The August 13th edition of the weekly Idealease Safety Bulletin provides important information and resources, including:

• How can technology mitigate the dangers of being a truck driver?
• Jury verdicts and safety technology
• Need help sorting all this out?
• Driver Appreciation Week is Sept. 12-18th
• 2021 Idealease Fall Safety Seminars Cancelled
• Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has Announced Results of 2021 Roadcheck, Conducted May 4th-6th
• New FMCSA Driver Physical Exam Form Required on Sept. 7th

Click here to read the entire bulletin online or access a PDF version to read, print and/or distribute to your team.  Remember to sign up to receive the newest bulletins each week to your email inbox! 

Want to review past bulletins? Click here to access the full archive. 

Using Safety Technology can create a safer workplace for your drivers

Every time a driver gets behind the wheel, he/she is at risk. Truck driving ranks 7th in the deadliest occupations in the U.S., with 918 fatalities each year.  The US Department of Labor states that the number of truck drivers killed on the job rose 6.6% from 2016 to 2018.  Transportation accidents account for 40% of all on-the-job deaths according to the US Bureau of Labor. Delivery truck drivers experience nearly 3 times more injuries and deaths than any other occupation.  

Growing competition in online retail has also impacted the day-to-day lives of truck drivers.  Consumers are led to believe that one-day delivery is a new norm with the "Amazon Effect".  More and more packages are flooding the supply chain, creating an increase in deliveries and increased pressure for truckers. 

While fleet managers and safety directors work hard to create a safety culture, it is important to also make investments in telematics technology to help combat the ever-increasing demands on truck drivers.  It is estimated that accident frequency can be reduced by as much as 40% with accident mitigation systems and enhanced braking technology.  

How can technology mitigate the dangers of being a truck driver?

Modern telematics technology provides features and capabilities that streamline fleet operations and can help make a dangerous job safer.  Companies that actively develop and promote a strong safety culture have fewer and less severe accidents, according to the US DOT.  A culture of accountability is established when high expectations for safety are set and enforced from the top down.  When combined with a telematics system to track and measure safety metrics, fleet managers can experience the power of a cost-effective and proven solution that helps:

LINK DRIVING BEHAVIOR TO DRIVER SAFETY

1.  Help improve driver safety by monitoring location and speed of every vehicle;
2.  Provide real-time alerts when speeding occurs, as well as automated speeding reports on a daily, weekly or monthly basis; 
3.  Highlights other risky driving behaviors (ie. hard braking and fast acceleration)

INCREASE VEHICLE SAFETY

1.  Improved maintenance  leads to healthier, more efficient vehicles and less breakdowns or unexpected problems
2.  Up-to-the-minute data on vehicle condition streamlines fleet upkeep and controls repair costs to extend the service life of the vehicle. 
3.  Continuous monitoring, automatic mileage calculations, daily odometer updates and notifications when preset maintenance intervals are reached allow for early identification of engine issues, make vehicles safer to drive and easier to stay in compliance with emission requirements. 

ELEVATE ROUTE SAFETY

1.  Unknown terrain and unsafe roads pose a constant driver hazard and telematics technology can provide navigation that calculates truck-legal routes, reduces left turns and gives detailed 'last-mile' directions. 
2.  Fleet managers can set up geofence alerts and use GPS tracking data to steer drivers through/around dangerous areas (ie. construction zones, extreme temperature areas) and receive notifications upon entry and exit. 

Jury Verdicts and Safety Technology

Factual data from the truck at the time of accident is priceless.  It's difficult to know exactly what happens pre-crash, but now, thanks to dashcams, it's easier to understand the context of an incident involving a truck.  Integrated fleet dashcams capture the moments before a crash occurs and the visual data often helps demonstrate the responsible party in the case of a collision.  It can also provide extra insight into driver behavior which can help fleet managers and drivers reduce crashes and fatalities by creating accountability and establishing driver safety as a top priority.

Need help sorting this out? 

Contact our McCandless Idealease team at 303-365-5347 to find out more about the safety technologies available to your fleet.  Don't forget to sign up for the ELEVATE Question/Tip of the Week. 

New FMCSA Driver Physical Exam Form Required on Sept. 7th

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released a revised version of its Medical Examination Report form (long form) with a September 7, 2021, compliance deadline.

The updated form includes a variety of minor technical changes, the most prominent of which is removal of the driver’s gender from Section 1. The new form was part of a larger package of technical corrections to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations issued July 7, 2021.

The new medical form retains the “OMB expiration date” of 11/30/2021 in the upper-right corner. This means the form will need to be updated yet again before the end of November this year. Motor carriers are encouraged to ensure their medical examiners are using the new form starting September 7, 2021. In addition, watch for news of another new medical form and certificate later this year.

Driver Appreciation Week - September 12th -18th

This year takes on a special significance considering the crucial role truck drivers have played during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Americans in all fifty states have taken extraordinary steps to show their appreciation for the important work that professional truck drivers have done as we navigate our way through the coronavirus pandemic. From children passing out lunches, to "I Heart Truck" signs across America's highways, the public has taken notice of the essential role truck drivers play in their lives.

This week is a way to show appreciation to the 3.6 million professional men and women who not only deliver our goods safely, securely, and on time, but also keep our highways safe.

2021 Idealease Fall Safety Seminars Cancelled

Due to the continuing evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic the decision was made to not hold any in person Idealease safety seminars in the fall of 2021. We are aware that many of our customers rely on these seminars to receive valuable insight to the ever-changing world of transportation regulations.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, but we are thrilled to host the Idealease Safety Webinar Series in their place later this fall. The webinars will be one hour in length and will address six separate topics regarding compliance and safety.  The webinar schedule will be announced soon in a future Idealease safety bulletin.

Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has Announced Results of 2021 Roadcheck, Conducted May 4th-6th 

• 83.5% of CMVs examined had no out-of-service (OOS) violations
• Inspectors issued OOS violations to 6,710 commercial motor vehicles and 2,080 drivers (16.5% vehicle and 5.3% driver OOS rate)
• 1,367 OOS lighting violations, accounting for 14.1% of all vehicle OOS violations
• 1,203 Hours of Service Violations was the most cited driver OOS violation (41.5% of all driver OOS violations)