Newsletter No. 30, Fall 2005

CA2RS Contact Information
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[email protected]
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Gordon Gray
Phone: (209) 937-7292
(Monday thru Friday 8-5) (Voice mail)
e-mail: [email protected]
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Jim Holder
Phone: (909) 772-6762
e-mail: [email protected]
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Kevin Cassidy
Phone: (408) 277-4654
e-mail: [email protected]
Schedule of ACTAR
Accreditation Examinations
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Karen Haverkamp Phone: (951) 826-5225
e-mail: [email protected]
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Rudy Degger
Phone: (916) 782-4654
e-mail: [email protected]
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!
The 3rd quarter training held at AC Transit in
Hayward and at the Orange County Sheriff’s
Department training facility in Anaheim went very
well.
Bill Focha, of North Coast Truck Inspections,
explained the various types of commercial vehicles
and the license types required to operate them
legally. He then took half of the class out to go over
a standard airbrake system on a “brake board”. The
“brake board” shows how all the parts of the brake
system function together and puts them in an easily
observable location, namely on a board that can be
viewed without climbing around under a truck.
Bill also had a truck available at each location to
point out the different components of the truck and
answer questions about how they work.
While Bill was doing the “dirty work”, Jim Holder
of J.C. Holder & Associates was giving the other
half of the class a primer on the hours of service
rules for commercial drivers.
Some very significant changes to the hours of
service rules were issued on August 25, 2005 after
the Southern California training. These changes are
outlined in the related article titled “FMCSA Hours
of Service Rule Changes” in this issue of
Skidmarks. This highlights the need to constantly
strive to stay current on these issues as they are
often changing.
The day ended with the opportunity to go over brake
force calculations and what data is required to
complete them.
A big thank you goes out to AC Transit in Hayward
for the use of their facility and a bus for the handson portion, to the Orange County Sheriff’s
Department who donated the use of their training
facility and to CR&R who provided a truck for the
Southern California training.
Bill Focha using the brake board at AC Transit in Hayward to
explain how air brake systems operate.
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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
(FMCSA) has issued its new and long-awaited
hours-of-service rule for drivers of propertycarrying commercial motor vehicles, specifying how
long these drivers can operate their trucks before
having to take a break.
Major parts of the rule, including the maximum
driving and minimum rest requirements, have
remained the same. Changes were made, however,
for:
•
Short-haul operators who do not need a CDL
and who stay within a 150-air-mile radius of
their home terminals. These drivers will be
able to have longer work days twice per
week.
•
Long-distance drivers who split their offduty time in sleeper berths. These drivers
will have to spend 8 consecutive hours in the
sleeper berth, but can go off duty for the
remaining 2 hours.
The new rule takes effect October 1, 2005, followed
by a three-month “soft enforcement” period that
will give drivers and enforcement personnel time to
adjust to the new rule. "The research shows that this
new rule will improve driver health and safety and
the safety of our roadways," said FMCSA
Administrator Annette M. Sandberg. "Ensuring
drivers obtain necessary rest and restorative sleep
will save lives."
As in the hours-of-service rule issued in 2003, the
new rule allows 11 hours of driving within a 14consecutive-hour period after a 10-hour break.
Drivers must stop driving after accumulating 60
hours over a 7-day period or 70 hours over an 8-day
period. The new rule also retains the 34-hour
“restart” provision allowing drivers to reset the
60/70-hour clock after 34 consecutive hours off
duty.
The rules for passenger-carrying vehicles do not
change under the new rule. Drivers of these vehicles
will continue to follow the existing rules in 49 CFR
§395.5.
Major changes
Sleeper-Berths – One major change in the rule
requires truckers who use sleeper berths to rest for
at least 8 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth, and
take another 2 consecutive hours off duty or in the
sleeper berth (or any combination of the two) before
resetting their daily driving schedule. The existing
rule allows the 10-hour break to be split into any
two periods of time as long as the shortest is at least
2 hours. According to the FMCSA, studies show
that drivers are less likely to be fatigued if they take
a single 8-hour block of rest than if they break their
rest into smaller periods of time as they were
allowed under the previous rule.
Short-Haul Provision – Another important change
under the new rule allows short-haul operators who
are not required to hold a commercial drivers
license (CDL) and who work within a 150-mile
radius of their starting point, to extend their work
day twice a week. These drivers will no longer have
to maintain logbooks, but must maintain time
records similar to those used by drivers under the
existing 100-air-mile-radius exception. The existing
short-haul exception allows drivers to extend their
work day only once per week.
The change was prompted by safety data that show
short haul drivers make up over half the commercial
fleet, yet are involved in less than seven percent of
the nation'
s fatigue-related fatal truck crashes.
Soft Enforcement
Carriers and drivers will not be allowed to operate
under the new rule prior to its October 1, 2005,
effective date. Sandberg pledged to work with states
and the trucking community for the first three
months the rule is in effect allowing them time to
update educational materials, train employees, and
re-program driving schedules.
During this transitional period, the FMCSA and
state law enforcement officials will monitor carriers
for egregious violations of the new rule and pursue
enforcement action where necessary.
