The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) teamed up with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to submit a proposal back in 2016 that would require fleets to equip all class 7 and 8 commercial vehicles with speed limitation devices. The proposal met immediate backlash from the trucking community and languished in Congress for
Read More...Roadcheck returns this May with 72 hours of attention to anti-lock breaking systems and cargo securement. Approximate 17 commercial vehicles will be inspected each minute by Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. CVSA officers will conduct vehicle and driver inspections and at permanent and temporary inspection sites, in conjunction with on-road patrols. So what will these inspections
Read More...It’s impossible to predict commercial vehicle collisions, but the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has culled years’ worth of data to give fleets meaningful insights to reduce the frequency and severity of collisions. ATRI identified numerous driver behaviors that are significant indicators of future crashes based on previous crashes, violations, and convictions—four of which increased
Read More...The cost of doing business for the trucking industry is on the rise, with maintenance expenses rising 3.7% in the final quarter of 2021 and jumping over 10% compared to the preceding year. Other factors, like higher fuel prices and acquisition costs, also contribute to the ballooning budgets. However, fleet maintenance is a factor fleets
Read More...Nuclear verdicts are a looming threat to the trucking industry. Fleets can take steps to prevent them, but they need to recognize risky driver behaviors that frequently result in accidents, fatalities, and subsequent litigation. Juries tend to have a bias against trucking companies in court cases, as it’s much easier to sympathize with an injured
Read More...The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) kicked off a new safety campaign this summer to bring awareness to the dangers of speeding. The campaign aims to educate drivers and change how they think about speeding. COVID-19 catalyzed speeding into a national crisis, as fewer cars on the roads made it easier to drive at
Read More...Projections from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimate that nearly 43,000 people died in US vehicular traffic collisions in 2021—a 10.5% increase from 2020. It’s the highest number of fatalities since 2005 and the largest year-to-year increase since the inception of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Several fatality categories saw similar increases, including:
Read More...Many people erroneously assume that the only people who need commercial driver licenses (CDLs) are those who drive large buses or tractor-trailers. Businesses need to familiarize themselves with the nuances of CDL requirements to avoid costly fines. Frequently, the weight of the vehicle dictates whether the driver needs a CDL. However, several other vehicle categories
Read More...The FMCSA completed the last step of its initiative to implement new training standards for entry-level truck drivers seeking a CDL. FMCSA designed the Training Provider Registry to improve roadway safety, an online database of registered instructors that meet federal training requirements. The database also includes a compilation of all entry-level truck drivers who have
Read More...Distracted driving is one of the most common causes of collisions in the trucking industry. Most people think of distracted driving as talking on the phone, texting, eating, and drinking. While these qualify as distractions, other seemingly benign behaviors can divert a truck driver’s attention from the road. Using a GPS, chatting with passengers, adjusting
Read More...