Osterberg told the audience that he had four “keys to success” when it comes to fleet safety: Hire the “right” drivers (and retain them); train them effectively; manage driver-performance actively, and leverage technology to enhance safety programs.

Traditional safety metrics are lagging, not leading indicators, he noted. Rather, he said Effectiveness flows from the ability to identify and proactively manage those leading indicators, and technology can definitely help to get the job done.

“Technology enables visibility to driver behavior,” Osterberg said. “In the past, it was a crash that raised our awareness of an aggressive driver. Now we can [use driver performance monitoring technology to help us] detect indicators of problematic behavior to enable interventions to remediate the behavior preemptively.”

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Section 111 of the new law, for instance, requires the Health and Human Services secretary to “promulgate regulations onsanitary transportation practices for the transportationof food,” and also requires theFDA (Food and Drug Administration) “to conduct a study on the transportation of food, including the unique needs of rural and frontier areas.”

Section 204 requires the Health and Human Services secretary to “improve tracking and tracing of processed foods and fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities in the event of a food-borne illness outbreak; and establish standards for the type of information, format, and time frame for persons to submit records to aid the secretary in such tracking and tracing.”

The Food Safety Modernization Act is, by no means, the first and only move to help assure that food remains safe to eat from farm to the fork. Shippers of some cargo, like perishable food and pharmaceuticals, have been asking fleets to step up and assume additional responsibility for the integrity and safety of their cargo for some time.

They are and have been requiring carriers to deploy technology to help assure the integrity and safety of their goods and, in the case of temperature-controlled food for instance, also help to reduce spoilage and loss. The shippers’ customers’ in this case are the ones holding the whip handle, according to Dr. John Ryan, president of Ryan Systems. Ryan has spent over 25 years implementing high-technology quality control systems and is credited with piloting the first farm-to-fork, Internet-enabled food traceability system using sensors and RFID technology to help get the job done.

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The real danger of using cell phones is not the risk of being caught. The accident risk is equal to driving while legally intoxicated, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

To help mitigate this risk, fleets can use applications that automatically lock down mobile devices when they detect motion. The real challenge, however, may be restricting drivers from using personal phones while operating company vehicles.

The transportation industry has a precedence of taking controversial measures to mitigate risk. In most cases, measures that seem controversial at first soon become standard practice. Technology that makes it possible to enforce restrictions on drivers’ personal cell phones, for instance, may at first seem to drivers to be an intrusive measure.

Consider the history of electronic onboard recorders (EOBRs). For years many fleets resisted using EOBRs fearing they would cause a mass exodus of drivers. Today electronic logs are used by the majority of fleets and widely accepted by drivers.

Technology that monitors driver behavior is also widespread. Many fleets use management systems that report risky behaviors such as speeding, sudden lane changes and panic braking, and other events the moment they occur.

Since fleets already use technology to enforce safety and compliance, is using technology to restrict employees’ use of cell phones while driving any different?

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While the final rule retains the current 11-hour daily driving limit — FMCSA previously was in favor of reducing it to 10 hours — it reduces by 12 hours the maximum number of hours a truck driver can work within a week. Under the old rule, truck drivers could work on average up to 82 hours within a seven-day period. The new HOS final rule limits a driver’s work week to 70 hours. FMCSA says it will continue to conduct data analysis and research to further examine any risks associated with the 11 hours of driving time.

In addition, truck drivers cannot drive after working eight hours without first taking a break of at least 30 minutes. Drivers can take the 30-minute break whenever they need rest during the eight-hour window.

The rule also requires truck drivers who maximize their weekly work hours to take at least two nights’ rest when their 24-hour body clock demands sleep the most – from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. This rest requirement is part of the rule’s “34-hour restart” provision that allows drivers to restart the clock on their work week by taking at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty. The final rule allows drivers to use the restart provision only once during a seven-day period.

