public safety

Positive Drug Tests in Drivers on the Rise–What This Means for Driver Shortage

October 15, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse has released a new summary report showing that through August 2021, the number of positive drive drug tests has risen by around 13%.

The most commonly-found drugs in these tests were marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamines, the majority of which being for marijuana. For all violations found by the FMCSA, 82% were for positive driver drug tests–a number that has reached 95,740 since the clearinghouse first went into effect in 2020.

Around 70,000 drivers are still in “prohibited driving status” following these positive tests, which has many industry experts worried that those drivers may leave trucking altogether and worsen the long-term driver shortage.

“The greater prevalence of drug testing violations is concerning, and jeopardizes the safety of our roadways,” said spokesman for American Trucking Associations, Sean McNally. “In light of states’ continuing liberalization of marijuana laws, we encourage the federal government to increase attention on research on marijuana impairment, develop a national enforceable impairment standard, and look at ways to develop appropriate levels of highway safety.”

A study on marijuana use and its relation to roadway injury and fatalities was conducted earlier this year by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and found mixed results regarding whether or not marijuana use itself is causing more highway accidents following the continuing legalization of the drug.

“The estimated increases in injury and fatality rates after marijuana legalization are consistent with earlier studies but they were not always statistically significant, and the effects varied across states,” said the institute in its study. “However, this is an early look at the time trends, and researchers and policymakers need to continue monitoring the data. National, state, and local governments considering changes to their marijuana policies should be cautious, proceed slowly, and take note of the lessons learned from these initial experiences.”

However, the data found in this study has researchers still unclear on the relation between recreational marijuana usage and roadway crashes.

“Legalization of the recreational use of marijuana was associated with a statistically significant 6.6% increase in injury crash rates and a non-significant 2.3% increase in fatal crash rates,” the study continued. “In contrast, the subsequent onset of retail marijuana sales–three to 18 months later depending on the state–did not elicit additional substantial increases to injury or fatal crash rates.”

If the legalization of marijuana is causing more drivers to be taken off the roads, it will of course be frustrating to see such changes further exacerbate the current driver shortage. However, the focus here should be steadily on improving overall road safety.

“My take is that there is a driver shortage, and frankly a labor shortage, that we see in many sectors,” said Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson. “We see it in local restaurants, we see it in law firms, and we see it in the trucking industry. But, when the stakes are so high, and when professional drivers are operating 80,000 pound vehicles that can cause such devastating harm, we can’t let safety measures slip.”

Buckling down on these safety measures entails more than just ensuring drivers avoid drug use while on the road, Levinson added.

“This includes ending any driving under the influence of drugs, not hiring unqualified drivers, and not lowering the age for commercial drivers,” he said. “I get that there is economic pressure, and I understand the labor shortages, but the consequences are just too high. There are certainly a lot of industries and businesses I can imagine where the stakes aren’t quite so high in terms of safety and loss where you could maybe lower the standards, but professional driving is not one of those industries.”

With much of the country’s economic wellbeing weighing heavily on the shoulders of truck drivers throughout the pandemic era, some industry experts wonder if that added pressure may be causing them to turn to drug use to work longer hours or stay alert more easily.

“I think there’s a lot of pressure on drivers, and there are a lot of sick drivers, that are given a lot of mandates by trucking companies that almost encourage them to be unsafe, drive too many hours, and cut corners,” explained Levinson. “That’s why we need to be ever-so-diligent in making sure that trucking companies don’t skirt around safety regulations. It’s just that the consequences are so great.”

‘Nuclear Verdicts’–Is This Terminology Offensive to Truck Crash Victims Winning Verdicts? Ken Levinson Weighs In

October 13, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

A recent story in the ABA Journal looked into a personal injury case that “sent a message to the trucking industry” and drew widespread attention. In the case, a semitrailer truck driver avoided a slowed-down passenger vehicle during a rainstorm and caused a pileup, and the article pointed to the latest increase in truck-involved roadway crashes and the verdicts that usually follow.

This article comes as many other similar pieces regarding “nuclear verdicts” make their way through the internet news cycles.

“There’s a huge increase in truck crashes that cause injury and death, and the trucking industry has not done nearly enough to hire safe drivers and train their drivers on avoiding crashes and not harming the public,” explained Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson, when asked for his take on the article. “The trucking companies and their insurance companies have taken verdicts out of context and used them as pure propaganda. They came up with a term–‘nuclear verdicts’–and it’s similar to what the industry has done for decades: using loaded language to impact a jury.”

