In just a few weeks, law enforcement personnel across North America will be posted at roads, weigh stations and designated inspection areas, collectively conducting thousands of inspections of commercial vehicles during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) 2023 International Roadcheck.

During the three-day event, which will take place from May 16 to 18, drivers for motor carriers may go through any of the various levels of inspections, including the most thorough 37-step level I inspection.

“Carriers need to take the proactive approach, warn their drivers and make sure they know exactly what these officers are looking for in a roadside inspection — and be checking for that in their pre-trip inspections,” advised Robert Kaferle, VP of safety at Reliance Partners, a trucking insurance agency and safety consultancy, during April 17’s WHAT THE TRUCK?!? episode.

Despite CVSA releasing exactly what it is looking for during inspections, including focus areas, thousands of drivers and vehicles receive out-of-service violations each year. Last year, out of the 59,026 inspections, 12,456 vehicles and 3,714 drivers were placed out of service, according to numbers released by CVSA.

This year’s focuses are on antilock braking systems (ABS) and cargo securement — areas that drivers should pay particular attention to during pre-trip inspections leading up to the blitz.

“The lights on the side of the trailer for the ABS are not there for show, they’re there for a reason. [Drivers] should make sure they’re working correctly and that their load securement devices are not frayed [and] that they are placed in the right places,” Kaferle advised.

Below are some specifics criteria inspectors will look for regarding ABS and cargo securement:

(Source: Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance)

While focus areas are of critical importance, they aren’t the only areas drivers and carriers should be concerned with. Officers will review other key areas of the vehicle during the various levels of inspections that can occur during Roadcheck.

According to CVSA’s “cheat sheet” for level I inspections, these areas include brakes; coupling devices; fuel and exhaust systems; frame, van and open-top trailers; lighting; securement of cargo; steering; suspension; and tires, wheels, rims and hubs.

Roadside inspections that result in violations can have numerous damaging consequences. Critical violations can land drivers or vehicles out of service, but any type of violation can mean costly fines as well as poor safety scores, which have a lingering effect, including pushing up insurance premiums.

Violations are a red flag that an organization needs to do something better internally, Kaferle said.

As Roadcheck rapidly nears, Kaferle reiterated the importance of training drivers, especially when it comes to pre-trip inspections. This will allow them to catch and repair any maintenance issues ahead of Roadcheck.

“This is the time that you need to focus on sharing knowledge with your drivers and making sure that they understand what the rules are and what the officers are going to be looking at,” Kaferle advised. “Drivers should be aware that it’s coming and that they’re going to be asked to pull over and have their straps evaluated, their load securement devices evaluated, their ABS. It’s no surprise.”

While fleet managers should refresh drivers now on this year’s focuses and other vehicle and driver compliance areas that will be looked at during a level I inspection, Kaferle recommends training drivers all year long.

After all, inspections can occur at any time.

“Talk to your insurance provider, talk to any safety organization — your state, national safety organizations — see what kind of information [and training materials are] out there,” Kaferle said.

Reliance Partners provides its clients with the resources they need to improve their safety programs, including informative material to train drivers on proper pre-trip inspections, which will ultimately help them achieve clean roadside inspections during International Roadcheck and throughout the year.

The post International Roadcheck just weeks away, but are your drivers ready? appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.

Though each company’s approach to driver coaching is different, one thing usually remains the same: When the safety office calls, the driver’s first thought is probably: “What did I do this time?”

If the only time drivers ever hear from the safety office, or a fleet manager for that matter, is when they’re being told they did something wrong, they will always associate that phone number with news that might ruin the rest of their day.

One of the first things you as a safety professional or fleet manager can do is to start calling drivers to congratulate them on their improvement rather than just when they’ve broken the rules.

The next step you can take should be to improve your coaching strategy in order to make these tough conversations more respectful and productive for both the driver and the company.

Brian Runnels, vice president of safety at Reliance Partners, an innovative risk management-minded trucking and logistics insurance company, offers the following tips for effective driver coaching:

1. Talk to drivers, don’t yell at them.

No one likes to be yelled at. One of the simplest forms of respect that should automatically be given to drivers when coaching is just to talk to them, not raise your voice.

“As soon as you yell at a driver, they shut down and they’re resistant to the coaching. That doesn’t work,” Runnels said.

2. Have all the facts.

Why is the coaching taking place? You need to be able to explain who, what, when and where an incident occurred that prompted coaching. Have facts to support your claim and provide the driver context why they’re being coached.

Additionally, use all the information at your disposal, including any statistics or industry news going on that might lend credence to the importance of the coaching.

3. Use coaching as an opportunity to teach.

According to the dictionary, coach means to “give instruction or advice.” Therefore, it shouldn’t be simply a conversation telling the driver what they did was wrong with no follow-up advice on how to improve. If a driver views coaching as chastising it’s unlikely they’re going to get much out of the conversation.

“If you’re retraining with video content, approach it as an opportunity for the driver to learn something new rather than it being a punishment. If they treat it as a punishment, they’re not really retaining information,” Runnels said.

4. Decide whether coaching is enough.

There are times when coaching is not enough and disciplinary action should begin. If coaching has already taken place in the past regarding the same issue, according to your company policy you may determine disciplinary action is needed.

“You have to think to yourself, ‘If this driver has something happen, and we have to go to court, and we’ve done coaching but there hasn’t been any improvement, can we still defend him in court?’” Runnels said. “If the answer is no, then you probably can’t keep that driver.”

