You Don't Want a Reason to be Caught by the DOT. Then again... Posted by DC Cargo Mall on January 29, 2014

You don't want a reason to be caught by the DOT. Then again, you don't want an oversight of hazardous truck practice.

New York’s comptroller has released a new audit, keeping us informed of the current dangers facing drivers on the road today.

They have stated that the New York state Department of Transportation has not been sufficiently monitoring commercial carriers to see whether they have been at roadside due to violations or due to repairs and/or corrections needed to the vehicle. 

This oversight deems the public at a preventable safety risk.

“Lax oversight of commercial carriers could be putting New York’s motorists in jeopardy,” State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said. “The [New York] Department of Transportation needs to do a better job making sure carriers comply with the law, and most especially those with poor safetyrecords. The state needs to send a strong message that commercial carriers that flout the rules and put people at risk will be penalized.”

The N.Y. DOT is behind the administering of state participation in these necessary roadside inspections of commercial vehicles, carried out by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program.

The requirements by Federal and State regulations are for Motor Carriers to return inspection reports and repair certifications to the N.Y. DOT within 15 days. The problem though, us that according to DiNapoli’s Auditors discovery, N.Y. DOT has not been monitoring whether carriers that have been cited submit the required certifications on time indicating that violations have been repaired or corrected.

An added point on the report reads that the N.Y. DOT has no tracking system installed to monitor this compliance with the 15-day requirement. In fact, there is a negligence of tracking whether these reports are being received at all.

Additionally, approximately 60% of the cases of repeat out-of-service reviewed, the N.Y. DOT did not use such “enhanced enforcement actions to ensure compliance with the law. Instead, violators in these instances typically received only a traffic citation.” Auditors have noted.

To resolve the predicament, the audit has suggested that the N.Y. DOT put several forms of action into place: 

•    Institute a comprehensive tracking system to monitor carrier compliance with the requirements for certification that vehicles have been repaired.

•     Develop strategies to improve carrier compliance, particularly for those with poor safety histories and out-of-service violations.

•     Impose increasingly severe penalties, such as compliance reviews and formal violation notices, when carriers are found to have continued to operate out-of-service vehicles.

 

The N.Y. DOT generally agreed with DiNapoli’s recommendations and has indicated that steps are being taken to implement them. 

We can't just look to the DOT for safety implementation though, as active safety precautions begin with the driver and his truck.

To avoid safety hazards and not having a reason to report fault are simply to implement prevention by loading with quality tools such as thick enough straps, heavy-duty chains, new materials, and hole-free tarps. All that can be found in high quality and affordability at DCCargoMall.com.

For a copy of the report, including more details of the N.Y. DOT’s response, visit: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/audits/allaudits/093014/12s13.pdf