public safety

COVID-19 Brings Big Changes to Travel Safety and Tourism in America

August 10, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Traffic and safety numbers and trends have seen many changes due to shelter-in-place orders since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak.

According to Road Ecology Center at the University of California-Davis’ co-director, Fraser Shilling, traffic volumes have seen a sharp decline since stay-at-home mandates were implemented. Traffic has decreased nearly 80% since March. In California, numbers are only now starting to move back toward any normalcy.

Other counties throughout the country have seen varying effects. In San Francisco, miles traveled per day declined quickly when the Bay Area issued its shelter-in-place order in March–those numbers are still notably low. In Kern county and Siskiyou county, miles traveled also decreased significantly but have since begun to slowly return to normal levels.

Throughout the rest of California, locals saw fewer crashes and highly-improved air quality. Sacramento regional hospitals had a 38% reduction in vehicle-related injuries as well as a 46% reduction in pedestrian and cyclist-related injuries.

When Virginia’s state of emergency was announced in March, traffic volumes decreased rapidly, as well. According to data and system analysis manager for The Virginia Department of Transportation, Sanhita Lahiri, traffic numbers dropped steeply in the northern region of the state, but did not decline nearly as much in Lynchburg–an area where numbers began to increase again much sooner than most of the state.

However, Lahiri said she sees commercial motor vehicle traffic staying the most consistent of any vehicles on the road.

“After [the emergency declaration], the decline kept on happening until it reached a trough around mid-April and then gently started ticking up,” said Lahiri. “The trucks kept continuing because of all the deliveries happening around the state. Truck traffic took some time to go down, and then it didn’t go [down as much] as the rest of the vehicles. It’s creeping back up.”

North Carolina also experienced a major decrease in crashes. The state saw a sharp decline in multi-vehicle crashes–70%, to be exact–between March and April. The state also had a 30% decrease in single-vehicle crashes throughout the same time period., according to North Carolina Department of Transportation’s traffic safety project engineer, Daniel Carter.

“For North Carolina, that has been a significant impact for NDOT across the board,” explained Carter. “That has been a very serious hit to our revenue. The drop-off in miles traveled and the drop-off in the fuel tax revenue is hitting us pretty hard.”

Another serious revenue hit? Tourism.

Overall travel spending throughout the country has been predicted to drop by 45% by the end of 2020. Domestic travel is expected to decrease by 40%–from $972 billion in 2019 to $583 billion in 2020. For international inbound spending, numbers are predicted to drop by 75%–from $155 billion to just $39 billion.

U.S. Travel is calling this The Great Travel Depression. With an economy in recession, the travel industry as a whole is experiencing its own depression. Travel industry unemployment is up by 51%, which is double the unemployment rate of the heaviest-hit year during the Great Depression.

Although the travel economy throughout the United States saw progressive expansion in mid-June, it is still 55% below levels of the same time period in 2019. Overall, the COVID-19 crisis has brought $250 billion in cumulative losses thus far.

States without large metropolitan centers, like Alabama and Mississippi, saw travel economy improvements in late June, but other states saw further decline, like New York. Hawaii, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia, which had overall declines of more than 70%.

Additionally, the extremely low level of travel spending has cost $32 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue losses.

Destinations Analysts has found that a major factor in the continuation of travel decline is rooted in Americans’ perceptions of travel activity safety, which has worsened over the end of June. Many business and leisure travelers have completely changed their readiness to travel–which had started to rise just a few weeks prior.

Many are also not ready for tourists to enter their towns–57% of survey respondents said they did not want local visitors in their communities due to a lack of pandemic-related etiquette. Those not wanting any new visitors generally stated that they were less satisfied with the behavior of businesses and residents in their areas while the economy has begun to reopen.

Positive Changes for Trucking Amid the Pandemic

August 7, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, trucking companies have been looking for ways to adapt and innovate to the changes the industry has faced.

In a recent survey by the American Transportation Research Institute and the Owner Operators Independent Drivers Association, data showed that about 80% of survey respondents, who were either small fleets or independent owner-operators, did not have a business plan ready for the major changes brought on by COVID-19.

“I think going forward, it would behoove everyone in the industry to think about what lessons we learned and how can we document that in our research and in [trucking] operation,” said ATRI president and COO, Rebecca Brewster. “How can we make sure, going forward, [that] this has less of an impact on us as an industry and as we service the nation’s needs?”

