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Trucking Industry

Truckers Recognized for Safe Driving, But Driver Shortage Still Looms

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116 drivers for J.B. Hunt Transportation Services Inc. are receiving major recognition for having driven one million miles without any preventable accident occurrences.

For the first time, some of these drivers had reached 5 million safe miles, with other drivers reaching between 2- and 4-million miles without preventable incidents. During its Million Mile Celebration, the company celebrated these drivers at its Lowell, Arkansas corporate headquarters. This company event held for safe drivers and their families has taken place since 2011, although recognition for Million Mile drivers began in 1971.

“Our Million Mile drivers represent the epitome of who we want all of our drivers to be,” said president of contract services and chief operating officer of J.B. Hunt, Nick Hobbs. “It’s their unwavering commitment to be the very best at what they do that makes this accomplishment so special. We couldn’t do what we do without them.”

Additionally, these drivers continued company tradition to celebrate this achievement by walking in the Million Mile Walk of Flame–descending four flights of stairs which were filled with other company employees cheering them on. For these drivers who went above and beyond in their attention to safety, the company awarded safe driver bonuses equaling more than $1.6 million.

“We’ve been hosting this ceremony for 20 years, and I believe we’ll be doing it for 20 more,” said John Roberts, the company’s CEO. “The atmosphere is electric. There’s so much excitement to celebrate our drivers and their achievements.”

Now, these drivers will be commemorated on the Million Mile Wall, a wall recognizing all J.B. Hunt drivers who have reached between 1 million and 5 million safe miles. Nearly 4,000 company drivers are listed on this wall.

Although having this many loyal company drivers operating their vehicles so safely is a win for the industry, other trucking experts are worried that safety isn’t enough when the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the ongoing truck driver shortage.

“COVID exposed the underlying reasons for the shortage–an aging workforce with an average age of 55 and an industry that has struggled to recruit younger people or retain existing drivers,” said President of the Colorado Motor Carriers Association, Greg Fulton. “That paradigm left the trucking industry vulnerable to a major unforeseen event, such as the pandemic.”

Fulton explained that trucking was more heavily impacted by the effects of pandemic than many other American industries, especially with so many drivers leaving or retiring instead of continuing on in during this difficult time.

“Has anyone stopped to ask if these drivers would have left if the pandemic never happened?” Fulton asked. “Many of these drivers were among the industry’s most skilled and safest, and maybe they weren’t quite ready to leave the road. Some left due to circumstances such as health concerns or the economy, not necessarily because they wanted to stop driving.”

For some of the older drivers who did leave to be incentivized to return to the industry, Fulton suggests that trucking must be restructured in a way that offers lucrative pay and an adequate lifestyle for them.

“At this point in their lives, many of these drivers want to be home every night, and may find loading or unloading freight a challenge,” he said. “Short routes that allow them to sleep in their own beds at night, and jobs that are less physically demanding–such as drop-and-hook loads with “no-touch” freight–may encourage them to come back.”

Fulton did note that that boosted recognition of truck drivers–especially for their efforts during COVID–have caught the attention of many people throughout the country who may be interested in entering the industry.

“The improved public image of trucking may also compel [the drivers who left] to return,” he said. “The pandemic elevated the importance of truck drivers to the public, and the public is also now more aware of the driver shortage–which on the ground level, may lead to greater appreciation shown to these professionals.”

Still, though, attracting back some drivers who left as well as attracting younger potential drivers needs to be the priority to keep the industry meeting demand.

“Longer-term, we must create a pipeline to fill our future needs,” Fulton said, “This improved public image may create greater interest by younger people to consider careers in trucking. It will take some time, but telling our industry’s story now to the incoming generation–especially in this moment–is vital.”

Drivers Should Have 90 To Replace Their Recalled CPAP Machines, Medical Advisors Recommend

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We recently reported on the recent recall to certain continuous positive airway pressure machines (CPAP machines), which are vital pieces of equipment and treatment methods for those with mild to severe sleep apnea. Sleep apnea of some level affects nearly one-third of truck drivers.

The recall was announced earlier this year by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after it found that debris and harmful chemical exposure during usage of these machines posed a severe health risk to users.

Now, medical examiners are recommended by a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration medical advisory board to offer alternative treatment methods to truck drivers. Examiners are likely to have 90 days to determine which alternative options will be best for truckers afflicted with sleep apnea, and these methods found must offer the same kind of treatment as the Philips Respironics continuous airway pressure machines that are now being recalled nationwide.