5. Document all coaching sessions.

Verbal coaching needs written verification to support it. Documentation that coaching occurred can help defend the driver and the company in court or an audit. Insurance companies also tend to be more comfortable with carriers that document driver coaching sessions.

When insurance renewal time comes around, driver coaching, especially around technology, can make it easier to manage insurance costs if driver coaching produces good results.

“If you don’t have it in writing, it didn’t happen. Each driver should have a personnel file where this documentation goes,” Runnels said. “If you’re going to have a policy about coaching before disciplinary action, it needs to be consistent across the board and written.”

6. Know your stuff.

Most trucks are now outfitted with multiple telematics devices, such as an ELD or GPS, which companies use to gather data about a driver’s actions and habits. Companies can know exactly where their driver is, their hours of service, their speed, hard braking and more.

The person doing the coaching should be knowledgeable and ideally, have experience with the subject they’re coaching the driver on and any technology involved.

“You need to make sure whoever’s doing the coaching knows what the product is, how it’s used and understands the approach to take with it and the facts behind it,” Runnels said. “If the coaching is on a hard brake that occurred, and the person doing the coaching doesn’t know what the difference between a ‘minus 15’ and a ‘minus 25’ on a hard brake is, it’s not going to come across as effective.”

7. When possible, get face time.

Though at most trucking companies the majority of conversations happen over the phone, nothing beats face-to-face conversations. For safety professionals and driver managers, face-to-face coaching sessions are a way to build respect and get better results.

However, be aware that sometimes, if a driver goes into the office for coaching, it may have the opposite effect. It’s possible the driver could feel as though everybody else in the office knows what happened.

For the most effective results, coaching should be done on the driver’s turf, such as in the yard or by the truck. This levels the playing field and facilitates a more natural conversation.

“Now you’ve taken some of the sting out of the conversation,” Runnels said.

8. Listen to drivers.

Don’t shut down a driver when they’re explaining the circumstances around the subject they’re being coached on.

A driver may provide context around the situation or that can help you learn more about them and make determinations moving forward.

“A good safety professional isn’t always just a safety person. It’s possible to be one of the driver’s best allies, and if you have that sort of relationship with your driver, it makes the hard conversations much easier,” Runnels said.

The post 8 practices to improve your driver coaching strategy appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.

Weigh station inspections can take as little as thirty minutes or, if a driver is having a bad day, it can end up costing them 10 hours.

Of course, 10 hours is only if a driver receives a violation severe enough to put them out of service.

These violations cost drivers not just their time but could require them to pay fines and impact the Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) report, which might make it more difficult to get hired by another carrier in the future.

But passing an inspection isn’t complicated, according to Robert Kaferle and Brian Runnels, both vice presidents of safety at Reliance Partners. The two shared tips drivers can implement to successfully pass weigh station inspections, drawing on their years of experience both behind the wheel and in the safety office.

When it comes down to it, in most circumstances drivers can prevent violations. One of the best — and most basic — things drivers should do while at a scale is to ensure they’re obeying the rules.

Though it may seem obvious, simple regulations are often unintentionally broken at weigh stations because a driver is focused on gathering paperwork and speaking with a law enforcement officer.

“It’s as simple as keeping your hands on the steering wheel until the officer approaches, keeping your prescription glasses and seat belt on so the officer can see. Then, if you need to take off your seatbelt or remove your prescription glasses to read paperwork, you should verbally tell the officer what you’re going to do,” Kaferle said.

Inspections are classified from Levels 1 through 6, but most of the time drivers will experience a Level 3 inspection. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance states that Level 3 inspections focus on an “examination of the driver’s license; medical examiner’s certificate and skill performance evaluation (SPE) certificate; driver’s record of duty status; hours of service; seat belt; vehicle inspection reports; and a carrier’s identification and status.”

Drivers should be careful of violating form and manner regulations, which can be overlooked but are easily avoidable, like forgetting to add a bill of lading number on logs, missing trailer and tractor numbers and unclaimed driving time.

These violations may be seen as a red flag that could lead to more rigorous Level 2 (walk-around) or Level 1 (full) inspections.

“Eliminating simple things will put you in a better position to successfully get through an inspection. If they do a Level 3 and there’s nothing there, then they may not do a Level 2 or a Level 1 inspection,” Kaferle said.

In addition to following all rules, keeping the truck clean and in working order with no mechanical issues helps to avoid inspections in the first place.

“Don’t let trash build up on the dash and don’t have broken pieces of equipment. Visible disorganization could signal to an officer that there may be other potential issues with the truck,” Runnels noted.

To truly be prepared, however, prep work should begin well in advance of the scales. This starts with self-accountability.

A driver shouldn’t, and doesn’t have to, guess at remembering his or her violation and crash history. Kaferle recommends drivers request a PSP report once a year to know for sure what details are viewable.

PSP reports contain the last three years of roadside inspections and five years of crash history.

“As a driver, you make your living off your license to drive a tractor-trailer, so it’s critical to make sure it’s in a good standing,” Kaferle said.

Drivers should ensure all necessary paperwork is in the vehicle; the best practice is for drivers to bring any letters or paperwork from the state confirming any updates affecting their licenses, such as after yearly physicals.

“If you do get pulled over and the officer says, for example, ‘the state doesn’t have a copy of your current medical card,’ you can show them the letter that says it does,” Kaferle said.