At the early June WorkHound webinar regarding long-term transportation changes amid the current health crisis, Brewster also added that a positive change for ATRI has been the “tremendous amounts of data” benefiting the industry as it progresses.

For some trucking companies, virtual on-boarding processes and paperless driver bill of ladings have lowered the need for in-person interactions so that employees and truckers can continue social distancing. Bay & Bay Transportation‘s director of operations, Jackie Giefer, said these changes are going to become a permanent part of her company. She also said she wants light to continue being shone on safer truck driver parking throughout the country following the protocols put in place from this pandemic.

“Our company has probably gone through more change over the past two months than we probably ever have,” said Frank Hurst, president of Roadrunner Freight. “We deployed technology to allow our folks to work from home. We reorganized our entire sales team during this process, as well. We really went from a customer-facing force to a virtual sales force in a matter of days.”

Permanent at-home work situations seem to be growing across many companies.

“Many things have changed for us,” said U.S. Xpress chief people officer, Amanda Thompson. “The biggest change is that today, our office staff is almost entirely operating from home. U.S. Xpress has moved from less than 1% of office employees working from home to more than 95% of office employees working from home. This was put in place in an extremely short period of time.”

U.S. Xpress has recently implemented methods of working with drivers to overcome pandemic-related obstacles.

“We are also increasing our use of technology to help support our drivers who clearly cannot work from home,” Thompson continued. “We have added new features to our in-cab technology, including visibility of roughly 40,000 tractor-trailer parking locations.” The company also added a feature for in-cab devices to locate grocery stores so drivers can find meals more easily.

The company has also deployed safety-centric tools for delivery drivers, said Thompson.

“We’ve worked to make the delivery process as frictionless as possible for [drivers] by attempting to digitize forms for them and our dedicated accounts. This builds on our efforts to streamline and improve efficiencies for both our drivers and customers,” she said.

Although proving difficult, this particular time is one of exciting, positive change, said chairman and CEO of TransLand, Mark Walker.

“Out of every one of these crisis situations comes wonderful opportunities for innovation, and we are seeing that across the board,” he explained. “The words ‘agility’ and ‘resiliency’ come to mind. We had to turn on a dime. All of a sudden, we had more employees capable of working from home. In two weeks’ time, we went from having our on-call people able to work from home to having virtually 100% of our office staff able to work from home.”

For Bay & Bay, company culture has also seen a positive boost, and Giefer says the company’s staff has actually become closer than ever.

“Our drivers are invaluable, and they are leaning on us every day now,” said Giefer. “They don’t get to sit and chat in truck stops with one another and share their experiences; they’re staying in the trucks. Now, they are calling us and telling us what’s going on out there. We are really staying in touch with our drivers. It has really pulled us all together as one big family.”

More positive outcomes, according to Brewster, are that the entire country has been focusing on the value of truck drivers, and that less detention time, and better overall treatment for truckers, have come to the forefront.

Last-mile delivery is also likely to become a huge part of the supply chain, as customers rely on receiving goods in a timely manner–which will give a boost to manufacturers, distributors, and the rest of the supply chain. The Paycheck Protection Plan has become a “tremendous safety net that helped alleviate a lot of anxiety and fear” for smaller businesses, according to TransLand’s Walker.

FMCSA Gives Truckers One Million Masks During Pandemic

July 20, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is helping in the distribution of one million protective face masks to truckers throughout the country.

“We have all seen the incredible efforts that the nation’s commercial drivers are making each day to deliver goods and supplies to homes, businesses, and hospitals throughout America. With the help of our state partners and the motor carrier industry, these protected masks will help truckers remain safe and healthy while they continue to maintain our nation’s supply chain,“ said Jim Mullen, Acting Administrator for FMCSA.

The agency announced this initiative as a partnership with other industry groups, state representatives, and motor carriers. Masks have been provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“Under Secretary Chao’s leadership, the Department of Transportation has been supporting America’s truckers during this challenging time.” Mullen explained.

The FMCSA and its collaborators on this effort have planned to distribute 800,000 masks to truckers in: Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, New York, and Texas. The remaining 200,000 masks will be sent directly to motor carrier companies to give to their drivers.

