Fall Brings Different Challenges to Illinois Drivers

November 4, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Fall in Chicagoland is an exciting time. The leaves begin to change, football seems to be on almost every day of the week, and it presents that brief period in the Midwest where its not too humid and there’s no sign of a snowstorm approaching. With that being said, there are some downsides that pose serious risks to drivers on the road. Not only does it get much darker outside, but potholes appear out of nowhere, and the roads are often slick. But one factor in particular may be overlooked for Cook County residents. As CBS 2 Chicago recently reported, Cook County experienced the most crashes involving deer in the entire state. Now, for many in the city this data may seem irrelevant as those residing in Chicago may not be commuting to surrounding suburbs. However, the reality is that Chicago has an incredibly diverse population and many large corporations that are headquartered in suburbs surrounding the city. And while some may believe that public transportation is the most common method of transportation for commuters, according to Money Crashers, it turns out that 77.6% of Chicago commuters drive cars, making them all the more likely to come across deer on the road.

In its report, CBS 2 stated that in 2018, “more than 40% of crashes involving deer occurred in October, November and December.” The obvious reason for these crash statistics is that deer mating season takes place during these months, making those dark, narrow roads in the suburbs all the more dangerous. On the other hand, it also comes down to a lack of awareness and knowledge of the dangers that driving at night and in certain parts of Cook County pose. 15,636 auto crashes took place in the state of Illinois in 2018, and eight of those were fatal. To place those numbers in comparison with other states, it’s important to note that Illinois does not even place in the top 10 for states where you are most likely to hit a deer on the road. For example, West Virginia, which has regularly taken the top spot for the state where drivers are most likely to be involved in a deer collision, had 25,176 collisions from June 2017 to July 2018. So why the sudden uptick in collisions for Illinois drivers? According to the Chicago Tribune, while rural areas in Illinois remain predominantly where the biggest risk of hitting these animals are, “deer are also seen in urban areas along highways . . . where deer have adapted to city and suburban environments.” This would certainly explain why Cook County ranks so high when it comes to collisions.

“Don’t Veer for Deer”

If worrying about colliding with deer on your morning and evening commutes isn’t enough to keep you motivated to stay alert of all the warning signs, keeping other drivers safe should. Although a deer may come out of nowhere and surprise you while driving, drivers have a responsibility to take reasonable precautions when driving where hazards like this are present. On top of the other dangers that Fall poses, the threat of deer in rural, and now urban areas, should force us to all be extra careful. As a way to prevent further injuries from occurring in a potential collision, CBS 2 was able to speak with Acting Illinois Transportation Secretary, Omer Osman. In discussing this issue Osman stated, “don’t veer for deer. While your first instinct when facing a deer in the headlights may be to swerve, doing so could cause you to lose control of the vehicle and increase the severity of a crash.” To further support these safety tips, the Illinois State Police has provided several tips for drivers in hopes of avoiding collisions:

Be aware of your surroundings and pay attention to deer crossing signs.
Scan the sides of the road for eye shine – the reflection of headlights in the eyes.
Slow down if you see deer. They travel in groups, so more are likely nearby.
Prepare for the unexpected. Deer can stop in the middle of the road or double back.
If a collision is inevitable, try to glance the vehicle off the deer and avoid swerving into the opposite lanes of traffic.

It goes without saying that as it gets darker outside, drivers need to take the necessary precautions to ensure their safety. In doing so, we all work to make the roads much safer.

Chicago Announces New Plan to Reduce Downtown Congestion

November 1, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

On October 18^th, City officials announced two new initiatives to reduce downtown congestion and increase the use of Chicago’s bus system. Through the new initiatives, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that ride-share apps will see an increase in fees, specifically downtown and in the surrounding areas. Additionally, Lightfoot announced the city would be adding additional bus-only lanes throughout the city to incentivize public transportation.

