|
April 25, 2006
Note:
To print this newsletter in its entirety, simply press the print button
on your web browser.
CLICK
HERE to send us your comments about this newsletter.
Headline
News
Gary Olinghouse Instructor at Oklahoma CareerTech Systems Scores 1-Million Plus Miles Safe Driving
|
Gary Olinghouse, Moore, Oklahoma, has been driving 18-wheelers since 1974 without an accident. Olinghouse has been awarded the Oklahoma Trucking Association's One Million Mile Award in recognition of the Sooner's outstanding safe driving record.
Actual records for the veteranover-the-road truck driver and driver-training instructor indicate that |
Gary Olinghouse (left) is honored for his
One Million Mile Award from the Oklahoma
Trucking Association by Robert McClanahan,
director of the Central Tech Center for
Transportation
and Safety Education. |
| Olinghouse has a career one million-nine hundred-fifty thousand miles to his credit. Almost two Million Mile Awards. |
Olinghouse is an instructor in the Oklahoma CareerTech System's Truck Driver Training School at Central Technology Center in Drumright, Oklahoma, where he has been sharing his wisdom and skills with new drivers for the past twelve years.
Olinghouse was employed full time at Oklahoma Tank Lines for four years before becoming an instructor at Central Tech. He continues to drive for OTL part-time on weekends.
“We sincerely congratulate Gary on his million-plus miles safe driving award. As an instructor since 1992 Gary has conveyed his pride and professionalism as a truck driver. He has a sense of humor that makes the training experience at Central Tech fun and meaningful to all students in his classes. Since 1992 I estimate that Gary has touched the lives of over 7,000 students. I thank him for his devotion and professionalism to the trucking industry and to Central Tech,” said Central Tech's Robert McClanahan, director for the Center for Transportation and Safety Education and Truck Driver Training Program.
For more information contact Larry Lehr, larryl@ctechok.org or (918) 352-2551 x219.
Top
How To Wreck Retention - Simple Blunders Can Destroy a Good Program
[A number of years ago] I started working with a trucking company with a severe driver shortage problem. Of its 120 tractors, 40 had been parked against the fence for a year. First, I helped to hire a safety/driver manager, and together we developed an innovative program for hiring and retaining drivers. Within six months the tractors were full. A year after that, the carrier had a waiting list of drivers wanting to hire on.
The safety/driver manager left the company, and new managers took over the recruiting process. They immediately began throwing out much of the recruiting and retention program. A year later, the carrier was back to having 40 open tractors. Here's why:
Top management buy-in is critical . …when the new safety/driver manager was brought in, he implemented many innovative ideas that were at odds with how most carriers managed recruiting and retention.
Management was delighted, but it never clearly understood the link between what the manager was doing and the results. As success bred complacency, senior management began to question whether all the steps and extra expense the safety/driver manager undertook were necessary. Once the manager left, the company let the new manager go back to the “industry way” of doing things. Management never took the time to fully understand the advantages they had built through the years.
Dare to be different . The “industry way” of operating carriers is broken, at least when it comes to driver recruiting and retention. The new manager at this carrier couldn't understand that doing things differently was a virtue.
The biggest headache an operations manager has, for example, is a company driver refusing loads. In the traditional trucking model, the driver should take the load assigned by the carrier no questions asked.
Crete Carriers offers its company drivers a choice of loads whenever possible. Instead of fighting to get drivers to accept the load they were assigned, they recognize that drivers want to have a choice. Crete , by the way, boasts one of the industry's best profit margins and, not coincidentally, driver retention records.
Beware of people trying to save money . One of the new manager's reasons for changing recruiting and retention was to save money. For example, the old manager made sure that the company grossed up a new driver's pay for the first two weeks so the driver achieved at least $500 of gross pay each week. That's not much money to make for two weeks work, but the old manager wanted to make sure the new driver had something to show for his efforts.
This didn't occur all the time, but occasionally it cost the company a couple of hundred dollars. Often this was due to the company not having a tractor ready or a lack of freight. The new manager immediately cut out this practice. In his mind, it was an unnecessary expense.
The problem with cutting expense is that you can measure the amount of money you think you are going to save, but have no measurement of the potential negative impact that “savings” may produce.