Finally, drivers should make sure any other unrelated issues are taken care of, especially any pending legal issues, which might come back to haunt them.

“We see a ton of violations for drivers that have their CDL suspended for non-safety-related issues and many times that’s something to do with a court — whether it’s child support or fines. The very first thing they’ll go after is the driver’s license,” Runnels said.

Drivers should also be aware of their employers’ Inspection Selection System score, which makes some carriers more likely to get pulled aside for an inspection than others.

For carriers, Runnels offers this advice: “Once they start pulling more and more of your trucks, there are more opportunities for violations to be found and you get into a pattern that makes it difficult to get out of. Make sure your drivers are doing pre-trips, that their logs are in order and they’re doing loads legally. That goes a long way of keeping everyone out of the crosshairs.”

The post How you can prepare to ace a weigh station inspection appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.

What’s the point of a safety department if risk mitigation isn’t valued? That’s what Reliance Partners Director of Safety Robert Kaferle argues in a recent appearance on FreightWaves’ What the Truck?!?

Kaferle urges carriers to focus less on their CSA scores but instead aim to reduce violations. He reasons that safety scores only tell you where to look and that they’ll certainly drop if eliminating violations are your top priority.

He also stresses the importance of proactive safety measures. In other words, take steps to prevent violations before they occur.

However, the problem with many safety programs today is that they’re reactionary in nature. Rather than getting to the root of an issue before an incident arises, Kaferle said some programs take action only after the fact.

If you don’t know where to start, Kaferle suggests carriers consider safety consulting to uncover negligence or unidentified issues that may be hiding in plain sight.

“You have to figure out what the issue is,” he said. “Is it a dispatcher, operations or customer issue? Are they having issues with the maintenance department or are carriers not treating their drivers as the professionals that they should be?

“If they’re continuing to have maintenance issues, ELD issues where they don’t have manuals or they don’t have blank logs in the truck and they continue to get those violations, that’s a red flag,” Kaferle said, explaining that he’s always willing to help, but he’d like for his clients to roll up their sleeves too. After all, only your team knows the business best.

When fleets have nonchalant attitudes toward safety, Kaferle suggests it could be a sign that employee morale is low, which must be dealt with immediately.

He said that it doesn’t take much to boost recruiting and retention in this industry — a little can go a long way. Of the many methods Kaferle deploys on his visits with carriers to build and improve their human resources and safety departments, he said you’d be surprised by just how appreciative drivers are when given their own business cards.

“Everyone feels more important with a business card — it’s just the way it is,” Kaferle said. “It really sets your company apart. Plus, it’s a great recruiting tool.”

The post Proactive safety measures reduce stress and violations appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.

It is hard to believe that it’s been nearly two years since the onset of the pandemic. Through all of the chaos and fears of the unknown, what’s even harder to believe is how the trucking industry overcame such adversity.

Here we are, nearing the end of 2021, and we’ve collectively found a way to rise to the challenge. The resiliency of this industry has provided us with many things to be thankful for. So with Thanksgiving just around the corner, let’s reflect not on the hardships, but on the people and things that have gotten us where we are today.

Reliance Partners Director of Safety Robert Kaferle is grateful first and foremost for the steady work that trucking has provided its workforce. The long haul can surely be tough, but tiredness from hard work feels better than restlessness from finding no work, especially when COVID-19 shuttered many businesses.

“Our current economic situation shows the incredible importance of this industry; it’s an industry critical to our society’s way of life,” Kaferle said, adding that trucking is a career with demand that won’t go away anytime soon. He’s optimistic about the future, anticipating carriers will continue to increase driver pay and benefits, as well as offer more home time and dedicated routes when possible.

Kaferle is also thankful for trucking’s accessibility in that it provides opportunities for anyone willing to put in the work, regardless of background. Of the estimated 672,788 professional truck drivers in the United States, Zippia reports that 62.4% are White, 16.9% are Hispanic or Latino, and 14.1% are Black. The racial representation of America’s truck driver population is relatively proportional to the country’s demographics.

Nearly 80% of drivers behind the wheel are male, but efforts to make the industry more welcoming to women have gained momentum the past few years, thanks to organizations such as the Women in Trucking Association.

“The industry is accessible to people with an education or without an education; and it’s accessible to people of any background,” Kaferle said. “It’s a great industry to get involved in.”

Trucking opened doors to Kaferle at an early age. He felt that college wasn’t for him and instead dove into the industry, first working at a freight dock for an LTL carrier in Fort Worth, Texas. When Kaferle turned 21, he acquired his CDL and drove for the company but quickly began over-the-road hauls.

Kaferle’s resume spans the management side of the industry as well, with notable roles as nightly and weekend dispatcher for a Texas truckload carrier, ascending to director of its Northeast operations in Pennsylvania before becoming VP of operations for another carrier.

“I joined Reliance Partners to work on the producer and carrier side of the trucking insurance industry, using my experience to help carriers,” Kaferle said. “We’ve established a good safety program that’s taking flight, and we’re looking forward to it helping our carrier clients.”

Brian Runnels, Reliance Partners’ vice president of safety, said he’s most thankful this year for the successful launch of the company’s safety program.

“Reliance Partners gave Robert and I the keys to the car and said, ‘Here, drive it.’ We were able to create something that we think is pretty special, and it’s going to be a great value-add for our customer base,” Runnels said.

