Vehicle Safety Compliance Act Of 1988

Unsecured loads within dry van trucks can cause damage to the cargo, trailer, and are a potential hazard to drivers, dock workers, and the public. Therefore, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has set forth rules governing the way cargo is secured. Although this article specifically speaks about dry van trucks, the rules apply to all cargo-carrying commercial vehicles. The only exceptions are those that transport liquids, gases, grain and other commodities that have no fixed shape or structure.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is within the U.S Department of Transportation (DOT). The mission of this agency is to lower crashes, injuries and losses including large trucks and buses (DOT, 2016). It was established on January 1, 2000, pursuant to the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999, and its headquarters is located in Washington, DC. The agency values the importance of providing and increasing the safety of commercial motor vehicles (CMV). In addition, the agency is devoted to spreading safety awareness in the U.S.

There’s hardly a person alive in America today that hasn’t ridden in an automobile of some sort at some point in their life. We’re all connected to each other by roads crisscrossing roads and highways all across country, and yet few people understand how we got to this point. They simply accept their magic metal box will work when they put the key in to start their car. Long ago, this country once had a great love affair with the American Automobile, and it was a turbulent, passion filled, amazing ride.

In the early 60’s America’s demand for large cars began to diminish, resulting in many car manufactures production of smaller cars. One car that was released was the Chevy Corvair, a small, compact, rear engine, six seater car, that was an ambitious goal for a company who didn’t want to spend the appropriate resources. Chevy aimed to create huge turnover from this compact car by cutting as many corners as possible. This resulted in a car deemed to be unsafe at any speed. Whether it be the bad handling, poorly designed engine, or poor design flaws, Chevy released a car that they knew was dangerous and did not say anything about it in hopes for a large profit, making them unethical in multiple ways (Unsafe at any speed,1).

The American automotive industry has been under a lot of pressure over recent years due to increased concern for the environment and increased global competition. An environmental scan on the American automotive industry shows that the global competition is a great cause for concern, new technology is providing an edge, emissions and laws regulating them are as tight as ever, and consumer opinion is reflecting concern for this.

In conversations globally the environment is a hot topic. Issues with the ozone layer, depleting natural resources, and health risks associated with emissions and changes in climate coupled with its resulting natural disasters; have pushed conservation issues into the spotlight. The environmental issues presented today are not the result of one country, one type, or one-industry actions but a communal failure of a mixture of several. With that said many countries and industries are going through policy changes to combat environmental issues that will hopefully benefit the environment, the consumer, and industries.

One of the hardest-fought controversies in the European Union today surrounds the standardization of requirements for consumer goods. Regarding this issue as it pertains to cars, this debate has proven to be particularly heated. Different nations have different safety standards, driving habits, and manufacturing requirements. These prerequisites must be taken into account when creating a standardized format for EU regulations. Now, "the European Commission is drawing up plans for a 'roadworthiness test' which would mean that all components had to conform to those which were on the car when it was first registered" (Millward). The purpose of the test is to ensure that modifications do not result in compromises to safety or environmental sustainability. Ultimately, the phrasing of the law is written so restrictive and cumbersome it is more detrimental than helpful to consumers.

Trucking companies that transport frozen foods, meats and perishable items such as fresh produce must be diligent in their efforts to ensure the products are handled safely at all times. This helps to prevent issues such as spoilage, cross-contamination and damage to the products. The rules are set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). These are in addition to standard trucking compliance rules such as hours of service, general safety rules and training and licensing.

The ecological environment necessitates clean, renewable energy sources, which requires automakers to design motors with these new fuel sources in mind. The legal environment imposes stricter regulations on vehicle

The existence of the organization National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was established by the Highway Safety Act of 1970. The founder the organization is the U.S. Department of Transportation. From public service announcements to prevent texting and driving, the (NHTSA) is a credible source and organization since it is at a national scale. Specifically, their Public Service Announcement (PSA) titled “Ambulance” (See Figure 1) from (NHTSA) is quite effective by convincing drivers to stop texting and driving.

“a consumer buying a car may not be informed fully about the safety features of various models or may not have adequate information to evaluate the importance or usefulness of various options (e.g., antilock brakes, four-wheel drive, side cross beams to reduce the damage from a side collision). The information asymmetry about those models or features is common and may allow an "aggressive" sales person to exploit the buyer's ignorance” (Englander & Moy, 2003).

One of the hardest-fought controversies in the European Union today is the standardization of requirements for consumer goods. Regarding the standardization of cars, this issue has proven to be particularly challenging. Different nations have different safety standards, driving habits, and manufacturing requirements, all of which must be rendered into a standardized format to meet EU regulations. Now, "the European Commission is drawing up plans for a 'roadworthiness test' which would mean that all components had to conform with those which were on the car when it was first registered" (Millward 2012). The purpose of the test is laudable, namely to ensure that modifications do not result in compromises to safety or environmental sustainability. But ultimately, the way the law is written is so restrictive and cumbersome it is more hurtful than helpful to consumers.

When a purchase is made, the consumer expects the good to be in proper working condition and justly so. Cars, being a potentially dangerous commodity if they fail, are expected to be fail proof once in the consumer’s possession. Over the decades however, there have been multiple product liability litigations carried out against leading car manufacturers like Ford, Volkswagen or GM for issues ranging from design flaws to unreliable emission reports. The agency of NHTSA is the one responsible for keeping society safe through legislation like the FAST Act, CLEANUP Act or the TREAD Act.

The threat of new entrants to the automobile manufacturing industry is low being that new players are hard to come by and entering the industry is highly difficult. Entry barriers include, but are not limited to: (1) safety and quality standards, (2) design and comfort, (3) servicing network, (4) research and development, (5) brand loyalty, (6) economies of scale, (7) sales and distribution channels, (8) access to raw materials, (9) technology and patent barriers, and (10) skilled human resource availability.

The business cultural environment in Mexico consists of families driving small old 1990’s pick-up trucks. In Mexico, owning a pick-up means a lot, because this type of cars are used for family, affordability, durability, efficiency, and convenience. Some include Nissan King Cab, Ford F-150, and Chevy Cheyenne and Silverado. As of 2015, Mexico has broken a new record of new vehicle sales of 1.38 million units, a 19% gain since 2014 and decreased used vehicles sales import of 180,000 from 1.6 million. “The future consumption is expected to increase by 500,000 units and could reach up 2 millions units” (Iliff, 2016). Mexico had freely imported used vehicles from the United States, and due to that, there was a large demand for used cars. The industry officials argue, “A crush of used cars hurts new cars. If a customer can not get a decent price at trade-in, deals fall