driver safety

More Concerns Arise Regarding Young Trucker Pilot Program

January 21, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

In the midst of the ongoing truck driver shortage, many carriers and industry members have been backing the proposed pilot program that would allow drivers under the age of 21 to operate commercial vehicles in interstate commerce. Now, safety advocates within the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association are begging the question, will these young truck drivers even be able to find insurance?

Until now, drivers between the ages of 18 and 21 were only permitted to drive within intrastate commerce by most states.

“We expect it will be difficult for many motor carriers to afford insurance coverage for younger drivers,” said Todd Spencer, President and CEO of OOIDA in a letter offered as commentary for the program proposal. Spencer’s opinions on the pilot program have mostly appeared to be in opposition, although OOIDA hasn’t stated its exact stance on the matter.

Spencer explained that a majority of carriers would have trouble insuring riskier young truckers.

“Small-business motor carriers are especially unlikely to take the risk of insuring under-21 drivers without evaluating the costs and benefits to their operations,” Spencer continued. “In all likelihood, only self-insured carriers will be willing to provide coverage for under-21 interstate drivers.”

The Apprenticeship Pilot Program, proposed by FMCSA, would allow for these young driver apprentices (who already have commercial driver licenses) to undergo two probationary training periods before becoming permitted to operate within interstate commerce: one training period alongside an experienced trucker while completing 120 hours of on-duty time, with 80 of those hours in a truck; the other with no other driver necessary while completing 280 on-duty hours, with 160 of those hours in a truck.

OOIDA’S most pressing concern is that FMCSA will not collect sufficient data throughout the program and won’t be able to make an efficient decision in regards to the safety concerns at hand surrounding young drivers operating CMVs in an interstate capacity.

“FMCSA must incorporate more specific data collection methods that will better determine whether under-21 drivers can safely operate in interstate commerce,” continued Spencer in his letter.

Additionally, OOIDA “would like to see more details about how the safety data collected will be compared with other drivers, including how the control group will be selected,” wrote Spencer, claiming that FMCSA has yet to declare proper definition for the composition of the control group itself.

The study should also analyze problems around long detention times and involve safety and crash data around intrastate drivers, OOIDA says, as the main argument in support of the program is that young drivers are already able to operate within intrastate routes. Additionally, data collection on program participant performance should be continuous, Spencer said. “We strongly believe the APP must monitor and analyze apprentice performance after they have completed the required probationary periods,” he continued in his letter.

There should also be a concrete timeline regarding the length of the APP, according to OOIDA. “How will the agency decide whether APP should be extended, expanded, or discontinued in the final data analysis?” asked Spencer. “If crashes and fatalities occur during the program, will those be made public?”

Many public comments echoed OOIDA’s concerns, with some commenters expressing worries that young drivers will be easily overwhelmed with the demands of the industry today, or that they will just not have the maturity needed for overall safety in their day-to-day routes.

“As a 42-year veteran trucker [and] owner with a five-million-mile, no-accident safety record, I feel that younger drivers do not have the patience and ability to control [their] emotions,” said industry member Marc Edleston in a public comment. “Driving is more than operating a large vehicle. You encounter bad weather conditions, bad road conditions, and most of all–other bad drivers. One must always be extremely patient.”

OOIDA believes that overall, the program is likely a chance for FMCSA to push forward more of its agenda, with Spencer stating that the APP “is another opportunity to examine the cause of excessively high driver turnover rates.”

Crashes Continue in Winter Weather; Safer Driving Practices are Vital, Ken Levinson Says

January 19, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Winter weather has taken its toll across much of the midwest and east coast, with incoming storms that have been quite unexpected–and severe.

This month, we’ve already seen arctic air surges throughout the Northern Plains and the Midwest, heavy snowfall across New England and the Northeast, and even inclement weather and snow storms in the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies.

In the first few weeks of the year, many states have been seeing concerning incoming weather systems that have raised worries for truck drivers and passenger drivers alike. Low pressure off of the Mid-Atlantic coastline made its way northeast, bringing moderate and heavy snowfall to areas across New England–with snowfall of up to 8 inches showing up in eastern Massachusetts, eastern Connecticut, Maine, and Rhode Island.

