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“I’m trained to deal with any type of situation. I thought about it the rest of the day, but it didn’t affect my job. I don’t feel like it was anything special. It was just a natural instinct for me. I try to be a good person.”

A Dupré Logistics driver is being named nothing short of a hero after saving a family of seven. In June of 2017, Fernandez Garner was traveling down I-45 N. He witnessed a large SUV cut off by a tanker, and consequentially, tumble off the road.

Garner saw one of the passengers, a little girl, had been thrown from the car to the middle of the highway. He instantly braked and blocked the road to protect her from incoming cars. Then, after examining her for any wounds, he ran down the side of the road to help the rest of the family.

Inside the vehicle, he found a boy, two girls, and their mother, frantically reaching for her baby. In addition, the driver, presumably the father, seemed to be injured. Garner moved the children back towards the road. He then calmed the mother down, assuring the safety of her children.

For this act of heroism, the Truckload Carriers Association named Garner a Highway Angel. In addition, Dupré Logistics expressed gratitude and pride in Garner for taking such steps to ensure the safety of all drivers.

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Now that the holiday season is here, more and more vehicles are clogging the nation’s roadways, presenting an even tougher job for truck drivers on the road.  Zonar, a producer of smart fleet management technology, has compiled a list of the 10 most dangerous roads you should consider avoiding this time of year – and even the rest the year.

During the holiday season, there are about 36% more vehicles on the road, according to Zonar. Most of the increased traffic is made up of passenger cars (23%), delivery fleets (10%), and people-carriers, such as buses (3%), according to Zonar.  Winter weather and decreased daylight add to the stress of holiday travel. All this makes it even more dangerous for truck drivers.

Knowing which stretches of road are the most dangerous for trucks can help potentially decrease your chances of getting into an accident and help keep other drivers safe – by adjusting routes or schedules, varying driving times and loads, or increasing inspections and checkpoints.  And, you might be surprised to find that that there are roads list from every region of the country

According to the DOT, here’s a list based on total accident volume between 2013 -2016:

  1. I-10 in Alabama
  2. I-95 in Florida
  3. HWY-75 in Idaho
  4. I-40 in Arkansas
  5. US-1 in Florida
  6. M-20 in Michigan
  7. I-80 Nebraska
  8. HWY-5 in Colorado
  9. I-70 in Maryland
  10. SC-35 South Carolina

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Image from Zonar.

 

safe driver week

Truck drivers should prepare for an increased presence by law enforcement this week. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance embark upon its annual Operation Safe Driver Week. It combats unsafe driving behaviors by truckers and passenger car drivers.

The annual enforcement blitz is scheduled for the week of October 15-21. Officers look for speeding, distracted driving, texting and driving, and seat belt usage. In addition, they monitor following too closely, improper lane changes, failure to obey traffic safety devices, and more.

Here are 8 Tips to Help Avoid Fines:

1. Put down the phone.

Law enforcement agencies refer to distracted driving as “the DUI of today.”  Texting while driving is egregious, taking the driver’s attention off the road. But, you also don’t have to be on the road long to spot someone talking on a handset. Both are prohibited by state laws in many cases, but they’re also expressly restricted for commercial motor vehicle drivers.

2. Keep your eyes on the road.

Smartphones aren’t the only culprit. There are plenty of other things in vehicles today that can take a driver’s attention away from the task at hand — i.e., piloting those several tons (or many more) of steel missile on wheels safely.

3. Don’t speed.

Who hasn’t laid into the gas pedal now and then when driving along?  But, watch your speed particularly during Safe Driver Week.  It’s a time of year when road construction is very prevalent, and officers are found paying particular attention to speeders, distracted drivers and so on in construction zones.

4. Buckle up.

Aside from staring at a smartphone, the next-quickest tip-off for enforcement officers to pull drivers over will be failure to wear a seat belt. Some believe seat belts lack comfort. However, for many decades, wearing a seat belt saves lives in crashes.

5. Give way.

Many states have “move over” laws that require drivers to pull away from the closest lane to a stationary police vehicle with flashing lights. Usually tied to the stipulation “if it’s safe to do so.” but if it isn’t safe to switch lanes, these laws may require the driver passing by to slow down considerably.