Both of the announcements follow what has been a long-awaited response by Chicago’s administration to curb the significant increase in ridesharing occurring throughout the city, which has clearly had a negative effect on the use of public transportation for downtown commuters. After the announcement, Curbed Chicago provided a breakdown of how Uber and Lyft users would be affected by the new initiative. For starters, “the new proposal would decrease the amount for shared trips to 65 cents and increase single rides to $1.25.” In doing this, the city is hoping to clearly incentivize riders to think about carpooling. However, this isn’t nearly as aggressive as Chicago’s special downtown zone fee, which will see the single trip fee increase $2.28 to $3.00. Curbed Chicago goes on to explain that “the downtown zone fees would apply between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and the proposed downtown area includes the Loop, River North and a portion of the West Loop. The boundary streets include: Lake Shore Drive, Roosevelt Road, Desplaines Street, Van Buren Street, Ashland Avenue, Grand Street, North Branch Canal, North Avenue.”

Overall, these are drastic announcements by the city. No matter the public policy at hand, commuters are likely to not take too lightly to a two dollar increase in taxes and fees for every ride they try and catch in the downtown area. For many, especially those living in nearby neighborhoods, there is going to be dissatisfaction. With that being said, we can only hope that such a decision will bring positive results not only for traffic congestion, but for rider and pedestrian safety as well. As we have written countless times, traffic congestion brings unwarranted dangers to those in the city. For example, it was announced in the 2019 Urban Mobility Report that Chicago commuters lost a total of $1,307 annually due to traffic congestion, which was the result of vehicle damage, wasted gasoline, and many other factors associated with increases in traffic. More shocking, according to TRIP, the National Transportation Research Nonprofit, traffic congestion studied as recently as 2016 showed that the trucking industry lost a total of $74.5 billion due to the operational costs associated with traffic. All of this establishes that while it may appear absurd and a downright overreach to drastically increase taxes and fees associated with ridesharing in Chicago, there is far more at play then giving the city money for failing to take public transportation. We should hope that driver safety and vehicle costs are one of those primary factors.

Chicago’s New Bus Initiative

Along with the new fees for ridesharing comes an initiative to revamp and give an incentive to the public in taking the bus system. “The Bus Priority Zone Program will bring bus-only lanes, queue jump signals, and better traffic light timing to some of Chicago’s highest ridership routes,” writes Curbed Chicago. As a result of the $20 million dollar plan, the goal is to remove “slow zones, bottlenecks, delays, and bunched up buses that come one right after the other.”

Curbed Chicago also had the opportunity to speak with the Executive Director of Active Transportation Alliance, an organization that advocates for providing safe walking, bicycling, and public transit options in communities. Executive Director Melody Geraci stated that “transportation is the great but invisible connector between people and opportunity. We don’t think about it as much as we think about affordable housing, or access to grocery stores and jobs but all of those things are only connected if we have a great transportation system.” Geraci went on to state that since 2008, Chicago had also seen its bus ridership decrease by 28 percent. Ultimately, this goes hand in hand with the issues that traffic congestion brings as well. Commuters do not want to sit in traffic on a bus filled with other people they don’t know. They would much rather be in their own vehicle or be driven, if they have the means to do so. With that being said, the city’s approach to enhance the bus experience throughout the city will certainly bring positive results if done correctly. For starters, we will all be better off with fewer cars on the road. It will not only help with increasing the air quality in downtown, but it was increase traffic safety. For us, that is the most critical aspect of this new plan. If the city initiates these proposals and traffic does decrease as a result, we should see that as a huge win for Chicago. The better chance of keeping vehicles and drivers off the road, the better position drivers are to get to their destination safely.

Long Expected Woes of the Trucking Industry are Beginning to Appear

October 30, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

There is a lot to be said nowadays about the fate of the trucking industry. Not only has it become a recurring theme over the last decade for publications to seemingly write one article every few months highlighting the idea that the trucking industry would soon disappear, only to retract those words when the American Trucking Association (ATA) or another prominent figure in the industry would produce new statistics establishing just the opposite. It’s been a recurring theme for years, and even we have covered the “expectations” that industry representatives have set amid the continued “crisis” we are all hearing about. In May of 2019, we wrote about the ATA’s announcement that by 2026 there was an expectation that there would be a driver shortage of 175,000 drivers in the United States. Rightfully so, those in the industry panicked and in turn, it became once again widely publicized that arguably one of the most important industries in the United States would potentially be in a position it could never get out of.