“[American Trucking Associations] is pleased to be working with FMCSA and our state associations to help distribute masks to professional drivers,” said Sean McNally, ATA spokesman. “Access to [personal protective equipment] is an important part of keeping our supply chain and economy running, and we would like to thank Acting Administrator Mullen, Secretary Chao, and President Trump for their efforts to keep our drivers safe and healthy.”

FMCSA distributed 50,000 masks through the month of April in Illinois by working with the Illinois State Police and the Illinois Trucking Association. Distribution for these masks was set at travel center Lincoln Oasis (located at an overlap of interstates 80 and 294).

“Face masks have been difficult for many drivers to find, especially with Illinois’ new requirement for face coverings in public,” said Matt Hart, Illinois Trucking Association executive director. “These masks will provide truck drivers with additional protection during the coronavirus pandemic while they safely deliver the groceries and medical supplies that Americans need each day.

Mask distribution is also taking place in New York within heavily virus-stricken areas, such as the Bronx, Staten Island, and Sloatsburg Rest Area. In California, mask distribution is located at eight California Highway Patrol Field Divisions and at two additional points outside of Los Angeles.

“We thank the FMCSA for helping to protect the health of our nation’s truck drivers as they continue to deliver essential goods,” said Shawn Yadon, California Trucking Association CEO.

Additional areas of mask distribution include: the Social Hills Rest Area at Interstate 30 East/West and mile marker 93 in Arkansas, Interstate 75 Southbound at mile marker 179 in Georgia, rest areas at Interstate 70 Westbound (mile marker 107) and Eastbound (miler marker 65), Interstate 65 Southbound (mile maker 150) and Northbound (mile marker 72), and Interstate 94 Westbound (mile maker 43) in Indiana, Goehner Truck Parking Area Interstate 80 at mile marker 375 Westbound and Melia Hills Rest Area Interstate 80 at miler marker 431 Westbound in Nebraska, and Interstate 35 Northbound at mile marker 362A, along with multiple inspection facilities, in Texas.

In addition to these efforts, the FMCSA says it has taken further action in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to help support the country’s trucking industry and supply chain by releasing guidance regarding restrictions on movement–including shelter-in-place orders, as well as a guide regarding essential workers.

The guidance explains that essential workers include “employees supporting or enabling transportation functions,” including truckers, bus drivers, dispatchers, repair technicians, warehouse workers, truck stop workers, and rest stop workers, as well as DMV employees, towing services, roadside assistance workers, railroad employees, and maintenance crew. These workers, according to the guidance, should keep in mind that “truck drivers delivering needed supplies should stay in their vehicles as much as possible as supplies are loaded and unloaded,” as well as avoid being within six feet of others, and to use electronic receipts when possible. If truckers must stay in restricted areas to rest, “they should wash their hands frequently and practice social distancing to the extent possible.”

Click here for a full list of mask distribution areas, and here for more information on this guidance and what else FMCSA is doing to help trucking efforts in the pandemic.

U-Haul Refuses to Hire Nicotine Users

January 30, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Starting February 1st, U-Haul will no longer bring any nicotine users onboard.

In a recent announcement, the moving and truck rental company said it will now refuse to hire nicotine users in the 21 states which legally allow that decision–citing the desire for a “healthier workforce” as the reason.

This nicotine-free policy is possible in states without protections for the rights of smokers. However, it won’t apply to employees hired prior to February.

In a news release, company chief of staff Jessica Lopez said U-Haul will be working toward fostering an overall new “culture of wellness.”

The states in which the new policy will take affect include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

Prospective applicants in these states, which allow companies to choose not to hire job seekers using nicotine, should expect to find information on the anti-nicotine policy on their applications and to be questioned about their use of nicotine, U-Haul said. In states where testing is allowed, applicants may also have to undergo nicotine screening to be hirable.

U-Haul said it is striving to encourage wellness among its employees, and is working on a new fitness center in one of its Arizona locations, as well as multiple wellness and fitness programs.

The company currently employs over 30,000 people throughout North America and will work toward helping its current nicotine-using workers with cessation assistance.

“In our continued efforts to enhance our wellness program and decrease health care costs, we have become more aware of the medical side effects of using nicotine and tobacco products,” said Lopez.

These products include vaping tools and e-cigarettes, in addition to traditional cigarettes, according to the policy. U-Haul company officials have also explained their inspiration from hospitals and other health-conscious businesses which are implementing nicotine-free hiring methods.

