June 6-8 is the annual safety inspection Grand Event. It is estimated that an average of 15 trucks and buses are inspected every minute during this annual “reminder” that the roadside inspections are alive and well. Using the 2016 OOS inspection statistics, that means that 9,080 vehicles and 1,436 drivers be awarded an unexpected parking space during this years event. The interesting number is 1,555,200 vehicles and drivers will have the opportunity to meet a state or federal DOT inspector between June 6-8. What are your chances of being one of the 1,555,200? Why take a chance. This years inspection will emphasize LOAD SECUREMENT – flat bed drivers, that gives you a front row seat!  Check those straps for cuts, chaffed areas, weather rot, etc., the road side inspector certainly will. Be sure you have sufficient numbers of securement for total weight, bundle length, span, etc. and don’t get caught short with those 4×4’s stored on the support legs of the landing gear not being secured. TIP: have your credentials:  CDL, Med Card, B/L and HOS documents readily available. Don’t have loose receipts, paperwork, etc. sitting in plain view – what is visible is game for the eye the sees it! Put a smile on your face and greet the inspector in a friendly manner – remember, they got up, put their pants on and went to work – JUST LIKE YOU DID!  Their job is the same as yours – make the roads a safer place for everyone. Who knows – the lost cargo, unqualified driver, impaired driver, lost tandem may be the tractor-trailer in font of you.

Until next week, remember …

ATTITUDE ALWAYS PRECEDES ACTION