2003 rule
2005 rule
Compliance through
9/30/05
Compliance on and after 10/1/05
10-hour off-duty rule
No change
11-hour driving limit
No change
14-hour limit
No change
60/70-hour limits
No change
Drivers can split their 10
hours of off-duty time in a
sleeper berth using two
separate sleeper-berth
periods, provided neither is
less than 2 hours.
Drivers can split their 10 hours of off-duty
time in a sleeper berth using two separate
periods of time. One of the periods must be at
least 8 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth.
The other must be at least 2 consecutive hours
either in the sleeper berth, off duty, or any
combination of the two.
34-hour restart provision
No change, but enforcement will change to
allow drivers to use this provision regardless
of the number of on-duty hours accumulated.
100-air-mile-radius
exception in 49 CFR
§395.1(e)
No change
Short-haul provision in
§395.1(o)
No change, but additional exception adopted
(see below).
The actual text of the changes is available either
directly
from
the
FMCSA
website
at
www.fmcsa.dot.gov or can also be downloaded as a
pdf
file
at
www.jchcollisionanalysis.com/downloads.
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There is still time to get the reduced registration rate
for the 2005 conference coming up October 13th
through 15th. The reduced registration rate is
available through September 23rd.
The topic will be “Investigating Emergency Vehicle
Crashes” and the keynote speaker will be Dr. Steven
S. Solomon. Dr. Solomon wrote the book on
emergency vehicle collisions, in fact, the only book
we are aware of dedicated solely to this subject. The
book is “Emergency Vehicle Accidents: Prevention,
Reconstruction and Survey of State Law”. The book
is available from Lawyers and Judges Publishing
Company
at
http://www.lawyersandjudges.com/productdetails.cf
m?PC=999. And remember as a CA2RS member
you receive a 5% discount from Lawyers & Judges.
The
conference
location has been
changed
to
the
Pechanga Resort and
Casino in Temecula,
California. Due to
scheduling problems
with the Anaheim
Sheraton we were not
able to have the
conference there as planned. The good news is that
Pechanga should provide an excellent venue for the
conference as it is self-contained with several
restaurants at the resort as well as entertainment.
Take a virtual tour of Pechanga Resort and Casino
by visiting http://www.pechanga.com/default.html.
More information is available on the CA2RS
website at http://www.ca2rs.com/events/index.asp.
Registration must be completed online at
http://www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=24
370 but if you are unable to register online directly
you can call Karen Haverkamp at 951-826-5225 for
assistance.
$
As always, members in good standing will have the
opportunity to vote to determine who will represent
them on the CA2RS board of directors. The election
will take place at the upcoming conference next
month.
If you or someone you know would be interested in
serving on the board of directors nominations can
be made from the floor at the conference. Take a
few minutes to speak to one of the current board
members to find out what is involved.
Serving on the board of directors provides you with
the opportunity to help steer the organization and to
determine what training should be offered to the
members. It can also provide you with very valuable
contacts in the collision reconstruction field.
There are four positions open this year. Three
candidates submitted statements for inclusion in the
newsletter.
Kent Boots – Nominated for
Vice-Chair
“I have been a CA2RS member since March of
1999. I was asked to be on the board of directors,
nominated, and elected in October of 2001. In
October of 2002, I was appointed to the position of
Vice-Chair on the board of directors due to a
vacancy. I have served a total of five years on the
2
board; one year as a general board member and two
full terms (4 years) as Vice-Chair.”
“As I sat down to write this I thought about talking
about my accomplishments and responsibilities on
the CA2RS Board of Directors.
But then I
remembered the saying, “There is no ‘I’ in team.”
That is how I feel about the CA2RS Board of
Directors. We are individuals that each bring
something unique to the organization, but we work
as a team toward our common goals: to provide
quality training and resources to our members and
strive towards growth. “
“It is my wish to continue working as part of the
team for the betterment of the organization in
helping to achieve these goals.”
“I ask for your support in the upcoming election.”
Chris Kauderer – Nominated for
Director-at-Large
“I have been a member of CA2RS since 2000. At
the CA2RS Conference in 2003, I was nominated
and elected to the CA2RS Board of Directors. I have
enjoyed my 2 years as a Board member and am
seeking re-election this year. I have 20+ years
experience in the area of accident reconstruction. In
addition to working for Rudy Degger & Associates
in Northern California, I also teach accident
reconstruction throughout the state. Currently, I am
the only member of the CA2RS Board of Directors
who is not affiliated with Law Enforcement. I
believe it is important the CA2RS Board of
Directors continues to serve and represent its entire
constituency. If elected, I will continue to ensure the
best interests and opinions of the entire organization
are heard. Your support is appreciated”
Joel Salinas – Nominated for
Director-at-Large
“My name is Joel Salinas. I am a Lieutenant with
the Vallejo Police Department, currently assigned to
the Traffic Division. I have 21 years of Law
Enforcement experience, 4 years with the California
Highway Patrol and the remaining 17 years with
Vallejo PD. I am ACTAR accredited and have been
a CA2RS member for several years. I have assisted
CA2RS in hosting training at our agency as well as
assisting in the last conference training in Santa
Rosa. I believe I have the experience, energy, and
the time to make a positive impact on CA2RS. I am
looking forward to serving as a member of the
board.”
