driver safety

As Cargo Theft Numbers Rise, Tech-Based Solutions Expected to Help Keep Fleets Safe

May 10, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Cargo theft has become the trucking industry’s latest threat, following an already particularly difficult year. Updated business strategies and new technology are the most important tools fleets have to boost the overall security of their drivers and the shipments they carry.

“The safety of our drivers is number one,” said C.R. England’s freight claims supervisor, Melissa Jordan. “We don’t want them to put themselves in harm’s way. The next priority is the customer and the integrity of their product.”

Throughout North America, supply chain risk events recorded throughout 2020 have risen by about 16% from 2019, according to theft prevention and recovery network, CargoNet.

Not only is this safety risk making cargo security improvements more important than ever, but also rendering them vitally important if fleets want to keep overall costs down, as the prices brought about by these kinds of thefts has also risen–by 19%, CargoNet estimates. The average cargo theft costs have come out to be around $166,334 in 2020, with the increase believed to be due to COVID-19’s effect on individuals and its ability to motivate them to steal shipments of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals.

This kind of expensive, large-scale thievery has been steadily increasing for the last few years, according to Sensitech Inc.’s director of global intelligence, Scott Martino.

“Thieves use this as one way to gather intelligence on what is in trailers coming from certain distribution centers, etc., but they do sometimes have inside information of some form,” he explained. “Thieves are opportunistic. They typically target specific cargo, but they will target anything if the opportunity presents itself.”

There are multiple methods a thief may use to pull a crime like this off, such as an instance in which a he or she may fraudulently claim to work for a specific carrier and subsequently pick up someone else’s shipment, which BSI supply chain risk consultant, Tony Pelli, said is now happening more and more throughout North America.

Often, a perpetrator may even steal a carrier’s identity or use an out-of-business trucking company name, particularly through emails sent with phishing scams.

“They’ll say they’re a supplier who needs to get paid or a vendor who wants to pay them,” explained Pelli. To avoid these scams, an overall understanding of cybersecurity is key, he added.

Trucking companies are now having various departments collaborate to find the best ways for safety improvement as often as possible. For Averitt Express, its cargo claims team, operations team, security team and safety experts are all consistently working together to find the bests methods of keeping the company safe.

“At the same time, our team researches and tests new technology and tools that may enhance our ability to protect our assets and cargo,” said the company’s security coordinator, Tim Barnes. “Asset-based tracking is the primary tool that can currently be used to increase recovery rates within the transportation industry. When we can pinpoint the location of an asset through GPS surveillance, we stand a good chance of recovering our assets.”

Most important, through, is that all drivers and employees are aware of the risks at hand and the ways to best avoid them, Barnes noted.

“This includes conducting training around specific areas of cargo theft and promoting awareness campaigns through emails, newsletters, routing meetings, and signage at facilities,” he said, explaining that all employees must undergo regular prevention-focused training. One of these training programs is dedicated specifically to raising awareness of all security dangers involved with the transportation of hazardous materials (HM-232 security).

For C.R. England, tracking tech is extraordinarily important in reducing security risks.

“We’re able to see the location of any of our trucks or trailers at any given interval,” said Jordan. If a vehicle happened to diverge from its proper route, alarms would be raised and the company would contact the driver immediately, she added.

C.R. England is also able to let a driver know ahead of time if he or she may be about to enter a risky region.

“We deliver some loads into the Bronx or Brooklyn,” “said Jordan. “We know they have a limited amount of space to begin with, so it is easy to target those parking spaces that are available…We’ll also ask them to back up to something–a wall or a light pole–so no one can open the door.”

If a shipment is of particularly high-value, customers may make specific requests to keep the load secure.

“Depending on the value of the load, [the customer] may have pace cars that follow the truck,” said Jordan. Customers may also require a driver to not stop within a specific distance.

C.R. England also requires drivers to pay a deposit for an Abus lock that is used on every shipment, and requests that they always lock their right-side doors (although a shipper’s particular security seal may make that impossible). To circumvent any issues regarding proper security of these locks, the company will always spec its new trailers with enforcer boxes that are able to cover both the security seal and the latch.

“It provides an additional place for them to place the padlock without damaging the seal,” Jordan noted.

Additionally, the company holds periodic meetings with its drivers to regularly cover safety protocol as thoroughly as possible.

“We’re a teaching company as well as a trucking company,” she explained. “From the beginning, drivers are taught about security and safety, and we have continued education.”

Trucking Concerns Integrated Into Congestion Pricing Pilot

May 6, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

With some of the highest traffic congestion numbers in the world, Los Angeles is now working on a congestion pilot program and taking into account the needs of drivers and freight haulers, specifically.