“In response to the CPAP recall, appropriate oral appliance usage for certification is accepted for drivers diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea impacted by the Philips Respironics recall,” said the advisory board regarding its recommendations. “This therapy will be accepted until CPAP machines become available again for treatment.”

Still, drivers with untreated and severe sleep apnea are exempt from this recommendation, the medical examiners noted. The review board is still determining the best ways that qualified drivers with obstructive sleep apnea can continue to work and be medically certified to operate their vehicles, when CPAP machines are the treatment method upon which FMCSA has relied for so long.

If obstructive sleep apnea remains untreated, drivers are at a much higher risk for accident or crash as they could become severely fatigued while behind the wheel. Allowing untreated drivers to continue operating their commercial motor vehicles while a new preferred treatment method is found could cause a major public safety risk, board members said.

Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson weighed in on the issue.

“It seems to me that this treatment is something that should absolutely be provided by trucking companies or some sort of government assistance,” he said. “It’s vital that truckers are able to work safely, and if they fall asleep at the wheel, it can cause a lot of harm and it’s a big issue.”

He added that their lifestyles can cause them to be more susceptible to various health problems, so making sure the medical issues at hand are treated in a proper and timely manner is of the utmost importance.

“Truckers have such a sedentary job that it’s hard for them to stay physically fit, so we need to do everything we can to make sure the trucking companies are conducting proper medical testing before drivers are hired and that they can also access the kind of equipment they need, whether it’s these CPAP machines or other devices to stay safe and healthy,” Levinson said.

The medical advisory board is working on ways to offer examiners various methods and opportunities to address the recall for the health of these truck drivers.

“Our goal today is to come together as a group and to develop some recommendations that we can give to the agency that will hopefully be passed along to our medical examiner community and drivers managing this issue,” said board chair Gina Pervall.

This CPAP machine recall has left a clear shortage in the market for sleep apnea equipment, and Philips Respironics explained that it is working to replace the recalled devices as quickly as possible.

“With millions of devices recalled, and many of them used by commercial motor vehicle drivers, Philips’ recall has widespread implications for commercial driver health, highway safety, and interstate commerce,” said American Trucking Associations safety policy specialist, Laura Spector. “As the medical review board is aware, without appropriate treatment options many drivers with obstructive sleep apnea will be out of compliance with FMCSA’s physical qualifications for driver regulations.”

As to how soon a potential solution will be found, Spector explained that many things are still up in the air.

“Notably, there is no clear timeline indicated when individuals might expect their device to be repaired or replaced,” she said, “with some sources estimating it could take up to one year for devices to be fully operational.”

States Have 60 Days to Remove CDLs For Drug or Alcohol Violations, FMCSA Says

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“Currently, most state driver licensing agencies do not receive drug and alcohol program violation information about commercial driver license or commercial learner permit holders licensed in their state,” said the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in a recent statement.

Now, state driver licensing agencies are seeing stricter guidelines being mandated by federal trucking regulators requiring that further oversight must be implemented regarding commercial motor vehicle drivers with previous drug or alcohol violations. After being notified of a drug or alcohol test failure, these agencies must revoke the driving privileges of these drivers within 60 days.

“Therefore, these [state driver licensing agencies] are unaware when a commercial motor vehicle operator is subject to the driving prohibition, and the CMV operator continues to hold a valid CDL or CLP, despite the driving prohibition,” the agency explained.

By making sure drivers are subject to the agency’s driving prohibition, and that state licensing agencies are able to make the determination of whether or not this is the case for each driver, the FMCSA believes this final ruling will close the “knowledge gap” in these circumstances.

The licensing agency still can not “issue, renew, upgrade, or transfer a commercial driver’s license or commercial learner’s permit when a driver has tested positive for drugs or alcohol,” the new rule mandates.

Additionally, state agencies will need to begin the CLP or CDL privilege removal process from the driver’s license within two months after being notified by FMCSA that said driver either refused a test or was found to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol and is thus prohibited from operating a commercial motor vehicle, according to the rule change. 

As of now, there is already a mandate in place requiring that states must review the FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse database for previous driver violations before renewing licenses or issuing new ones.

