Truckload Carriers Association’s Safety & Security Division recognized Doug Cook – vice president of safety for Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Covenant Transport – as its Safety Professional of the Year. The Clare C. Casey Award – named after a safety professional who actively served TCA from 1979 until 1989 – was presented May 20 during TCA’s annual Safety & Security Division Meeting in Charlotte, N.C.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. was recognized by the Arkansas Trucking Association as its 2007 Corporate Fleet Safety Grand Champion. In 2007, the Lowell, Ark.-based company drove 33 million miles in Arkansas and had only nine reportable accidents, all of which were minor in nature with no serious injuries.
Con-way Freight was awarded a fleet safety plaque by Oregon Trucking Associations for Outstanding Achievement in Highway Safety; the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based LTL company received the same award in 2005. The award recognizes drivers at all four Con-way Freight terminals in Oregon, located in Eugene, Medford, Portland and Portland North. Con-way Freight, which has about 200 employees in Oregon, also received second-place honors from OTA in the Common Carrier Less-Than-Truckload Over 4 Million Miles category.
Central States Trucking earned a Fleet Safety Award from Acuity Insurance and A.N. Ansay & Associates for the second consecutive year. The Bensenville, Ill.-based company employs 200 drivers.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced June 2 that it had awarded a total of $1 million in grants to nine technical and community colleges to enhance classroom safety curriculums and behind-the-wheel training courses for students enrolled in commercial driver’s license training programs.
“Our nation relies on a work force of well-trained safety-conscious professional truck and bus drivers to move our economy,” says John Hill, FMCSA administrator. “Through this grant program, we are helping provide the cadre of highly qualified commercial drivers that our nation needs. This is also an investment in individuals and in communities seeking enriched economic opportunities for the future.”
Eligible entities for the annually-awarded commercial motor vehicle grants include accredited public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and city, county and state governments.
The CMV Operator Training Grant Program – established by Congress in 2005 through the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) – has two goals: (1) to expand the number of CDL holders possessing enhanced operator safety training to help reduce the severity and number of crashes on U.S. roads involving CMVs; and (2) to assist economically-distressed regions of the United States by providing work force training opportunities for qualified individuals to become CMV operators.
The following institutions were awarded grants for fiscal year 2008:
Arizona – Maricopa Community College, Glendale ($52,663);
Arkansas – Arkansas State University, Newport ($87,500);
California – West Hills Community College, Coalinga ($80,640);
Illinois – Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove ($49,855);
Missouri – Ozarks Technical Community College, Springfield ($198,087);
New York – National Tractor Trailer School Inc., Liverpool ($120,000);
Ohio – Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland ($83,300);
Pennsylvania – Lehigh Carbon Community College, Schnecksville ($127,955); and
South Carolina – Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College, Orangeburg ($200,000).
An announcement regarding application procedures for fiscal year 2009 grants will be posted in late summer 2008 at www.grants.gov.
NPTC announces Safety Award winners
The National Private Truck Council recognized fleet members who continued to elevate safety performance during the group’s Annual Education Management Conference and Exhibition held April 27-29 in Cincinnati.
The NPTC/Bridgestone Firestone Fleet of the Year Awards are presented to those companies whose fleets experienced the lowest ratio of accidents per million miles for the past year. These awards are given for the entire fleet’s vehicle accident frequency rate by fleet size and operational category. The winners for 2008 were:
Local Operations (fleets whose vehicles deliver in a local market regardless of size)
First Place: Barnes & Noble Bookseller
Second Place: Sonoco Recycling
Third Place: Hospira Worldwide Inc.
Mixed Operations (small fleet – less than 50 vehicles)
First Place: Metal Exchange Corp.
Second Place: George’s Foods LLC
Third Place: Clinton’s Ditch Coop Co. Inc.
Mixed Operations (large fleet – 50 vehicles or more)
First Place: New South Express Inc.
Second Place: General Nutrition Centers
Third Place: Targa Midstream Services LP
Regional Operations (small fleet – less than 50 vehicles)
First Place: Jerico Services Inc.
Second Place: Hospira Fleet Services LLC
Regional Operations (large fleet – 50 vehicles or more)
First Place: Contract Transportation Systems
Second Place: Gwaltney Transportation Co. Inc.
Third Place: Smithfield Transportation Co. Inc.
Winners of the Gold Seal, awarded to fleets experiencing zero crashes in 2007, included ADM Trucking Inc., Barnes & Noble Bookseller, BP Products North America Inc., Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Hittman Transport Services Inc., Jerico Services Inc., Moen Inc. and Targa Midstream Services.
Winners of the Silver Seal, presented to those companies whose fleets reduced their vehicle crash rates by 40 percent or more compared to the previous year, were ADM Trucking Inc., BP Products North America Inc., Clinton’s Ditch Coop Co. Inc., Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Frito-Lay Inc., Gwaltney Transportation Co. Inc., Marathon Petroleum Co. Inc., National Gypsum Energy, Orgill Inc., Shaw Industries Inc., Sonoco Recycling, South East Express Inc. and Walgreen Oshkosh Inc.
The Bronze Seal recognition was presented to companies that have reduced their vehicle crash rates by 20 to 39 percent from the previous year. The winners were ADM Trucking Inc., Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC, BP Products North America Inc., Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., CVS/Caremark, Frito-Lay Inc., Hannaford Trucking Co. and Shaw Industries Inc.