6. Don’t tailgate.

Do your best to give the driver ahead some room. Truck drivers face particular challenges with this since they’re often cut off by passenger vehicles, sometimes by those entering or exiting the highway or maybe a driver who’s just not paying attention.

7. Straighten up and fly right.

Signal your lane changes properly, don’t blow traffic lights and stop signs and obey the rest of the traffic signs and devices out there. Officers will be watching for those things during Safe Driver Week.

8. Get the rest of your ducks in a row, too.

If an offer cites you or pulls you over, they also check for other violations.  Bradley Penneau, a safety program consultant for Telogis, A Verizon Company, commented in a recent Fleet Owner webinar. He stated that a majority of the top commercial vehicle violations are “BLTs.” Meaning, brakes, lights, and tires.

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The accomplishments of one woman who has a CDL trucking job

“I got a message from my boss that said ‘Hey, you made the billboard,” recalls J.B. Hunt driver Jodi Edwards with a laugh. “The company had put my picture on a billboard to advertise people coming to work for them. I thought that was pretty cool.”

A 20-year veteran woman truck driver and trainer with J.B. Hunt, Jodi Edwards is living her dream. And with more than a million safe miles under her belt, she’s as accomplished as she is enthusiastic about her career. After all, J.B. Hunt has even put her face on a billboard. It doesn’t get any bigger than that.

At J.B. Hunt, Edwards is a star, and she’s earned many accolades throughout her driving career. She’s on the Women in Trucking Image Team. She was part of a panel discussion at the Women in Trucking Accelerate! Conference in November. She was even a Woman in Trucking Member of the Month.

All of the awards are gratifying, Edwards says. But she’s proudest of her Million Mile Award.

“That’s a heck of an achievement,” Edwards says. Edwards attributes her stellar safety record to J.B. Hunt’s strong safety culture and the Smith safety system the company uses. J.B. Hunt drivers go through Smith System safety training every two years.

The system focuses on creating distance between yourself and other vehicles on the road.

“You want to have so many seconds of distance between you and what’s in front of you,” Edwards says. “They want you to know what’s in front of you and to keep space around you all the time. It gives you time to react and make changes, to slow down, stop or find a way around the problem. For myself, I keep as much of a space cushion around my truck as I can. I try not to travel in packs because if someone is going to screw up, it gives me time to stop.”

When she earned her Million Mile Award, J.B. Hunt awarded Edwards with a plaque, a watch, a $5,000 bonus and patches for her uniform. It made her feel special. “When you have these milestones, they really make a big deal of it,” Edwards says. “They really go above and beyond.”

Working on and off the road

Edwards runs intermodal for J.B. Hunt. She’s seen the division grow from three drivers 19 years ago to 35 drivers today. She runs from 4 a.m. to 2 p.m. While her son is 23 years old now, the schedule long gave Edwards the flexibility to be a hands-on mom.

“When my son was in school I could go to all his baseball games, wrestling matches and basketball games,” she says. “For me, when I need to do something for my family, I talk to my boss and I’m good to go. At J.B. Hunt, they know you by name. That’s important to me. It’s a great company to work for. That’s why I’ve never wanted to go anywhere else.”

Advice for other female drivers

While Edwards is an unofficial ambassador for J.B. Hunt through her love of her job, she also is quick to support fellow women drivers whenever she has the opportunity. To women just starting out, she recommends finding a highly rated trucking school.

“Have them teach you something,” she says. “Always be safe but allow yourself to enjoy it, too. Don’t put yourself in a position where you’re by yourself in a dark parking lot. Take care of what you got to take care of in the light of day. If you’re going to do it, do it right. And find yourself a good company you can stay with. Because it’s not just a job, it’s a career.”

It certainly is for Edwards. She plans to stay with J.B. Hunt until she retires.

“I’m happy here,” she says.

In honor of Women’s History Month. Drive My Way is highlighting women in the trucking industry who inspire and lead by their example. Join our community here to get these and all Drive My Way’s stories in your newsfeed.

