Ken Levinson Weighs in on the Importance of Safety Culture as Truckers are Recognized for Safety Efforts

November 10, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Many members of the trucking industry who have gone above and beyond in regards to safe driving, industry improvement efforts, and community aid were recognized by the American Trucking Associations at its recent Management Conference and Exhibition.

One important award was given to John Christner Trucking’s Larry Miles–the Driver of the Year Award. Miles, who has been working as a professional trucker for 57 years, has completed more than 7 million accident-free miles in his career since he began his work transporting telephone poles in 1961.

“Larry is more than deserving of this recognition,” said FedEx Freight driver, Dion Saiz, who presented Larry with his award. “He has dedicated his life to driving safely. He is a hardworking professional who is willing to share his experiences with his fellow drivers.”

J.B. Hunt also hosted an event recently to recognize 116 of its drivers for reaching the million-mile mark without having been involved in any preventable accidents.

“Our Million Mile drivers represent the epitome of who we want all our drivers to be,” said J.B. Hunt’s chief operating officer and president of contract services, Nick Hobbs. “It’s their unwavering commitment to be the very best at what they do that makes this accomplishment so special. We couldn’t do what we do without them.”

At the Million Mile Celebration, J.B. Hunt drivers who were celebrated had reached anywhere between 2- and 5-million miles driven without accidents.

It was also clear at this event that drivers were thrilled to be recognized for their safety efforts, as they got to walk in the company’s Million Mile Walk of Fame and have their names listed on J.B. Hunt’s Million Mile Wall–a wall filled with the names of nearly 4,000 truck drivers who have driven between 1 million and 5 million safe miles.

“We’ve been hosting this ceremony for 20 years, and I believe we’ll be doing it for 20 more,” said John Roberts, CEO of J.B. Hunt. “The atmosphere is electric. There’s so much excitement to celebrate our drivers and their achievements.”

It’s clear that companies like John Christner and J.B. Hunt have made a point to prioritize driver safety and do their part to keep our country’s roadways as safe as possible when their truckers are sharing the roads with us–something especially commendable when American roadways have seen the highest numbers of traffic deaths in 15 years.

“We applaud safe trucking companies and the members of the industry who look at safety culture as a priority,” said Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson. “We’re all for safe drivers and for keeping everybody healthy, safe, and able to use our roadways without injury.”

Levinson noted that because his firm focuses on auto injury cases, folks may think he and his partners denounce all trucking companies, when the goal is just to hold these companies accountable for the role they play in traffic safety.

“We’re not looking to vilify every trucking company, because there are some good ones out there,” he said. “Our mission is to hold the unsafe companies accountable when they violate safety rules, and when those consequences create havoc for our clients. We’re not against truckers, in fact, we represent a lot of hardworking men and women who are commercial drivers, and we understand very well the pressures they’re under, how difficult of a job it is, and all the obstacles they have–and we tip our hats to drivers who are accident-free and look at safety as a high priority.”

In fact, Levinson said it’s in a trucking company’s best interest to take safety concerns to heart, because not only is hiring the safest drivers possible the best thing to do for a company’s community, but it will benefit it highly in regards to the longevity of its services.

“I think in the long run, it would be more profitable for a trucking company if they prioritize safety,” Levinson continued. “Skirting around safety rules and hiring unsafe drivers who have been in multiple crashes in the past might be a good strategy for the short term, but in the long run–and to do the right thing–it’s much better to have a safety culture that regards safety on our roads as a high priority.”

Drunk Driving to be Combated by New Tech Mandates, Congress Says

November 9, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The “single most important legislation” in the history of efforts made by Mothers Against Drunk Driving signifies “the beginning of the end of drunk driving,” according to MADD’s national president, Alex Otte.

In the midst of a $1 trillion infrastructure package implementation (which will be signed by President Joe Biden shortly), a mandate set forth by Congress to utilize technology to deter drunk driving is in the works. This requirement comes as part of the package’s efforts to boost vehicle safety as roadway deaths have reached their highest numbers since 2006–even though traffic numbers decreased significantly during the pandemic.

Systems programmed to monitor drivers and stop them from driving under the influence of alcohol would be installed in all new vehicles made as soon as 2026 under this new mandate; right now, the Transportation Department is working to determine which innovative technology should be implemented. Automakers will also be given sufficient time to comply with the requirement, as well.

In addition to this driver monitoring technology, roadways will see more protected green spaces and bike paths as part of the $17 billion given to road safety programs out of the infrastructure package itself. The Eno Center for Transportation noted that this has been the largest funding boost for such initiatives in decades.

These efforts come as new reports by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that around 20,160 people suffered traffic crash fatalities during the first half of 2021, with factors such as failure to wear a seat belt, speeding, and, of course, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol raising these numbers exponentially. Around 10,000 people die each year on American roadways in alcohol-related incidents–comprising nearly one-third of all yearly traffic deaths, NHTSA added.