Accustomed to over 20 years of life on the road, Runnels is thankful that his post-driving career allows him to continue his travels, visiting clients across the country to help establish and improve fleet safety cultures. “You can’t effect change unless you’re in front of somebody,” he said.

Runnels was born and raised in the world of trucking. He entered the industry professionally in 1992 with his truck driving father as his mentor. The two ran teams with each other for a year, a unique experience that Runnels said was integral to his training, explaining that most drivers don’t typically have their trainer riding shotgun for a year and a half.

“I’m so grateful to have done all these different things within the industry,” Runnels said. “It really gives you a well-rounded view of what’s going on not only in the cab of the truck, but inside the dispatch offices and at the insurance companies.”

The trucking genes have spread throughout the Runnels household. He thanks the industry for introducing him to his wife, a driver recruiter. Their children followed in their parents’ footsteps, with one daughter currently at Knight Transportation as a driver manager and their youngest daughter just starting a position at Total Quality Logistics, a 3PL in Indianapolis. Their middle son is a heavy equipment wrecker operator for the U.S. Army and plans to further his career in big rig towing and recovery after completing his tour of duty.

The post Trucking offers many reasons to be thankful appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.

Trucking’s age-old problem has been just that — the age of its drivers.

The median age of a truck driver is 46, which is five years older than the national average for all workers. As more and more drivers — especially those in their 60s and 70s, of whom there are many on the road today — decide to retire from commercial trucking, America’s highways are in danger of becoming a lot quieter.

This may sound good to commuters, until they realize that almost everything in their lives is shipped via truck.

It’s evident that the industry needs more drivers — young ones to be exact. The opportunity to make $50,000-plus a year with great benefits, all without going into debt for a college education, would seem like an ideal pathway for many 18-year-olds. That’s the message trucking companies have desperately wanted to convey, but the industry has long struggled to resonate with teenagers — until now.

High school students across the country are experiencing trucking firsthand through the efforts of the Next Generation in Trucking Association (NGT), a nonprofit education accelerator with the goal of promoting CDL driver and diesel technician programs in high schools and community and technical colleges across the United States. Its mission: “students, teachers, schools, business professionals, partners, and sponsors.”

NGT co-founder and Executive Director Lindsey Trent realized that teenagers aren’t likely to consider trucking unless they see its benefits firsthand; she figured the industry itself needed to make the first move.

“NGT is looking to create a diverse and equitable workforce for the trucking industry to provide technical education for those students that might not be excelling in the traditional classroom,” Trent said. “They’re probably not going to go to college, or if they do go for a couple of years and aren’t successful, we’ll try to catch those young people before they go down an incorrect career path by introducing them to trucking, hoping that it may be a good fit for them.”

Trent said that it’s very disheartening when career centers offering technical education have a program for every trade available except trucking, explaining that the field is underrepresented in high school education.

“We’re partnering with the industry and with educators to bring awareness regarding the trucking industry, and to let these administrators and educators know that we need drivers, we need diesel technicians, and we want to help support the creation of programs where they can produce these for us,” Trent said.

NGT has gained traction among industry leaders since its founding in 2020. Founding sponsors include The National Transportation Institute, DHL, software company Tenstreet, CDLLife, National Tank Truck Carriers, Reliance Partners and many more.

The association recently celebrated its newest partner, the Future Leaders of Indiana (FLI), a council within the Indiana Motor Truck Association. FLI consists of individuals in the trucking industry seeking leadership development and networking opportunities throughout the state.

“NGT wants to help FLI target high schools and career centers throughout the state, more specifically career technical education high schools, to start trucking programs, whether it’s CDL driving or diesel technician programs,” Trent said. “We’re trying to build those relationships with education by introducing young people to the trucking industry, and what it looks like to be a truck driver, diesel technician or a supply chain manager. That’s what we’re hoping to accomplish with our partnership with FLI in Indiana.”

Garrett Knollman, chairman of the FLI council and CEO at Transmark Logistics, added that trucking is typically an afterthought for high school students because of its lack of representation among trade schools. “Individuals may be best suited to be in the trucking industry, but without the opportunity to learn about it, it’s kind of tough for them to even make the choice.”

Knollman said these programs are perfect for hardworking students eager to make a good living but who feel that college isn’t for them. Moreover, the reality for many rural Indiana communities is that a college education doesn’t make it any less tough to find good work.

“If you look at a more urban setting, it’s a way out of what could be a not-so-great upbringing or environment,” Knollman said. “It’s a way for many to get themselves out of those situations where they may be drawn into less desirable things.”

NGT’s other founder, Dave Dein, is a high school truck driving coordinator and instructor in Patterson, California. Dein has created one of the nation’s first high school truck driving programs.

“Schools and industries, they don’t talk to each other,” Dein said. “Schools think they know what they’re doing to prepare students for the future, but if you don’t talk to the industry, you don’t know what you’re really preparing them for.”

Dein said he wants to help schools start CDL programs because most don’t know how. “I want them to use my curriculum,” he said.

Dein heads a one-year program for Patterson High School’s senior class, utilizing an on-site truck for pre-trip inspection training as well as air brake tests, coupling and uncoupling, and straight-line back-ins. Students also receive training through driving simulators, of which Patterson owns two.