This two-year Traffic Reduction Study is in the works within the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and will be conducted in an effort to better handle heavy traffic through additional and more efficient methods of transportation and congestion pricing updates. LA County Metro currently represents about 9.6 million people within its transportation agency.

This agency will determine the best methods of solving the most pertinent issues travelers throughout the county are currently facing, explained the senior director of the Metro’s Office of Extraordinary Innovation, Tham Nguyen, during a recent virtual panel discussion. According to Nguyen, Metro has been taking into account the comments and concerns from the public, including those from ride-share providers, construction crew workers, and delivery drivers.

“We are starting our analysis to better understand the travel patterns,” Nguyen explained. “We are engaging with folks from the freight and trucking industry. We’ll have more information, but first we’re just trying to understand what [the] truck patterns [are]. Where are people going?”

Other members of Metro discussed their desire to fully understand all benefits and difficulties that come with a congestion pricing pilot, but hope travel reliability will be the biggest gain from such a program. The team will work to hear from as many members of the public as possible to better comprehend these issues and create better overall technical analysis of daily commutes. Some of the biggest issues at hand–environmental concerns, road safety, and travel times, Nguyen said.

“The thing that is critical to remember about a congestion pricing scheme is that the benefits go not just to people who are switching to new transit alternatives, but also to people who continue to drive,” noted the chief innovation officer for the Office of Extraordinary Innovation, Joshua Schank. “When you’re driving on the routes that are now priced, you don’t sit in traffic, so you’re moving much faster. [For] folks from outside the area who continue to drive through the area, it’s not like they’re just getting charged and then continuing to have the same miserable experience they have now. They’re paying for real value.”

In 2020, the American Transportation Research Institute listed Los Angeles three times on its top truck bottlenecks report–areas listed were the intersections of interstates 110 and 105 (ranking 65th), the intersection of interstates 710 and 105 (ranking 10th) and the intersection of state routes 60 and 57 (ranking 9th). The city continues to hold the reputation of having some of America’s worst traffic congestion.

During the virtual discussion, four different concept consideration areas being currently studied by Metro were presented. These include the freeways crossing the Santa Monica Mountains between interstate 5 and interstate 504 in central Los Angeles, the area between U.S. Route 101 and interstate 5, the areas bound by interstate 10 and interstate 110, the stretch of U.S. Route 101 in downtown Los Angeles, and the stretch of interstate 10 west of downtown, which would have its own corridor pricing model.

Congestion is expected to increase as the city’s population grows, even though the coronavirus pandemic has indeed decreased overall traffic for the time being, explained Phillip Washington, CEO of Metro.

“If we do not do anything, what we’re looking at is total gridlock,” Washington explained. “We have a dream of this metamorphosis from a car capital of the world to a center for greater mobility, innovation, and equity. We’re moving forward. We’re leaning forward in the foxhole.”

Metro dedicated the month of February to putting a major focus onto holding virtual community discussions in an effort to share the commentary it has received in relation to these efforts. It is also prioritizing efforts to hear from community members about their ideas regarding how best to use this input to make this study as efficient, actionable, and helpful as possible.

Metro’s project team has presented the four concept areas discussed in this virtual event to Metro’s board of directors, and will also present its ideas and recommendations regarding preferred concepts for this study–chosen from the four concept areas already outlined–to the Metro board this summer.

Fleets Work to Avoid Truck Corrosion from Road Salts

April 24, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

As the winter months continue on, fleets continue the fight against corrosion and its risk to their equipment that is often caused by road de-icing products.

Although it’s important to clear roadways of snow and ice to keep drivers safe, the de-icing products used by cities across the country are typically full of chlorides, which cause dangerous and costly corrosion on trucks. Fleets are now working hard to inspect their vehicles regularly and wash salt and chemicals off of equipment as thoroughly as possible.

“Between sand, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, and road salt, you could develop quite a paste, which is hard to remove and helps to keep the moisture in and cause corrosion more rapidly,” said Kenan Advantage Group’s executive vice president of fleet services, Kirk Altrichter. He noted that keeping equipment clear of de-icing chemicals is a constant maintenance issue for his company during the winter months.

Staying up-to-date on the changing methods of clearing roads of snow and ice is also vital, explained American Trucking Associations’ Technology and Maintenance Council technical director, Jack Legler, who said that corrosion-reducing materials can often react in different ways to these chemicals.

“The ice-melting formulations might not change significantly, but the stuff on the truck is changing,” Legler said. “You need to be aware of the impact of what is going on there.”