This new legislation “will virtually eliminate the number one killer on America’s roads,” said MADD’s Otte.

The most likely technology to be installed and deter drunk driving, according to Guidehouse Insights principal mobility analyst, Sam Abuelsamid, will be driver-monitoring infrared camera systems. Nissan, BMW, and General motors have already been utilizing this kind of tech along with partially automated driver-assist systems to monitor driver attentiveness.

These camera systems are able to monitor whether or not a driver’s eyes are on the road, as well as impairment, drowsiness, and loss of consciousness. If any of these signs are noticed, the system will first warn the driver, and then turn on hazard lights and pull over if such behavior continues.

Some drivers who have received DUIs or DWIs are required to use a breathalyzer device that is attached to their car’s ignition–a device which will disable the vehicle if a driver’s blood alcohol level is found to be above the legal limit. The new requirement has yet to distinguish which technology would be preferred for widespread implementation. Still, the technology that does end up being installed in all vehicles must “passively monitor the performance of a driver of a motor vehicle to accurately identify whether that driver may be impaired.”

Still, this isn’t a likely long-term solution, as most people would not agree with needing to blow into a breathalyzer before starting their car every time, said Abuelsamid.

“I don’t think it’s going to go over very well with a lot of people,” he said.

In addition, a $5 billion program spearheaded by Buttigieg, named the “Safe Streets & Roads for All” initiative, will aim toward safer streets for both pedestrians and cyclists, as well as drivers. These “Vision Zero” program efforts will help campaigns in place to bring an end to traffic fatalities, and will work to create wider sidewalks, reduce roads to move commuters toward more public transit usage, build new bike baths, and slow overall traffic with additional roundabouts.

“The best way to allow people to move in ways that are better for congestion and better for climate is to give them alternatives,” said Buttigieg. “This is how we do right by the next generation.”

Tesla’s Lack of Recall Sparks AV Safety Discussion

November 4, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“Any manufacturer issuing an over-the-air update that mitigates a defect that poses an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety is required to timely finalize an accompanying recall notice to NHTSA,” said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in a recent letter to Tesla’s field quality director, Eddie Gates.

Tesla, according to the agency, failed to file recall documents when the company updated its Autopilot software to expand its ability to identify and avoid parked emergency vehicles. If an over-the-internet update addresses any particular safety issue, the company must promptly issue a vehicle recall notice, NHTSA said.

Tesla must also provide “Full Self-Driving” software information as the technology is undergoing public road testing, a mandate which comes shortly after NHTSA opened a formal investigation into the company’s Autopilot software.

This investigation came as the agency received many vehicle crash reports involving Autopilot-equipped Teslas colliding with emergency vehicles that were stopped on highways and had warning lights flashing. The investigation itself analyzed around 765,000 vehicles–nearly the total number of Tesla vehicles sold in the United States since the 2014 model year. 17 people were injured and one died out of the crash incidents investigated.

In September, Tesla issued an over-the-internet software update explaining its intent to boost emergency vehicle light detection in low-light conditions–an update about which NHTSA requested more information when the update was sent to particular Tesla vehicles “with the stated purpose of detecting flashing emergency vehicle lights in low light conditions and then responding to said detection with driver alerts and changes to the vehicle speed while Autopilot is engaged.”

Vehicle manufacturers must alert NHTSA within five days of finding a safety defect, and they must also issue a public recall to ensure owners ample time to get the necessary repairs and so that potential buyers are well aware of any possible safety issues. Recalls are then monitored to make sure all applicable vehicles are covered and that all owners are contacted efficiently.

Because of this, industry safety advocates are wanting to help consumers understand the reality behind these new vehicle technologies becoming more commonplace–and to assume that autonomous driving is the overarching solution for roadway safety.

“It’s exciting for all of us to use technology that can help us with autonomous driving so that we can have vehicles where we don’t have to do what we’ve been doing traditionally behind the wheel–it’s wonderful, in a lot of ways,” said Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson. “However, with the technology that’s out there now, there are so many challenges and safety issues that we have to address first. We can’t let the shiny object that is technology distract us from the most important thing, which is making sure our roads and highways are safe and that we’re protected. We need to make sure our friends, family, and neighbors stay alive and healthy.”

In order to achieve the safety we all want, Levinson noted that manufacturer transparency is key.

“We call on all the manufacturers and advocates for autonomous vehicles to make sure that they’re open and honest with their information, their testing, and their technology to ensure that despite the pressure to get these vehicles out on the road, they’re prioritizing the safety aspects necessary to do so,” he said. “They can’t jump the gun on this. The consequences are too extreme.”

Releasing these recall notices quickly and remaining as open as possible when it comes to safety issues with any advanced vehicle technology can be the difference between life and death–it’s not something to be lenient about, Levinson added.