Alaska Airlines has had a no-nicotine policy in place since 1985 in order to help keep health care costs and health consequences lower.

U-Haul’s decision to follow suit comes soon after President Trump signed legislation raising the minimum age of those purchasing any tobacco or vaping products from 18 to 21.

However, while public health experts may be pushing for smoke-free lifestyles, they are torn on whether or not companies and employees will benefit from the new policy.

Michael Siegel, professor of community health services at the Boston University School of Public Health, said that U-Haul’s policy is misguided in terms of its approach to furthering wellness, as those who are addicted to nicotine may have trouble quitting and opt for nicotine-infused gum, patches, or lozenges. Nicotine replacement treatment is able to appear in nicotine-screening urine tests.

“Essentially, what that means is if you quit smoking and start using nicotine patches or nicotine gum or electronic cigarettes, you are not eligible to work for that company if you’re using nicotine replacement products,” he explained.

According to a survey by the Food and Drug Administration, around 7 percent of smokers can successfully quit smoking for at least six months to a year; however, the Mayo Clinic found that over 30 percent of smokers can quit fully with the help of a nicotine-replacement product.

“There are a lot of vices out there, and [these workers] have just chosen this one thing,” said Siegel. “[Banning it] is just kind of inappropriate.”

Lynn Kozlowski, University of Buffalo School of Public Health and Health Professions professor, wants U-Haul to note that some nicotine-infused products are more harmful than others–like cigarettes and cigars as opposed to smokeless tobacco.

Products like smokeless tobacco and nicotine products for vaping are less likely to contaminate public workplaces or affect work performance. Banning all nicotine products together causes U-Haul to look as if its policy is based on morals rather than health, Kozlowski argued.

“I bet if U-Haul were to look at [its] corporate office, [it has] a coffeepot going most of the time and people addicted to caffeine,” he said.

This begs the question, where does a trucking company–or any employer–draw the line between raising reasonable health standards and being intrusive?

According to Kevin Schroth, associate professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health, the company’s new rule could be deemed unfair to those who have fallen victim to the tobacco industry’s strong advertising techniques–which are aimed heavily at young people.

As of now, said Kozlowski, U-Haul’s policy announcement does not have nearly enough clarity for full scrutiny.

Who Pays When a Scooter Hits a Pedestrian?

July 22, 2019 by Danylo Terleckyj Leave a Comment

Have you ever read your entire auto insurance policy? It’s become a joke in the digital age that people click “Agree” whenever they encounter “Terms of Service” online without ever reading a word of what they just signed off on. This could be because these policies are written in such a way that they are difficult to understand. They are also, admittedly, pretty boring. Insurance declaration pages are no different. These documents are sometimes many pages long and can require some background knowledge to fully understand.

Insurance policies are contracts between the person buying insurance and the company providing coverage. The consumer pays a premium and the insurance company agrees to pay a claim incase an incident occurs, such as a car crash or house fire. Even with highly trained, experienced lawyers drafting these agreements, disputes can arise about what the words in an insurance policy really mean. A somewhat famous contract dispute case in Canada in the mid-2000’s resulted in a phone company losing a million dollars over a misplaced comma.

So, when non-lawyers enter into a contract to buy insurance from one of the multi-million dollar insurance companies that advertise all over the media with their amusing animal mascots and memorable jingles, there’s a good probability that they don’t read what they are signing, or they aren’t sure what some of it means.

The new motorized scooter companies popping up all over major cities throughout the U.S. in the last few years are taking a different approach altogether. They really aren’t providing any insurance coverage at all. Therefore, if a person rents a scooter and hits a pedestrian, they may not be covered.

A person injured by a negligent scooter rider will inevitably have medical bills they need to pay. If that person has health insurance, depending on the nuances of the coverage, and the deductible amount, hopefully the net, out-of-pocket cost of treatment will be relatively small compared to the total amount of the bills. That doesn’t account for potential lost wages, pain and suffering, disability, or loss of normal life.