The “hot zone from corrosion activity” on a truck or trailer is around 4 feet above the ground, said Atro Engineering Systems’ area sales manager, Brian Herrington. “Anything metal is going to rust, and anything rubber is going to look like it is dry rotting.”

The most susceptible areas for corrosion are places where dirt and other materials stay wet–especially within metal folds or joints, threaded screws, painted surface breaks, and areas not properly adhered beneath coatings.

“These underbody components commonly experience pitting, crevice, galvanic, and cosmetic corrosion,” said Thomas Peters, the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s maintenance research and training engineer.

What can be done? Finding the right materials and equipment that will lower possibilities of corrosion–regardless of initial investment–is key, explained Herrington.

“You’re going to pay the piper at the back end or the front end,” he said. “It is a lot more expensive to pay the piper at the back end.”

Dupré Logistics out of Lafayette, Louisiana sprays all undercarriage and rails in military-grade paint.

“We put that on bumpers; [we] spray under the cab and on the frame rails,” said Allen. “That helps fight the corrosion. Any moisture can be a killer.”

Kenny Junkin, TMC’s committee on corrosion’s chairman, works for a fleet that invests in trucks that are already blasted, primed, and painted in advance to reduce corrosion.

Additionally, certain materials are on their way to becoming much more cost-effective for fleets than initially expected, Herrington explained. Polyurethane is usable wherever a vehicle has any rubber, including fifth wheels, hood rollers, engine mounts, radiator mounts, and hood latches.

“Years ago, polyurethane was too expensive to consider, but now the price has come so far down [that] the price is basically the same,” he explained.

Grand Island Express specs its trailers with a coating that aids in self-healing on the suspension, explained the company’s director of operations, Deen Albert. Albert noted that running gears, frameworks and suspensions can all rot away particularly quickly if not cared for in advance.

Kenan Advantage Group also specs its equipment, using either stainless, aluminum, or galvanized components to help its vehicles avoid corrosion that often occurs on pieces made of carbon steel. The fleet will also replace items on its vehicles that did not initially come with those kinds of components.

Regular washing is most important, though, explained Matt Bruning, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Transportation. Bruning explained that ODOT washes its trucks frequently with a soap and water solution to minimize the effects of corrosion.

“We’ve tested a variety of anti-corrosion products, and honestly, soap and water is just as effective as anything,” he said.

“That has extended the life cycle of our trailers by about three years,” said Grand Island Express’ Albert of regular washing. Grand Island Express uses an auto-grade detergent solution for its vehicles, which go through the company’s wash bay every week.

Truck Driver Vision Standards May Be Amended

April 22, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Under standards that have been in place since 1971, a driver is physically and legally qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle if he or she has distant visual acuity of at least 20/40 in each eye without corrective lenses or visual acuity of 20/40 or better with corrective lenses. Additionally, he or she has had to have a field of vision of at least 70 degrees in each eye and be able to recognize the different colors in traffic signals, signs, and other safety devices. Now–that vision standard is being amended.

The new regulation would allow truckers not able to meet these federal vision standards of either field of vision, distant visual acuity, or both (in at least one eye) to be physically qualified to legally operate a commercial vehicle within interstate commerce.

“Currently, such individuals are prohibited from driving CMVs in interstate commerce unless they obtain an exemption from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration,” said a recent Federal Register post. “The agency proposes an alternative vision standard for physical qualification that, if adopted, would replace the current vision exemption program as a basis for establishing the physical qualification determination for these individuals.”

Until now, a driver would have to request an exemption from FMCSA if he or she did not meet the vision standards. This process would often take months and require extensive paperwork–these drivers would have to be able to present evidence to FMCSA that they had driven a commercial motor vehicle in intrastate commerce safely, despite their vision deficiency, for the last three years.

Analysis of this recent driving performance is most important in determining future driving safety, as explained by various research studies that analyze past and future driving performance. According to the agency, 2,566 truck drivers currently hold a vision requirement exemption.

If approved and finalized, the new proposed policy change would require that any driver who cannot meet the field of vision or acuity standards must undergo an ophthalmologist or optometrist examination. This exam report would be forwarded to a truck driver medical examiner, who would then have the authority to make the final decision regarding whether or not this driver is fit to safely operate a commercial vehicle. Then, if approved, that driver can legally operate a CMV under a 12-month medical card.

This policy has been called a “performance-based approach.”

“It is well-recognized in the literature that individuals with vision loss in one eye can and do develop compensatory viewing behavior to mitigate the vision loss,” said FMCSA.

Under this proposal–which comes at a time in which the trucking industry has been grappling with a large truck driver shortage, especially with the increase in demand that arose during the pandemic–a truck driver that does not meet either the field of vision standard to distant visual acuity standard in at least one eye could be physically qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle without having to be given an exemption.

