The Nation

RIVERSIDE, Mo.– Mesilla Valley Transportation is adopting the Rolling Strong mobile health and wellness app for company drivers and owner-operators. Rolling Strong is a provider of driver wellness programs for transportation companies and their drivers, as well as owner-operators. “We’re excited to be working with Rolling Strong because wellness is important, especially for truck drivers who spend many hours every day sitting and don’t always have access to rest and comfort facilities,” said Jackie Jones, marketing director for Mesilla Valley Transportation. “The Rolling Strong platform offers a solution that helps them make better choices and have better outcomes because when you’re healthy, all areas of your life improve. With Rolling Strong we have a partner that is making it as easy for us as possible, from the heavy lifting of implementation to great support because they want to make it as successful for us as they can.” Mesilla Valley Transportation began testing the Rolling Strong mobile health and wellness app, which is available on both IOS and Android platforms, at the beginning of 2019. The carrier is now offering it as an option to company drivers and owner-operators and is promoting the app through direct communication and social media channels. Early adopters, according to the company, are already reporting positive experiences from using the platform to make healthier decisions. “With the Rolling Strong app I feel more educated about my calorie intake and the food I’m eating,” said Jacob Martinez, an MVT driver. “I also log my pre-trip and post-trip inspections as exercise and see how many calories and points I burn and earn. I like how the app is set up to help me watch my sleep, nutrition, fitness and hydration, and I feel better using the Rolling Strong Program.” Sergio Ayra, another MVT driver, reported that with Rolling Strong he learned how to lower his blood pressure by 30 points. “Since I started using the Rolling Strong app, I quit drinking soda and only drink water,” he said. “With Rolling Strong’s advice I was able to successfully renew my two-year medical card.” Rolling Strong is also working with Mesilla Valley Transportation to provide on-site visits at the carrier’s facilities by CDL wellness coaches who provide support to help maintain health and prepare drivers for DOT physicals. In addition, Rolling Strong partner higi is installing health-screening stations at four of the company’s terminals to provide easy access to services for drivers. One of the carrier’s goals is to enable more drivers to get two-year medical cards by taking advantage of the Rolling Strong app’s capabilities, and its partnerships with screening and health services providers. Looking ahead, Mesilla Valley is working with Rolling Strong to use the app’s gamification capability to encourage drivers to get health and wellness assessments and earn points for nutrition, fitness, sleep, and stress and weight management achievements. The competitions will include a variety of prizes for top drivers. “We are very pleased that Mesilla Valley Transportation has recognized that prevention is the key to health and wellness for its drivers,” said Stephen Kane, president of Rolling Strong. “We look forward to making all of the capabilities of our mobile health and wellness app available to their company drivers and owner-operators.” The Rolling Strong health and wellness mobile app provides professional drivers with accessibility to screening and health services through integrations with partners that include higi, which offers health screening station locations, the network of Walmart Care Clinic locations, and eTrueNorth retail pharmacy services. Drivers can also engage with each other in the Rolling Strong social network to exchange ideas and share achievements. Mesilla Valley Transportation, based in Las Cruces, New Mexico, is a dry freight carrier specializing in time sensitive service between manufacturing centers in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada with a fleet of more than 1,300 trucks and over 6,000 trailers.          

EFFINGHAM, Ill. — The driver of a tractor-trailer involved in a traffic accident Saturday on Interstate 70 near here that killed three Missouri residents and injured three other motorists failed to reduce speed to avoid a crash in a construction zone, police said. Asllan Pino, 59, of Chesterfield, Michigan, was traveling eastbound on I-70 when he struck the back of an SUV driven by Virginia E. Abrams, 59, of Wildwood, Missouri. She was killed along with two of her passengers, Matthew Murphy, 63, and Marleen Murphy, 61, also of Wildwood. Two other passengers in the Yukon were injured and taken to hospitals. Investigators said Pino’s tractor-trailer pushed the Yukon into a semi-trailer being towed by a black tractor-trailer then struck the concrete center dividing wall before it came to a rest between the wall and the black tractor-trailer. A passenger in Pino’s tractor-trailer was taken to a hospital with injuries. The driver of the black tractor-trailer was not injured. Police said a fourth vehicle, likely a truck or tractor-trailer, was struck by the black tractor-trailer, but it was not damaged and the driver left the scene. Illinois police are investigating the crash. Police said the vehicles were in a construction zone and came to a stop for an unknown reason. Authorities said Sunday announced preliminary charges against Pino of failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash. It wasn’t immediately known if he has a lawyer. The Illinois accident was the second triple fatality wreck in the last week involving a tractor-trailer that ran into the back of a line of vehicles in a construction zone. Truck driver Bruce Pollard of Sturgeon, Missouri, faces three preliminary counts of reckless homicide and five counts of criminal recklessness causing injury after 29-year-old Alanna Koons and 18-month-old June and Ruby Koons were killed in an accident in Indiana on July 14.        

