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USDOT Claims Safety Will Guide New Budget Spending–Will It?

February 7, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

According to senior officials within the U.S. Department of Transportation, the safety of American drivers throughout our nation’s roadways is the top priority of the department in its policy implementation regarding the effects of new infrastructure legislation on the trucking industry.

Safety goals will be the overarching guide to policy implementation and funding allocation, noted Polly Trottenberg, Deputy Transportation Secretary. Trottenberg’s comments came as part of her keynote speech at the annual meeting for the Transportation Research Board.

The $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, implemented late last year, calls for workforce retention and recruitment in regards to various trucking and freight provisions. For the trucking sector, specifically, the bill set forth a women-in-trucking outreach initiative, a truck-leasing task force project, and an apprenticeship program for commercial drivers under the age of 21 to be able to drive within interstate commerce.

These initiatives come as the industry scrambles to fill roles in the midst of the seemingly never-ending truck driver shortage, worsened by the effects of the pandemic. The trucking industry is missing a necessary 80,000 truck drivers at the moment, American Trucking Associations estimates.

“I want to emphasize, in particular [in regards to] the apprenticeship program, because as you know, there’s a lot of discussion about…the safety element, [and] making sure that we’re doing it in a way that is safe,” said Trottenberg. “Our leadership at [the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration] has been engaging with all of the stakeholders on that.”

She added: “We want to bring new populations into this field, but I always want to make sure we’re prioritizing safety as well.”

These comments regarding safety seem like empty promises to many roadway safety advocates as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act brings about an apprenticeship pilot program allowing new truckers between the ages of 18 and 20 to operate commercial vehicles interstate, whereas previously, commercial drivers younger than 21 were not allowed to operate CMVs in such a capacity.

“The consequences are too dire to trust inexperienced drivers on the roads with 80,000 pound trucks,” noted Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson. “They need more experience in safe driving, and there’s just too much that can go wrong to let brand new drivers take the wheel of a truck.”

On top of this young driver initiative, the Department of Labor and USDOT are prioritizing recruitment and retention programs over the next few years as part of the Biden administration’s overall trucking action plan.

“In some parts of the trucking industry, 90% of drivers turn over each year,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a recent statement. “Making sure truck drivers are paid and treated fairly is the right thing to do, and it will help with both recruiting new drivers and keeping experienced drivers on the job.”

In an effort to boost driver retention rates, a truck leasing advisory board has been implemented in order to help promote commercial driver-assisting resources in regards to understanding and assessing trucker leasing agreements.

“The big focus we have: We’re standing up a lot of different programs and just making sure that we’re well-organized, that we’re rolling those [programs] out, and that particularly…we’re working with our stakeholders,” said Trottenberg.

“These investments are going to have a very real impact on our daily lives,” said Buttigieg at the annual Transportation Research Board conference. “They’re going to help people save money on gas, save time on their commute…they’re going to help more children take the bus to school without having to worry about being exposed to toxic fumes. They’re going to put people to work. They’re going to reconnect communities, and I believe they’re going to save lives.”

Trottenberg added that the pandemic era and its supply chain difficulties have made clear truck drivers’ importance to the American economy.

“The pandemic has underscored how incredibly vital their work is–vital for the supply chain, vital for making sure we [have] medical supplies, [that we have] the food on our grocery shelves–all the things we need,” she said.

CDL Knowledge Test Proctor Restrictions Relaxed by FMCSA

February 4, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

As the truck driver shortage continues on, industry regulators have released new regulation flexibility that will lessen restrictions surrounding commercial driver license knowledge test examiners.

These new guidelines, filed recently by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, will aim to help companies deploy new truck drivers more quickly by allowing third-party test proctors to conduct the CDL test’s knowledge portion. This allowance will apply to all endorsements and classes and will no longer require the presence of a state examiner.

These new restriction relaxations come in contrast to 2019’s re-issued guidelines, in which FMCSA mandated that only a CDL test’s skills portion was included in the third-party testing provision.