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Everyone is generally aware that texting while driving isn’t a wise decision, but studies show even more shocking results. Truckers who drive distracted are over 23 times more likely to be involved in a critical accident.

The Trucking Truth blog recently shared that stat along with the new distracted driving regulations (and penalties) released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

As Brett Aquila writes, the FMCSA defines “distracted driving” very simply: no dialing, no texting, no reading, even no holding or reaching.

Use of any device (including dispatcher radios) must be hands-free. Penalties for truckers who drive distracted exist not only for the driver, but for the employer as well. Employers who know or allow a driver to use a device that requires hands receive a fine over $10,000. Drivers receive a fined for thousands, and disqualified for a time.

While the financial penalties are significant, hurting yourself or another person is much worse. So as hard as it can be to keep the phone down, it’s safe to say it’s an all-around better decision for everyone on the road.

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trucks.comThis fact won’t come as much of a surprise to people with CDL trucking jobs. But, the data is out and it shows that truck driver remains one of the deadliest occupations in the country. 745 drivers died in 2015. Trucks.com wrote about the report put out by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Work-related fatalities for trucking jobs dropped slightly in 2015 from 2014, when 761 drivers died on the nation’s streets. Despite the drop, trucking transportation occupations accounted for slightly more than a quarter of all work-related fatalities last year.

What’s more, the Trucks.com article says, CDL trucking job fatalities rise.

Over the past five years, truck driver fatalities rose 11.2 percent. Increased reliance on trucking to transport goods. This includes demand for rapid delivery created by the rise of online shopping, putting more truck drivers on the road. This contributed to higher incident rates for accidents and driver deaths, according to trucking industry experts.

Unlike many occupations, drivers don’t have total control of their work environment – public roads and highways – so there’s always danger, said Steve Viscelli, an economics sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania and author of “The Big Rig: Trucking and the Decline of the American Dream.”

But because of the way drivers’ compensation is structured, they’re often asked to choose between productivity and safety, a tug of war that leads some to keep driving when they should be taking a rest break, Viscelli said.

Long hours, low pay and tough working conditions also play into annual turnover that “hovers around 100 percent and puts inexperienced drivers on the road,” the article states.

Michael Belzer, a transportation economist and associate professor at Wayne State University, said he blames carriers for creating pay issues that lead to chronic turnover and driver shortages. And the lack of National Highway Transportation Safety Administration standards for crashworthiness of heavy-duty trucks plays a role in fatality rates, said Norita Taylor, director of marketing and public relations for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, in the Trucks.com article.

Thanks, truck drivers, for the sacrifices you make for others. Does the fatality rate in CDL trucking jobs concern you? Join our community here and share your thoughts.

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Jason and Hope at their wedding

Jason and Hope at their wedding

Not a day passes that Hope Rivenburg doesn’t think of Jason.

She sees him in her two young sons and daughter, hears him in their laughter.

Sometimes a certain scent lingers, sparking the memory of him.

It’s been nearly eight years since truck driver Jason Rivenburg was shot to death in his truck at an abandoned gas station in South Carolina.

He’d heard the place was safe. It wasn’t.

That misinformation cost him his life, but it birthed a movement for safe truck parking that resulted in Jason’s Law, legislation that gave rise to the National Coalition on Truck Parking and guaranteed safe parking spaces for truck drivers nationwide.

To date, three new truck stops have been built from the law and a couple other truck stops have been expanded, Hope says. It’s been a slow process.

“Ultimately, I want the parking in place now,” Hope says. “I also know that unfortunately, it takes time.”

Usually it takes 10 years for a bill to pass the U.S. House of Representatives. Jason’s Law passed in a mere three years, in 2012.

Hope as a safe truck parking advocate

Hope as a safe truck parking advocate

During those three years, the Rivenburg family started a petition, called truck stops and lobbied for support any way they could.

“So many people think their voice doesn’t count or they can’t change things, and it’s not true,” Hope says. “I had no political connections, nothing. So if my family can do it, anything is possible.”

With an immense shortage of truck parking spaces, the law is definitely needed.

