NTSB Says No HOS Violations Discovered in Review of Driver in Wash. Bridge Crash
This story appears in the June 16 print edition of Transport Topics.
A review of a logbook kept by the truck driver who struck a bridge in Washington state in 2013 found no violations of federal hours-of-service rules, according to documents released June 11 by federal transportation safety investigators.
The National Transportation Safety Board said William Scott, the driver for Mullen Trucking, based in Aldersyde, Alberta, kept a logbook, receipts and GPS-recorded times and locations that showed he had not violated either the Canadian or U.S. HOS rules.
In an interview with NTSB officials, Scott indicated he had attended the Petroleum Institute’s defensive driving course in February 2005. As an employee for Mullen, Scott was described as an exemplary driver who earned “safety driving” awards before he was involved in the May 23, 2013, accident that led to the collapse of the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River in Mount Vernon.
The NTSB documents also noted the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rated Mullen Trucking as “satisfactory” less than two months before the accident.
NTSB noted that the new documents are factual but do not provide analyses or make conclusions.
The agency plans to release a final report on the investigation this summer, which would include a determination of probable cause.
According to NTSB’s preliminary report, Scott was hauling an oversize load in the early evening hours when he hit the overhead portal and multiple sway braces on the far right side of the I-5 bridge. Scott was following an escort car Of the 33 corporations, two are private fleets and two are bus companies, leaving just 29 trucking participants. In comparison, FMCSA has records for more than 400,000 for-hire trucking companies on file.
But the 29 trucking participants are among the biggest — 24 of them are on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of for-hire carriers in the United States and Canada.
Collectively, the carriers operate more than 86,000 heavy-duty tractors, whether company-owned or through owner-operators.
Prasad Sharma, general counsel for American Trucking Associations, said the federation has decided to lobby against the proposal so that the status quo on self-insurance can be preserved. He also took issue with FMCSA’s claim that the program does little to improve highway safety.
“If a company retains risk, then its managers have every motivation to reduce claims, since it’s their money at stake from dollar one,” Sharma said.
Crete’s Ostergard said there is more to the issue than the trucking industry wanting to keep running a plan that government wants ended.
He said the program allows Crete to administer the initial layer of claims against it — up to $750,000 per incident for general freight. The company then supplements that with additional coverage purchased from insurance companies.
Crete files quarterly reports with FMCSA concerning financial stability, reserve accounts, and safety and claims performance, Ostergard said.
“The program allows us to manage claims directly and settle them more quickly and cost-effectively,” said Ostergard, whose company ranks No. 28 on the for-hire TT100.
