Driving a commercial vehicle has more safety challenges than a typical desk job. Fleet managers need to familiarize themselves with common safety concerns affecting their drivers. This allows them to implement solutions and strategies to improve safety for drivers and other motorists. The following are the most typical safety issues fleets can expect to encounter: [...]
Fuel represents one of the biggest expenses of operating a trucking business. By focusing efforts on a few key areas, fleet managers can experience a significant uptick in fuel savings. Some of the biggest opportunities for fuel savings include improvements to truck tires, driver behavior, and safety efforts. Reducing Tire-Related Fuel Costs Putting cheaper tires [...]
Truck drivers spend a lot of time on the road, putting a significant degree of stress on their lower back. However, there are many hidden risks that cause debilitating back pain that fleets need to address. Back pain, even slight, affects employee productivity and morale. Drivers that are in pain will need to make more [...]
The trucking stats for 2017 are in and the numbers are grim. Fatalities related to large trucks rose by 9% while fatalities since 2009 are up by a whopping 41%. When a crash involves a large truck and a passenger vehicle, occupants in the passenger vehicle account for 97% of the fatalities. Clearly, highway safety [...]
Every year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) releases their highest priority safety improvements for all modes of transportation. They develop the list by examining accidents, injuries, and lives saved. The following are the biggest changes they hope to see going forward for the trucking industry. Eliminate distracted driving. Many drivers operate under the false [...]
The numbers for trucking fatalities in 2017 are in, and the statistics are grim. Truck driver deaths rose from 786 to 840 from 2016 to 2017, a 6.6% increase. Fatalities caused by large trucks including the motoring public rose by 9% as well, claiming the lives of 4761. Clearly, things need to change. Preventing Injuries [...]
Everyone knows that lower speeds and greater attention to detail help to keep drivers safe in winter conditions (though not everyone follows these simple rules). But there are many other ways to improve safety practices for fleets and owner operators in winter. Schedule expectations, consumer demands, and hours of service (HOS) limitations can complicate matters [...]
The driver shortage has plagued the trucking industry for years as fleets try to woo a limited number of candidates while retaining those drivers they already have. However, many fleets are opting to focus on bailing water out of their ship rather than locating the hole. Identifying the primary issues that led to and continue [...]
Most GPS devices are designed to “ping”, or register their location, regularly. Cost efficient devices typically do so every 60 seconds. Expensive, high-end units are available to provide a more frequent ping. The problem with a 60 second ping, or even a 30 second ping, is that drivers traversing windy roads or areas of high [...]
There is no such thing as a good day for truck equipment to break or fall apart, but some are definitely worse than others are. Truck drivers don’t want to be caught out in frigid temperatures and harsh, wintry conditions dealing with shoddy windshield wipers or a busted defroster—especially when they can take steps to [...]