The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CSVA) conducts a 72-hour annual International Roadcheck each year - this year it's June 4-6. Roadcheck focuses on a specific safety element or category each year that affects all trucking companies. This year, CSVA is focusing on steering and suspension. These components are vital for supporting the heavy loads that [...]
Fleets invest a lot of time and energy into ensuring their drivers’ safety. While this often means adhering to safety regulations, following the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA’s) rulings is just the tip of the safety iceberg. Truck drivers themselves are a great source for revealing safety issues that affect them on a regular [...]
Distracted driving makes headlines for obvious safety reasons. Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) drivers that eat, text, or place calls while behind the wheel have their attention pulled in several directions. Their focus is split between the road and what’s in their hands, both of which make them less able to react to what’s going on [...]
Truck drivers have a lot to juggle when it comes to roadway safety. With numerous regulations, changing laws, fatigue, and more, it’s easy to overlook external threats. People outside of the truck cab can incapacitate the vehicle with disturbing ease—intentional or not. The following are three of the biggest external threats that can compromise truck [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Since introducing the electronic logging device (ELD) regulation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has experienced pushback from independent drivers and fleets alike. However, when looking closely at their concerns, the problem lies more with the existing hours of service (HOS) regulations rather than the ELDs themselves. FMCSA requested comments regarding this issue, and [...]