When news broke in the beginner of October that 4,200 truck drivers had lost their jobs in September 2019, it proved something that many had long been arguing against; the idea that the trucking industry was resilient and had the ability to adapt to changing demographics. In fact, Trucking Info had the opportunity earlier this year to interview the Chief Economist for the ATA, Bob Costello, who stated “some trucking companies have put an emphasis on female drivers, but the highest percentage of female drivers we have seen is around 20% for those fleets,” speaking volumes to the weight the trucking industry is placing on diversifying its fleet in an attempt to keep pace with the ever changing dynamics of the US workforce. Further, we have also written about how companies are attempting to change their recruiting tactics to not only reach women, but reach younger drivers altogether to ensure that the shortage does not get out of hand. While these tactics are sure to help diversify and hopefully alleviate the potential shortage, what happens when the economy begins to suffer? How does the industry the respond to a driver shortage when fleets are being forced to layoff thousands of drivers each month?

A Bleak Outlook for the Industry May Be Getting Worse

Safety Takes a Hit as the Industry Suffers

Our previous articles on this subject were in response to the growing age gap in the trucking industry and how the roads could be less safe as a result. For example, due to companies being unable to hire younger drivers, some turned to incentivizing older drivers who would push back retirement for more money or benefits. While these drivers provided much more experience and understanding of the roads, it could be argued that having fewer drivers who happened to be older also presented serious concerns about road safety, such as response time and vision concerns.

This argument becomes even stronger with the news that the industry is slashing jobs, meaning active recruitment for new drivers takes a backseat and the age demographic likely continues to be pushed back, becoming much older. Additionally, the current administration’s push to change the hours-of-service rules for truck drivers also presents issues with tired, overworked drivers, who may no longer be forced to stop for mandatory 30-minute rest breaks.

All these factors present serious risks to drivers on the road. In any industry, workers who are overworked, tired, and not forced to take breaks present disastrous results to production and safety. The trucking industry should be no different. News of the industry’s financial struggles just force the public to be aware of the potential ramifications that could occur on the road. Our lives could be put in danger due to the truck driver shortage and now, its very real financial shortcomings.

$77 Million in Grant Funds to Support Truck Driver Training and Safety Efforts

October 29, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Big rigs semi trucks of different colors makes and models stand in row on truck stop parking lot for truck driver rest according to log book

Over $77 million in grants will be funneled into states and their training facilities in order to improve commercial vehicle safety.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced in late September that the purpose behind these grants is to perpetuate the organization’s commitment to reducing accidents and increasing overall road safety–and working with local partners to do so.

“Safety is the department’s top priority and these grants will further assist state and local officials in their efforts to prevent commercial motor vehicle crashes,” said Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

These grant funds are divided into three classes:

1) High Priority: $43.3 million toward improving commercial motor vehicle safety and advancing states’ safety technology capabilities

2) Commercial Driver License Program Implementation: $42 million toward states’ improvement of the national commercial driver license program

3) Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator Safety Training: $2 million for education groups working to train veterans for commercial bus and truck driving jobs

“These important grants demonstrate the agency’s commitment to providing local areas with the resources they need to make a difference for commercial motor vehicle safety,” explained FMCSA Administrator Ray Martinez.

High Priority Program funds–which are comprised of commercial vehicle safety effort and Innovative Technology Deployment grants–are being distributed to universities, police divisions, and state transportation departments.

One recipient, South Dakota’s Department of Transportation, was awarded $1.1 million from the High Priority grant for its tire and thermal brake inspection systems and for its Department of Revenue’s International Registration Plan and International Fuel Tax Agreement information system upgrades.

“The funding made available by U.S. Department of Transportation will allow us to continue our commitment to motorists and the trucking industry to provide a safe and efficient state transportation system,” said deputy secretary of South Dakota transportation, Joel Jundt. “The detection system to be installed will alert truckers to problems they may not be aware of and the upgrades to the registration system will make it easier for interstate truckers to register, report and pay fees.”