“FMCSA has reconsidered this guidance and concludes that nothing in the agency’s current authorities [prohibit] states from permitting third-party testers to administer CDL knowledge tests” for any endorsement or class within license testing, the agency explained in its announcement.

Now, third-party proctors can indeed conduct the skills and/or knowledge portion of a CDL test, should a state agency allow.

State driver licensing agencies “may accept the results of knowledge tests administered by third party testers in accordance with existing knowledge test standards and requirements,” the agency continued.

This provisional update comes the same day that Congress also introduced restriction-relaxing legislation–the Licensing Individual Commercial Exam-takers Now Safely and Efficiently (License) Act will make an FMCSA waiver permanent that will allow third-party CDL skills test examiners to also administer CDL knowledge tests, as long as they were previously authorized by the state to do so. They also will forego any requirement of having completed a CDL knowledge test training course. This waiver, made permanent through both the House and the Senate, was issued several times over the last two years as the industry scrambled to find new, qualified truck drivers throughout the pandemic-induced driver shortage exacerbation.

Additionally, another waiver was made permanent through the License Act, which will allow a state to proctor a driving skills test for any commercial driver license applicant from any state, no matter where the new driver completed his or her CDL driver training courses. Through this waiver, any commercial learner’s permit holder will also be allowed to operate a commercial motor vehicle alongside a supervising CDL holder present in the sleeper berth, as long as the permit holder has already passed the CDL driving skills test. Previously, the supervising veteran trucker had to be present in the main cab.

“From the onset of the pandemic, these waivers have reduced administrative burdens for Americans working towards obtaining their CDLs and pursuing careers in trucking,” said American Trucking Associations’ VP of safety policy, Dan Horvath.

For safety advocates, of course, this update is concerning. Relaxed methods of licensing new truck drivers who will immediately operate commercial motor vehicles on America’s roadways will lead to drivers sharing the road with even more young truckers without adequate experience or safety behavior, and thus, more accidents will likely occur.

Still, co-director of Scopelitis Transportation Consulting, P. Sean Garney, agreed with Horvath, noting that training schools have been urging FMCSA to relax third-party testing regulations for many years in order for driver credentialing processes to become much easier and quicker.

“I think this will be particularly helpful in light of the entry-level driver training rules that are set to be implemented,” he said. “In states that decide to allow this, drivers may be able to complete the entire CDL process at the truck driving school. They’ll be able to take the required theory training and then sit for the knowledge test quickly after. This will get them to range and road training more quickly and get [them] trucking sooner. The rules require CDL knowledge tests be developed using a standard bank of questions, so I see little risk in allowing a third party to proctor the exam.”

Is Referring to Crash Causes as ‘Human Error’ Misleading? Ken Levinson Weighs In

February 3, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

As overall traffic deaths are on the rise, the Transportation Department claims that 94% of serious traffic crashes are caused by human error. However, this wording is extremely problematic and must be changed, according to National Transportation Safety Board chair, Jennifer Homendy.

In mid-January, Homendy explained to the Associated Press her confusion regarding this explanation that has remained present on the department’s website, especially as President Biden works toward crash-avoiding safety strategies through measures like auto safety feature requirements and road design improvements.

In fact, many safety advocates have been questioning the use of the widely-used statistic for years now, with auto safety groups writing to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about the issue as recently as December. In the letter, these safety advocates referred to the statistic as a sad “excuse” for an increase in roadway crashes (the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration claims that “94% of serious crashes are due to human error” on its website).

“This has to change,” said Homendy of the statistic’s usage. “It’s dangerous,” especially as around 40,000 people die each year in traffic crashes, with many others being injured, although Americans view this as “just a risk people take. She added that “what’s happening is [that] we have a culture that accepts it.”

This kind of verbiage creates a perception of inevitability, and allows drivers to shirk their responsibility for safe driving behaviors, she noted.

“At the same time, it relieves everybody else of [the] responsibility they have for improving safety, including the [Department of Transportation],” she continued. “You can’t simultaneously say we’re focused on a safe system approach–making sure everybody who shares responsibility for road safety is taking action to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries–and have a 94% number out there, which is not accurate.”

Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson is in agreement with Homendy’s claims, emphasizing the fact that all drivers–especially truckers–have a large responsibility to behave as safely as possible any time they’re behind the wheel.

“We have to always be diligent, and companies need to make sure they are properly hiring drivers with adequate and continuous safety training,” Levinson said. “Even though there is indeed human error, that doesn’t forgive the severe consequences or alleviate unsafe trucking companies of their responsibilities. They can’t bury their heads in the sand and say, ‘Whatever happens, happens…” No. We all need to be diligent to make sure lives are protected and safe.”

Additionally, this mindset that crashes are just a part of driving on public roads is something that needs to change, he added.

“It should be safe to drive anywhere, and a crash won’t inevitably happen–we must have the frame of mind that if we’re all diligent and keeping safety in mind, these crashes won’t happen,” he said.

The statistic apparently originates from a 2015 memo released by NHTSA which said that “the critical reason, which is the last event in the crash causal chain, was assigned to the driver in 94% of crashes.” Still, the memo did also note that the critical reason is “not intended to be interpreted as the cause of the crash.”

Additionally, the department, along with state transportation agencies, released the memo on the premise of discovering that 94% of all serious crashes occur “due to human error,” although the departments had all been touting automated vehicle deployment and usage for years. In fact, AVs have been involved in an increasing number of crashes, and in its list of guidelines for safety, released January 18th, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety referred to them as becoming one of the larger threats to road safety right now.

In response to Homendy’s concerns, NHTSA has noted its intent to change its website’s wording in an effort “to address that characterization of the data, as well as provide additional information.” Traffic deaths have been on a sharp incline for the past few years, with NHTSA previously blaming reckless driving behavior and speeding. Now, the agency plans to release a new national strategy outline in regards to methods of preserving more lives on America’s roadways.

Fatal Crash Prompts FMCSA to Shut Down Florida Carrier Due to Safety Negligence

February 2, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

A trucking carrier out of Florida must immediately stop all operations following a 2021 crash that killed two people and injured nine others, federal authorities say.

Professional Marine Hauler’s LLC, based in West Palm Beach, has been deemed an “imminent hazard” to the public by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, with the company’s leaders ordered to cease all operations–both interstate and intrastate–as of January 14th.

According to FMCSA, Professional Marine Hauler’s was involved in a severe crash on November 9th of last year in which, according to the agency’s prompt investigation, what transpired was an “egregious levels of non-compliance and a complete failure of the carrier and its owners to implement any aspect of a safety management plan.” A complete trailer brake system failure was the main cause of the deadline crash, FMCSA noted.

The investigation found an overall disregard for safety regulations following ongoing non-compliant behavior–patterns that were found among various other motor carriers operated by Professional Marine Hauler’s LLC’s leaders, Ariel Martinez and Claudia Angeligue Abreu. Some of these issues include failed new entrant safety audits and roadside inspection violations that were ignored, according to FMCSA.

The hazard out-of-service order for the carrier, as well as for its leaders, is effective immediately due to the company’s “complete and utter disregard for ensuring compliance with federal safety regulations [which] substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death for [its] drivers and the motoring public if [its] operations are not discontinued immediately,” explained FMCSA in its notice.

The lack of compliance and safety standards within the company have allowed for many of its vehicles that were previously placed out-of-service to continue operating within interstate commerce, the agency added. FMCSA’s order states that Abreu and Martinez have both demonstrated an overall disregard for driver qualifications, alcohol testing, controlled substance testing, hours-of-service regulations, commercial motor vehicle oversize and overweight limits, and, of course, vehicle maintenance.

These manners of ignoring important safety protocols are clearly life-threatening, and are much more common than many drivers think. It’s of the utmost importance that trucking companies bring onboard experienced and exceptionally safe truck drivers for the sake of everyone with whom they may share the road, noted Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson.

“The way I see it, when a trucking company hires a driver, they have to hire commercial drivers with enough experience to complete a safe and thorough pre-trip inspection,” he explained. “It’s about making sure that drivers are reminded and held accountable in regards to accomplishing all the safety goals a company should have.”