Levinson explained that this term really holds no meaning, as those injured in these major crashes deserve all the funds awarded to them when they win their cases to pay for items such as medical bills and other expenses.

“It’s really based on a falsehood–these people believe in jury verdicts when the jury sides with them, and frankly, any time a jury awards what it feels is appropriate compensation, they use that as a weapon against victims and survivors of crashes,” he said. “My take of this article and of this case is that they’re using this terminology as a weapon–they always use terms like ‘small mom and pop trucking companies that aren’t able to survive,’ when on the other hand, when there’s any type of legislation to protect victims and increase insurance limits, they oppose those.”

If trucking insurance premium minimums were to increase, more people would be protected against unsafe trucking companies.

“We have minimum insurance when we drive our cars, and right now, the trucking minimums have not increased in decades,” he noted. “They haven’t kept up with costs of inflation, or medical costs, or other expenses that survivors and their families incur. So, they can’t have it both ways. They can’t say trucking companies aren’t going to make it while not requiring more insurance coverage to help victims.”

Even though these trucking companies often complain about any potential rise in premiums, they often aren’t as costly as expected, Levinson explained.

“Don’t they want to help people who were in a catastrophic crash or get killed in a crash caused by one of their drivers?” he asked. “It’s really borderline-obscene to not want to take care of people who are harmed so seriously. I know that for me, if I’m in a car and–god forbid–something happens, I want to be able to take care of the other person. I want to take care of their medical bills, their loss of income, and I want to do the right thing. I’m not sure the trucking industry is so hellbent on doing that. Not all trucking companies feel that way, but as an industry, they’re not willing to help those who are harmed.”

In articles like the ABA’s, attorneys who are quoted regarding these kinds of verdicts often point to juries being desensitized to the large amount of funds awarded in these cases.

“They put one attorney in this article saying that juries aren’t understanding the true value of money, and that’s insulting to hard-working, honest jurors who pay attention and have a different view of a trucking company that harms people,” said Levinson. “It’s belittling, it’s insulting, and it’s shameful.”

When these cases go to a jury, the attorneys representing trucking companies also tend to complain about the little faith they have in the opinions of jurors.

“It’s almost like saying they don’t trust people to vote in a democracy,” said Levinson. “Are elections always won by the best candidate? No, but it’s the best system we have and, similar to a jury system, both sides are represented by very well-experienced, competent attorneys, and they can hire any expert they want to help present their case. Sometimes, the jury might not agree with your side, but but if you believe in the constitution and our system of laws, you must believe in the jury system. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best system in the world.”

Overall, the kinds of terminology trucking companies often use regarding the large verdicts granted in these cases shows that they may not care whether the injured victims get the financial coverage they need and deserve–and worse, that they don’t care whether the safety culture within the trucking industry is finally made to change for the better, Levinson said.

“It’s always interesting how they always use highly-charged terms, like ‘jackpot venture’ or ‘nuclear verdict,’” he explained. “Clearly they don’t want to step up and be held accountable for how their wrongful conduct harms people, instead of taking responsibility and saying, ‘We want to do the right thing and protect people that we’ve harmed,’ they shirk responsibility and come up with these highly-charged terms to taint the system, and that’s offensive.”

Boosted Efforts by New Safety Coalition Aim to End Distracted Driving

October 5, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

A new national coalition will now focus on lowering the number of distracted driving-related accidents throughout the country more strongly than ever.

Various safety organizations launched the National Distracted Driving Coalition as a clearinghouse for state and local safety groups, an effort that will work to progress new legislation related to distracted driving behaviors and boost collaborative efforts that aim to raise awareness into these kinds of risky driving practices.

“Distracted driving kills thousands in the U.S. every year,” said the National Transportation Safety Board last month in a tweet. “During the National Distracted Driving Coalition launch, Vice Chairman [Bruce] Landsberg urged the public, community leaders, and industry to get engaged and involved in the fight to end distracted driving.”

The coalition of more than 100 members will work toward improved enforcement, data collection, and public education as a method of increasing safe driving behaviors.

“Every few hours, a life is lost on the nation’s highways due to distracted driving,” said Landsberg. “In no other mode of transportation would we accept the kind of carnage that we have on our highways.”

Along with NTSB, other main committee groups include the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, American Trucking Associations, the National Sheriffs’ Association, the Governors Highway Safety Association, and the Insurance Institution for Highway Safety.