“We start off every day with something called ‘Industry Updates.’ Like what are the hot topics of that day?” Dein said. “So students are constantly keeping a pulse on the industry, as far as emerging technologies and where the industry is going, because I want them to be ahead of the curve, so to speak.”

Once students have graduated from the program, Dein said they can enroll in its adult education program, which uses funds to contract drivers to a truck driving school where students gain behind-the-wheel training. “By the end of the summer, a student who went through our high school program can end up with a CDL at no cost to them,” Dein said.

Dein doesn’t boast of his program’s success but is immensely proud of what his students have gone on to accomplish after high school. Just two months into the program, he said that a parent visited him after school. Usually that isn’t a good sign, but on this occasion the man wanted to shake his hand and thank him for saving his son.

“He said that he was losing his son before he took my trucking class, and that he was on a path of self-destruction,” Dein said. “He had no self-esteem; he had no purpose in life, but he said that for the first time in his life, he feels that he’s tasted success.”

His son, Javier, went on to graduate from the program and become one of the youngest drivers for a company in California. According to Dein, the company said it wants more “Javiers” to join the fleet.

Dein previously spent summers rehabilitating former inmates through his nonprofit truck driving school and prison outreach Christian ministry, Founder Faith Logistics. But his commitment to NGT has pressed him to return to truck driving this summer, helping alleviate California’s commercial driver shortage, to raise money for his students. All of his earnings will go toward an NGT scholarship fund for his students. He didn’t start with a total in mind, but with more people offering support, he’s set a goal of $10,000.

“Students are going through the system and being told that in order to be successful in this world, you have to have a college degree. … Many of them have never even considered trucking as a career choice mainly because they don’t know anything about it. But a lot of times when you just give them a little bit of information, it really piques their interest,” Dein said. “Our mission is to educate young people on what kind of trucking careers are out there, and also to help other high schools start similar CDL programs like the one we started here at Patterson High School four years ago.”

The post Growing numbers of teens see trucking as attractive career appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.

House construction nationwide is being constrained by the tight supply and mile-high price of lumber, but this squeeze has not been felt by the flatbed truckers who haul these loads.

Reliance Partners CFO Thom Albrecht said the lumber shortage can be viewed from both a glass half empty and full perspective, depending on who you ask in the supply chain.

Those hurting the most right now are the end consumers — builders and homeowners — of which many have found it difficult to finish projects on time amid exorbitant costs.

The price of framing lumber has skyrocketed 250% — $1,200 per thousand board feet as of late April compared to $350 the year prior, according to research from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The association credits the “unprecedented” price spikes for tacking on $36,000 to the average price of a new single-family home and close to $13,000 for multifamily homes since April 2020.

“The lumber crisis has been very real in particular for buyers of lumber … but I don’t think it’s been that big of a deal for flatbed carriers,” Albrecht said of truckers’ resiliency in adapting to the market’s changing freight needs.

This has to do with the fact that most flatbed haulers service multiple industries at any given time, which has helped insulate these carriers from the effects of the “lumber crisis.”

“Of the flatbed haulers that we insure who haul lumber, that’s just one of many commodities that they carry. Some have commented that they’re seeing other alternative supplies, particularly Trex-like supplies [composite deck materials] strengthened,” Albrecht said, adding that the inflated price of lumber has significantly narrowed the price gap between traditional and high-priced alternative building materials.

SONAR’s U.S. Flatbed Outbound Tender Reject Index shows that flatbed carriers are rejecting loads at a far greater rate this spring and summer than they did last year and in 2019. In fact, flatbed tender rejections have surpassed rates seen in 2018, a year infamous for its historic capacity tightness.

While lumber is a prime component of any construction project, it’s just one of many ingredients. Albrecht said flatbed truckers have the advantage to pick up other load types, including bricks, generators, tile, roofing materials, as well as steel and other metals. What’s more, he said that many are even finding good hauling opportunities in the aerospace and renewable energy sectors.

“Lumber is really just a symptom of what’s been underway in the housing market for a dozen years,” Albrecht said.

Albrecht noted that housing starts can partly explain why lumber prices are where they’re at. Housing starts is an economic indicator that represents the number of privately owned new homes that have started construction in a given period.

From 1959 until 2007, housing starts only seldom fell below 1 million units annually. That changed of course during the Great Recession, when figures remained below the million-unit mark between mid-2008 and late 2013. Housing starts have bounced back though, as around 1.2 million new units have been built every year since 2014. However, despite reaching a 15-year high of 1.733 million units in March, Albrecht made it clear that housing starts haven’t kept pace with population-adjusted levels.

“We’re really close to getting back to what was essentially a 50-year trend line, so it’s not surprising that lumber prices have been inflationary along with other building materials,” Albrecht said.

Rising construction costs have led many Americans to opt for buying an existing home rather than building one. Because of this, the housing market remains highly competitive, as many homeowners are asking for prices well above the value of their abode.

Mortgage applications have decreased 3.1% in the past week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. But the market shows no signs of slowing down, as U.S. home prices saw a 13.2% annual gain in March, up from 12% the previous month, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index.

“That’s just a natural reaction from the consumers. While it was probably rising interest rates initially, the fact that existing home sales and the prices are up 20% year-over-year may be causing buyers to pause and ask, ‘Maybe we should wait a little bit, let’s see what the rest of summer or even fall brings,’” Albrecht said, asserting that consumer patience may result in milder lumber prices down the road.