“When companies hold back information on testing and aren’t forthright and open and honest, it creates a situation where we don’t know what we don’t know because companies are hiding potentially important information that deals directly with the safety of these autonomous vehicles,” he explained. “A responsible, safe company steps up and says, ‘Hey, here’s what we’re testing, here’s what we’re doing, here’s why, here’s what needs to be done to make it safer,’ instead of hiding behind the information they’re not disclosing.”

The Future of Environmental Responsibility in the Trucking Industry

November 2, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“Lots of people look at sustainability through different lenses,” said American Trucking Associations’ energy and environmental affairs counsel, Glen Kedzie. “Some look at it as addressing climate change, reducing carbon emissions; others are more expansive in their view of it.”

Industry experts at ATA’s Management Conference and Exhibition discussed the methods of addressing sustainability in transportation. Trucking, in particular, has been facing a lot of pressure to step up to environmental governance, according to Kedzie–although he noted that the supply chain needs particular focus.

“It’s not just from trucks,” he said. “You have to look at what happens coming up to the truck level and then after the truck level. The supply chain can be responsible for up to five times the greenhouse gas emissions [as much] than from just one singular source [or] from an individual company.”

Some federal and state regulations are in the works, such as truck-specific regulatory standards created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Kedzie added that trucking companies should be aware of these potential rules that will urge for lower emissions from all commercial vehicles sooner than later.

“We have the EPA Phase 3 rule,” he said. “They will set the carbon metrics so low–without mentioning any technology path, that the only way that you’ll be able to achieve those standards will be to buy a battery-electric, hydrogen fuel cell or renewable diesel vehicle.”

Because the supply chain creates so much of our carbon emissions, investors and environmental organizations have a laser-focus on their operations, Kedzie explained–in fact, 90% of carbon dioxide emissions throughout the entire country are a product of the trucking industry.

“Climate change is a major driver [of this attention],” he said. “But, there [are] a lot of other drivers that are making leads as businesses consider sustainability. The public image is very important to all of us here in this room.”

Kedzie also explained that the industry can indeed make money by becoming more environmentally friendly.

“Profitability can go hand-in-hand with sustainability. There are lots of legal considerations you have to take into account. There’s lots of litigation across the country,” he said.

Still, the trucking industry has made so many progressive changes and has made clear its vital role in the American economy, added Daimler Trucks North America’s vice president of product compliance and regulatory affairs, Sean Waters.

“Heavy-duty trucks make life better,” he said. “Heavy-duty trucks save lives–and this industry has been an unquestioned partner working with the EPA, working with California, on top [of complying with] enforceable emissions regulations for decades.”

This has, indeed, made a difference, Waters added.

“[That effort] has led to cleaner air,” he said. “It led to a reduction in CO2.”

Additionally, younger drivers entering the industry have more progressive expectations when it comes to sustainability, and trucking will have to step up in order to keep them interested–especially given the current truck driver shortage.

“It’s not a passing fad,” said Kedzie. “You’re going to be playing in this space. If you aren’t playing in this space, you will have to play in this space because everyone is wanting fleets to be more accountable.”

Environmental justice is also a primary concern for the Biden administration, which means there will be many more environmentally-aligned regulations in the works–which will be in addition to current investor and consumer pressure, Kedzie said.

“Shippers want to become greener,” he explained. “We have shareholders that are putting on pressure. They want to know where investments are being made. They want to see if those investments account for the use of green fuels and green technologies. We have Wall Street pushing back on us hard. We have lenders pushing back on us hard. We have the insurance industry pushing back on us hard.”

At the end of the day, most carbon emissions are coming from older trucks, and as new trucks are made to be more sustainable, fleets will begin saving more funds on overall fuel consumption, as well, Waters noted.

“Trucks are the backbone of our economy,” he said. The trucks that we build are safer today–cleaner today–than they’ve ever been, and we need to start by recognizing the positive contributions we’ve made before we start talking about the next round of regulations and before we talk about trucks being the problem.”

Ken Levinson Serving as Featured Speaker at Annual IAJ Convention

November 1, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

On Friday, November 5th, Levinson and Stefani Injury Lawyers’ own Ken Levinson will be a featured speaker at the Iowa Association for Justice’s 48th Annual Convention.

This hybrid event allows attendees to join either virtually or in-person, but will be held at the Downtown Des Moines Hilton. Other speakers include the New President of AAJ, Navan Ward of Atlanta, as well as IAJ’s Nick and Courtney Rowley, Lauren Fraser of New Jersey, and Karen Koehler of Seattle.

IAJ prides itself on gathering some of the most prominent speakers from across the state of Iowa and the country itself to discuss innovative litigation solutions and trial advocacy techniques.

Levinson will be sharing his ideas regarding focus group utilization methods and practices for the present day as compared to pre-COVID.