“We know that ensuring safe driving behavior is key in improving highway safety, and perhaps no action would do more for the cause of safety than reducing distractions for drivers,” said President of ATA, Chris Spear. “America’s truckers see motorists on their phones while driving countless times a day, and if a driver is focused on a text or call, we know they aren’t focused on driving safely.”

ATA also noted the vitality of accurate data in order to properly measure the extent of distracted driving behavior issues. The group also shared that it would prioritize the preparation of legislative briefs to help move along new related bill measures.

“Distracted driving kills thousands and injures hundreds of thousands in the United States every year,” NTSB’s Landsberg added. “States are making some progress addressing this public health problem, but no state has implemented NTSB recommendations calling for a ban on the use of all personal electronic devices while driving except in [the] case of emergency.”

Distracted driving initiatives should also be approached with the same vigor as initiatives working to bring an end to driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, noted Drive Smart Virginia’s executive director, Janet Brooking.

“When we fund impaired driving programs, we should also be funding distracted driving programs,” she said. “When we make strong impaired driving laws with great ease, we should also be able to advance distracted driving legislation.”

StopDistractions.org CEO Jennifer Smith agreed, noting that distracted driving tends to be overlooked when analyzing driver behavior-related accidents.

“When we talk about the rising number of crashes, we hear about speeding, seat belts, and impaired driving,” she said. “But distracted driving is not mentioned. Have we given up? Is it too hard? Is it inconvenient? Why are we not doing as much as were back a decade ago?”

In regards to studies that have been conducted regarding distracted driving, driver inattention is typically directly related to a higher risk of crashing–especially with events that cause a driver to do something physically in the vehicle while looking away from the road, explain Virginia Tech Transportation Institute research scientist, Charlie Klauer.

“We are very proud to be a part of this coalition to assist in this very multi-pronged approach to reduce fatalities and injuries on our roadways that are due to distracted driving,” Klauer said.

Committee member Representative John Carson of Georgia helped pass a cellphone bill in 2018 that called for hands-free phone usage only for a driver in a moving vehicle, and has been working with legislators in many other states to urge them to do the same.

“In addition to state law, what we want to do is change the culture,” explained Carson. “Years ago, driving while intoxicated by alcohol was not as socially taboo as it is today. That’s where we want to get to with regard to distracted driving.”

Although Driving Decreased During Pandemic, Roadway Death Numbers Continue to Rise

September 22, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“We must address the tragic loss of life we saw on the roads in 2020 by taking a transformational and collaborative approach to safety,” said acting administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Steven Cliff.

His statement comes as new data estimates released in early September depict 8,730 car crash deaths occurring in 2021’s first quarter–an increase from the 7,900 deaths reported in the same period of time in 2020.

“These early estimates suggest the driving patterns and behaviors the agency reported 2020–which changed significantly from previous years–continue to prevail and that drivers who remained on the roads engaged in more risky behavior,” explained the NHTSA.

According to the agency, overall traffic deaths rose by 10.5% in 2021’s first three months, although the number of drivers on American roads decreased. The pandemic may have brought about fewer cars on the road, but dangerous behaviors, including speeding, saw a sharp increase during that time–and clearly, they continue to do so.

In fact, overall driving numbers dropped by around 14.9 billion miles–around 2.1%–as shown in preliminary Federal Highway Administration data, but the number of fatalities per 100 million vehicle-miles traveled rose to 1.26 in the beginning of 2021. This is an increase of 0.14 from the same period in 2020.

These numbers point to risky behaviors like driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, failing to wear seat belts, or excessive speeding–things that quickly become more common while roads began clearing up with fewer drivers having to make daily commutes.

“Everyone–including those who design, operate, build, and use the road system–shares responsibility for road safety,” Cliff added. “We are working closely with our safety partners to address risky driving behaviors such as speeding, impaired driving, and failing to buckle up.”

NHTSA’s report doesn’t portray truck-involved deaths specifically, but the number of truck fatalities is included in the figures depicting overall traffic statistics. Early estimates in 2020 showed that although traffic fatalities may have risen by 7%, truck-involved crash deaths themselves did drop by 2%.

“The stay-at-home orders started in mid-March 2020, followed by the first full month of stay-at-home measures that were in effect during April,” explained NHTSA in its report. “During May [of 2020], some states began to reopen in some way while almost all states partially reopened by June. After June, each state continued to adapt [its] local and statewide COVID-19 guidelines and assess specific reopening and potential re-closing efforts accordingly.”

