Safety

January 20, 2011 - Industry News

LaHood Reaffirms Commitment to Combat Distracted Driving

At an event marking the one-year anniversary of FocusDriven, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for victims of distracted driving, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Thursday reaffirmed his commitment to putting an end to distracted driving

Tags: Safety

January 18, 2011 - Industry News

Cargo Theft Hits New Highs in 2010

Cargo theft rose by 4.1 percent in 2010, to 899 cargo theft incidents (an average of 75 per month) the most ever recorded, according to FreightWatch International, Austin, Texas

Tags: Safety

January 12, 2011 - Industry News

Survey Finds Fortune 500 Companies Prohibiting Employees from Using Cell Phones While Driving

One out of five Fortune 500 companies that responded to a recent National Safety Council survey has a total ban on cell phone use while driving that covers all employees

Tags: Safety

December 28, 2010 - Industry News

Operation Safe Driver finds Speeding Cars Outnumber Trucks Nearly 3 to 1

Law enforcement officers issued more than 8,300 warnings and citations to speeding car drivers, and 1,600 warnings and citations to speeding truck drivers.

Data collected during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's fall Operation Safe Driver campaign showed car drivers show an alarming propensity for speeding around big trucks

Tags: Safety

December 20, 2010 - Industry News

Connecticut Crackdown Nets 28,000 Violations, $3.4 M in Fines

During the first four months of a statewide crackdown on "unsafe" truckers, police in Connecticut have issued 28,000 violations potentially worth more than $3.4 million in revenue for the state

Tags: Safety

December 13, 2010 - Industry News

Report: US Cargo Theft Rate Increases 28 Percent on Holidays

FreightWatch International published its first Holiday Cargo Theft Report, reviewing cargo theft statistics from the seven major holidays in the United States. The report showed a 28 percent increase in cargo theft on a per-day basis compared with the other calendar days

Tags: Safety

November 21, 2010 - Industry News

NETS Study: Strict Enforcement of Cell Phone Bans Boosts Fleet Safety

A fleet safety study recently released by the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety, suggests that companies that strictly enforce their no-cell-phone policies have a lower crash rate than companies with milder enforcement policies

Tags: Safety

November 15, 2010 - Industry News

New Driver Distraction Study Looks at Cell Phone Use in the Cab

New study finds activities like dialing and reaching for phone while driving are more risky than simply talking or listening on phone. (Photo by Jim Park)

The amount of visual distraction is a key factor in whether in-cab technology increases crash risk for commercial drivers, according to a new study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute

Tags: Safety

November 9, 2010 - Industry News

Joint Enforcement Effort in Pennsylvania Gas-Drilling Areas Nets 1,066 Trucks

The Marcellus Shale is attracting a lot of interest from natural gas producers, and from Pennsylvania truck inspectors, too

Tags: Safety

November 5, 2010 - Industry News

Prime Honors 3-Million-Mile Drivers

Prime inc. recently honored drivers Herman Knight and Steve Rowan for achieving 3 million miles of safe driving

Tags: Safety

November 4, 2010 - Industry News

Virginia Adding Truck Parking in Pilot Program

A pilot program in virginia will use undeveloped Virginia Department of Transportation properties as "truck safety rest areas" for truck parking

Tags: Safety

October 29, 2010 - Industry News

Pennsylvania Takes 87 Trucks Out of Service During Seat Belt, Documentation Focus

Pennsylvania State Police placed 87 trucks and 53 drivers out of service during a one-day statewide enforcement effort that focused on seat belt use and proper driver and vehicle documentation

Tags: Safety

October 27, 2010 - Industry News

Shippers Could be Liable in Some Crashes

A shipper could be held liable in court if a crash is caused by a shift in cargo that the shipper loaded, based on a recent appeals court ruling

Tags: Safety

October 18, 2010 - Industry News

Teamwork Key to Operation Safe Driver

FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro speaks during the Operation Safe Driver kick-off event at American Trucking Associations convention. (Photo by Deborah Lockridge)

Enforcement officials across the country this week are cracking down on unsafe fleets, unsafe truck drivers, and car drivers who drive unsafely around large trucks. Operation Safe Driver got an official kick-off during the American Trucking Associations' annual management conference Monday, with FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro, enforcement officials and ATA emphasizing the enforcement and education effort's team approach

Tags: Safety

October 18, 2010 - Industry News

UMTRI: Lane Departure Warning Systems Improve Accident Avoidance

A year-long field test by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and Takata Corporation have shown that an integrated system of crash warning technologies can improve crash avoidanc

Tags: Safety

October 15, 2010 - Industry News

Record Number of Trucks Inspected During Brake Safety Week; Brake OOS Rate Drops

CVSA emphasizes that Brake Safety Week is about education, not just enforcement. Here, a Landstar Brake Safety Week event.

The number of vehicles inspected during Operation Air Brake's "Brake Safety Week" reached a historic high this year, while also showing a significant drop in the number of out-of-service defects for brake components and overall out-of-service defects

Tags: Safety

October 12, 2010 - Industry News

ABS Accounts for 3% Crash Reduction

The use of antilock braking systems on the tractor unit has reduced the number of police-reported crashes for air-braked tractor-trailers by an estimated 3 percent, according to a recent study released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Tags: Safety

October 7, 2010 - Industry News

$63 Million Settlement Reached in Suit Over Oklahoma Crash

The families of eight people killed in a truck crash last year on the Oklahoma Turnpike have settled a lawsuit for $62.7 million

Tags: Safety

October 6, 2010 - Industry News

NTSB: Highway Deaths Fall in 2009

Transportation fatalities in the United States decreased by 9.2 percent in 2009 from 2008, according to preliminary figures released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board

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October 6, 2010 - Industry News

CVSA, FMCSA to Target Aggressive Drivers During Operation Safe Driver

Although substantial progress is being made in driving down commercial motor vehicle-related deaths, enforcement across North America will come down hard on those caught driving aggressively during Operation Safe Driver, October 17-23

Tags: Safety

October 4, 2010 - Industry News

CVSA Recognizes Safety-Minded Enforcement Officials

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance recognized three enforcement leaders who will make up the first-ever CVSA International Safety Team

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October 4, 2010 - Industry News

Study: Mandatory Alcohol Testing Cuts Risk of Alcohol Involvement in Fatal Crashes

A study by scientists at Columbia University found that mandatory alcohol testing programs for commercial truck drivers may have contributed to a significant reduction in alcohol involvement in fatal motor carrier crashes

Tags: Safety

October 1, 2010 - Industry News

Drive Safely Work Week Kicks Off Today

Oct. 4-8 is Drive Safety Work Week, an annual campaign presented by the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety

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September 30, 2010 - Industry News

Mouthpiece Offers Sleep Apnea Treatment Alternative

Truckers with sleep apnea now have access to an easy-to-use sleep-time mouthpiece that's an alternative to the continuous positive airway pressure machine (CPAP) that is the most common treatment

Tags: Safety

September 29, 2010 - Industry News

New Bill Would Mandate EOBRs; Backed by Major Trucking Companies

Five major transportation companies today announced their support for legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) that would require trucking companies engaged in interstate commerce to install electronic on-board recorders in all trucks

Tags: Safety