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has published an updated list of the safety recommendations associated with the agency’s 2019-2020 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements following the recent closure of eight safety recommendations. Of the eight closed safety recommendations, four were closed with acceptable action taken, one was closed with acceptable alternate action taken, one was closed with a status of exceeds recommended action, and one safety recommendation was closed with unacceptable action taken. One recommendation was closed because it was superseded by a subsequently issued safety recommendation which remains open. The NTSB announced the 2019-2020 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements February 4, in which the agency detailed 267 open safety recommendations that if implemented, the panel said could help prevent accidents and the injuries and fatalities caused by those accidents. The agency went a step further and created what it calls the “Focused 46,” a list of 46 safety recommendations taken from the 267 addressed by the Most Wanted List,  that the agency said it believes can and should be implemented during the two-year Most Wanted List cycle. “Closing safety recommendations with acceptable action taken, resulting in improved transportation safety, is the goal of issuing and advocating for a safety recommendation,” said NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt. “Our safety recommendations are founded in the science of our accident investigations and are designed to prevent similar future accidents. Transportation safety is improved when recipients of our safety recommendations take acceptable action. While I’m pleased to highlight this success, I also have to highlight how much more work remains to be done, and, the lost opportunity to improve transportation safety with the unacceptable action taken on safety recommendation H-12-029.” H-12-029 called for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to establish an ongoing program to monitor, evaluate, report on, and continuously improve fatigue management programs implemented by motor carriers to identify, mitigate, and continuously reduce fatigue-related risks for drivers. In its latest correspondence to NTSB dated January 18, 2019, FMCSA wrote that it “… plans no action to establish the program ‘at the motor carrier level’ [emphasis added] as recommended by NTSB. Fatigue management information continues to be accessed via the North American Fatigue Management Program website at https://www.nafmp.com. The NAFMP website remains active and guidance concerning fatigue management continues to be accessed and used by motor carriers.  FMCSA will continue to support both fatigue-related research and the NAFMP, which includes the maintenance, improvement, and promotion of the NAFMP to encourage the voluntary implementation of fatigue management practices by motor carriers.” The NTSB’s Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements, now in its 30th year, identifies safety improvements that can be made across all modes of transportation to prevent accidents, minimize injuries and save lives. Since the NTSB’s inception more than 52 years ago, the agency has issued more than 14,900 safety recommendations, and on average, more than 80 percent of them are favorably acted upon. At any given moment, the NTSB’s Safety Recommendations Division is managing the correspondence regarding an average of 1,200 open safety recommendations.