Avoid upsetting the equilibrium . Equilibrium occurs whenever something is in balance. For trucking companies to be successful, there must be a balance between the shipments they haul and driver needs. The sales department needs to focus on soliciting freight that fits the company's driver needs. Recruiting needs to find drivers whose needs fit the existing book of business. Dispatch is stuck somewhere in the middle trying to balance it all out.
Whenever one of the pieces gets out of balance, poor results usually follow. Switch from long- to short-haul customers and see what happens to your driver base. Experience major turnover in operations and see if it isn't followed by a jump in driver turnover a few weeks later.
When the company lost, from the driver prospective, a popular manager who recruited many of them, the equilibrium with the drivers got upset. When the new manager implemented unpopular policies, it confirmed the worst fears of the drivers' worst fears.
If a popular manager leaves your company, anticipate that it may cause concern. Now is the time to convince everyone that while an individual leaves, the company continues on as before.
Reprinted by permission, Commercial Carrier Journal, and written by David Goodson Top
DC HazMat Ban Preempted
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has formally announced that federal hazmat transportation laws preempt District of Columbia rules that ban hazmat transport within 2.2 miles of the U.S. Capitol building without a license, which effectively overturned the current ban in place.
The controversy began when the Council of the District of Columbia enacted a temporary ban in February 2005, dubbed the Terrorism Prevention in Hazardous Materials Transportation Emergency Act of 2005. Although that particular act has expired, the Council has since enacted new rules with similar language.
The DC Act bans hazmat transport and vehicles capable of transporting such freight within 2.2 miles of the U.S. Capitol building without a license issued by the District of Columbia Dept. of Transportation. DCDOT was authorized to implement safety measures such as time-of-day restrictions as well as levy a fee for permits.
In 1990, Congress enacted federal hazmat transportation rules, underscoring that uniform regulations were vital to avoid “unreasonable hazards in other jurisdictions and confounding shippers and carriers which attempt to comply with multiple and conflicting…requirements.”
Click here for a copy of FMCSA notice as it appeared in the Federal Register. Top
IME Files for HOS Exemption for Team Drivers
FMCSA has announced that it has received an application for exemption from a requirement in its hours-of-service (HOS) rules from the Institute of Makers of Explosives (IME). IME requests that a member of a driving team who is transporting hazardous materials requiring constant attendance in accordance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and who is using the sleeper berth be allowed to exit the sleeper berth for brief specified periods without being considered ``on duty.'' FMCSA is requesting public comment on IME's application for exemption.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 10, 2006.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments [identified by DOT DMS Docket No. FMCSA-2006-24005] using any of the following methods:
- Web Site: http://dmses.dot.gov/submit . Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
- Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
- Mail:
Docket Management Facility;
U.S. Department of Transportation
400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, Washington , DC 20590-0001 .
- Hand Delivery:
Room PL -401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building,
400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC,
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
- Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov . Follow the online instructions for submitting
Click here for a copy of the application notice as it appeared in the Federal Register.
If you would like any additional information contact David Heller, CDS, Director of Safety at (703) 838-8847 or via e-mail at dheller@truckload.org . Top
Findings Show Accidents Caused By Inattention
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) released its findings that show driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes and near crashes.
The most common distracting activities cited by NHTSA and VTTI are cell phone use and drowsiness while nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the crash.
The 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study tracked the behavior of the drivers of vehicles equipped with video and sensor devices for more than one year. During which time, the vehicles were driven nearly 2 million miles, yielding 42,300 hours of data. The 241 drivers of the vehicles were involved in 82 crashes, 761 near crashes, and 8,295 critical incidents.
In addition, a follow-on analysis to the 100-Car Study has also been released. Focused on the types of driver inattention and their associated risk, key findings include:
- Drowsiness is a significant problem that increases a driver's risk of a crash or near crash by at least a factor of four. But drowsy driving may be significantly under-reported in police crash investigations.
- The most common distraction for drivers is the use of cell phones. However, the number of crashes and near-crashes attributable to dialing is nearly identical to the number associated with talking or listening. Dialing is more dangerous but occurs less often than talking or listening.
- Reaching for a moving object increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by 9 times; looking at an external object by 3.7 times; reading by 3 times; applying makeup by 3 times; dialing a hand-held device (typically a cell phone) by almost 3 times; and talking or listening on a hand-held device by 1.3 times.
