The Truckload Carriers Assn.'s Truckload Academy is sponsoring an audio conference, entitled "Controlling Accident Costs," geared toward CEO's, safety directors, operations directors and fleet managers.

The audio conference will take place on Thursday, Oct. 17, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT.
Carriers have been encouraged by insurers to take on higher deductibles and to assume more in-house risk in exchange for lower rates on the premium portion of their insurance coverage. With higher deductibles, however, the cost for the losses comes right out of a carrier's bottom line. The only answer is for carriers to manage their safety performance as tightly as their fiscal performance, according to the TCA.
Carriers do not have accidents; their individual drivers have accidents. A carrier that does a good job screening, monitoring and managing the performance of its drivers will have fewer accidents and thus will control costs that affect its bottom line.
In this audio conference, participants will have an opportunity to learn how to manage the driver performance factors that lead to accidents and develop a safety management performance system within a company's operations. Participants will gain information that can be implemented to their operations immediately and have an opportunity to ask questions that directly affect their operations and much more:
-- What are the common pitfalls in screening drivers that lead to driver-caused accidents? How can you avoid these pitfalls?
-- What performance measures should be built into a driver monitoring process to determine at-risk drivers?
-- What types of refresher training can be put into action in "targeting" at-risk drivers before an accident occurs?
The panel of speakers for the audio conference has real-life experience in all the above issues and will provide valuable information on the best way to improve your bottom line with regard to accidents.
The cost to participate in the audio conference, which includes the handouts and materials, is $129 for TCA members and $159 for non-members. Audiotapes of the conference will be available for the same fee as the live audio conference for those who cannot participate on the day of the event, or for $59 for those who did participate. To register, visit www.truckloadacademy.org and click on "audio conferences," or call (800) 775-7654.
To get the most out of the audio conference, participants are urged to dial-in using a speakerphone and have as many employees as possible listen in, all for the same low cost. The seminar will include an interactive question and answer session so that many of the participants' questions can be addressed.