New numbers released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) show more and more commercial truck drivers are buckling up. In 2010, seat belt usage rose to 78 percent, up 4 percent from 2009. Overall, the numbers are up 14 percent from data collected in 2007. To derive these numbers, the FMSCA observed more than 26,000 commercial truck drivers at nearly 1,000 roadside stops across the nation. The report also showed that Continue Reading

Results of the latest study conducted by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) show driver history can be a strong predictor of their involvement in future crashes. Nearly 600,000 U.S. truck drivers were covered in the study that spanned two years, and the data collected showed that a dozen driver behaviors can make risky drivers more susceptible to crashes than their peers with clean driving records. To continue reducing the Continue Reading

Truck-Lite has announced the availability of a number of tools to assist fleets and drivers with CSA compliance when it comes to vehicle lighting. In the next couple of weeks, the company will be releasing training materials, a website dedicated to answering compliance-related questions and a roadside repair kit. In addition to these tools, Truck-Lite is encouraging customers to upgrade to its lifetime LED products for their longer reliability and Continue Reading

According to a research conducted by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), new safety technologies, such as lane-departure warning and roll-stability control are gaining favor in the industry. Tested by Con-way Freight drivers over a 10-month period, the study found that at the conclusion, the majority drivers preferred being equipped with these technologies than without. The research also found that drivers responded more quickly to avoid potential crashes when the safety systems were on. So impressed was Con-way with the results, that the company Continue Reading

About 8 percent of the 650,000 carriers the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is tracking will receive warning letters in the next two months, according to agency. That makes for a total of about 50,000 letters warning carriers that their performance merited “alert” status by falling below acceptable levels on at least one of CSA’s Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories, or BASICs. Those BASICs, such as unsafe or fatigued driving, form the statistical heart of CSA’s safety meas-urement system, which assigns a percentage ranking on each BASIC and Continue Reading

The first of President Obama’s six-year funding plan for the U.S. Department of Transportation is drawing high praise from U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The $129 billion budget will address infrastructure needs, such as repairing bridges and repaving roads, while also supporting the development of electric buses and high-speed rail lines that both boost efficiency and reduce emissions. The administration’s six-year proposal would provide $336 billion, a 48 percent increase over the previous authorization, to rebuild roads and bridges, and $119 billion, a 128 percent increase over the Continue Reading

A recent evaluation of the new Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) safety measurement shows a number of trends that both drivers and carriers should keep in mind. Many of the comparisons are drawn between CSA and SafeStat, the forerunner to the latest model, and based on research evaluated by TransCore’s CarrierWatch. For starters, the new model provides a more complete picture of data. Only 23 percent of carriers have no data recorded, compared to about 50 percent under the old model. Additional information provided in the white paper includes the states which Continue Reading

According to the latest statistics published by Transport Canada, the country’s transportation safety initiatives are paying off. From 2007 to 2008, the country saw a 12 percent drop in deaths on its roads, marking the lowest death toll in nearly 60 years. With these improvements, Canada is on pace to reach its goal of a 30 percent drop in fatalities as compared to averages from a baseline period of 1996-2001 and 1998-2010. In 2008, there were 2,419 road user fatalities, down from 2,761 the previous year. Fifty-four per cent of fatalities were motor vehicle drivers, 20% were passengers and Continue Reading

To reaffirm its stance against distracted driving, the U.S. Department of Transportation recently unveiled the latest in its “Faces of Distracted Driving” video series, which explores the tragic consequences of texting and cell phone use while driving. The video features people from across the country who have been injured or lost loved ones in distracted driving crashes. In conjunction, FocusDriven, the first national nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for victims of distracted driving, launched a new 30-second PSA titled the “5500 campaign” featuring pictures of hundreds of Continue Reading

The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) has announced it will fund a study to determine what roundabout designs can support efficient trucking movement in the province. Generally, roundabouts are backed by civil engineers who find they help improve road safety and lead to more efficient traffic movement. The study will examine and recommend those configurations that don’t impede truck movement in the province’s municipalities. Government entities, associations or OTA members can request a copy of the research by Continue Reading