The holiday season is in full swing and traffic won’t slow down for several more weeks. With more consumers making online purchases, stores are deploying additional trucks to keep up with delivery demands. The increased congestion isn’t the only safety concern on the roads, however. Wintry weather creates snowy and icy conditions, increasing the likelihood [...]
Trucking companies rely on their vehicles and their drivers to remain in business. This puts safety high on the priority list as unsafe habits can damage fleet vehicles, injure drivers, and hurt the company’s reputation. Of course, implementing changes that produce measurable results can be difficult. Fleet managers can’t be with each driver every moment [...]
Truck driving can be an isolating job, and a large number of drivers experience the effects of depression. Other issues contributing to the problem include long hours and uncomfortable working conditions. The fact that truck driving falls among the top eight professions likely to commit suicide underscores this issue. What often starts as burnout can [...]
When a text message alert pings a driver’s phone, the impulse to pick it up and read it is automatic. However, that brief glance away from the road can prove lethal for the drivers who earn their living behind the wheel. Texting while driving is bad enough for passenger vehicles; however, for drivers operating large [...]
In the trucking industry, the most common source of accidents is backing up a long tractor-trailer. The maneuver is difficult and takes years of practice to do well. Even veteran drivers struggle with reversing long tractor-trailers; however, this doesn’t mean fleets have to accept accidents as unavoidable. The damage and related costs of reversing accidents [...]
Truck drivers sacrifice a lot by spending so much time on the road. They are away from their families, often work alone, and work unusual hours to meet shipping demands. This can result in exhaustion, anxiety, and fatigue. With fleets focusing so much on driver safety, they sometimes overlook their drivers’ health. Of course, fleets [...]
Safety is what keeps fleets thriving in today’s competitive environment. However, even though safety is every fleets’ number one priority, the rate of fatal crashes involving commercial vehicles has steadily increased since 2009. The reason why is obvious: a booming economy. As the economy recovered from the recession in 2008, more people starting ordering goods, [...]
Now that school is in full swing across the nation, truck drivers need to adjust to the increased traffic and congestion on the roads. In addition, they also need to remain vigilant and keep an eye out for school buses, teenage drivers, and children walking to and from school. The following are several suggestions for [...]
When various agencies within the Department of Transportation (DOT) release their driver safety reports, they often pull their findings from accident statistics. Their intent is to inform fleet managers of the leading causes of accidents so they can gear their safety policies toward addressing the top risks. The most common risky driver behaviors reported include: [...]
Trucking consistently tops the charts for one of the most dangerous jobs in America. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), police reported 475,000 accidents involving large trucks in 2016. Of those, 104,000 resulted in injuries and 3864 resulted in fatalities. However, while driving commercial vehicles comes with several risks, it’s also a [...]