Quarterly estimations of fatality rates and vehicle-miles traveled are divided into monthly estimates for 2020 and 2021 in order to determine the overall crash-related effects of the pandemic era, NHTSA explained.

In 2020, overall vehicle-miles traveled dropped by 13.2%, or 430.2 billion miles, although the fatality rate for that year was 1.37 fatalities per 100 million vehicle-miles traveled (an increase from 2019’s 1.11 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled).

“While Americans drive less in 2020 due the pandemic, NHTSA’s early estimates show that an estimated 38,680 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes–the largest projected number of fatalities since 2007,” said the agency in its report.

Because of the apparent rapid increase in reckless driving and its impacts, this year’s Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Operation Safe Driver Week focused on speeding, despite overall traffic decreasing throughout the entirety of the pandemic. 2020’s road death rate rose by 24% from the year prior, although miles drive fell by 13%, according to preliminary estimates by the National Safety Council. Additionally, this death rate increase is estimated to be the highest year-over-year spike calculated by the council in nearly a century.

“The surge in motor vehicle crash fatalities must serve as an urgent call to action for Congress and the Biden administration,” said Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety president, Cathy Chase. “Requirements and performance standards for proven vehicle safety technology could be saving tens of thousands of lives each year. The needless deaths on our roads must–and can–be stopped.”

Infrastructure Funding in High Demand Following Ida’s Damage

September 21, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“It’s about resilience,” said President Biden in regards to his $3.5 trillion, partisan rebuilding proposal along with another bipartisan infrastructure plan. “Make our roads and highways safer. Make us more resilient to the kinds of devastating impacts from extreme weather we’re seeing in so many parts of the country.”

This discussion comes as both democratic and republican lawmakers are working to find ways to boost infrastructure throughout the country following the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. As the storm ripped through the Gulf Coast and made its way Northeast, it brought with it downed power lines and trees, flooded roads and rivers, and massive damage to various bridges and roadways.

Because extreme weather events such as this are becoming stronger and more common, the nation’s aging infrastructure is no longer sufficient, many Congressional members are claiming. Because the Southeast’s drainage systems were not capable of handling the rain brought about by Ida, storm water was able to make its way into homes and vehicles and kill at least 50 people in the region between Connecticut and Virginia. Another 16 deaths have been counted so far at the hands of Ida throughout Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

“Global warming is upon us,” said Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader. “When you get two record rainfalls in a week [in New York City], it’s not just coincidence. When you get all the changes that we have seen in weather, that’s not a coincidence….It’s going to get worse and worse and worse, unless we do something about it.”

Because of this, many Democrats, along with Schumer, are pushing for Biden’s rebuilding plan–which has a focus on fighting climate change–to be passed, in addition to the nearly trillion-dollar bipartisan infrastructure bill recently passed by the Senate. Still, though, the bipartisan bill may not see much movement until Biden’s package moves forward, although Democrats are hopeful both will be passed by the end of September.

“It’s so imperative to pass the two bills,” Schumer added.

The bipartisan legislation isn’t likely to receive strong backing from Democrats until powerful companion legislation is set forth to progress various left-wing priorities, though. Biden has continued to express his support for the bipartisan bill.

The current plan consists of almost $47 billion to revamp and rebuild bridges, roads, and ports to help them withstand natural disaster-related damage; $60 billion to expand renewable energy usage, build more transmission lines, and boost the country’s electric grid; $66 billion in improve and rebuild railroads; and $110 billion to improve and rebuild roads and bridges across the nation.

It “is going to change things on our streets across the country,” Biden said, calling it a “historic investment” in clean water, clean energy, and universal broadband projects, as well as in the nation’s bridges, roads, and railways.

“If we’re going to make our country more resilient to natural disasters, whatever they are, we have to start preparing now,” added Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

Cassidy, whose state was hit the hardest by Hurricane Ida, has backed the bipartisan bill as a way to bring much-needed improvements to states often affected by hurricanes and other natural disasters. He is serving as a lead negotiator on the bipartisan legislation.

“I’m sure hoping that Republicans look around my state, see this damage, and say, ‘If there’s money for resiliency, money to harden the grid, money to help sewer and water [systems], then maybe this is something we should be for,’” Cassidy said.

