City Driving

I'm in one of my favorite cities this weekend, San Francisco. For me personally this has more to do with my good friends and bbqing oysters while looking out at the pacific ocean, although the diverse culture, great restaurants and abundant varieties of cider have also influenced my opinion towards this great city. My early Friday afternoon flight out of Las Vegas was delayed and with my luck I ended up arriving right in the middle of Friday 5 o'clock traffic. After picking up my rental car I immediately head north on the 101 towards the city.

Less than 2 minutes pass and I am encompassed in bumper to bumper traffic. My estimated 15 minute google maps drive is now looking more like an hour. My Nissan Versa rental car is almost at a stand-still and I am quickly reminded I am no longer at home. Local drivers seem to be cutting in and out of traffic at every opportunity. Patience is definitely not a virtue to these drivers.


I soon pull close to a 26' box truck, who appears to be using a technique I learned with the SMITH Driving System: 'Leave Yourself an Out'. This particular truck was trying to leave at least 1 and a half car lengths in front of him as his 'out'. Yet, as soon as the traffic crawled ahead, another inpatient driver in the exit-only right lane would identify this opportunity and fill the gap. There again the truck driver would hold off on immediately accelerating to ensure he had enough space between himself and the car in front to only be cut off once again. I watched as long as I had him in my sight and I personally identified 5 different occasions in approximately 3-4 minutes that this phenomenon occurred.

I am sure we can all identify this example in our daily commute and although I can say this is a fairly common practice, it is a very dangerous one.With 4,321 fatal accidents involving large vehicles in 2006 (according to the FMCSA) it is a sobering reality that innocent lives are in our hands each time we drive. This particular driver was patiently trying everything he could to 'leave himself an out' yet he was still at risk due to the other drivers on the road.

If you have never encountered the SMITH System of driving, I encourage you to take a look. (http://www.smith-system.com/) The five key points this system outlines can be applied to all vehicles and drivers although it is specifically focused towards large commercial vehicles. One tip I will pass on from my Smith System instructor is to treat the cars around you as if your mom/sister/daughter were in those drivers seats. We would all make different driving decisions if they were in the lane next to us.

This blog goes out to the patient man driving the 'Flower Delivery' straight truck on the CA 101 N on Friday. If only we were all as patient as you.

Drive safe out there.

Hazmat Solutions

I had a new customer call today about Hazmat LTL (Less than Truckload). He had two 1,100lb pressurized tanks that needed to be shipped from Las Vegas to Phoenix. After asking about the specifications of the shipment (size, weight, packaging etc.) I soon came to realize that this customer would need more insight in regards to packaging, labeling,legalities and the associated paperwork. With a large top-heavy pressurized tank, just getting this piece of equipment onto a pallet was only the start to our challenge.



Although there are many freight solutions for Hazardous materials, strict protocol must be followed to ensure proper transport of the goods, safety of the general public, safety of the driver and equipment and to limit any potential damage to the load. I was able to find a simplified outline of specifications and compliance requirements on the Federal Motor Carriers website: FMCSA including a brief summary which outlines the differences between the responsibility of the Carrier as well as the responsibility of the Shipper for these types of loads.

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS CARRIER RESPONSIBILITY

* SHIPPING PAPERWORK
* PLACARD AND MARK VEHICLE
* LOADING AND UNLOADING
* COMPATIBILITY
* BLOCKING AND BRACING
* INCIDENT REPORTING
* SECURITY PLAN
* EMPLOYEE TRAINING

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SHIPPER RESPONSIBILITIES

* DETERMINE WHETHER A MATERIAL MEETS THE DEFINITION OF A "HAZARDOUS MATERIAL"
* PROPER SHIPPING NAME
* CLASS/DIVISION
* IDENTIFICATION NUMBER
* HAZARD WARNING LABEL
* PACKAGING
* MARKING
* EMPLOYEE TRAINING
* SHIPPING PAPERS
* EMERGENCY RESPONSE INFORMATION
* EMERGENCY RESPONSE TELEPHONE NUMBER
* CERTIFICATION
* COMPATIBILITY
* BLOCKING AND BRACING
* PLACARDING
* SECURITY PLAN
* INCIDENT REPORTING

In this case, I suggested to my customer that he call the manufacturer/distributor of the tank and ask for their recommended packaging method(s). The manufacturer was able to give viable specific information on how they have shipped the tanks to other customers which gave us a great start in preparing the tanks for transport.

This example not only reminds us of some of the complicated issues in regards to freight but how many people who are truly willing to help. When in doubt, ask questions.