%
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My comments in this edition will focus on the
examination process. I get quite a number of calls
asking about what ACTAR considers as qualifying
training and experience in the application process.
Since the background of applicants is quite diverse,
we have no one set '
formula'to determine if an
applicant is qualified to sit for the examination.
Keep in mind that the whole review process is in
place to ensure that the applicant has an equal
opportunity to successfully complete the
examination process and to eliminate people who
have absolutely nothing in the field of crash
reconstruction.
Training in the field, that is training specific to
crash investigation and reconstruction is very
important. Simply obtaining a degree in Mechanical
Engineering is not quite sufficient to reach approval.
The foundation is there, but specific application to
crash reconstruction and investigation is not.
Likewise experience - working in the field - is
equally important. A police officer fresh out of
recon school won'
t get approved until he or she has
had the opportunity to apply the training to real
world cases. We have all heard the refrain "experience is the best teacher."
Once approved the candidate has two years in which
to complete the examination process. This period is
given so one can plan to attend an examination
location nearest their residence. Of course,
exceptions can be made if you live in some remote
location where the nearest exam site is thousands of
miles away. Most applicants see an examination
close by within the two years.
physical evidence questions related to the crash are
asked.
The exam itself is two parts, both a maximum of
four hours in length. Candidates may bring
reference material and use a laptop computer (but
no data storage or CAD use). The morning session
or theory portion of the exam consists of 75
questions drawn from ten different areas. The
questions can be multiple choice, problem solving
or simply true-false statements. You do not have the
luxury of looking up every answer in the time
allotted for the exam. In reviewing quite a number
of exams with candidates I see two problems. First
is not reading and understanding WHAT the
question is asking. Some answers may appear to
have more than one correct answer. But the only
correct answer is WHAT the question is asking
about. The second problem I see is “reading into
the question” or as lawyers like to say assuming
facts not in evidence. Over analyzing the question
can lead to an incorrect assumption and thus a
wrong answer.
The biggest problem by far is the tendency of the
candidate to rush through the diagram and whip out
the trusty calculator to get the numbers. Care should
be taken in looking at the damages and physical
evidence to accurately position the vehicles at
impact. One of the most common errors is
incorrectly determining the departure angles which
can affect the results of the speed analysis.
I also get questions as to what to study. Although
there is a commercial version of the ACTAR
examination available, and we do send a Study
Guide (which essentially describes what I am
writing here in more detail). I recommend to
candidates that they simply get hold of back issues
of the Accident Reconstruction Journal'
s- Test Your
Skills section. Another source is the Accident
Reconstruction Website (ARC) who publish an
electronic newsletter that often contains some
practice problems.
The practical portion in the afternoon is a case
problem analysis of a staged crash. The candidate is
provided a blank diagram (streets are drawn in nothing else), photographs and dimensional values
for the evidence and vehicles along with a '
story'of
how the crash occurred. The candidate is expected
to position the vehicles on the diagram at their
impact and final rest locations, determine impact
and departure speeds, principal direction of force on
each vehicle as well as the Delta-V experienced by
each. In addition center of mass values as well as
It should take about 2 hours to carefully plot and
position the vehicles on the diagram. The remaining
two hours can then be used to determine the speeds
and answer the questions regarding evidence.
The examination was designed for a candidate to
complete using a pencil, calculator, protractor and
template. Anything extra is to the candidates
advantage. One more thing if you use a laptop keep
in mind ACTAR and the host are NOT responsible
to supply a power cord or extension cord so you can
reach a wall outlet.
Tests will be offered at the following locations:
Tuesday October 4, 2005 – Wilmington, DE
Registration deadline September 13, 2005.
Wednesday October 12, 2005 – Temecula, CA
Registration deadline September 21, 2005.
Thursday October 20, 2005 – Hershey, PA
Registration deadline September 29, 2005.
Thursday November 3, 2005 - San Diego, CA
Registration deadline October 13, 2005.
3
Blurbs from the Board
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This obviously old photograph is of a collision that reportedly happened in New York state. No further information is available.
If anyone has an interesting collision reconstruction related photograph that could be published in a future issue of Skid Marks, please
forward it to Jim Holder at [email protected] or to [email protected] .
Tentative 2006 training topics include: ABS brake systems, photography/videography and carseats and occupant restraint
systems.
rd
2
The 3 Annual CA RS Cruise is in the planning stages. Kerry Berg has volunteered to present the training, which will be on
the slide to stop equation and how it relates to energy. The cruise dates are not set yet, but will be in late April or early
May. Don’t miss this one! More information on this will be available soon. The cruise is a great opportunity to have some
fun. Also, check with your tax professional as you may be able to get Uncle Sam to pay for part of it in the form of a tax
deduction!
Check the website at www.ca2rs.com for updates on the training. Remember, if you have suggestions for training topics,
particularly if you know of a possible presenter for the topic, please contact a board member.
.