The agency did indeed decide to extend the time period during which an agency must remove driving privileges from 30 to 60 days after many industry members expressed concerns regarding states’ abilities to downgrade a driver’s commercial license within just one month. Still, the National Motor Freight Traffic Association, along with American Trucking Associations, insisted that 30 days is indeed ample time to notify drivers of the changes in their driving privileges. 

Extending this time period will negatively affect the safety of our roadways, the organizations noted.

“By requiring SDLAs to downgrade the driver’s licensing status by removing the commercial driving privilege, the final rule will also permit all traffic safety enforcement officers to readily identify prohibited drivers by conducting a license check during a traffic stop or other roadside intervention,” said FMCSA.

This privilege removal would be an additional way to motivate drivers to follow mandates necessary for them to return to work, the agency continued.

“Further, SDLAs must remove the CLP or CDL privilege from the driver’s license of an individual subject to the CMV driving prohibition, which would result in a downgrade of the license until the driver complies with return-to-duty requirements.”

Still, many licensing agencies noted that state law requires them to notify a driver directly in regards to an imminent license downgrade, and that the 30-day time frame requirement would not allow for enough time to do so. It also would not provide sufficient time for an administrative hearing to take place before the license action is completed.

Additionally, the time period allotted should be aligned with the downgrading process of medical certifications, which currently allow for 60 days to update the driver’s record in the Commercial Driver’s License Information System and to complete the overall downgrading process. 

Now, states must reach proper compliance with the requirements of the final mandate at hand before November 18th of 2024, the FMCSA said.

“The CDL downgrade requirement rests on the simple, but safety-critical, premise that drivers,” the agency said, “who cannot lawfully operate a CMV because they engaged in prohibited use of drugs or alcohol or refused a test should not hold a valid CDL or CLP.”

FMCSA Praises AV Progress, Although Complete Road Safety is Still Not a Guarantee

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Freight connectivity and safety throughout the United States could be on the precipice of major shifts, according to Meera Joshi, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s nominated leader and current deputy administrator, said during a Senate panel last month.

Self-driving vehicle technology, as well as improved vehicle-to-vehicle communication capabilities, will help to finally boost safety in both the passenger and freight transportation sectors in the most innovative ways yet, Joshi said.

“We are indeed in a time of incredible transition within the industry,” she told the panel. “The transition from mechanical to [artificial intelligence] occurs, but for FMCSA, the mission of safety [being] the number one priority stays the same. So, our challenge is to ensure that our regulations to uphold roadway safety translate into an [artificial intelligence] world.”

FMCSA will focus on stakeholder collaboration in regards to creating a federal framework around the utilization of autonomous vehicle technology, Joshi added.

In regards to trucking, “The principles remain the same,” she said. “And we’re embarking on that work now to stand up a regulatory framework for [autonomous vehicle] trucking so that safety is number one. There is room for innovation so that the crash prevention technology that AI brings can benefit road users and [so that] there are accountability measures [in place], so we understand critical things in an automated world.”

For fleets transporting agricultural materials and livestock, Joshi noted that adjustability is key.

“We must be understanding of the businesses we regulate, and I commit to working with [the senate] and the agriculture and livestock industry to make sure that our rules never undermine safety, but allow them to operate.”

As more and more autonomous vehicle technology has become a major focus of the industry and has come to the forefront of many transportation expert discussions, Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson weighs in, explaining that we may be putting too much reliance on this new technology in hopes that it will be an overarching solution to the industry’s safety concerns.

“I always go back to safety,” Levinson said. “As long as the technology can be properly tested and we make sure safety is the paramount concern, I’m open to technology. I’m open to different autonomous options. But, I want to make sure that we’re not skipping some steps in terms of testing and vetting and making sure that people aren’t harmed.”

In fact, many testing situations have shown that this autonomous driving tech is still nowhere near being completely reliable, and shouldn’t yet be an end-all-be-all answer to driver safety. In fact, it was only a few months ago that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mandated that automakers must report all crashes involving fully autonomous vehicles and partially automated driver-assist systems.

“If we had a very safe autonomous vehicle and it was tested and met strict safety standards, I’m fine with that, but we have to be very careful,” Levinson explained. “There have been too many incidents where they haven’t been safe.”

In a study conducted last year, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that only one-third of all crashes could be potentially avoided if automated systems were operating similarly to human drivers. It was determined that although autonomous vehicles had the potential to spot obstacles and hazards in their path and could avoid them easily, the larger challenge at hand is finding how this technology can bring an end to crashes altogether.