- Drivers who engage frequently in distracting activities are more likely to be involved in an inattention-related crash or near crash. However, drivers are often unable to predict when it is safe to look away from the road to multi-task because the situation can change abruptly leaving the driver no time to react even when looking away from the forward roadway for only a brief time.
The background and results of both studies are available on NHTSA's website under Research and Development at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-13/newDriverDistraction.html . Top
Preliminary NHTSA Report Shows More Fatalities
The number of highway fatalities in 2005 was 43,200, more than the 42,636 occurring in 2004, according to a preliminary report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Norman Mineta, U.S. transportation secretary, declared the deaths a “national tragedy” and noted that 55 percent of passenger vehicle occupants who died in 2005 were not wearing seat belts. NHTSA's report projects a fatality rate of 1.46 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT), up from the record low of 1.44 in 2004. NHTSA also found safety belt use is at 82 percent nationwide.
On-highway injuries in 2005 dropped 4.1 percent from the year before. There were 2.68 million injuries in 2005 and 2.79 million in 2004.
The report estimates that highway crashes cost society $230 billion a year, or about $820 per person.
NHTSA also is projecting the following changes between 2004 and 2005:
- Overall alcohol-related fatalities increased 1.7 percent from 16,694 to 16,972.
- Passenger car fatalities dropped 1.8 percent while light truck occupants killed increased by 4.3 percent.
- Pedestrian deaths increased slightly, from 4,641 to 4,674.
- Fatalities from large truck crashes increased slightly from 5,190 to 5,226.
- Vehicle miles traveled are projected to increase slightly to 2.964 trillion, up from 2.963 trillion in 2004, according to the DOT's Federal Highway Administration.
- The number of registered vehicles increased from 238 million in 2004 to 243 million in 2005.
NHTSA collects the crash statistics from 50 states and the District of Columbia to produce the annual report on traffic fatality trends. The final 2005 report, pending completion of data collection and quality control verification, will be available in late summer. Summaries of the preliminary report are available on the NHTSA web site at: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/PPT/2006/810583.pdf .
For additional information on these or other regulatory issues, please feel free to contact David Heller, CDS via e-mail at dheller@truckload.org or phone (703) 838-8847.
Top
Act Now On I-81 Toll Issue
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is currently considering a plan to improve Interstate 81 in Virginia . The plan under consideration includes imposing truck-only tolls on I-81. Tolls would have a negative impact on the trucking industry, businesses and economy of the I-81 corridor. They would create diversion onto other roads and hurt the economic competitiveness of the region.
The American Trucking Associations and the Virginia Trucking Association are working to oppose tolls on I-81 and we need your help. Until April 29, 2006, VDOT is accepting letters and comments from the public regarding improvements to I-81. We are asking you to please take a minute of your time to e-mail a short message to VDOT asking them to not put tolls on I-81. We have written several letters to make it easier for you, and you can customize each letter to better express your opinions. To learn more about this issue and to send an e-mail to VDOT opposing tolls, please go to:
http://www.truckline.com/issues/alliancefortruckingadvocacy/i81action
We must send a strong message that we oppose tolls on I-81. Please consider forwarding this e-mail to all of your employees, other businesses and organizations in the area and concerned citizens, and encourage them to visit our website to send an e-mail to VDOT.
TCA asks that you support the American Trucking Associations and the Virginia Trucking Association in their efforts. If we work together to get our message heard, we can make a difference.
Top
Scholarships Now Available – May 22, 2006 Deadline
Truckload Carriers Association Scholarship Applications are now available for distribution to your employees or independent contractors. Any rising junior or senior attending an accredited four-year college or university and who is affiliated with a trucking company is encouraged to apply.
To obtain a scholarship application, please visit the TCA website at www.truckload.org and click on the scholarship button on the left on the homepage, or contact Nancy O'Liddy at 703-838-1950. The deadline for receipt of applications is Monday, May 22 , 2006. If transcripts are not yet ready to enclose with your application, you may send them as soon as they are available.
Last year, the TCA Scholarship Fund awarded nearly $40,000 in scholarships to individuals who showed financial need, earned a GPA of 3.3 or better , had an excellent scholastic record, maintained full-time status and were individuals of high character and integrity. Please note that students pursuing transportation and business degrees will be given special consideration. Scholarships are awarded without regard to sex, race, color, national origin or religion and all forms must be typed. This is an excellent benefit for you to offer to your employees or independent contractors and their family members.
Top
|