“FMCSA estimates that the proposed rule would reduce barriers to entry for current and future CMV drivers,” said FMCSA. “The 2,566 drivers holding vision exemptions would no longer have to apply for an exemption, and potential driver applicants who do not have three years of intrastate driving experience may meet the alternative vision standard and be able to operate a CMV in interstate commerce.”

Drivers would need to complete and pass a road test before operating a CMV if they are now physically qualified for the alternative standard in their states under the new proposed regulation, with some limited exceptions.

Many safety advocates have been fighting against regulatory changes such as these, which tend to prioritize easier entrance into the trucking industry over actual road safety. This includes rules such as the updates made within hours-of-service regulations, which recently permitted truck drivers to operate at longer hours and choose how they spend and split up their rest breaks, allowing for drivers to become much more fatigued while operating their trucks.

The vision requirement proposal has indeed been officially published in the Federal Register, but could still be withdrawn by the Biden administration during a later regulatory review, as announced by the White House in its regulatory freeze memorandum.

FMCSA will be accepting public comments in regards to this new proposal until March 15th, 2021.

Medical Examiner Qualifications Not Up To Par, DOT Audit Says

April 15, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

We recently reported on the dangers of sleep apnea in truck drivers and the lack of federal oversight regarding the testing and treatment of truckers who may have have obstructive sleep apnea–subsequently impacting their job performances.

Now, a new audit from the Department of Transportation Inspector General has discovered particular weaknesses regarding the federal monitoring of medical examiner qualifications–the examiners that determine whether or not a truck driver can properly and safely operate a commercial motor vehicle based on the driver’s physical qualifications.

“The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s ability to oversee whether drivers meet physical qualification standards to safely operate a commercial vehicle is limited because of a lengthy outage of the [Medical Examiners] National Registry and a resulting backlog of driver examination reports that were not entered into the Registry,” said the audit released by the Inspector General. “Furthermore, FMCSA has not fully implemented requirements for random periodic monitoring of medical examiners’ eligibility and performance.”

Additionally, “data-quality issues, including missing records,” along with other data accuracy holes and mistakes “limit the effectiveness of FMCSA’s oversight,” the audit continued, explaining that this weakness was a result of driver examination reports not being documented properly, leading to a seven-month registry outage beginning at the tail end of 2017.

“Because of the outage and technical issues in relaunching the National Registry, we estimate that approximately 780,000 driver examinations could be missing from the database,” said the document. “FMCSA is building a new National Registry, but it is unclear when it will be complete.”

To become certified in conducting examinations of truck drivers, physicians and other medical professionals have to begin the certification process by registering, and also must be already licensed in the state in which they will be performing examinations. Additionally, they must meet testing and training requirements.

“Our analysis of National Registry data indicated that 46% of its 70,208 records of certified medical examiners as of May 2019 had outdated medical license information,” said the audit. “Additionally, our analysis of two separate samples totaling 452 driver examinations from three state driver’s licensing agencies we visited found that 21% were not recorded in the National Registry.”

Currently, a Department of Transportation physical examination for a trucker is valid for up to two years, and a trucker may also be given a medical examiner’s certificate for less than the two-year period if the examiner aims to monitor a particular condition.

“Of critical importance, certified medical examiners must submit to the National Registry reports of the results of driver examinations they perform and the medical certificates they issue to qualified drivers,” continued the audit, which also indicated that FMCSA has yet to implement yearly eligibility audits following certification, although it has conducted these initial certification reviews in regards to the eligibility and certification qualifications of medical examiners.

“Without these oversight reviews, FMCSA may be missing fraud indicators or other risks that may require mitigation and has less assurance that drivers are physically qualified to safely operate a commercial vehicle,” said the document.

Over the last six and half years, 14 fraudulent medical certificate convictions have come from Office of Inspector general investigations, and the IG claims that finding and preventing medical certificate fraud is still a top priority.

For example, a Georgia medical examiner’s record falsifications caused more than 600 drivers to have to renew their medical certificates in August 2017. In January 2019, a scheme to enter fake driver examinations to the Registry resulted in an Alabama medical examiner being sentenced to more than three years in prison and fined $10,000, with two workers sentenced to a total of five years of probation for their participation in the scam. From that fraud, FMCSA required more than 2,100 drivers to renew their medical certificates, as well.

Some technical updates are set to be completed by the end of March, the agency assured, and all IG audit recommendations are estimated to be implemented by June 30th, 2023.

