Source: http://part380.com/blog/tag/csa/
Timestamp: 2020-06-06 00:57:01
Document Index: 559861075

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 393', 'art 393', 'art 393', 'art 1910', 'art380', 'art 393']

CSA | DOT / CSA Insights: Success Ahead
CSA Tire Inspection
The CSA Tire Inspection video starts with the now standard boilerplate legal disclaimers, followed by a musical intro of a turquoise blue Michelin truck, and self-introductions by Kevin Rolling, of the Tire Industry Association, and Doug Jones of Michelin, NA. At 2:45 there is an introduction to CSA (DOT’s regulatory enforcement methodology) and Capt. Douglas Shackelford (North Carolina State Highway Patrol) tells us he will talk about the “visual inspection components” to avoid inspections.
CSA created a new Safety Measurement System (SMS) for both driver and company. Under CSA, individual road violations are assigned a “severity rating” that ranges from one to ten, with ten being the most severe and the most likely to cause an accident.
Items that are required to be inspected under Part 393 for safe operation prior to each trip include:
– Lamps, Reflective Devices and Electrical Wiring
– Glazing & Window Construction
– Fuel Systems, including: Compressed Natural Gas Fuel Containers and Liquefied Petroleum Gas Systems
– Coupling Devices and Towing Methods
– Miscellaneous Parts and Accessories including: Tires, Windshield Wipers, and Rear Impact Guards
– Protection against shifting and falling cargo, including specific securement requirements by commodity type
– Frames, Cab and Body Components, Wheels, Steering and Suspension Systems
Capt. Shackelford, “For purposes of this video, we’re going to focus on tires. So let’s look at the federal regulations for tires.”
Feeling the face or crown of the tire for damage by laying hand flat on tire and sliding it across the face.
Tires Part 393.75: No motor vehicle can be operated if any tire exhibits the following conditions:
– Exposed body ply or belt material through the tread or side wall
– Tread or sidewall separation
– Flat tire or a tire with an audible air leak
– A cut where the ply or belt material is exposed
These are generally cited as Out-of-Service (OOS) conditions.
Exception: An under 3/8 inch bulge on the sidewall, if accompanied by a blue repair triangle (no more than two repair patches) is acceptable. Use a “bulge gage” to measure the height of the bulge, if in doubt.
Lead tires (steering tires, converter dollies for semi-trailers and steer axles on full trailers ) must have at least 4/32s tread depth at any point on any major groove expect where tread wear indicators or stone ejectors are located. All other tires must have 2/32s inch in every major groove of the tire.
If tread depth is under the limit as established by Part 393.75, then the driver will be cited for a violation and assessed points under CSA. However, the vehicle will be placed out of service if the tread depth is below the limit set by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA).
The vehicle is OOS, if tread depth is under specification at any two adjacent grooves.
The decoupling groove at the shoulder is not a major groove. Other terms for this tire feature include: “shoulder wear protector” or “defense groove” or “pressure distribution groove,” depending on the manufacturer.
If a tire is out of specification, then this is a citable violation (ticket-able) but not an out-of-service (OOS) condition.
Insufficient tread in a decoupling groove is not a violation or an OOS condition, if all the major grooves have sufficient tread depth.
Irregular wear (example: tire “cupping” from dry steering) is not a violation or an OOS condition, if all the major grooves have sufficient tread depth.
Missing tread chucks are not a violation or an OOS condition, if all the major grooves have sufficient tread depth and the missing tread material does not expose the ply materials.
Weather checking is not a violation or an OOS condition, if the checking does not expose the underlying material.
Bus Restrictions:
FMCSR 393.75(4)(d) says, “No bus shall be operated with regrooved, recapped or retreaded tires on the front wheels.” This is an OOS condition.
A “regroovable” tire is allowed, but not a regrooved tire.
FMCSR 393.75(4)(d) says, “A regrooved tire with a load-carrying capacity equal to or greater than 4,920 pounds shall not be used on the front wheels of any truck or truck tractor.”
Almost all of these conditions carry a “severity rating” of eight points if found during a roadside inspection.
Example: a tire is found during a roadside inspection with less than 50% of inflation as marked on the sidewall. As such an OOS condition exists (as the tire is considered flat and may have sustained hidden “run-flat” damage).
Under CSA, eight points are given for the flat and two additional points for an OOS condition – multiplied three fold for the 0-6 months multiplier resulting an a total of thirty CSA points (the max allowed for any single violation within a CSA BASIC). This in turn, affects the fleet’s CSA “SMS score” and could later result in additional “targeted inspections.”
“Enforcement officers are now equipped with a valuable tool for any fleet we inspect. And since the CSA “Snapshot” is based on real time inspections and data, we know exactly where to look and have complete confidence when identifying violations, improving safety on our nation’s highways.”
Kevin Rolling, “Perform a thorough pretrip and posttrip inspection.”
Doug Jones: “Thanks for watching.”
The inspections performed by a US DOT certified roadside inspector under CVSA guidelines are focused on CRITICAL items. A driver has a duty to thoroughly inspect (and document) not just the aforementioned “critical items,” but all items (as specified by the regulations) on a vehicle and its load.
The “window of opportunity” is the period of time when a part or accessory begins to exhibit poor performance, prior to a repair being made. This is a period of time and/or of deteriorating performance when the part or freight is in a sub-critical condition that will require service or repair.
For example, when laying a hand flat on tire and sliding it across the face or crown of the tire, if one direction feels smooth and the other has sharp edges, then there is a lateral drag problem (edges of the tire are feathering away from the direction of the push), possibly due to excessive, unequal camber, resulting in decreased MPGs.
Irregular wear is an indicator of future trouble.
“Heavy, spotty, cupped or irregular tire wear
are signs of components (king pins, bushings, tie rod ends, steering gear, pitman arms, idler arm, spring sag, shock leakage, or wheel bearings) that are out of specification.”
Always try to always stay out of the tire’s trajectory areas and know when use a tire cage when working around tires. Several years ago, a small child was killed in Michigan watching his father inflate a truck tire.
Learning how to properly read a tire can prevent later breakdowns in critical items, saving time and money, honor and lives.
FINAL TIRE SAFETY WARNINGS
“Flat tires,” according to OSHA, are any tires under 20% of proper inflation. DO NOT re-inflate any flat tires unless you are a properly trained tire technician. Tires over 80 percent of the recom­mended pressure may be inflated on the vehicle if proper pre­cautions are taken. Flats should be properly inspected to find the cause of the leak. (See OSHA 29 CFR Part 1910.177)
Stay out of the tire's trajectory areas and know when to use a tire cage when working around tires.
To learn how to win by conducting a professional inspection each time, every time, please visit: http://www.part380.com/si393.html
– cargo insurance policies will NOT cover losses due to bad load securement?
– a driver can face criminal charges if someone is hurt or killed as the result of an unsecured load?
Posted in Tire Inspections	| Tagged CSA, Part 393, roadside inspections, tire inspection, truck tires	| Leave a reply