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“We took the initiative to collaborate with our business partners to develop the rollover warning device because we want to do all we can to reduce the risk of road tanker rollover,” said Jack Eggels, general manager for global land logistics. “We did not do this just for ourselves, but also to help customers and other transport operators across the globe make roads safer. Safety is a top priority for Shell and we recognize it has a direct impact on our customer service. We want our drivers to deliver products safely and return home to their loved ones.”

According to Riccardo Magliocchi, HSSE (health, safety, security and environment) advisor, excessive speed while cornering can affect the stability of a trailer.

“Sudden or severe changes in direction or speed can create inertia in the load being carried which, in certain situations such as on roundabouts, is sufficient to tip the trailer over,” said Magliocchi.

He says drivers of tankers are usually unaware of an impending rollover.

“By the time they see or feel something wrong, it’s usually too late,” Magliocchi added.

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“Clearly, due to the economic recovery, as well as regulatory factors like CSA, we are seeing the market for good, quality drivers tighten,” Costello said. “As our tonnage index has shown recently, demand for freight continues to rise, so we expect the need for quality drivers to become more acute going forward, particularly if regulations either force current drivers out of the industry or force fleets to put more trucks on the road.”

The third-quarter increase follows a previously reported turnover rate of 79% in the second quarter of the year and sets the benchmark rate at its highest level since the first quarter of 2008.

Since bottoming out in the first quarter of 2010, the turnover rate has risen 50 percentage points and has averaged 81% so far this year.

Elsewhere in the trucking industry, the turnover rate at small truckload fleets jumped 10 points to 57%, the highest level since the third quarter of 2008, and less-than-truckload turnover remained extremely low at just 10%.

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The wrong wheel can add unnecessary weight to the entire rig, weight that can cost you in both fuel and lost revenue. Aesthetics is another area of concern: How easy is it to keep a wheel clean and polished? This can add or subtract from the image a carrier displays to its customers.

“Fleets are all looking to lower the lifetime operating costs of their vehicles,” says Brian Thomas, marketing communications specialist for Alcoa Wheel Products. “Lightweight aluminum wheels from Alcoa improve productivity and lower lifetime operating costs. The lighter the truck and trailer, the more cargo it can carry.”

Alcoa offers Dura-Bright wheels, which include a no-polish, easy-maintenance surface, the company says. “Labor savings coupled with reduced need for cleaning supplies really add up,” Thomas says. “Dura-Bright wheels enhance the appearance of the fleet and equipment, further improving driver satisfaction and retention.”

Bob Flynn, director of product management for Accuride Corp., says customers are “… looking for ways to improve their bottom line through reduced weight, reduced complexity, and/or reduced maintenance costs.”

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The system reverses the image so that drivers viewing the numbers in a mirror see them correctly, Carrier said. When the trailer is sitting in a yard, the device can be switched from reverse view to normal view for easier reading.

“The dual-view system is more than just an easy-to-read display,” said Jason Forman, senior product development manager for Carrier Transicold’s Performance Parts Group. “It provides independent verification of box temperatures via its own sensor, or sensors in multi-temp applications. It also shows refrigeration unit status – cool, heat, defrost or warning.”

It is compatible with most Carrier Transicold and competitive trailer units and includes a two-year limited parts warranty.

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Kinedyne Corp. said its new line of Pro-Grade tarp ties meets the company’s superior standards for quality and durability.

“Kinedyne is known around the globe for our commitment to not only meeting but exceeding industry standards for load securement products,” said Larry Harrison, vice president of sales and marketing. “We’re launching this new line of tarp ties because we feel that the market demands a product that meets our expectations – as well as our customers – in terms of quality and value.”

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SOMERVILLE, Mass. — A simple test that measures attention, alertness and reaction time could one day be administered to drivers when they renew their licence to determine if they are likely to suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a Harvard study has suggested.

A new study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and conducted by researchers from Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, explored the usefulness of a psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) as a way to screen drivers for sleep apnea.

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