When you rent a car, you might be covered by your own insurance policy if you opt-out of the one provided by the rental company. If you’re hit by a car as a pedestrian because the driver was negligent, for people who purchase car insurance in Illinois, you can turn to the un-insured motorist coverage of your auto policy to recoup your damages if the driver was uninsured. Since scooter renters generally aren’t getting the option to buy coverage to take advantage of this new transportation fad, if they happen to hit a pedestrian or cause damage to a car, they’ll most likely have to pay the damages out of pocket. If they don’t have the money or assets to do so, they may be able to discharge their obligation to pay if they file for bankruptcy, leaving the victim to eat the cost of a harm they did not cause themselves.

The solution, of course, is for the scooter companies to provide insurance for their riders. Like the terms of service in the rental agreement itself, people may not read those policies. However, if something happens, victims of crashes won’t be left to pay their own bills. If the companies don’t decide, out of the kindness of their hearts, to voluntarily provide insurance coverage, legislators, either on a local municipal level, or in state capitals, should require them to do so.

As technology changes and new ways to get around start popping up, we have to make sure that lawmakers and the insurance industry fill gaps where we may not have anticipated them before. If this delays progress, so be it. Transportation should be reasonably regulated and as cost efficiently as possible to increase safety and to make sure there is a way to compensate people who are hurt if someone is negligent in operating a vehicle no matter how big or small it is.

As Nationwide Pedestrian Deaths Increase, Chicago Experiences a Decrease in Fatalities

June 27, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

With much of Chicago now thinking about how to make certain that the city’s new pilot scooter program runs smoothly without any incidents, in addition to already navigating Divvy bikes and ride-share throughout the city, it is easy to forget that pedestrians make up a large portion of the traffic in the city. While accidents involving bicyclists having recently been widely covered in the news, we must remember that a incredibly high number of Chicagoans are walking to and from work and school each day, especially centrally located within the loop. The good news is that between January 1^st and May 31^st of 2019 the number of pedestrian deaths decreased 40 percent year over year. As the United States has been experiencing record highs in pedestrian deaths, with a new report by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reporting that “about 6,227 pedestrians were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2018 – a 4 percent increase over 2017 and the highest mortality rate since 1990.” While those statistics present a scary reality for many commuters across the United States, it is good to see that Chicago has been able to limit the damage that having such a high population of individuals commuting within a city can pose.

On the other hand, those in Chicago must be aware that the city is going to be out in droves now that Summer is here, and Chicago residents can finally enjoy summer. Unfortunately, as we all know, the more people are outside and trying to enjoy the good weather and see what the city has to offer in its warmer months, the more potential there is for accidents to occur. With that being said, it is clear that certain measures can and should be taken by pedestrians to ensure they are safe from dangerous drivers and other commuters. According to the National Safety Council (NSC) has reported, those most at risk based on data from 2017 were “10- to 14-year-olds and 50- to 69-year-olds have 20% or more pedestrian deaths as a percentage off all traffic fatalities.” In response to these statistics, the NSC has provided a list of tips that pedestrians should be following when it comes to staying safe walking. See below for the list:

Whenever possible, walk on the sidewalk; if not sidewalk is available, walk facing traffic
Follow the rules of the road, obeying all traffic signs and signals
Cross streets at crosswalks
If no crosswalk is available and your view is blocked, move to a place where you can see oncoming traffic
Look left, right and left again before crossing the street, making eye contact with drivers of oncoming vehicles to make sure they see you
Stay alert – avoid cell phone use and wearing earbuds
Avoid alcohol and drug impairment when walking
Wear bright and/or reflective clothing, and use a flashlight at night
Watch for cars entering or exiting driveways or backing up in parking lots
Children younger than 10 should cross the street with an adult

Of particular note is safety tip number 6 provided above. As we all know, cell phones are prevalent in every aspect of our lives. Walking to and from work is no different. Similar to how distracted driving is a leading cause in automobile crashes, being distracted while walking is incredibly dangerous and the amount we see it each day is alarming. In response to distracted walking and the issues it poses for not only the individual’s safety, but placing driver’s in poor situations as well, some cities have started enacting laws that aim to curb this bad habit and provide people with tickets if they are seen crossing a sidewalk while being distracted on their cell phones. Although this may appear extreme, many cities are finding that this is absolutely necessary to maintain pedestrian safety. Overall, the lesson we can learn from these alarming statistics is that we must be aware in our morning and evening commutes and we must put our phones away. If we expect drivers to take precaution to prevent injuries from occurring, let’s do ourselves a favor and keep the phones out of our hands while we are walking.