Preventable or not: Green not Doe’s best color
The fender-bender occurred about 9 a.m. at an intersection in downtown Columbus, Ohio. At that time, the sky was bright blue and the surface of two-lane North Township Line Road – occupied by John Doe’s tractor-trailer – was bone dry. As the traffic light turned green, Doe nosed his tractor-trailer into the intersection without hesitation. Immediately, a tremendous “WHAM!” indicated that something had ruined his day.
Sure enough, a glance at the West Coast mirror showed that a somewhat-compressed SUV had molded itself around his trailer’s tandem! Happily, no one was injured, and Doe’s truck was undamaged. It seemed that a green GMC Acadia driven by 49-year-old Nancy Noffmeyer had been proceeding toward the intersection on Buckeye Boulevard at an estimated speed of 35 mph when it suddenly dawned on Noffmeyer that the traffic signal was bright red. A panic stop had proven insufficient to save the day.
Leaving 15 feet of skid marks in its wake, Noffmeyer’s Acadia had slid into the intersection and struck Doe’s trailer! The trucker, seeing his rig unfazed by the incident, wasn’t upset with Noffmeyer, but Doe’s employer wasn’t feeling nearly as forgiving and wondered if he could have avoided the accident in some fashion. Consequently, accident details were forwarded to the National Safety Council’s Accident Review Committee for a final decision.
NSC’s judgment was “nonpreventable,” because even if Doe had dragged his heels in moving into the intersection, his rig still would have suffered from the kamikaze attack of Noffmeyer’s SUV.
CDL training gets million-dollar boost
FMCSA awards driver safety training grants
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced June 2 that it had awarded a total of $1 million in grants to nine technical and community colleges to enhance classroom safety curriculums and behind-the-wheel training courses for students enrolled in commercial driver’s license training programs.
“Our nation relies on a work force of well-trained safety-conscious professional truck and bus drivers to move our economy,” says John Hill, FMCSA administrator. “Through this grant program, we are helping provide the cadre of highly qualified commercial drivers that our nation needs. This is also an investment in individuals and in communities seeking enriched economic opportunities for the future.”
Eligible entities for the annually-awarded commercial motor vehicle grants include accredited public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and city, county and state governments.
The CMV Operator Training Grant Program – established by Congress in 2005 through the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) – has two goals: (1) to expand the number of CDL holders possessing enhanced operator safety training to help reduce the severity and number of crashes on U.S. roads involving CMVs; and (2) to assist economically-distressed regions of the United States by providing work force training opportunities for qualified individuals to become CMV operators.
The following institutions were awarded grants for fiscal year 2008:
Arizona – Maricopa Community College, Glendale ($52,663);
Arkansas – Arkansas State University, Newport ($87,500);
California – West Hills Community College, Coalinga ($80,640);
Illinois – Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove ($49,855);
Missouri – Ozarks Technical Community College, Springfield ($198,087);
Ohio – Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland ($83,300);
Pennsylvania – Lehigh Carbon Community College, Schnecksville ($127,955); and
South Carolina – Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College, Orangeburg ($200,000).
An announcement regarding application procedures for fiscal year 2009 grants will be posted in late summer 2008 at www.grants.gov.
NPTC announces Safety Award winners
The National Private Truck Council recognized fleet members who continued to elevate safety performance during the group’s Annual Education Management Conference and Exhibition held April 27-29 in Cincinnati.
The NPTC/Bridgestone Firestone Fleet of the Year Awards are presented to those companies whose fleets experienced the lowest ratio of accidents per million miles for the past year. These awards are given for the entire fleet’s vehicle accident frequency rate by fleet size and operational category. The winners for 2008 were:
Local Operations (fleets whose vehicles deliver in a local market regardless of size)
First Place: Barnes & Noble Bookseller
Second Place: Sonoco Recycling
Third Place: Hospira Worldwide Inc.
Mixed Operations (small fleet – less than 50 vehicles)
First Place: Metal Exchange Corp.
Second Place: George’s Foods LLC
Third Place: Clinton’s Ditch Coop Co. Inc.
Mixed Operations (large fleet – 50 vehicles or more)
First Place: New South Express Inc.
Second Place: General Nutrition Centers
Third Place: Targa Midstream Services LP
Regional Operations (small fleet – less than 50 vehicles)
First Place: Jerico Services Inc.
Second Place: Hospira Fleet Services LLC
Regional Operations (large fleet – 50 vehicles or more)
First Place: Contract Transportation Systems
Second Place: Gwaltney Transportation Co. Inc.
Third Place: Smithfield Transportation Co. Inc.
Winners of the Gold Seal, awarded to fleets experiencing zero crashes in 2007, included ADM Trucking Inc., Barnes & Noble Bookseller, BP Products North America Inc., Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Hittman Transport Services Inc., Jerico Services Inc., Moen Inc. and Targa
Winners of the Silver Seal, presented to those companies whose fleets reduced their vehicle crash rates by 40 percent or more compared to the previous year, were ADM Trucking Inc., BP Products North America Inc., Clinton’s Ditch Coop Co. Inc., Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Frito-Lay Inc., Gwaltney Transportation Co. Inc., Marathon Petroleum Co. Inc., National Gypsum Energy, Orgill Inc., Shaw Industries Inc., Sonoco Recycling, South East Express Inc. and Walgreen Oshkosh Inc.
The Bronze Seal recognition was presented to companies that have reduced their vehicle crash rates by 20 to 39 percent from the previous year. The winners were ADM Trucking Inc., Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC, BP Products North America Inc., Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., CVS/Caremark, Frito-Lay Inc., Hannaford Trucking Co. and Shaw Industries Inc.