Unfortunately, Levinson noted that his firm has indeed seen similar cases due to safety negligence.

“We see incidents here in Illinois regarding improper maintenance, where the consequences can be devastating,” he said. “We had a case with a commercial vehicle that wasn’t properly maintained–a wheel was carelessly installed and it dislodged on the highway, colliding with our client. It killed him–he left four children, one on the way. His daughter was never able to meet her father because of a vehicle that wasn’t properly maintained.”

Thoroughly inspecting a vehicle before taking it out onto American roadways is a no-brainer and an important requirement for all drivers–it cannot be ignored or done absentmindedly, Levinson added.

“One key task for drivers is a pre-trip inspection, and the kind of accident caused by Professional Marine Hauler’s should never happen,” he said. “It’s, of course, the responsibility of the owners of these trucks to make sure they’re properly maintained. It goes back to a whole safety culture that a company needs to keep intact, and it’s about pre-trip inspections and making sure all your equipment is properly maintained and safe to use. It’s inexcusable to let one driver out with unsafe equipment, especially if they hurt themselves or a member of the public.”

How Carrier-Shipper Relationships Can Stay Stable Through Unpredictability

February 1, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“This is a very unique market and the first time in recent history where the market favors the carrier,” said director of enterprise execution for Emerge, Conner Doran. “In the past, shippers have over-projected on volume to create a buffer in order to protect themselves and their demand fluctuations. Typically, this results in the carrier not realizing 100% of the awarded volume.”

Doran’s comments come as the trucking industry faces unpredictable rate negotiations in the current market, especially as shipper and carrier relationships are easily becoming more strained than ever around logistical aspects.

“Now, we have seen the market flip in favor of the carrier side,” Doran continued. “Carriers are removing some of that capacity that was originally allocated towards that award to play in the spot market.”

Now, skyrocketing demand and rates have been an expected characteristic of the market itself since 2020, especially with surging e-commerce activity, shortages, and bottlenecks all playing a part in the strain. Additionally, the abrupt and severe market changes at hand have led to unpredictable service capabilities, constantly-varying rates, delays, expensive spot transactions, and unsatisfied customers.

According to Doran, these major market inconsistencies are being worsened due to a lack of clarity or proper forecasting from a technological perspective, although other industry leaders expect the market to rebalance itself significantly by the middle of this year. This is probably due to the likelihood of companies beginning to finally recover from shortages brought about by the pandemic and as the transportation industry itself learns how to adequately adapt to the ever-changing habits of American consumers in a pandemic era.

Shippers are also beginning to avoid yearlong, less-than-ideal rates by aiming for quarterly or monthly bid cycles, which is likely to remain healthier for current carrier-shipper relationships as opposed to long-term rate negotiations. Still, such negotiations will continue to be strained over the next few months, with shippers not often wanting to accept the present-day, highly-inflated rates for the long term.

Senior full truckload analyst at Stanley Black & Decker noted that his company has indeed transitioned from yearly bids to monthly bids as it doesn’t see the need for yearly pricing commitments from carriers right now. During bid time, Jolles also noted that all parties should keep a close eye on all small details.

Still, carriers and shippers alike can act upon a variety of methods to keep relationships stable. According to Jolles, if both parties commit to solid service and transparency, and if carriers are sure to “ask questions, over-communicate, and meet performance requirements,” the relationship can remain strong and shippers can stay confident.

At their facilities, shippers should also make sure to prioritize improved driver experience, which should include avoiding high dwell times, allowing for shipper-of-choice behaviors, and working to improve overall operations. Wasting money and time through long dwell times can easily strain even the best of shipper and carrier relationships, noted manager of warehouse and transportation systems analytics at Hormel Foods, Tim Whitson.

Innovative technology should also be embraced by both carriers and shippers to keep relationships solid, as the new technologies making their way into the industry have been allowing for more transparent and smooth negotiations, accurate forecasting, and more reliable data aggregation so that all parties involved in a negotiation are seeing all aspects laid out thoroughly.