“We’re still going to see some issues, even if autonomous vehicles might react more quickly than humans do,” said vice president of research for IIHS, Jessica Cicchino, at the time of the study. “They’re not going to always be able to react instantaneously.”

Levinson agreed, noting that it’s clear we still have quite a ways to go until this technology can be entirely reliable in keeping our roadways as safe as possible.

“I think we’re a long way away from getting there right now because there are a lot of judgement calls that need to be made in real time that autonomous vehicles, or machines, can’t make,” he said. “Maybe we’ll get to a system that can be closer to being heavily-autonomous, but I don’t think we’re there yet, technologically. I think everybody loves that new shiny object, that technology, that brand-new way to transport people and cargo–but we have to make sure it’s done the right way and in the safest way.”

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

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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.”

Is Advanced Safety Technology Feasible for Vocational Fleets?

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“One of the most important measures of a vehicle in the work truck space is its drive and duty cycle,” said NTEA senior director, Kevin Koester. “These vehicles typically operate in a smaller, defined geographic area, during daylight hours and at slower speeds, and many spend a high percentage of operational hours parked at a work or delivery site.”

Driver safety performance and driver fatigue improvements are on the rise with the ever-increasing adoption rates of driver-assist safety technology within over-the-road fleets, as are equipment uptimes and boosted crash avoidance and prevention.

For vocational vehicles, like those in public transit, utility trucks, and dump trucks, many are in the early stages of their safety tech implementation and will see further adoption as soon as these technology advancements are shown to be “making it easier to incorporate the systems into vocational trucks,” Koester added. He also explained that crash and safety incident-reducing systems like collision mitigation are hard to pass up for these companies, as this tech can “keep more of the fleet mission-capable.”

“The market defines what is successful,” Koester noted. “Features like automatic emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, increased use of camera systems, and simple reverse sensors all are working to reduce incidents and keep the driver and the vehicle on the road” and safe.

Product marketing manager for Daimler Trucks North America’s Detroit hub, Len Copeland, explained that as job site safety demands increase for vocational drivers, these kinds of tech innovations are becoming much more commonplace. For example, the first vocational chassis utilizing the Detroit Assurance suite of safety and driver assistance systems–the Western Star 49X–is now becoming the standard for vocational fleets.

“Uptime is everything in the vocational market,” Copeland said. “With vocational equipment being so specialized, there is not typically a backup vehicle sitting in a compound waiting to go to work Even minor accidents–such as a low-speed, rear-end collision with another vehicle on the way to a job site–can be expensive in terms of lost hours. Entire projects are at risk of coming to a standstill with out-of-commission specialized trucks.”

Because of this, these trucks are seeing the adoption of new safety technology more quickly than ever.

“Safety features and active safety systems are one of the fastest growing options with customers, [and] demand for advanced safety systems is rising among vocational truck users,” Copeland explained.

Still, implementing advanced safety systems can inevitably raise insurance premiums, Mack Trucks construction product manager, Tim Wrinkle, said.

“In general, after factoring in all the costs associated with an accident, preventing even a single accident far exceeds the investment in the active safety features for collision avoidance,” he explained.

Additional crash costs and property damage may also rise dramatically, Wrinkle added, but having that safety tech onboard is still vital. Because vocational trucks spend so long on job sites, those with a dynamic load or a particularly high center of gravity must have electronic stability control.

“We continue to see an increase each year in the number of vocational customers [speculating] Mack [Road Stability Advantage],” he said.

The vocational market has other major differences in comparison to other fleets, added vice president of Navistar Inc.’s vocational truck business, Mark Stasell.

“You not only have to keep the driver safe, but also the people on the job site,” he said. “You might have people pouring concrete, laying forms, or troweling cement, so you have to worry about them [interacting with the truck] in addition to the driver.”

Additionally, vocational trucks not only have two duty cycles of low-speed maneuverability and high-speed lane keeping, but they also have job site-specific duty cycles that differ greatly in each kind of application with various equipment configurations–which can impact the installation of safety systems.

“There are so many different niches of duty cycles that help determine which of these technologies can walk across [to the vocational market]” said director of ADAS and Autonomy for ZF Group’s commercial vehicle division, Dan Williams. “A lot of times, the configuration is varied, like wheelbase, height, [and] windshield angle, which is important for cameras. So, when you look at a lot of these [applications], it’s based on sensors and systems [that need to be] developed for specific sensor locations.”