FMCSA Administrator Gets Glimpse of Life on the Road
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Scott Darling last week got a taste of life on the road when he went for a ride with Women In Trucking Association’s Stephanie Klang, a professional driver for truckload carrier CFI based in Joplin, Missouri.
Administrator Scott Darling and professional driver, Stephanie Klang.Photo courtesy Women in Trucking
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Administrator Scott Darling and professional driver, Stephanie Klang. Photo courtesy Women in Trucking
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Scott Darling last week got a taste of life on the road when he went for a ride with Women In Trucking Association’s Stephanie Klang, a professional driver for truckload carrier CFI based in Joplin, Missouri.
Administrator Darling met Klang, and WIT CEO, Ellen Voie, at a TA truck stop in Foristell, Missouri, where he embarked on a two-day trip ending in Oklahoma City. Darling rode with Klang to the CFI headquarters, where he was able to observe a truck inspection from the undercarriage. He was then given a tour of the facility, including the maintenance and repair facilities, customer service and operations areas as well as the recruiting areas.
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“It was an honor to show FMCSA Administrator Darling that we are absolutely committed to safety on the highways and share with him that at CFI we walk the talk,” said Randy Cornell, CFI VP of maintenance.
Klang said she talked to Darling about discussed ELDs, speed limiters, safety techniques, and other everyday driver concerns.
“This ride-along was another fantastic opportunity to obtain first-hand, on-the-road perspective of some of the challenges facing today’s professional drivers from an incredibly talented female driver with more than 3 million miles of accident-free experience,” Darling said, according to a WIT press release.
Klang has been driving since January 1980 and a professional driver for CFI for the past 29 years. She has more than 3 million safe driving miles with the company. She has been a captain on the ATA America’s Road Team and currently serves on the Women In Trucking Image Team.
This isn't the first ride-along WIT has organized for government officials. Others have included U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), Congressman Reid Ribble (R-WI), and former NTSB Chair Deborah Hersman, as well as CRASH safety advocate Ron Wood (you can read about Wood's drivealong here).
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“Our goal in providing ride-alongs to our regulators and legislators is to give them the opportunity to experience a driver’s life in the cab of a truck,” said WIT President Ellen Voie. "We wanted Administrator Darling to learn from Stephanie and to better understand the challenges a driver faces on the road each day, and to see it from a female driver’s perspective."
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