“A fully-functional National Registry is a priority under the FMCSA IT Modernization Plan,” said the agency, noting that its interim Registry system can only currently offer partial functionality. “FMCSA plans to award a contract to rebuild the National Registry in the second quarter of fiscal-year 2021.”

Safety Advocates and Families of Truck Crash Victims Call on Biden to Reform Trucking Safety

April 5, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“We’re hopeful that…Biden will be the one,” said Daphne Izer, who lost her teenaged son Jeffrey when he and three of his friends were struck by a Walmart truck in 1993 on the Maine Turnpike and killed. The truck driver had fallen asleep at the wheel of his tractor trailer.

Many family members of truck crash victims believe that they now, finally, have an advocate and an ally in the White House in President Biden, following many years of a lack of federal oversight in regards to these kinds of crashes and the deaths they cause.

A group of survivors and family members who, between them, have lost 28 people to roadway truck crashes, wrote a personalized letter to President Biden urging him to align with their common cause and requested more action from the White House in regards to trucking safety and in the prevention truck-related collisions on American roadways.

Biden lost his own wife and daughter in a deadly crash in 1972, and survived the incident himself. When the letter was announced, signatories mentioned his recent visit to the grave of Neilia, his first wife, and his daughter, Naomi, who both died in the tractor trailer collision. Biden’s two young sons were injured, but fortunately survived the crash.

The incident was investigated, but had no criminal charges filed against the truck driver.

Izer signed the letter, along with her husband, Steve, in collaboration with the Truck Safety Coalition, a group that works to boost efforts from the government in decreasing numbers of American truck crashes, injuries, and fatalities. According to recent numbers, more than 5,000 people died in large truck-related crashes in 2020, and that number has continued to rise over the last few years.

“The public is being massacred on the highways by big trucks, and it’s unnecessary,” said president emeritus of non-profit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, Joan B. Claybrook. Claybrook is also the previous head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In the letter, these families and safety advocates pushed for the federal requirement of speed limiters, automatic emergency braking becoming standard equipment on all new trucks, and stronger guards being installed for the prevention of smaller vehicles from sliding underneath large trucks in a collision. The European Union, as well as other areas around the globe, already require these kinds of safety regulations for new trucks, but the United States has yet to make such mandates, according to the letter.

“During the past four years, the U.S. The Department of Transportation has not advanced a single major safety regulation,” said the letter. “Instead, government officials have relentlessly attacked existing truck safety rules with efforts to increase the work hours of truckers and to allow teen truckers to operate in interstate commerce.”

The safety advocates urged Biden to choose new leaders without any corporate influence or industry ties who are able to provide leadership within the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the NHTSA.

“We cannot wait and allow another 20,000 truck crash deaths and 600,000 injuries in the next four years when solutions are already at hand,” the letter continued.

As of now, former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has appeared before senators in consideration for his nomination for transportation secretary as Biden’s pick. Once confirmed, one of Buttigieg’s deputies will be Massachusetts secretary of transportation, Stephanie Pollack. Pollack is also set to lead the Federal Highway Administration.

Biden has already named his NHTSA and FMCSA deputy administrators, but hasn’t chosen other top job candidates.

“We need somebody who wants to be a regulator,” said former president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Jackie Gillan. “What you need are standards and enforcement, and both of these are missing right now.”

In September, a study was released suggesting that safety features such as forward collision warnings and automatic emergency braking become commonplace in an effort to improve overall roadway safety. Auto insurers supporting the claim, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report noted that these safety features would be able to prevent at least 40 percent of rear-end crashes instigated by large trucks.

According to the research, these kinds of systems slowed vehicle speeds by more than 50 percent when these rear end crashes occurred, decreasing injuries and vehicle damage.

NHTSA granted a safety advocate petition requiring braking systems to be implemented into large trucks in 2015, but the agency has yet to move forward with this proposal.

Adding in automated safety features and calling out government neglect in regards to truck safety regulations are the keys to bettering American roadway safety, an idea made clear in Representative Seth Moulton’s recent National Transportation Safety Board report. The Report detailed a 2019 New Hampshire truck crash that killed seven motorcyclists and clearly showed the lack of government oversight in regards to truck safety conditions.

“Trucking companies that choose to break the law can do so without fearing consequences unless there’s a tragedy,” said Moulton.

Claybrook agreed, mentioning an investigative series by the Boston Globe that pointed out the loopholes and caveats within the government’s current trucking regulation system. The series found that one in five of American commercial trucks is in such poor condition that it would immediately be removed from service if properly investigated by safety inspectors.

“It brought to light what a lot of people just don’t know,” said Claybrook. “They don’t know [or] understand that they’re dealing with rolling time bombs on the highway.”