“High winds are expected throughout the state, increasing the danger of downing powerlines and trees,” said the Maryland State Highway Department.

“There will be high wind warnings for much of the state today, and likely closures to Light and High Profile Vehicles,” said the Wyoming Highway Patrol. “Please monitor wyoroad.info or 511 for updates on opening times for I-80, as well as potential wind closures. If [or] when it opens, please be safe and allow extra travel time.”

Snow bands formed throughout the Great Lakes, with other cold weather systems making their way throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Additionally, the Northwest saw heavy amounts of moisture, with one-to-two feet of snow showing up across the Northern Rockies. Blizzard warnings have been in effect due to heavy winds and drifting snow throughout the Northern Great Basin and Northern Rockies, as well, with another arctic cold front showing up later throughout the Midwest and Northern Plains. This cold front brought with it freezing rain, along with more snow–especially across the Midwest.

As was to be expected, roads across the country began seeing various crashes and incidents taking place, often shutting down stretches of highway.

“A tractor-trailer rollover on Interstate 95 north at Exit 90 by the Mystic Aquarium caused over 400 feet of damage to the wire rope guardrail and has [a] portion of the highway shut down right now,” said the Connecticut State Police in a social media post. “Thankfully, there were no other vehicles involved and no one was injured.”

Troopers in Jackson also brought attention to snow-caused accidents, tweeting: “Troopers are currently on the scene of a crash that had the westbound lanes of I-40 shut down at the 93.2 mile marker. Please use caution and seek an alternate route if possible.”

Connecticut police also called for safer driving during this kind of weather. “These crashes are preventable,” they continued in their post. “We urge commercial drivers to reduce their speeds in these poor weather conditions. Doing so can help prevent costly damages and tragic crashes.”

Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson agreed with this call for safety, noting that distracted or lazy driving can be detrimental during this time of year–especially when it comes to sharing the road with heavy duty trucks.

“You should always drive defensively and be very cautious of trucks near you, especially in bad weather,” he urged. “You never know who’s driving the commercial vehicle in front of you–it may be a trainee, someone underqualified, someone who’s had previous crashes who shouldn’t be behind the wheel at all…they could be distracted, beyond their hours of service, and tired, so be very, very cautious.”

In case these warnings fall on deaf ears, Levinson reiterated that devastating accidents do indeed occur often–particularly when someone isn’t paying close enough attention to the road or is too impatient while driving in inclement weather.

“We see a lot of crashes in the cases brought to our office in which the crash occurs because the driver wasn’t trained well, was distracted, or was tired, so extra caution needs to be taken in this kind of weather,” he noted. “Impatience is something we all face on the road. There’s a dynamic where you’re frustrated, you want to get to where you have to be, and it’s just not worth it to speed or pass a vehicle improperly or cut corners. In the long run, you want to be patient so you can get to your destination in one piece. It’s easier said than done sometimes, I get that, but it’s all the more reason to stay safe when a truck is in the vicinity–it’s just too dangerous.”

Truckers Must Stay Extra Cautious and Aware This Winter as Storms Worsen

January 18, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

As winter storms rage on and infrastructure improvement projects face delays, many roads are seeing increases in accidents that ultimately lead to closures. Because of this, transportation experts are urging truckers to stay mindful and cautious at all times and follow all road signage and avoid areas with dangerous weather conditions, regardless of how inconvenient it may be to their trips.

For instance, a large snowstorm caused a high number of roadway incidents after hitting the mid-Atlantic region this month, blocking traffic on Interstate 95 along the 50 mile distance between Washington and Richmond.

During afternoon rush hour, snow levels hit unexpected highs and freezing temperatures caused Virginia interstate roadways to freeze over, bringing about a heavy gridlock for hundreds of drivers and truckers for nearly an entire day. After damaged vehicles were finally cleared from the highway, the interstate reopened the following evening.

Fredericksburg, Virginia-based trucking company Bully Breed Logistics had a trucker stuck in the highway shutdown while attempting to return from a delivery in Wilmington, Delaware.

“We tried to deliver…they said that they couldn’t take it,” said the owner of the company, Jeremy Slovak. “So, we had to drive back with that load.”