SPRINGDALE, Ark. and COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine— Wreaths Across America has recognized Tyson Foods as the fifth recipient of the organization’s annual James Prout/WAA Spirit of Giving Award. WAA Founder Morrill Worcester and his son Rob – a volunteer who helps coordinate transportation and logistics for the nonprofit – presented the Tyson Foods’ team with the award on July 12 at the 6th Annual Stem to Stone event held in Downeast, Maine, where the nonprofit is headquartered. It is also where the balsam is grown to make the veterans’ wreaths sponsored by the public and placed by volunteers each December as part of the WAA’s mission to Remember, Honor and Teach. The James Prout/WAA Spirit of Giving Award is named in memory of James Prout, owner of Blue Bird Ranch Trucking of Jonesboro, Maine. Prout was the first person to volunteer to haul wreaths for WAA when the program was in its infancy. The award is given annually to a deserving professional truck driver, company or organization that has supported charitable causes in a way that will affect generations to come. Operations Manager Michael Blessing accepted the award on behalf of Tyson Foods. “I think I speak for the entire team when I say what an honor it is to be a part of the Wreaths Across America family,” he said. “The mission is impacting lives across the country and we are humbled to play a small part to ensure the wreaths are safely delivered and volunteers are well fed and cared for each season.” Tyson Foods, headquartered in Springdale and the 11th largest private carrier in the United States, started hauling veterans’ wreaths for WAA seven years ago with only two trucks. In 2012, after waiting in line with many others to be loaded, they came up with an idea and made WAA an offer to help create a truckers’ lounge to accommodate waiting drivers. This commitment to the mission has continued and only increased since then. In 2018, in addition to hauling 18 loads of veterans’ wreaths, they fed all 500-plus volunteer truck drivers that came to Maine to load wreaths, as well as all the loading crews, WAA staff and volunteers, and visiting Gold Star families. They also provided the food for the escort to Arlington send-off dinner. “By having the Wreaths Across America logo on my truck I am a better driver,” said James Shaw, a long-time Wreaths Across America volunteer and professional truck driver for Tyson Foods. “I have an obligation to drive the best I can to represent our veterans and the work of this honorable organization that does so much good for our country.” The Worcesters said the trucking industry is vital in helping WAA achieve its goal of honoring fallen soldiers each year. In addition to transporting wreaths, Tyson Foods supports the organization through fundraising efforts for Fayetteville National Cemetery in Arkansas and other local veterans’ and non-veterans’ nonprofit organizations. Their WAA Fundraising Group is called Transportation Warriors – you can sponsor a wreath through their page here. “Without the trucking community and their generous donations of time and services, our mission simply would not be possible,” Rob Worcester said. “The work Tyson has done continues to inspire the WAA team to improve the truckers’ lounge and overall experience for volunteer drivers coming to Maine to load wreaths. They are an amazing partner and true friends of the organization, for which we are grateful.”

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Independent Landstar Million Mile Safe Driver and Roadstar Cecilia Logan has won the 2020 Kenworth T680 given away by Landstar System during the Landstar All-Star Truck Giveaway. The random drawing and giveaway was the highlight of the 8th Annual Landstar BCO All-Star Celebration held July 1-3 in Savannah, Georgia. Each year, Landstar gives away a truck, including all registration fees and taxes, to one of its Million Mile Safe Driver independent owner-operators. The 2019 All-Star giveaway truck marked the 40th truck giveaway in Landstar’s 30-year history as a company. Logan resides in Hartford, Alabama, and was one of eight semi-finalists randomly drawn from the pool of 1,043 active Million Mile Safe Driver business capacity owners (BCOs), Landstar’s term for independent truck owner-operators who provide transportation capacity under exclusive lease agreements. Logan leased to Landstar in 2001 with her husband, Jaimie. She was named a Million Mile Safe Driver in 2015 and a Roadstar honoree in 2017. “We are proud of the safety-first owner-operators who are leased to Landstar, especially those who have reached the Million Mile Safe Driver and Roadstar milestones. Landstar is pleased to continue the annual tradition of giving away a new truck at our BCO All-Star Celebration,” said Landstar President and CEO Jim Gattoni. “We appreciate the contributing support of our sponsor companies, like Comdata, in helping us reward an independent owner-operator’s service excellence with a chance to win such a life-changing prize.” Landstar System, Inc. is a worldwide asset-light provider of integrated transportation management solutions delivering specialized transportation services to a broad range of customers utilizing a network of agents, third-party capacity owners and employees.    

OKLAHOMA CITY — Love’s Travel Stops has opened a new travel stop at Hazen, Arkansas. The location adds 65 jobs to Prairie County and 111 truck, 97 car and three RV parking spots. “We’re excited to add another Love’s location in Arkansas,” said Tom Love, executive chairman and founder of Love’s. “The location in Hazen closes a gap for drivers between Little Rock and Memphis and gives them a great option to stop for quality service, snacks and coffee among other things.” In addition to the parking spaces, amenities include Chester’s Chicken, Godfather’s Pizza, Subway, 10 diesel bays, seven showers, laundry facilities, bean-to-cup coffee, brand-name snacks, Mobile to Go Zone with the latest electronics and a CAT scale. A Speedco will open soon. There are now 13 Love’s locations in Arkansas. The Hazen location is open 24/7. In honor of the grand opening, Love’s will host a ribbon cutting ceremony and donate $2,000 to the community which will be split between Hazen High School and Hazen Elementary School.    

WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has denied an application filed a little more than a year ago from the Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC) for an exemption from the electronic logging device (ELD) requirements for all motor carriers with fewer than 50 employees, including, but not limited to, one-person private and for-hire owner-operators of commercial motor vehicles used in interstate commerce. The FMCSA said it had analyzed the exemption application and public comments, and had determined that it cannot ensure that granting for the requested exemption would achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be achieved absent such exemption. The SBTC is a non-profit trade organization with more than 8,000 members. SBTC said in its application that it “represents, promotes, and protects the interest of small businesses in the transportation industry.” The coalition said in its application that the exemption would not have any adverse impacts on operational safety as motor carriers and drivers would remain subject to the HOS regulations as well as the requirements to maintain a paper record of duty statue (RODs). The SBTC argues that the requested exemption would allow motor carriers with fewer than 50 employees to maintain their current practices that have resulted in a proven safety record. After the FMCSA published the SBTC application, it received over 1,900 comments. The agency estimated that over 95% of the comments favored the exemption while more than 4% were opposed. The FMCSA said it denied that application for exemption because the SBTC application does not meet the regulatory standards for an exemption, the SBTC failed to provide “the name of the individual or motor carrier that would be responsible for the use or operation of CMVs” under the exemption, did not provide the name of a single motor carrier and failed to provide an estimate of the total number of drivers and CMVs that would be operated under the terms and conditions of the exemption. Instead, in its printed denial, the FMCSA noted the SBTC application said “we defer to FMCSA to determine the total number of drivers and CMVs that would be operated under the exemption.” The agency said SBTC failed to explain how it would ensure that someone could achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety that would be obtained by complying with the regulation. In a prepared statement, the SBTC it had read the FMCSA’s and despite what the agency said in its denial, the SBTC met its obligation to show countermeasures, namely a return to paper logs. “If paper logs were sufficient to ensure adequate levels of safety for 80 years, and they are currently sufficient for all the carriers operating under other FMCSA ELD exemptions, there is no reason to believe they would not be sufficient for the carriers that would operate under our requested exemption,” the statement said. “Notwithstanding this, the FMCSA is misguided in relying on a statute that pertains to individual drivers’ hearing and vision type applications for exemption. Class exemptions are not the same as individual exemptions.” The SBTC said FMCSA’s decision failed to address its own statutory obligations to show the coalition is wrong when it asserted that the ELD rule is not necessary to carry out the transportation policy, is not needed to protect shippers from the abuse of market power or that the transaction or service is of limited scope, and that the exemption is in the public interest. We have repeatedly asserted that ELDs have caused excessive speeding, which results in far more deaths ELDs would ever save by combating fatigue,” the SBTC response said. The SBTC said it found the FMCSA’s handling of its ELD exemption application… “from start to finish… totally and absolutely corrupt in each and every respect.”        

WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is proposing to extend the compliance date for two provisions from the final rule, “Minimum Training Requirements for Entry-Level Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators” published in December 2016 from February 7, 2020, to February 7, 2022. The proposed two-year extension would delay the date by which training providers must begin uploading driver-specific training certification information into the Training Provider Registry (TPR), an electronic database that will contain entry-level driver training (ELDT) information. It would also delay the date by which State Driver Licensing Agencies (SDLAs) must confirm that applicants for a commercial driver’s license (CDL) have complied with ELDT requirements prior to taking a specified knowledge or skills test. The agency is accepting comments on the proposed changes through August 19. The American Trucking Associations expressed concern about the FMCSA’s proposal “ATA strongly supports the ELDT requirements established in FMCSA’s 2016 final rule,” said Sean McNally, vice president of communications and press secretary at ATA said. “However, ATA is concerned that delaying major aspects of the ELDT requirements could have a significant impact on the enforcement and the effectiveness of the rule’s intended goal.” The FMCSA said the extension would give the agency time to complete the IT infrastructure for the TPR to allow for the upload, storage, and transmission of the driver-specific training records. It would also provide SDLAs time to make changes, as necessary, to their IT systems and internal procedures that would allow them to receive the driver course completion information transmitted from the TPR. FMCSA said it was proposing to extend the compliance date at this time so that SDLAs and other stakeholders can take the proposed delay into account when setting budget and resource allocation priorities. In proposing the delay, the FMCSA said it was also proposing clarifying and conforming changes to the regulations established by the ELDT final rule. The agency said it is not proposing any other substantive changes to the requirements established by the ELDT final rule, meaning that beginning February 7, 2020, training providers wishing to provide ELDT must be listed on the TPR and drivers seeking a CDL or endorsement on or after February 7, 2020, must complete the required training, as set forth in the ELDT final rule. The ELDT final rule established minimum training standards for individuals applying for a Class A or Class B CDL for the first time; individuals upgrading their CDL to a Class B or Class A; and individuals obtaining the following endorsements for the first time. The final rule also defined curriculum standards for theory and behind-the-wheel (BTW) instruction and requires that SDLAs verify ELDT completion before allowing the applicant to take a skills test. The final rule also established the TPR, an online database which would allow ELDT providers to electronically register with FMCSA and certify that individual driver-trainees completed the required training. The rule set forth eligibility requirements for training providers to be listed on the TPR, including a certification, under penalty of perjury, that their training programs meet those requirements. The final rule, when fully implemented, will require training providers to enter driver-specific ELDT information, which FMCSA will then verify before transmitting to the SDLA. The FMSCA said the process is designed to deliver verified driver-specific ELDT information to the end user.    