“I love teaching,” Levinson said of his participation in the convention. “I love helping fellow trial lawyers. I’ll be discussing how we’ve pivoted from focus groups and preparing our cases before COVID to how we do so now–by using Zoom more, getting input from other lawyers and participants, and using virtual focus groups along with surveys and other methods.”

Levinson noted that before the coronavirus era, many trial lawyers didn’t think much about other ways to hold focus groups–and they’ve now been forced to think outside the box.

“We used to only do focus groups in person,” he said. “We didn’t really consider any other method to test our cases and help our clients with focus groups. Now, we’ve made changes in the middle of COVID to do focus groups remotely and it’s been interesting; it’s easier, in a lot of ways, to find participants because sometimes they’re more comfortable at home.”

Not only is it easier to find participants, but focus groups can be held with more people than ever before when done virtually.

“We can do some interesting things online and get more people, because by definition, a conference room only holds so many individuals–but you can do a virtual Zoom focus group with around 50 people,” Levinson added. “A conference room size can be limiting. Now, we’ve been able to survey people and have them fill out questionnaires in real time, whereas in person, it’s a lot harder to do that. It’s been really seamless, especially when we need to show exhibits from our computer. We’ve done a lot of focus groups in jurisdictions and states far away, but from the comfort of my office in Chicago.”

For information on attending IAJ’s Annual Convention virtually, click here, or head here for details on joining the in-person event in Des Moines.

Supply Chain Challenges Rage On, Bringing Added Pressure to Truckers Ahead of Holiday Season

October 29, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“What we have is a storm within a storm,” said Logistics Professor at the University of Houston, Margaret Kidd. “Consumers have insatiable demand, and consumers are spending. E-commerce numbers through the second quarter of this year are up 57% from two years ago.”

The current supply chain is being stretched thin–with pressure being exacerbated by the e-commerce boom brought about by the pandemic. Significant policy updates are needed, industry experts say, as well as as innovations by transportation leaders, time, and money.

The upcoming holiday season is going to add further difficulty when more shoppers are hitting the internet and exponentially increasing demand.

“We don’t have an infrastructure that was prepared for this,” said Terry Esper, Logistics Professor at Ohio State University. “This is not just a holiday thing. This is not just a demand spike thing. This is about the economy being able to function.”

Of 2018’s retail sales, Esper noted, e-commerce represented about 13.8%–a figure predicted to grow an additional 26% by the year 2025.

The current truck driver shortage, on top of a warehouse and transportation industry labor shortage of about 490,000 employees, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, is adding additional stress to the situation.

“These are not easy jobs to fill,” said Mark Baxa, President of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. “Let’s continue to find ways that make work-life balance as favorable as possible, and we’ll attract more people to the industry. We need to improve work-life balance, support driver health, and [improve] work conditions and compensation. We need to keep working at it.”

Enticing more workers to enter the transportation industry also means that further cost increases will come into play–more companies will need to boost spending on not only employee salaries and benefits, but on technology as well.

“Part of our supply chain constraint is labor,” said Esper. “If you want access to labor, you’re going to start to have to look at what you pay. We also need to look at technology, and now is the time to consider more investments in more automated operations, robotics, and such. There is a business case for this, and the writing is on the wall.”

With these shortages on top of an incredibly aggravated supply chain in the midst of a higher-than-ever e-commerce demand, the truck drivers that are stepping up to serve the public during this time will be put under enormous pressure by consumers and trucking companies alike.

“I understand the pressures, economic and otherwise, of labor shortages and supply chain issues, but we have to be very conscious and deliberate to not let that get in the way of safety measures,” said Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson. “We also want to make sure that we’re not letting outside influences put pressure on companies and drivers to do things that aren’t safe, even with these added pressures that we have right now. It’s just not worth the risk.”

Because of this, Levinson wants to be sure that all passenger drivers are staying as defensive and aware as possible while sharing the road with commercial motor vehicles–especially during the holiday season.

“Just be aware and follow all the safety rules–especially in regards to speeding,” he said. “Don’t be a distracted driver, and be very careful of improperly using your phone. If you have to use your phone, make it hands-free–don’t, under any circumstances, text while driving. The consequences can be devastating. It’s hard enough to drive safely in normal circumstances, but if you add speeding or distracted driving or texting, and even inclement weather during the holidays, it’s just a recipe for disaster.”

Of course, these are all suggestions we hear often as drivers, but it’s vitally important that we do what we can to stay as safe as possible around these truckers who could be rushing to make a delivery on time, or who may be fatigued after spending incredibly long hours on the road.

“Your own vehicle could be in a tough spot with all those factors,” added Levinson, “and when you couple it with a truck driver who may be overworked, tired, unhealthy, speeding, and distractedly driving or using a phone–it could be catastrophic.”