The post Flatbed steady amid lumber shortages, construction tightness appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.

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 Individuals for a Vibrant Economy (DRIVE-Safe) Act looks to accomplish just that, by promoting better supplemental driver training while hopefully putting a dent in the driver shortage.

The DRIVE-Safe Act proposes a two-step apprenticeship process for drivers once they receive a commercial driver’s license (CDL). The training would require drivers to complete at least 400 hours of on-duty time and 240 hours of driving time under the supervision of an experienced driver riding shotgun. In addition, drivers would receive training on trucks with the latest safety technology, including active braking collision mitigation systems, forward-facing video capture, and a speed governor of 65 mph at the pedal and under adaptive cruise control.

The DRIVE-Safe Act was introduced in 2018 but was reintroduced with bipartisan support in the U.S. House and Senate last month. It primarily focuses on allowing drivers ages 18 to 21 to participate in interstate commerce, which this demographic currently cannot do.

This has squandered many opportunities for young drivers, according to Brian Runnels, Reliance Partners’ director of safety, who believes carriers could benefit greatly from loosening the leash just a bit.

Runnels argues that opening the door to interstate commerce doesn’t necessarily mean that younger drivers will be granted long-haul jobs. Rather, he makes the case that it’ll actually present more opportunities close to home.

“Carriers as a whole would feel much safer with a younger driver in a closed circuit, a relatively short distance like shuttling or hosteling trailers, or moving freight from one facility to another, not necessarily crossing state lines,” Runnels said. “But if the freight is destined for out of state, [young] drivers can’t take it from a manufacturing facility to a warehouse just 2 miles down the road; they’re not allowed to touch it.”

This means that truckers under the age of 21 operating in and around “state line cities” such as Chattanooga and Memphis, Tennessee; Cincinnati; Charlotte, North Carolina; and St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, for instance, aren’t allowed to even deliver local loads just because they originated in or are destined for across state lines.

“More local options would be open to 18- to 21-year-old drivers if they drop the intrastate rules, as weird as that sounds,” Runnels said. “These drivers pick up out-of-state loads dropped off in their area and can deliver them or bring them to a drop yard destined for wherever, which right now they can’t do. This would put these drivers in a more controlled area than just letting them run all over the country.”

So far, more than 120 companies and trade associations have joined a coalition in support of the DRIVE-Safe Act. One supporter is The Next Generation in Trucking Association, a nonprofit education accelerator with the goal of promoting CDL driver and diesel technician programs in high schools and community and technical colleges across the United States. Runnels serves on its board of directors.

Next Gen helps better prepare drivers with preliminary training before they actually work toward obtaining their CDLs. Its founder, Lindsey Trent, hopes the passage of the DRIVE-Safe Act would help further her efforts to introduce high school- and college-age students to the trucking industry. Next Gen’s efforts have already come to fruition in some schools through a senior-level course, entailing 219 hours of classroom instruction and 75 hours behind the wheel of a truck.

“Next Gen isn’t going after every teenager; these young participants are interested in driving at a young age and are serious about their truck driving career,” Trent said. “Not only are we trying to push the passage of the DRIVE-Safe Act, but we ultimately want there to be more trained and skilled young drivers out there.”

“There’s over $1.1 billion of federal funding every year that goes to technical education; the trucking industry is missing this,” Trent said in a previous FreightWaves interview. “We are competing against welding, construction and woodworking, but interestingly enough, a lot of those industries need CDL drivers.”

However, not everyone in trucking is on board with the DRIVE-Safe Act. In fact, a coalition of trucking and safety organizations argues that catering to younger drivers would “needlessly endanger the public.” The coalition stated that commercial drivers 19 to 20 years of age are six times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than all other truckers. It also argued that the industry has a retention crisis on its hands rather than a driver shortage.

Whether younger or older drivers are safer remains up for debate; it really all depends on how you interpret the statistics, Runnels suggests.

For instance, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) statistics from 2018 show that the age demographic with the highest percentage of fatal crashes involving large trucks is drivers 46-55 years, at 26.4%. Drivers in the 36-45 age group came in second at 21.8%, followed closely by 56- to 65-year-old drivers at 20%. In fact, only 6.6% of fatal accidents involved drivers 18-25.

One could argue that younger drivers are safer based on these figures alone, but further insight offers a different perspective.

Both Trent and Runnels say most drivers entering the industry today are 38 years old. Further, the median age of commercial drivers is 46, compared to 41 for all other workers. As the majority of commercial drivers predominantly skew older, the fact that they see more accidents seems only logical.

Regardless, the advancing age of truckers is one of the top concerns the industry can’t ignore. Next Gen states that trucking companies will have to hire 890,000 new drivers this decade to keep up with growing freight demand, so all signs point to attracting younger drivers as a viable option.

“I honestly think that it’s going to be an uphill battle. But it’s a matter of starting high school programs and career awareness programs in each state,” Trent said. “There’s a [driver] shortage, and it’s going to continue to increase the prices of consumer goods because there’s not enough people to transport those goods. We’ve got to do something, and in order to keep our economy moving, we have to have more truck drivers.”

The post DRIVE-Safe Act proponents call for greater trust in trained younger drivers appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.

Let’s face it, your truck probably needs a deep clean.

Perhaps it was one of your New Year’s resolutions, but after a long and relentless winter, a truck caked in grimy layers of salt and dirt may not be the only mess on your hands. A victim of cabin fever, you’ve come to the realization that your cab needs some tidying, too.