The bipartisan bill would be the first legislation allocating money specifically to “climate resilience,” and would be particularly helpful in boosting investments regarding the “future-proofing” of infrastructure to be able to withstand the effects of extreme weather and climate change, noted Eno Center for Transportation senior fellow, Jeff Davis. The bill would also allocate $17 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers and federal flood control projects–an area that has had long backlogs of needed efforts.

Another $8.7 billion would be dedicated to coastal infrastructure and port resiliency project grants through the Transportation Department, in addition to $3.5 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to better aid communities in efforts to lower their overall risk of flood damage.

“We have to start planning for what the future might hold and do modeling that’s going to help us predict what these future risks are going to be,” said Deanne Criswell, Administrator of FEMA. “These threats aren’t going to go away, and we need to start to reduce those impacts.” Criswell added that severe weather storms are going to quickly become a “new normal” due to climate change.

Road Closures and Power Outages are Just the Start of Trucker Challenges Brought by Hurricane Ida

September 20, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Hurricane Ida hit hard, leaving a lot of damage in its wake across the Southeast and East Coast. For truckers, this meant encountering a variety of new obstacles, such as power outages, debris-riddled and otherwise obstructed roadways, or even problems finding enough fuel for their drivers.

“The fact that we have such a huge, massive lack of power in the state has really impacted a lot of the trucking industry, especially if you operate around the city of New Orleans,” said Renee Amar, Executive Director of the Louisiana Motor Transport Association. Hurricane Ida did the most damage along the Gulf Coast–making its initial landfall in Louisiana.

Fallen trees and power lines are still being cleared from the state’s roads, although some major trucking routes along the coast continue to be washed out. For example, truck-heavy Route 26 in George Country, Mississippi is still waterlogged–its initial flooding caused the death of two people.

“Working with the [Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development], our engineer work teams are actively engaged throughout 11 parishes and have assessed 2,112 miles and cleared 403 miles of roadway from Hurricane Ida,” said the Louisiana National Guard in a Tweet.

Interstate 10 in Louisiana, a large freight corridor, is accessible; however, many New Orleans roadways are still heavily blocked from storm debris.

“Those people that are operating are going to have to figure out alternate routes,” Amar continued. “Sometimes, that’s going to be a local highway. Some of those streets may not be conducive to 18-wheelers driving on [them].”

Now, areas left in the aftermath of Ida’s damage are facing major issues regarding local electrical systems, as the storm brought about mass outages, according to Amar–even so much as knocking down a transmission tower. Luckily, many trucking companies in these areas have been able to stay afloat by using their backup generators–although these aren’t necessarily a long-term solution.

For example, a Gramercy-based trucking company was initially able to keep operations moving with its generators, but quickly realized there was not adequate internet connection to meet demands. Low electricity accessibility has also led to a hindrance of the fuel market, Amar explained.

Lafayette-based Dupré Logistics, which offers site logistics, freight brokerage, energy and chemical transport, and other transportation and logistics services, is able to haul fuel without proper electricity–but electricity is indeed necessary in order to pump fuel. Because of this, the company had at least 60 customers that were offline in the beginning of September.

“We are currently being directed by customers on where to deliver…[to] stations that have been assessed and have power or will be getting power via generator,” said Dupré’s director of operations for energy distribution services, Tony Becnel.

Many shippers in other states have seen further difficulty as the lack of fuel accessibility across Louisiana has caused folks living there to search out-of-state for fuel, noted Hal Miller, President of the Mississippi Trucking Association.

“Particularly in the southwest corner, there’s really a challenge there to keep the stations fueled up,” he said. “There [are] only so many trucks and drivers. They’re doing all they can do. It’s just a huge demand in a very small geographical area.”

To help ease the breadth of challenges like these and work toward recovery, agencies have begun issuing relief orders. Jim Gray, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary, signed an order at the end of August calling for a temporary suspension of specific commercial driver restrictions in regards to drivers working to clear roads of storm-caused obstructions, as well as to those working to restore power in areas with outages.

“I’m sure they appreciate some of that relief,” said Rick Taylor, President of the Kentucky Trucking Association. “If the carrier’s not comfortable with the relief, they obviously don’t have to use it.”

Additionally, provisions related to passenger-carrying vehicles and property-carrying vehicles and their maximum driving times were subject to an emergency relief declaration by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This emergency declaration was issued for drivers working to bring emergency relief support and direct assistance within the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas.