Truck driver safety

A cheesehead’s guide to driving 4 million safe miles

Duaine Conrad climbed into the driver’s seat of his cabover Mack, 300 horsepower under the hood and five speeds at hand. It was sometime in the mid-’80s — the exact year escapes him — he was 23 years old and had agreed to fill in for a driver who called in sick. It was his first run for Filippo & Sons, a trucking company based in Plymouth, Wisconsin.

Not surprising, he was hauling cheese that day. At the time, Plymouth was home to the National Cheese Exchange, and the city still takes pride in...

https://www.freightwaves.com/cheesehead-guide-driving-4-million-safe-miles-sargento-cheese-duaine-conrad

Develop a blueprint for policies and procedures

Teams that don’t follow a well-executed game plan aren’t expected to succeed. The same goes for trucking companies without safety policies in place. Don’t be surprised when trouble comes your way. 

Nothing great is built without a blueprint, which is why it’s important for motor carriers to put pen to paper as to what they expect from their driver workforce.

Reliance Partners Director of Safety Robert Kaferle shared his thoughts on documenting policies and procedures. Over the years, he’s...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/develop-a-blueprint-for-policies-and-procedures

Safety check: It’s better to be proactive than reactive

Developing a safety culture isn’t easy, but establishing one sure does make your job a lot easier down the road.

Reliance Partners Director of Safety Robert Kaferle continues the conversation from his previous article, Safety check: No carrier thinks it’s ‘unsafe’, further explaining the importance of proactive safety amid a high-risk environment.

Kaferle and fellow Director of Safety Brian Runnels are part of Reliance Partners’ risk services team, which works closely with motor carriers to identi...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/safety-check-its-better-to-be-proactive-than-reactive

Trust your instincts when GPS leads you astray

The semi truck may be king of the road, but its dominion only reaches so far; there are certainly places it doesn’t belong.

However, with time crunches, traffic, construction work and other constraints along the way, many commercial drivers opt for the fastest route even if it means straying far off the beaten track.

Brian Runnels urges drivers not to blindly trust GPS devices. As Reliance Partners’ director of safety and a veteran driver, he explains that the best navigational tools are often an...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trust-your-instincts-when-gps-leads-you-astray

Safety expert reflects on emotional toll of truck accident

One mistake behind the wheel can lead to devastating consequences to you and those around you. 

Semi truck accidents are unfortunately a common occurrence on our nation’s highways. Many drivers won’t admit it, but it’s easy for those who have managed to evade these harrowing events to lull themselves into the “It’ll never happen to me” mindset.

The truth: Many victims of traumatic accidents feel similarly right up until the moment of impact. Drivers able to walk away with their lives and no one...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/safety-expert-reflects-on-emotional-toll-of-truck-accident

DRIVE-Safe Act proponents call for greater trust in trained younger drivers

Talks of labor shortages and truck driver safety are common themes at industry conferences, in newsletters, editorials and even watercooler conversations — with good reason. 

But it’s almost as if labor and driver safety were inversely related: On one hand, relaxing regulations to make trucking easier to enter is decried as a threat to safety. On the other hand, the industry can’t grow unless drivers have more freedom.

Can’t both issues be addressed at the same time?

The Developing Responsible...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/drive-safe-act-proponents-call-for-greater-trust-in-trained-younger-drivers

Coyote Logistics makes truck parking reservations available within CoyoteGo platform

Truck drivers hauling loads for Coyote Logistics now have access to safe and secure reserved parking through the CoyoteGo digital freight platform. The spaces are being made available through an integration with TruckPark.

“Sourcing trailer parking has been a long-standing complexity and source of frustration for carriers, which has been exacerbated by changes in demand caused by COVID-19. Shippers rely on Coyote’s reliable capacity to move their freight, and carriers rely on us to make that...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/coyote-logistics-makes-truck-parking-reservations-available-within-coyotego-platform

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