Because of this, the Bully Breed driver was forced to sleep in his truck smack in the middle of Interstate-95 around 30 miles north of Fredericksburg. Luckily, he ended up able to take an exit once a slow crawl began on Tuesday; still, the incident made for quite a bit of wasted money–and time–for the tiny carrier.

“I’ve got to pay my driver for that [time],” said Slovak. “I’ve got to pay for the fuel for that. Then, the cold and the ice and the salt…they cause a lot of problems for the trucks–maintenance, wear and tear.”

In fact, for a shipment of rolled paper, the total losses in revenue will likely reach $10,000 for the issues caused by this storm, Slovak noted.

“It hurts real bad,” he lamented. “I’m having to go into my reserves–my little nest egg–for repairs and stuff that I have, just to make sure my guys are paid. If I have the money, I’ll pay my guys, even though they’re staying home. It’s not their fault. They’ve got families to feed.“

Slovak’s driver was lucky enough to be paying close enough attention to take an exit as soon as possible, even after getting stuck in such a long snow-caused backup. Still, some truckers haven’t been quite as lucky after being a bit less diligent in this winter weather.

In Washington state, one truck driver made the mistake of ignoring closed-road signs and ended up stuck on White Pass in the midst severe winter weather. Because of this, the state’s Department of Transportation decided to make an example out of this lack of judgment.

“‘Road closed’ signs apply to everyone,” said WSDOT in a social media post. “This is why. On Thursday evening, this semi went through the road closure on White Pass and got stuck. Our crews had to rescue the occupants, take them to safety, and then later today, guide the truck down behind our blower.”

When negligent drivers cause accidents like this, DOT crews–who are already working long hours to keep roads cleared and people safe during inclement weather–have even more on their plates.

“Our crews have been cautiously moving with blowers down each side of the pass,” WSDOT explained. “It’s slow-going as the snow is deep and slides [have] brought down rocks, logs, and other debris, so [they have to] bring in a loader to move the debris to allow the blower to continue on. [There is] still no estimate for reopening and working on getting info, updates, [or] images from the other passes.”

Now, WSDOT is calling on all drivers–especially truckers–to pay extra-close attention to road signage and to use their best judgment at all times, for the safety of themselves, department workers, and the local community.

“Our crews are working really hard to get things open, and things like this [accident] don’t help,” WSDOT’s post continued. “So, please–if you see a ‘road closed’ sign, don’t ignore it.”

FMCSA Rushes Young Driver Pilot Initiative to Help Ease Shortage

January 15, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is currently urging the White House to offer emergency, expedited approval of the driver apprenticeship program that came as part of 2021’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

President Biden’s DRIVE-Safe Act–included in his Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act–would implement an initiative allowing drivers between 18- and 21-years of age to be able to operate commercial vehicles in interstate commerce–a change from the previous regulation which only allowed drivers in that age range to work within intrastate operations. The push to expedite this approval process is a scrambling effort by federal regulators to find methods of easing the current, long-lasting truck driver shortage.

FMCSA has asked the White House Office of Management and Budget to launch the pilot by this week, a pilot that would allow drivers with intrastate commercial driver licenses to work within these new parameters and that would require trucking companies to properly monitor their drivers who are part of the program.

Soon, around 4,500 carriers will likely begin enrolling more than 40,000 into the pilot program, FMCSA predicts, as the industry voices their belief that this initiative will help bring about the highly-needed number of new drivers entering the industry and alleviate the ongoing shortage.

Is rushing this program into fruition the safest course of action? Most likely not, says Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson.

“The labor market is very difficult right now for the industry, and for trucking companies in particular,” he explained. “But despite the pressure of the shortage, carriers just cannot hire unsafe or unqualified drivers. It’s just not the way to go–it’s too dangerous, and the risks are too high.”

Hopefully, then, these drivers will indeed undergo rigorous training and be heavily monitored while participating in the program. According to the pilot’s outline, young drivers will be able to operate within interstate commerce under the supervision of an experienced driver during their probationary period–the “experienced driver” must have had a commercial driver license and have been employed for at least the last two years with at least five years of experience, and be over the age of 26.

