Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024:
Kentucky cracking down on unsafe driving between cars, trucks
Kentucky State Police (KSP) Commercial Vehicle Enforcement will participate in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Operation SafeDRIVE (Distracted Reckless Impaired Visibility Enforcement) from Feb. 27-29.
This enforcement campaign, part of FMCSA’s “Our Roads, Our Safety” program, targets unsafe driving behavior that can lead to crashes involving passenger cars and commercial vehicles.
The national SafeDRIVE initiative takes aim at dangerous interstate driving behaviors -- aggressive driving, speeding, tailgating, failing to wear a seat belt, distracted driving and driving under the influence. As part of the initiative, KSP inspectors will man scale facilities, ensuring truckers follow safety regulations, including the hours of service and CDL rules and have up-to-date medical certs and relevant, necessary truck credentials.
Officer Stevie Douglas, East Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Spokesperson, said 62% of fatal large truck crashes involve two or more vehicles.
“Our CVE officers and inspectors are committed to preventing dangerous driving behaviors like aggressive or distracted driving,” said Douglas. “Crashes are preventable, and this initiative makes it safer for everyone on our roadways.”
KSP is encouraging passenger car drivers to take the following advice while driving on the roads:
- Stay out of blind spots: Large trucks and buses have big blind spots on all four sides.
- Pass safely: Make sure you can see the truck driver in their side mirror. Use your turn signals, and don’t linger in the blind spot. Make sure you can see the CMV vehicle in your rearview mirror before pulling in front.
- Don’t cut off large vehicles: It takes a large truck traveling at 65 mph the length of two football fields to stop.
- Don’t tailgate: Tailgating a commercial vehicle puts you in a blind spot.
[Related: Inspectors keying in on tractor protection systems, drug and alcohol possession during Roadcheck]
Moving company names driver of the year
JK Moving recently named Tony Mercer its Long-Distance Driver of the Year. Shown, from left, are: David Cox, Stephen Hall, Davy Shanko, Tony Mercer, Brian Evans, Joyce Shaff and Ken Cohen.JK Moving
JK Moving Services, an independently owned and operated moving company, has named Tony Mercer as Long-Distance Driver of the Year.
Mercer – who drives with family members including his mother who also has her CDL license – received the award, which consists of a $5,000 bonus, based on his commitment to providing an outstanding customer experience and a focus on safety, while embracing JK’s core values and brand promise of care and respect.
“Long-distance drivers are crucial to our business success. That’s why every year we honor the very best. This year, it is Tony Mercer,” said David Cox, president, JK Moving. “Tony has an outstanding safety record and takes excellent care of customers. In addition, he recruited a fantastic, trusted team to help him – his mother and two grown sons. Together they make the JK experience great for customers, and we are proud to have him and his family on our team.”
Mercer is based out of Bunker Hill, West Virginia, and drives all 48 contiguous states to serve JK clients, along with his mother Joyce Shaff and sons DJ and Tony Jr. He has been a driver with JK since 2019. During this time, he has conducted 60 JK moves per year, logging 300,000 miles. In addition to excellent customer service, he has a great record for safe driving, the company said.
New hands-free voice assistant available for trucking
Ten5, Inc., a tech firm developing new trucking communications and business intelligence solutions, has announced the commercial availability of its industry-first hands-free voice assistant and communications service for trucking operations.
Fleet managers can respond more quickly to driver questions and concerns and also prioritize their responses so that the most important items are addressed first. Managers can also broadcast messages to multiple drivers quickly and efficiently or program messages to be released to drivers at specific times for training and coaching purposes.
“We’ve created a platform which simultaneously addresses some of the trucking industry’s most pressing issues, including driver retention and truck safety,” said Ten5 CEO Drew Ryder. “By giving drivers a safe, low-friction way to communicate, we give them more control of their time and schedule and a greater opportunity to voice concerns. Driver surveys have repeatedly concluded that driver turnover has a lot to do with a breakdown in communication and a lack of respect for the driver’s time.”
Ryder noted that Ten5’s system tackles “the growing problem of distracted driving … with an application which uses voice prompts only and does not take the driver’s eyes off the road.” He added that the platform is valuable to fleets of all sizes and types.
“We initially thought it would only be of interest to large truckload carriers with high driver turnover rates and high driver-to-dispatcher ratios,” he said. “But there is also demand from smaller carriers looking to replace text-based communication systems and improve back office productivity.”