Spring has sprung, which means it’s about time to shed the hefty winter jacket, gloves and boots. In this season of transition, take the time to adopt some simple spring cleaning habits for your home on wheels.

Reliance Partners Director of Safety Brian Runnels steps through a few tips — and benefits — for keeping your truck in tiptop shape.

Runnels described himself as being “extremely clean” throughout his over-the-road tenure, saying anybody who knew him during his driving years was aware of his cleaning habits. “I lived in the truck for three to four weeks at a time. It had to be clean.”

Cleanliness often reflects pride in oneself and one’s vehicle. While most drivers take special care of maintaining their truck, some do not, which spurs some motor carriers to instill these values through their rulebooks.

Runnels spoke of his time at Gordon Trucking Inc., where he served as a regional risk manager and driver safety trainer. The truckload carrier would take pictures of the trucks’ interiors everytime they came in for service and discipline drivers who weren’t taking care of their vehicles.

Some fleets are rumored to take cleanliness even more seriously. For instance, Runnels spoke of a wives’ tale about an owner of an unnamed trucking company who paid for his fleet’s truck washes and considered returning a filthy truck to the terminal grounds for termination.

Of course not every company is so strict; Runnels acknowledged that some fleets couldn’t care less about the state of the vehicle as long as the driver is safe and profits keep rolling in. But generally, Runnels finds that motor carriers respond favorably to drivers who take care of their trucks, especially if they’re company property.

Keeping things clean isn’t so hard when you’re prepared. Runnels suggests stowing a few bottles of spray cleaner, wet wipes, paper towels, trash bins and bags, glass cleaner, and even a whisk broom and dustpan — items that can easily be purchased at truck stops.

In addition to a mini vacuum cleaner, Runnels mentioned the effectiveness of an air seat blow gun, a little coiled hose used to blow away crumbs, dirt and other debris, especially in tight spaces.

He also urges drivers to buy a mild degreaser to remove oil and grease from the steering wheel down to the floorboards. “All drivers know that it doesn’t take much grease to make a mess inside your truck.”

Spacious sleeper cabs are stocked full of cabinets, side compartments, cubbies and drawers, rendering clutter inexcusable. But cramped day cabs, too, can remain mess-free with a bit of ingenuity.

“I’ve seen a lot of drivers in day cab trucks use small milk crates or some sort of container that sits on the floorboard in front of the passenger seat holding all of their cleaning supplies,” Runnels said.

He recommends taking advantage of wash reimbursement if that’s your company’s policy. Even if your carrier doesn’t offer such reimbursement, Runnels affirms that drivers should get a wash every now and then, even if it’s pricey.

Switching gears, maintaining the inside of the cab is 100% the responsibility of the driver.

“As far as the inside goes, that’s all on you,” Runnels said. “Take some time each week to clean out the cab, and stay on top of it, just like you would your house. It’s a healthier atmosphere to be in if it’s clean.”

Runnels suggests setting aside 10-15 minutes every time you stop to pick up any messes, whether it be at a truck stop or a shipping facility.

Remember that repetition, no matter how insignificant cleaning something small may seem, will save you a great deal of time from cleaning big messes down the road.

Second, clean cabs can mitigate injuries and perhaps accidents altogether. How? Runnels warns drivers to be mindful of loose objects around their seat. For example, how would you respond if a water bottle rolled out of your lap and jammed itself under the accelerator?

Similarly, in the event of a collision or rollover, he explained that loose debris inside the cab can act as projectiles, causing even more harm to the occupant.

However, dangers remain even when the truck is sitting idle. Runnels reminds drivers not to think of slips, trips and falls as just outside dangers. There are many ways drivers can injure themselves within the confines of the cab. Just think about the times you’ve been injured in your own home.

It should also be noted that spick-and-span trucks are less likely to be stopped for inspections.

“Law enforcement is going to have a less critical eye for drivers and equipment that is clean than a truck that looks like it hasn’t been washed in two years,” Runnels said. “They’re not looking for clean inspections; they’re looking for violations. If something as simple as trying to keep the truck clean is neglected, they’re going to wonder what else is being neglected on that truck?”

The post Spring cleaning: Time to tidy up your truck appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.

Though perpetuated in the shadows of society, human trafficking is a $32 billion industry worldwide.

Truck stops offer rest and amenities to truckers and general motorists after a long day’s drive, but they can also be hubs for sex traffickers and their victims. As teenagers and boys and girls are transported from city to city, truck stops serve as natural stopping points along their routes — an unintentional but optimal location for the crime.

Sgt. Harman Chahal of the Wisconsin State Patrol and Mark Barlar, Reliance Partners’ director of risk services, urge the trucking community to keep an eye out for suspicious activity involving minors and sketchy individuals at truck stops.

It’s important to distinguish between a sex worker and a sex trafficking victim. Unlike prostitutes who willingly engage in for-hire sexual activities, sex trafficking victims work the streets reluctantly, most often against their will. As victims of modern-day slavery, these children and young adults should be treated as victims, not sex workers.

Victims may be easy to identify

At truck stops, rest areas and parking lots, Chahal advises truckers to be on the lookout for people who are inappropriately dressed. For instance, two people walking around a truck stop wearing season-conflicting attire — a male dressed properly for the cold and a young girl wearing shorts and a bikini top — should raise eyebrows.