Out of two probationary periods, these drivers must first: complete 120 hours of on-duty time with 80 of those operating a CMV, with employer-confirmed efficiency in speed and space management, lane control, mirror scanning, evening driving, rural driving, interstate and city driving, safety awareness, hours-of-service compliance, and proper left and right turns. During the second probationary period, drivers must: complete 280 hours of on-duty time with 160 of those operating a CMV, with employer-confirmed efficiency in pre-trip inspections, coupling and uncoupling procedures, trip planning and map reading, load weighing and distribution, backing and maneuvering within small spaces, and fueling procedures.

Following these probationary periods, the young drivers can then begin driving commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce alongside an experienced driver. The pilot program also mandates data collection in regards to any incidents occurring that involve an apprentice, as well as any other apprentice-related safety data.

“Additional data will include crash data (incident reports, police reports, insurance reports, inspection data, citation data, safety event data as recorded by all safety systems installed on vehicles, to include advanced driver assistance systems, automatic emergency braking systems, onboard monitoring systems, and forward-facing and in-cab video systems), as well as exposure data, record of duty status logs, on-duty time, driving time, and time spent away from home terminal,” said FMCSA. “This data will be submitted monthly through participating motor carriers.”

Trucking companies can absolutely not skirt around any of these guidelines or safety procedures, Levinson noted, which may be a temptation for carriers rushing to find new drivers to fill vacant roles and meet current consumer demand.

“These drivers are operating 80,000 pounds of metal, and they can wipe out with devastating consequences,” he explained. “Companies have to make sure they’re hiring experienced drivers, that are trained well and that know the safety rules.”

A Look Into CVSA’s New Fatigue Management Program

January 5, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The North American Fatigue Management Program is now in place within the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance in an effort to reduce driver fatigue and the dangerous incidents that can come along with it.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration initially urged CVSA to create and manage the program, which would operate as a training initiative to educate and prevent overall risks in relation to driver fatigue. FMCSA and Transport Canada are now collaborating with CVSA to bring the program to full force.

Throughout a four-phase, years-long process, medical scientists and sleep analysts within the United States and Canada have worked to implement the North American Fatigue Management Program, which has a variety of methods in place to help finally bring an end to driver fatigue and fatigue-involved crash incidents.

These methods include techniques to identify and treat various sleep disorders, ways to utilize driver fatigue management technology innovations, and support in easily-accessible fatigue prevention training taking place online. Additionally, it includes fatigue prevention education for everyone involved in the transportation process–everyone from driver managers, driver families and spouses, safety managers, and the commercial motor vehicle drivers themselves, to motor carrier executives, motor carrier managers, driver managers, and freight shippers and receivers.

“For the past several years, Canadian and American regulators, carriers, and researchers have worked on the development of a comprehensive approach for managing fatigue,” said NAFMP on its website. “This work has been led by a consortium of government and industry agencies with an interest in developing a more effective means of dealing with professional driver fatigue. The NAFMP Steering Committee agreed to develop a comprehensive FMP that would enhance a carrier’s ability to effectively deal with the challenge of fatigue in a highly competitive, widely dispersed, and rapidly changing industry.”

Additionally, CVSA will work to boost the program and its outreach by offering program information sessions at CVSA conferences and events, hosting steering committee and program meetings to relay program initiatives and improvements, hosting live and pre-recorded question and answer sessions, moderating forums allowing users to ask questions and offer feedback, hosting fatigue management-related webinars and discussions, and offering English, Spanish, and French content to make this information as accessible as possible.

“The multi-year collaborative research to develop, test, and evaluate components of a fatigue management program for commercial vehicle operators has resulted in a thorough understanding of the issues, opportunities, and challenges inherent in managing operator fatigue in a 24/7 motor carrier environment,” explained NAFMP. “The NAFMP was developed through four distinct research, development, and testing phases.”

During phase one, focus groups and motor carriers worked to help in the design of the initiative, with researchers identifying specific fatigue management requirements and creating an effective method of reaching drivers, managers, and dispatchers, with six drivers undergoing initial beta testing.

During phase two, field testing allowed for training and educational materials to be easily assessed and developed, with treatment and screening for sleep apnea being implemented in the program. Six fleets and 38 drivers in Canada began evaluation, followed by eight additional Texas drivers.

Next, 77 commercial vehicle drivers in California, Quebec, and Alberta participated in operational field testing during phase three with findings including positive correlations between reduced critical events and sleep duration and sleep efficiency.

