The "Blitz" is on!! I was in the shop at the TA in Houston, 4 drivers were looking for first aid kits. Seems that the DOT is looking for all the LITTLE stuff to hammer people on.
Watch OUT!!
- Thread starter layoutshooter
- Start date
Wow... Well, when you come up on a roll over accident with occupants that are on deaths doorstep, having gauze and white tape could make all the difference.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
I don't find that funny Highway 
I while ago, I helped at an accident and there was a college couple that wanted to help out, they stopped on the other side of the road, crossed over almost got flattened by a bus and ran up to me and another person trying to stop the bleeding of the driver while we waited for EMS. They had their little hiking first aid kit. The girl passed out seeing blood and the guy tried to help by handing me a box of bandaids from the kit.
I showed them my first aid kit which I kept in the pickup and they seemed to be a bit embarrassed.
Seriously, the biltz is on and straight trucks may be a target - easy to inspect and easy to write up. Last year it was brakes this year it is LOGS so for those who want to not do pre-trips and mark them on the log or seal the box and claim everything is kosher, have fun with your violations.
I while ago, I helped at an accident and there was a college couple that wanted to help out, they stopped on the other side of the road, crossed over almost got flattened by a bus and ran up to me and another person trying to stop the bleeding of the driver while we waited for EMS. They had their little hiking first aid kit. The girl passed out seeing blood and the guy tried to help by handing me a box of bandaids from the kit.
I showed them my first aid kit which I kept in the pickup and they seemed to be a bit embarrassed.
Seriously, the biltz is on and straight trucks may be a target - easy to inspect and easy to write up. Last year it was brakes this year it is LOGS so for those who want to not do pre-trips and mark them on the log or seal the box and claim everything is kosher, have fun with your violations.
There's a FMCSA regulation which requires a first aid kit in the truck? Really? Seriously?
Link please.
Don't really know. Just passing on what 4 drivers said they were dinged on.
We used to have a REAL first aid kit on board, our jump bag from when we were EMT's. We took if off though, training was too far out of date. Those "store bought" kits are about useless. So is today's training. First aid is basically no longer taught.
jansiemoo
Seasoned Expediter
There's a FMCSA regulation which requires a first aid kit in the truck? Really? Seriously?
Link please.
I hope you're kidding. And I am so not turning off my ac while they do this crap. Someone will need a first aid kit then...it's friggen 106deg!
TheRebel
Seasoned Expediter
It's not just the DOT, but regular bears too... they just can't wait to find the smallest reason to pull you over and get you a "gift"...
That's what I've been saying: their job is to justify their jobs by finding 'violations'. It don't have squat to do with safety, and begins to resemble harassment, at some point.
But I do have a full complement of first aid stuff, from bandages to burn ointment, so they aren't nailing me on that one, at least.
But I do have a full complement of first aid stuff, from bandages to burn ointment, so they aren't nailing me on that one, at least.
TheRebel
Seasoned Expediter
They should go and get a real job... oops, I forgot, they won't qualify for a regular job...
matlack
Expert Expediter
Passenger Buses and School Buses are required to have a First Aid Kit.
With the headline story here on EO about the FMCSA shutdown of Sky Express Bus Service, it sounds to me like the buses are being inspected more.
We carry a First Aid Kit with us in the truck, keep one at home and another in the car.
a decent first aid kit can probably be outfitted out of most of our homes. Fill in the cracks with some small purchases, and even out dated training is better than nothing. Just because your "ticket" expired doesn't mean the knowledge left your brain. If your NOT comfortable assisting on the scene of an accident BEFORE the 'experts' arrive, don't stop unless your the first one on the scene, call in the location,your assessment on the scene, and give what comfort you can.
the law ONLY requires a kit...not training....
Another stupid law.
What good does having a kit do, if you don't have the training to use it?
What the reasoning is for having one I haven't a clue...I'd go out on a limb and say it is for the driver primarily....you know a skinned knuckle from a stubborn water pump...maybe a cut or sliver from a pallet...real simple stuff...cuzz we are only dumb drivers ya know....
We have one because we wanted one.
I'm still looking for the law. Can't find it in my little green book or online search at FMCSA.
Anybody have the reg on this.
I'll save you some time. Quit looking. It ain't in there.
It ain't in there because the job of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is to concern themselves with the safety of the public at large by ensuring the safe operation of heavy vehicles. The primary mission of the FMCSA is improving the safety of commercial motor vehicles (CMV) and truck drivers through enactment and enforcement of safety regulations, and having a first-aid kit on board doesn't effect the safe operation, nor the safety of the public at large.
Mandating that you have a first-aid kit would also mandate its use, and in order to mandate its use, that would require extensive training, none of which would affect or improve the safe operation of a commercial motor vehicle, so the FMCSA couldn't even mandate it if they wanted to, unless they can demonstrate how having such training and having a kit on board would actually improve the safety of commercial motor vehicles to reduce accident or injury.
Most states require passenger buses, school buses in particular, to have a first-aid kit (and a two-way radio), but that's state, not federal.
Obviously, it's a good idea to have one, if for nothing else to prevent a minor cut or scrape out here on the road from turning into a real problem.