A person appearing to be waiting on someone to pick them up, especially if they look uncomfortable or out of place, is also a red flag. Standing around a parking lot shouldn’t be immediately deemed suspicious, but Chahal notes that if they can’t recall who’s picking them up or where they’re going, something’s definitely wrong.

Understand that victims may not seek help

While victims may appear alone, Chahal notes that captors often watch from afar.

“Trafficking victims are monitored most of the time by their traffickers, watching from a distance,” she said. “They’re supposed to be seen, not heard. It’s a psychological means of control.”

This in turn leaves victims feeling isolated and unable to seek help, even in the presence of well-meaning bystanders or even police officers. Often, abusers egregiously lie to their captives, warning them that their participation in sex acts — even against their will — will certainly land them behind bars.

“[Victims] believe that if they go to the cops, the trafficker may [cause harm] to their families,” Chahal said. “I had a case where a girl was really close with her dog. The trafficker used that against her, warning that if she goes to the cops, he’ll kill her dog. Because of this, she never went to the police.”

But traffickers also use a twisted form of affection as a means of control. As victims often come from broken homes, the promise of good food, clothes and makeovers is enough to keep some from breaking their silence.

“They’re afraid of what might happen if they were to reach out to law enforcement. In addition, they’re dealing with somebody that came to them and told them, ‘I’m going to take care of you,’” Chahal said. “This is stuff they didn’t get from their families, so when they receive these things from their “person,” it’s mentally and psychologically hard for them to escape that situation easily.”

Intervening may not be the best idea 

Chahal doesn’t recommend directly getting involved when suspicious circumstances arise, as the bystander and the victim alike could be harmed, and it could impede an ongoing investigation. Instead, she encourages concerned drivers to inconspicuously gather as much information as possible on the descriptions of each potential victim and trafficker, including vehicle information such as the license plate.

“Gather as much information as you can, and then call 911 immediately if you think it’s an emergency or call the National Human Trafficking Hotline,” Chahal said.

Traffickers follow money on the map

JJIE states that the four biggest trafficking states are California, Nevada, Texas and New York. However, this isn’t just a big-city problem. Chahal warns that the problem persists throughout the country in towns big and small.

Working in the Milwaukee area, Chahal outlines the interstate corridors between Madison, Wisconsin, and Chicago as prime areas for trafficking activities. She additionally notes that trafficking spikes in areas hosting large events such as the Super Bowl. This attracts crowds, which, in turn, brings together potential high-paying customers.

Over a seven-day period last month, undercover deputies nabbed 75 pimps and johns in a sting dubbed Operation Game Over in Tampa, Florida — this year’s host city for the NFL’s grand finale. The operation rescued six human trafficking victims.

Lack of awareness impedes detection

Barlar, who also served on the Wisconsin State Patrol for 22 years, admits to not being fully aware of trafficking activities lurking around truck stops early in his career. It wasn’t until he received training on the matter that he felt equipped to identify such situations, which is why he encourages more law enforcement officers and members of the trucking community to join the cause.

“A lot of truck drivers, just like long enforcement, don’t understand that girls in these types of situations are usually not there by their own will; there’s usually someone else behind the scenes compelling them to do it,” Barlar said. “Training really opened my eyes to the full scope of human trafficking.”

However, many are taking active roles in trafficking prevention. Chahal has been at the forefront of trafficking awareness in her home state of Wisconsin, most recently advocating for training gas station and convenience store workers on how to identify victims, as part of last year’s collaborative efforts by the Wisconsin State Patrol, Wisconsin’s attorney general, the Department of Children and Families, and Wisconsin’s Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association.

The transportation industry is fighting back

NATSO, formerly the National Association of Truck Stop Operators, represents the truck stop and travel center industry and has played a crucial role through its partnerships in stopping human trafficking throughout America’s highway systems.

Its foundation works closely with the Department of Transportation, Department of Homeland Security, Truckers Against Trafficking, Polaris Project, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and other local organizations to share and learn more about human trafficking. NATSO’s goal is to provide its members with the tools necessary to train their staff on how to properly identify and help trafficking victims when encountered.

NATSO’s free online training courses are specifically designed to teach truck stop owners, operators and employees how to respond if human trafficking is suspected.

The foundation has also released “Combating Human Trafficking,” offering truck stops and travel centers a road map for implementing anti-human trafficking education and awareness programs at their individual locations. In addition, NATSO introduced a 50-state chart of human trafficking awareness poster laws. The chart is designed to help members understand how to comply with state laws on human trafficking awareness.

Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) educates and empowers members of the trucking, bus and energy industries to assist law enforcement in taking a stand against human trafficking. The nonprofit organization relies on the eyes and ears of its vast volunteer network of professional drivers to spot and report potential trafficking.

TAT had trained 1,014,367 people as of 2020, including 1,586 law enforcement officers and 117,641 members of the bus industry. Its members have reportedly made 2,692 calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, helping establish 708 likely cases of trafficking, which has ultimately identified 1,296 victims.

Chahal encourages truck stop owners and convenience store workers to display TAT awareness posters within their facilites; requests for posters and other materials can be found here.

Witnesses who want to report potential trafficking or victims in need of help are strongly encouraged to call 911 for immediate emergencies as well as the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888.

Operators are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the calls are confidential.

The post Stay alert for signs of sex trafficking at truck stops appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.