For the Commercial Driver License Program Implementation grant recipients, funds will be applied in order to help states comply with federal licensing standards and program rules. Funds will also give a boost national groups who work with states in their compliance efforts.

The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators and the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles have both received over $5 million from this grant.

Additionally, The Delaware Department of Transportation was granted $1.8 million from both the High Priority and Commercial Driver License programs, to support its tire abnormality detection system as well as its “trucker portal,” which will act as a repository for Delaware’s commercial motor vehicle systems information.

Lastly, the Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator Safety Training grant is given to 16 different community colleges, vocational schools, and truck driver training schools that specifically provide commercial driving training.

On top of these new grants, the FMCSA is working toward implementing new programs that would potentially encourage more drivers to join the industry–especially young people and veterans.

Joliet Junior College was given over $169,000 in support of its Commercial Driver’s License training program. The college’s dean of workforce education and training says the school serves an area southwest of Chicago with more than 35,000 veterans, and that the college is particularly military-friendly.

These efforts by the FMCSA come right around the time that the American Transportation Research Institute released its “Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry” list for 2019–which shows the concern of driver shortage at the top of the rankings for the third year in a row.

The American Trucking Associations says the trucking industry was 60,000 drivers short as of 2018. ATA President Chris Spear identifies veterans as a specific group that can help to offset this shortage.

However, several groups, such as the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, find that the driver shortage issue is a myth, backed by carriers not admitting to the bigger problems at hand: driver retention and recruitment, low wages, poor working conditions, and disappointing employee treatment.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also published a study showing that the shortage in the long-haul trucking industry could be remedied with wages that finally meet trucker demands and that align with their working conditions.

Hidden Dangers of Construction Zones

October 28, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The holidays are approaching. If you’ve spent any time in the Woodfield Mall area recently, you would know that there is a lot of road construction going on, making an already heavy-traffic area even more congested, especially on the weekends when the shopping faithful are out in full force. If that isn’t frustrating enough, you may have also heard about the driver who crashed his car into the mall and drove around a bit before being taken into custody by police. It just goes to show that there are some things in life that you can’t control, like the actions of others. When it comes to traffic safety there are things you can look out for that will hopefully make your next trip to the mall safer and more bearable.

Avoid Road Rage

Everyone has seen people lose their cool while driving. Maybe you’re guilty of it yourself. Remember, even if people can see your hand signals, they likely can’t hear what words you are screaming at them. If you have kids in the car, they will certainly hear them. Sometimes hand gestures are appropriate while driving, like waiving thank you to another motorist who lets you merge in front of them, or letting someone else know you are waiting to let them through. However, expressing your disdain for someone probably won’t help them learn any kind of lesson and will only cause your own blood pressure to rise. The best bet is to try and stay calm. Focusing your attention on one guy you think might be a jerk can leave you at risk of getting distracted and might make you miss other hazards. It’s much better to keep your cool and keep your attention focused on avoiding collisions.

Look for Construction Vehicles

There are all kinds of dump trucks, backhoes, pickup trucks, and other heavy machinery roaming around construction areas. Sometimes they leave the coned-off sections of the road and meander through traffic. If you’re not looking, suddenly a bulldozer can jump out in front of you. It’s worth it to scan the portions of the road that are blocked off to normal traffic as you look forward in anticipation of other vehicles maneuvering in front of you. Often times, workers will signal to drivers to let them know when a work vehicle is attempting to cross or enter the road. It would be a mistake to always rely on that. You can’t expect everyone else to always do safe and reasonable things, but you can take steps to help ensure your own safety. This is one of them.

Take Your Time

Eventually, we all get where we’re going. It’s best to plan for the worst and take your time. This is especially true for shopping trips. The value of your life and limbs far exceeds any stuff you can buy. If you put things into perspective, parking spots are not worth fighting over. Merging ahead of that one guy who has been irritating you since the last stop sign isn’t worth it. Plus, (parents will get this one), if you are less stressed out from your perilous journey to the mall, you are less likely to lose it when your child inevitably begs you to buy another worthless piece of plastic they will forget about five minutes after returning home. You may show up a little later, but you’ll glide through the mall, sipping your latte, skillfully deflecting your kids’ outright obnoxious demands to get them more stuff they don’t need. Take solace in knowing that even if you have to sit in the car longer you can always drop a few quarters into one of those mall massage chairs and let those automated rollers knead the frustration away.