ELYRIA, Ohio — From eliminating single-use plastic to planting a community garden and attending workshops on reducing waste, Bendix employees are learning how to live and work more sustainability. Across North America this month, more than 2,500 Bendix men and women are taking part in educational and volunteer opportunities to tackle one major goal: eliminating waste. Their activities are happening in conjunction with the annual Knorr-Bremse/Bendix Values Day and are taking place throughout July. This year’s efforts focus on fulfilling the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. The UN’s SDGs are a set of objectives to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all, according to Maria Gutierrez, Bendix director of corporate responsibility and sustainability. As a global company and part of the international community, Bendix aims to positively contribute to all the SDGs, with a particular focus on SDG 12 and SDG 13 (Climate Action) through its long-standing corporate sustainability strategy, Gutierrez said. For Values Day 2019, Bendix employees throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico are working toward reducing waste in their workplace and homes. The Munich, Germany-based Knorr-Bremse Group (KB) – the world’s preeminent manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles – is the parent company of Bendix, the North American leader in the development and manufacture of active safety, air management, and braking solutions for commercial vehicles. “Every Values Day, our team members demonstrate their passion and commitment to Bendix’s core values and the values we share with our KB colleagues around the globe,” Gutierrez said. “As we drive to become landfill-free, our 2019 celebration provides a unique opportunity to ensure our workforce has the knowledge and resources needed to help reduce waste. Their efforts to implement green solutions are critical to the success of Bendix’s zero-waste initiative.” On July 10, nearly 600 employees who work at Bendix’s Elyria headquarters gathered to celebrate Values Day. Throughout the day, they learned from visiting experts, put themselves to the test with zero-waste competitions, and planted a community garden. The day began with a panel of speakers from three local, sustainably focused companies. These entrepreneurs raised awareness among Bendix employees on a range of topics, including food waste, composting, and responsible water consumption. After the panel, 30 employees worked together to plant a community garden consisting of flowers, herbs, berries, and vegetables. The garden will be overseen by the Bendix Elyria Green Team – a group of employees focused on zero-waste goals. Members will care for the garden and donate the proceeds to local nonprofits. Other employees participated in the “Escape the Waste” team challenge. In the activity, inspired by popular “escape room” games, teams of eight solved clues to unlock a zero-waste kit, which would help them live sustainable lives. This game helped educate participants on zero-waste programs currently implemented at Bendix and raised awareness on ways to help employees reduce waste in their personal lives as well. The day concluded with a Sustainability Fair, where both internal and external vendors provided insight on being eco-conscious. To encourage employees to commit to eliminating waste, a Sustainable Living Pledge was created for those who promised to “say goodbye” to plastic straws, plastic bags, plastic water bottles, and Styrofoam. After signing the pledge, each employee had a chance to dunk one of the company’s leaders by taking a toss at the Bendix Leadership Dunk Tank. As a company, Bendix also pledged to eliminate waste by banning certain items. The bans – which are now corporate policy – include Styrofoam, single-use plastic bottles, and single-use plastic utensils. All Bendix locations agreed not to purchase, procure, or utilize any of these items at their locations or at off-site events. This is part of the zero-waste initiative to eliminate not only industrial waste, but general food and office waste as well. “Through a combination of Bendix’s company-led initiatives and employee engagement, we are striving to become a zero-waste company,” Gutierrez said. “By reducing our impact on the environment, we hope to leave a greener, healthier planet for our communities and for people around the world. We are committed to investing the time and effort necessary to be landfill-free in Elyria and at every Bendix location across North America.” Bendix strives to be a responsible corporate citizen by working toward its goal to be zero-waste, Gutierrez said, adding that by diverting industrial and general waste, the company aims to be 100 percent landfill-free by 2020. In 2018, Bendix moved closer to this goal by diverting 96 percent (over 25.5 million pounds) of material waste from landfill disposal. As part of the initial steps in the Zero Landfill strategy, the company