“Shippers talk about how they need to improve operations and dwell times at facilities,” explained Doran. “Utilizing technology such as the RFI feature and the Emerge Freight Procurement platform allows a shipper to ask these questions to their partners and consolidate all that information at the click of a mouse.”

Of course, communication is key, and this tech can boost partner communication in order to avoid mistakes and service issues that would hurt the relationship itself. If concerns and complaints can be relayed in real time, major issues can be prevented much more quickly and allow the shipping process to stay as efficient as possible.

Infrastructure Bill Brings More Funding for Bridge Repair, Connectivity Boosts

January 26, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

An updated version of the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better Act will likely advance due to controversial aspects of the act now being left out.

The central, popular provisions have the president’s congressional supporters, as well as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, remaining hopeful for the act’s overall success.

“That’s what is still working its way through Capitol Hill,” Buttigieg said. “I’m very hopeful that this will pass in some form because it’s going to make a big difference for American lives.”

A major landmark of Biden’s plan is the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and its $1 trillion infrastructure bill to help revamp deteriorating roadways, repair bridges, and boost freight flow with updates to railways and other aspects of the nation’s supply chain necessities.

“Automated technology on locomotives, such as [positive train control] or trip [optimizers], are the foundation for future innovation,” said Association of American Railroads CEO, Ian Jeffries. “Such systems promise to further improve safety and efficiency, maybe even expanding rail capacity and its ability to move more goods without new network buildout.”

Additionally, $27 billion will be allocated toward repairing more than 15,000 bridges, noted infrastructure implementation coordinator Mitch Landrieu, making it “the largest bridge program in American history.”

“Bridges connect us,” he said. “They connect people [and] the movement of goods. They connect communities. They connect the country. With this investment, President Biden is creating a bridge to the future, a pathway to win–a pathway for all of us to win.”

The $27 billion will be part of a multiyear bridge-fixing process, working to improve deficient infrastructure in an effort to bring mass improvements to overall transportation connectivity.

“The bipartisan infrastructure law I signed two months ago unites us around things we all depend on,” explained President Biden. “When we invest in infrastructure, we’re really investing in opportunity. These are investments that will build a better America. It sounds like hyperbole, but it’s real.”

This bridge funding will also bring relief to a vast amount of supply chain bottlenecks, Buttigieg added.

“We know that when the bridges are in good shape, they help people to get to where they need to be more safely, more efficiently, more affordably–and I would note that strengthens our supply chains, gets groceries to where they need to be, and keeps prices lower,” he said.

Billions in new funding is going to increase freight connectivity capability in regards to the supply chain, as well as boost overall mobility and trucking workforce initiatives, noted Polly Trottenberg, deputy to Buttigieg.

“I think we’re really going to be able to strengthen and make more resilient and more sustainable all the elements of our supply chain,” she said “I think there’s a lot of enthusiasm for the focus that the administration is putting on [the] supply chain.”

As the infrastructure bill moves towards implementation, the U.S. Department of Transportation is working to ensure DOT officials are staying as organized as ever, Trottenberg added.

“We’re working with our stakeholders so that when we send out our notices of funding opportunity or our guidances…we’ve heard from all the people,” she explained. “And that’s a lot of upfront work…so we’ve got to hit the ground running. We’ve got to go the distance. I guess you’d describe it [as] both a sprint and a marathon.”

As these infrastructure-improving projects begin making their way across the country, Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson hopes they will bring the lasting changes the country needs to finally boost overall roadway safety.

“I’m all for reconstruction that will save lives, and I absolutely hope these improvements come to fruition because it’s been so long that deteriorating roads have been causing problems for drivers,” he said. “Many of the bridges and highways have needed repair for a long time–it’s long overdue.”

Still, Levinson wants to ensure that all drivers are staying as alert and cautious as ever when encountering any area under construction.

“A lot of crashes occur in construction zones or on roads and bridges in disrepair–they can all easily cause collisions,” he explained. “Be cautious in any construction zone. There will be signage, but many people aren’t paying close enough attention, or are distracted or tired, and won’t see an upcoming merge, marker, or road change. It’s easy to drive habitually and not notice, say, a lane change.”