driver safety

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.”

Communication and Safety Culture Key to Retaining Safe Drivers, Industry Leaders Say

January 25, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“These are professionals, from day one, [with whom] we emphasize they are the captain of the ship and we trust them to use their judgment and experience to make the call to shut down [if needed],” said executive vice president of U.S. Truckload for TFI International, Greg Orr. “They trust us to provide them with the equipment, training, and support to be as safe as possible.”

For carriers like TFI, a solid safety reputation is vital for recruiting and retaining experienced drivers, especially as new technology continues to make its way into truck cabs across the country.

Because of this, continuous and proactive safety training efforts allow veteran drivers to continue improving their skills and habits while also allowing newer drivers to build their safe driving behaviors. Applying telematics and recording device insight and data to training processes, along with regular driver feedback and input, has made the continual training methods in place easier for many carriers, such as Estes Express Lines.

For the LTL carrier, this kind of technology brought some hesitation among drivers, but thorough communication helped put minds at ease, according to the company’s vice president of safety and risk management, Curtis Carr.

“We went on a road trip to many of our terminals and met with our drivers to explain what we were doing and why, how it would work, and how it would help them,” he explained. “We told them what we’d be measuring and the parameters for what events [the software] would track.”

Once guidance and coaching were made commonplace with such new technological advances coming to the cab, drivers began lessening their opposition to the changes.

“It’s just like a football coach,” said Carr. “These are the game tapes we are studying. If there’s something you’re doing well, keep it up. If there’s something we can improve, let’s work on it. We bring coaching opportunities to the driver’s attention in a positive, encouraging environment.”

Additionally, drivers want to know that all equipment at hand is maintained properly and is modern enough for regular use in today’s supply chain, noted Bettaway Supply Chain Services president, John Vaccaro.

“Nobody wants to break down, he said. “It’s our job to give them a truck that’s properly maintained so they can turn the key and go without any safety issues. It’s the driver’s job to do a thorough pre-trip, and if something comes up, [to] flag it so we can fix it before he goes out and point out anything when he comes back in.”

Still, drivers need to know the huge safety boosts that come with collision avoidance technology, in-cab cameras, and other innovative technological systems, Carr noted.

“What’s better than stopping a truck before an accident can occur?” he asked. “It’s been nothing but a great tool to help us defend our drivers from false claims and coach them in a positive manner [on] how to improve their skills and become even safer. I can’t understand operating a fleet those days who would not have a drive-cam.”

Most important, though, is a carrier’s overall culture of safety, explained vice president of safety and risk for Pitt Ohio, Jeff Mercadante.

“They know we put safety first,” he said. “We are ethical–we won’t have them break the rules in any way. Attitude and work ethic are everything. Our job is to provide the necessary training and provide the best equipment with the latest safety technologies so they can do their jobs safely.”

When drivers at CFI–a truckload carrier at which Orr also serves as president–were asked why they decided to drive for that particular carrier, most brought up the company’s exemplary safety record.

“Seventy percent answered that they’ve read reviews about us and how we emphasize a ‘captain of the ship’ mentality,” Orr said. “They watch videos and talk with other drivers. That’s the best endorsement we can ask for.”

Carrier leaders should also always prioritize personal connection with drivers and be willing to hear their worries and opinions on any given safety matter, Orr added.

“That’s really the key–staying connected with that driver, resolving issues, [and] being there for them at all times,” he said. “At the end of the day, they want to be safe and we give them the support, responsibility, and accountability to do that.”

The Most Recent Method of Finding New Truckers: Recruiting Out of High School

January 22, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Carriers have been scrambling more than ever before to acquire new truck drivers as the industry continues experiencing what seems like a never-ending trucker shortage. From pay boosts, added benefits, and sign-on bonuses to potential initiatives allowing drivers under the age of 21 to begin operating commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce, the methods of expanding the pool of available truck drivers are changing constantly. The latest attempt: recruiting young drivers out of high school.

“What we’re trying to do, as a nonprofit trade association, is raise awareness of the trucking industry,” said Lindsey Trent, president of The Next Generation in Trucking Association. “We’re doing that in several ways. Recently, I gave a presentation to the American School Counselor Association, so all of the school counselors across the United States got to hear a general presentation about the trucking industry and the different jobs that are in trucking.”

Next Generation’s aim is to change stereotypes around the tucking profession that many professionals–and parents–believe. According to Trent, the main mindset the association would like to change is that the only path to success is a college-to-workforce path that often comes with high amounts of student loans, and therefore, debt.

“We’re not about pushing students into this industry [quickly],” said Dave Dien, Next Generation board member and teacher at Patterson High School in Patterson, California. “We want to make sure that those who choose this industry are well-fitted and they have the proper skills and foundation to do well.”

For the last five years, students at Patterson High have been able to enroll in the Next Generation program during their senior year and acquire a commercial driver license. As of now, 20 of the school’s students are enrolled in the program, which requires 180 hours of classroom instruction, 110 hours of training behind the wheel, and an additional 30 hours of training in a truck-driving simulator.

Now, the program is working to allow junior-year students to enroll in the program as soon as next year, which would offer them an additional 200 hours of instruction in a classroom setting before progressing to commercial driver license training, specifically.

According to Trent, Next Generation has adapted its curriculum to be flexible enough for a majority of school districts, with schools across the country showing interest in incorporating it into their career guidance programs.

“There’s a buzz about it now,” said Dein. “The best word that advertises is word-of-mouth. Students who have graduated [from] the program–they’re finding success in the industry. There [have been] a lot more students that want to take the class because they hear about it.”

With the available flexibility the program offers, “it seems that it has changed the mindset of what they thought trucking was about,” Dein said in regards to students enrolled in the program.

Because the DRIVE-Safe Act has been signed into law by President Biden, Trent and Dein predict that even more students will begin to find interest in their program and in the trucking industry as a whole. Part of the DRIVE-Safe Act’s initiative is the pilot program allowing drivers between the ages of 18 and 21 to drive interstate in commercial motor vehicles.

“Once you have 18-year-olds driving interstate, we feel that the next step is really going after that career and technical education funding to build programs at the state level,” said Don Lefeve, board member of Next Generation and former CEO of the Commercial Vehicle Training Association. “That’s working not only to get them interested while in high school, but really to partner with community colleges and private truck schools that may be in their area to help deliver the skills training for them.”

Attempts to increase interest among young drivers is common, but many safety advocates worry that such young, inexperienced drivers lack the maturity or patience needed to work as a safe truck driver. Addressing the driver shortage is important, of course–but the safety of American roadways should always remain top priority, noted Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson.

“You can’t give the key to an 80,000-pound, dangerous truck to an inexperienced driver,” he said. “There is no substitute for good experience–you don’t just pick up driving right away. A car–let alone a commercial vehicle–is way too dangerous to operate without sufficient experience. There’s a certain maturity that it takes to drive a vehicle with this amount of weight and complexity. They’re not easy vehicles to operate, and companies need to be very cautious about bending safety rules despite the pressures to hire new drivers.”