focused solely on industrial waste. Currently, nine out of 10 Bendix manufacturing facilities are industrial-waste landfill-free. Now, efforts are focused on reduction and diversion from landfill for all remaining waste streams, including general trash and cafeteria waste. More than 1,100 miles away in Acuña, Mexico, Bendix employees will have an opportunity to participate in either the Waste Workshop or the Organic Orchard and Fertilizer Workshop later this month. To help reduce waste of plastic bags, each participant will receive a reusable bag for grocery shopping or material collection/recycling. Employees at Bendix’s Huntington, Indiana, campus learned more about SDG 12 and the zero-waste-to-landfill goal with a presentation during a company lunch. To leave their community a little better, volunteers at Bendix’s Kalamazoo, Michigan, facility will work at a Habitat for Humanity home build. Habitat for Humanity practices waste reduction at each of their building sites and diverts usable material from ending up in landfill through its Habitat ReStore. In Mexico City, Mexico, Bendix volunteers spent a day constructing vertical gardens with repurposed plastic bottles under the tutelage of the teenagers at Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos orphanage in Miacatlán. Later this month, at the company’s facility in Irvine, California, company volunteers will focus on recycling plastic water bottles. Employees in Monterrey, Mexico, will help in urban reforestation efforts by planting trees. In North Aurora, Illinois; Lebanon, Tennessee; Vancouver, Canada; and Montreal, Canada, Bendix team members enjoyed company lunches while watching presentations on the SDGs and sustainability. “Our Values Day efforts show not only our employees’ desire to make a positive impact – but their eagerness to learn more about living sustainably as well,” Gutierrez said. “They have gone out of their way to implement zero-waste strategies not only in their work, but also in their communities and homes. We are very proud that our team members display such passion and dedication to the effort of eliminating waste.”    

PORTLAND, Ore. — Freightliner Trucks has expanded Team Run Smart to include a deeper focus on career opportunities available in professional truck driving, while providing valuable resources on how to succeed in the career. Team Run Smart has also added a lineup of drivers to represent five distinct categories in the profession to serve as industry resources to the Team Run Smart community. The new Team Run Smart pros include: Clark Reed, Nussbaum Transportation (Company Driver) David Morreau, Holland Transportation (Pioneer/lease purchase) Linda and Bob Caffee, Landstar (Hired Gun/own truck and drive with a fleet) Henry Albert, Albert Transportation (Trail Blazer/own truck and drive under own authority) Jimmy Nevarez, Angus Transportation (Trail Blazer/owns and operates multiple trucks) The “classification” given each driver was developed several years ago by ATBS to define the “Driver Career Journey” in the trucking industry. ATBS used “old west” terms to describe the stages of the Driver Career Journey because of the natural toughness, grit, and independent nature that is shared by many of ATBS’ truck driving clients. ATBS said the journey is not a linear path, and many drivers will travel back and forth between different stops on the Journey over the course of their careers. To read more about each classification, click here.  “Our goal is to leverage our Team Run Smart platform to address the issues related to truck driving, educate those who are considering a career in driving, and help those who are already drivers to be successful,” said Mike McHorse, director of channel marketing for Freightliner Trucks. “It’s essential to communicate all the different opportunities the industry offers to help recruit and retain professionals in trucking.” Team Run Smart was launched in 2012 to provide owner-operators with a platform to share information and resources. Since its inception, it has grown to 60,000 members from all categories of the trucking industry. McHorse said TeamRunSmart.com already has a wealth of detailed information including TruckSmart, providing information on efficient, safe and profitable truck operations; BusinessSmart, which delivers valuable information and resources on the business of trucking; LiveSmart, with advice on healthy lifestyle options while on the road or at home. The new CareerSmart section will focus on the different career paths for drivers. “Team Run Smart has truly evolved into a place where community members can share best practices with each other, as well as discuss their stories, challenges and successes,” McHorse. “The new enhancements serve to deepen and broaden those conversations.” Drivers are the backbone of the trucking industry, McHorse said. “We look forward to seeing the impact of the Team Run Smart resources and Pros on the challenges the industry is facing.”      

