at the truckstop had been mighty entertaining. Quoting from a tattered copy of Go with Grote stadter then quoted Uncle Sam's clarifi cation that "interstate commerce is determined by the essen- tial character of the movement, manifested by the shipper's fi xed and persistent intent at the time of shipment, and is ascertained from all the facts and circumstances surrounding the transportation." Huh? Poor Plimpton. Now, several hours later, tractor-trailer driver Doe was northbound on California's four-lane lim- ited-access Coastview Highway with an empty intermodal container in tow. Noting that the gusty crosswinds – common to that stretch of road – suddenly had increased dramatically, Doe pulled into the right lane and decelerated to 30 mph from the posted speed limit of 55 mph. There was no opportunity to seek shelter. Whoosh! A 70-mph gust broadsided Doe's container and … WHUMP! … fl ipped it violently on its side. Oh no! Doe received a preventable-accident warning letter from his safety director, Since 1901 To learn more, visit grote.com 84 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | FEBRUARY 2012 which he contested. Asked to resolve the dispute, the National Safety Council's Accident Review Committee ruled in Doe's favor, declaring that he'd taken every reasonable precaution. Even a dead stop probably wouldn't have helped, NSC said. Despite taking several precautions, John Doe couldn't dodge the gusty crosswinds that fl ipped his empty intermodal contain- er. Was this a pre- ventable accident? Coastview Highway Write 249 on Reader Service Card or visit ccjdigital.com/info