Trucking Industry Slowdown: Especially Difficult Quarter for Knight-Swift Transportation

October 24, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Capacity has increased due to big rig orders hitting a record high last year, with both major and independent trucking companies upping capacity in correlation with higher rates. This was caused mostly by the trade war, which led to a change in regular shipping patterns.

Overcapacity has proven itself a huge cause in the current challenging freight industry of 2019.

David Jackson, CEO of the country’s largest trucking company, Knight-Swift Transportation, is predicting overcapacity to make for a highly difficult next quarter for the industry.

As Knight-Swift gears up to report its earnings for the third quarter of the year, Jackson says he is currently working with the company’s investors to prepare for instability.

“The freight environment is difficult,” he explains. “It has been more difficult than people expect from an earnings standpoint.”

Jackson says the trucking industry is about to hit his leading company’s bottom line, while he also expects truck and rail stocks to experience a similar negative impact.

Knight-Swift has lowered its earnings plan for the rest of 2019–previously, its earnings guidance was between 54 and 57 cents per share now, its forecast falls between 47 and 48 cents.

The trucking company is also expecting to make even less during its fourth quarter, lowering its prediction of earning between 73 and 77 cents per share to between 62 and 65 cents.

According to Jackson, overcapacity is the culprit. Capacity has increased due to big rig orders hitting a record high last year, with both major and independent trucking companies upping capacity in correlation with higher rates. This was caused mostly by the trade war, which led to a change in regular shipping patterns.

Additionally, while the trucking market is working to correct itself, employment rates given by the U.S. Department of Labor indicate a for-hire reduction of 4,200 trucking industry jobs last month–the third month in a row the industry has retracted open employment opportunities.

In August, the trucking industry dropped 5,100 jobs, on top of 300 back in July.

Jackson says these reductions aim to improve the carrier operating environment. “People in the industry and investors are looking for when that inflection point will come. [The] general consensus is, that is happening the second quarter of the year.”

Because capacity will most likely reduce after this challenging period, Jackson expects freight rates to return to stability during the first half of 2020.

Until this upswing, company earnings will continue to reflect the repercussions of overcapacity.

While Knight-Swifts’ overall business is comprised of 90% contract trucking, its revenue per truck declined 3% in the second quarter of 2019. The company’s brokerage revenues–where it uses the spot market to directly connect drivers and customers–decreased by 10%.

“There is going to continue to be near-term pressure on freight rates, but capacity is leaving the space and that is reducing the oversupply problem,” explained Jackson, whose comments come while the American Trucking Associations is also warning the industry of a continuation truck driver shortage.

The American Transportation Research Institute’s list of critical issues shows truck driver shortage leading the industry’s concerns for the third year in a row.

The list comes after the ATRI collects over 2,000 surveys from industry stakeholders, with 51% of responses from trucking companies and another 35% from professional commercial truck drivers.

However, there is a fierce debate regarding the validity of this issue. The ATA has been fighting against a study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which finds that the driver shortage is in fact a myth.

In the BLS study, findings show the labor shortage within long-haul trucking would potentially be solved with proper wages that meet truckers’ demands and working conditions.

The Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) also believes the idea of driver shortage is a farce backed by major carriers refusing to admit to large industry problems–such as those surrounding driver retention and recruitment, poor working conditions, wages not keeping up with inflation, and unsatisfactory employee treatment.

The ATA currently estimates that there is a need for over 60,000 drivers, with a possible shortage of 100,000 drivers over the next five years.

The ATA also says it supports the ‘Drive-Safe Act’ legislation, otherwise known as the Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy Act, which works to allow 18-year-old drivers to have a CDL and contract as regular employees in the industry.

Critics say the driver shortage myth aims to win lawmakers’ support in legislation such as this, which they say will not remedy the industry’s chronically excessive driver turnover rate.