WASHINGTON — State DOT executives and transportation industry representatives threw their full support behind a bipartisan goal to draft a full five-year reauthorization of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation or FAST Act based on formula-funding during a July 10 Senate Environment and Public Works committee hearing. The outcome of the hearing was reported in an article in the Journal, the official publication of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). “I am working with ranking member [Sen. Tom] Carper [D-Del.] to advance the most substantial bipartisan highway bill ever passed by Congress,” said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., (seen above) the committee’s chairman, during his opening remarks at the hearing. “We — along with the other members of the committee — are working to pass a five-year highway infrastructure bill to fix our roads, our bridges, and our highways,” he said. The senator then said doing so means maintaining each state’s share of highway formula funding [as] formula funding gives each state the flexibility they need to address their specific surface transportation needs. “Maintaining the federal highway program’s current approach of distributing over 90 percent of the funds to the states by formula is the key to this. It is a proven approach that works for everyone and should be continued,” he said. Carper went even farther in his opening remarks at the hearing, describing transportation as key to buttressing the “inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” put forth in the Declaration of Independence. “I often link those three inalienable rights with the work we do on this committee,” he said. “The fact is, Americans cannot truly enjoy life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness without a safe transportation system that nurtures our economy, protects our environment, and enhances our mobility.” Carlos Braceras, executive director of the Utah Department of Transportation and 2018-2019 AASHTO president, said that “predictable funding” is an important factor in the reauthorization process. “The lack of stable, predictable funding from the Highway Trust Fund makes it nearly impossible for state DOTs to plan for large projects that need a reliable flow of funding over multiple years,” he said during his testimony. “These projects are what connect people, enhance quality of life, and stimulate economic growth in each community where they are built.” He stressed that the “heart and soul” of the federal-aid highway program are the formula dollars supporting state and local investment decisions and are key to creating “long-term predictability” where surface transportation funding is concerned. “The formula-based program framework built the Interstate Highway System and the National Highway System, the backbone of our national network of roads and bridges that drives our national economy,” Braceras said. “This remains the optimal approach to underpin the next surface transportation legislation that will serve all corners of our country – by improving mobility and quality of life in urban, suburban, and rural areas. If we can have long-term predictability, we also get the best value for our investments in transportation projects.” Yet he noted that more money will be needed to do all of that successfully. “The investment backlog for transportation infrastructure continues to increase – reaching $836 billion for highways and bridges and $122 billion for transit, according to the United States Department of Transportation,” Braceras said. “And, in order to simply maintain the current Highway Trust Fund spending levels, Congress will need to identify $90 billion in additional revenues to support a five-year [surface transportation reauthorization] bill through 2025; [while] $114 billion would be needed to support a six-year bill through 2026.” Luke Reiner, in his first Congressional testimony as director and chief executive officer of the Wyoming Department of Transportation, noted that while formula-funding should remain the primary “emphasis” of any surface transportation reauthorization legislation, more attention needs to be paid to rural states in the process. “Formula highway programs, in contrast to discretionary programs, should continue to receive very strong federal funding emphasis,” the former Army major general emphasized. “Formula dollars are delivered as projects more promptly than discretionary dollars – and the public is eager for transportation investment.” Yet Reiner added that “funding provisions must reflect that significant Federal investment in highways and transportation in rural states continues to be warranted and benefits the entire nation,” noting that “rural states face major transportation infrastructure funding challenges. We can’t provide these benefits to the nation and ensure a sufficiently connected national system without Federal investment.” For example, he said that the national per capita average contribution to the highway account of the Highway Trust fund is approximately $117, yet the per capita contribution attributable to rural states is much higher. “In Wyoming it is the highest of the states at $312 annually per capita, [with] North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana the next highest,” Reiner noted. And the stakes are high in regard to obtaining the necessary revenue, Utah DOT’s Braceras pointed out. “We are at an inflection point in transportation history,” he emphasized. “Our proud legacy of achievement is at risk as we face what the future could look like without a revitalized federal surface transportation program: compromised safety, seriously degraded quality of life and environment, and lack of global economic competitiveness.”