These trends included less fatigue reported in drivers, with improved reported sleep quality on duty days, longer sleep on duty days, a reduction in the proportion of drivers reporting critical events, a significant reduction in critical events per kilometers driven, and duty day improvement regarding sleep duration and sleep efficiency on those days as compared to duration and efficiency in sleep during rest days.

The reduction in drivers reporting critical events had dropped from 46% to 29% during this period, with a 40% overall reduction in critical incidents per kilometer driven.

Finally, phase four involved the creation of the Implementation Manual, training materials, NAFMP website development, and recommended guideline implementation based on all findings from the previous three phases.

Supply Chain Demand Made Worse by Holiday Shopping; Safety Must Still be Top Priority

December 30, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Online shopping during Black Friday and Cyber Monday are still prevalent, but the rush to get those online deals is fading in significance as the major e-commerce boom rages on—one of many impacts brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

For example, between November 1st and November 28th of this year, online spending throughout the United States rose by nearly 14% as compared to the same time period in 2020–reaching a total of $99.1 billion for that month, with November and December’s combined spending expected to reach around $207 billion–a 10% boost from the end of 2020. However, Cyber Monday and Black Friday sales incentives have been dwindling due to supply chain strains.

Additionally, overall discounts for these once-major-sale dates have been diminishing; Adobe noted that average electronic discounts on these days only reached about 12%, as compared to an average of 27% the year prior. Jams in the supply logs and shipping processes of carriers are further exacerbating the issue. Between November of 2019 and November 2021, company out-of-stock messages increased by 258%.

“This is a make-or-break season for aggregators, and whoever has inventory is going to win,” said Goja CEO Walter Gonzales, whose company sells a variety of goods directly on Amazon.

For other Amazon sellers, getting inventory brought into the states efficiently and quickly is as imperative as ever, with Amazon sales increasing by around 50% as compared to last year (particularly for giftable products that are usually in stock).

“Kitchen products are doing very well,” said Pierre Poignant, co-founder and CEO of Branded Group, which sells various home and personal care goods on Amazon’s platform and is selling nearly 50% more products this year than last. “We made investments to make sure we had sufficient inventory for the holidays.”

Although many stores ramped up efforts for the usual holiday shopping rush, the pandemic has made clear that most people prefer to make their purchases–especially for gifts–conveniently online, a trend that’s likely here to stay.

“Physical Black Friday had this aura of craziness because people fought in stores and camped outside,” said Juozas Kaziukėnas, Marketplace Pulse’s founder and CEO. “Now that so much has shifted online, it’s lost its excitement.”

Many brick-and-mortar stores are now turning to increased online options, deals, and shopping incentives to keep up with these demand changes and trends, hitting cyberspace hard in a search for more customers during the holiday season.

“We’re giving away e-gift cards for $5,000, $1,000, and $500!” said Kohl’s in a holiday season tweet. “Follow @kohls, retweet this post, and include #KohlsCyberMondaySweepstakes for a chance to win.”

With online retailers turning to the trucking industry to bring in their needed inventory on time, as well as to ship and deliver their orders, many safety advocates have pointed to the already-challenging shipping bottlenecks that have been taking place during this new era of e-commerce, on top of a long-running and severe truck driver shortage that is making carriers take drastic measures to meet demands.

For instance, some carriers may be willing to bring in younger, inexperienced drivers with much less training in order to have more hands on deck during the holiday season, and truckers may also be feeling so much added pressure to meet their deadlines that they forgo certain safety protocols or drive longer hours with less sleep.

Keeping drivers behaving as safely as possible and ensuring that they are always well-versed in best practices while on the road is of the utmost importance, especially during high-demand seasons in the midst of an already-heavy trend of online shopping continuing throughout the country.

“It goes back to training,” noted Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson. “Just because everyone’s in a rush to get things done, it’s not an excuse to let safety go to the wayside.”

It’s also unfair of carriers to put the pressures of holiday demands on the shoulders of their truckers, he added.

“Often, unsafe trucking companies have unrealistic expectations based on their truckers’ pay and delivery times that it creates a huge incentive to be unsafe, and we can’t have that,” Levinson added.