“Drivers park on the side of the road or in unsafe areas. Law enforcement is having them move,” Hope says. “Drivers park in store parking lots, they have to move. It’s a never-ending cycle.”

jason-tractor-winterOn the night of his death, Jason was 12 miles from making his delivery at a distribution center. But most distribution centers don’t allow drivers to stop there early. As a result, Jason had to resort to parking for the night.

“If Jason could have parked at the distribution center, I believe he would be here today,” Hope says. “I think shippers and receivers should get involved with this issue because it’s their freight that’s being moved.”

Lasting Impact

In the years since Jason’s death, life for the Rivenburgs has gone on. It’s been a rough road. “While you learn to function more on a day-to-day basis, the impact of it never fades,” Hope says. “You never think when your husband goes off to work that it’ll be the last time you see him. But that’s what happened.”

At the time of Jason’s death, the couple had a 2-year-old son and Hope was about to give birth to twins.

Jason with his oldest son

Jason with his oldest son

Today, her oldest is 9 years old. The twins, now age 7, never got to meet their dad.

“They want to know why there are photos of their brother with daddy but not of them with daddy,” Hope says. “All I can tell them is it wasn’t daddy’s choice.”

In Jason’s absence, Hope’s mom has helped raise the kids—enforcing the rules, attending parent-teacher conferences, helping in any way she can. All three children are in school now. A year-and-a-half ago, Hope started working at the post office near their home in upstate New York. She’s lived in the same town forever, but she’s starting to see the neighborhood in a new light.

Through it all, Hope keeps Jason’s memory alive.

The family hosts gatherings on Father’s Day. On Jason’s birthday, they bring balloons to his grave.

Jason

Jason’s grave on his 40th birthday

“Our kids need to know how special their father was,” Hope says. “I try to cover all the bases for them. They just want to know ‘why.’”

More needs to be done to implement safe truck parking nationwide. Hope Rivenburg urges truck drivers and others to write to their state Department of Transportation. Ask your DOT officials if they are addressing truck parking in their annual freight management plan and encourage them to do so.

For more news and insights about safety on the road join our community and become part of the conversation.

All photos courtesy of Hope Rivenburg

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coolest-gadgets.com

Any driver knows, it doesn’t take long to lose your concentration or even doze off at the wheel. So, those with CDL trucking jobs would be wise to have some sort of alert in place. The website Coolest-Gadgets.com highlighted a Anti-Sleep Alarm. It’s one that can be a valuable tool for those with CDL driver jobs.

This Anti-Sleep Alarm is a two-finger ring that will let you know you’re starting to nod off before you actually do. If it works as intended, it will let you know up to 5 minutes before you start to slip into slumber. It charges via micro USB cable, and while it says it has a long battery life, that doesn’t mean it’s going to live through a 10-hour drive of constant use. The method of alarm it uses is vibration, and it should buzz for about 2-3 seconds when it goes off so that it’s sure you don’t “miss” feeling it.

Costing $189, the alarm is made of an allergen-proof material and requires no special setup. It’s available for purchase on amazon.com.

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overdriveonline.com

The Department of Transportation announced Oct. 5 a new initiative to achieve an incredible highway safety feat by the year 2046: Zero traffic deaths.

Overdrive magazine wrote about the announcement in a news article.

“Overall, our vision is simple – zero fatalities on our roads,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

The U.S. DOT and three of its sub-agencies — including the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration — said the Road to Zero project will give $1 million a year for the next three years to “organizations working on lifesaving programs.” Road to Zero partners include, in addition to DOT and FMCSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Highway Administration and the private non-profit National Safety Council.

Details on specific initiatives Road to Zero will promote are scarce

In addition, Overdrive wrote, the DOT focuses on several areas. For example, some of these include promoting broader use of seatbelts, greater use of rumble strips and greater use of data in enforcement.

Also, the DOT points to the fast-developing field of vehicle automation. This serves as reason to “[believe] the liklihood that the vision of zero road deaths and serious injuries can be achieved in the next 30 years.”

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heraldmailmedia.com

Chester Masser Jr. has driven 4 million miles without an accident in his CDL driver job. But to him, his safety record has as much to do with others on the road as it does with him. He describes safe driving as “a team event.”

Masser’s incredible safety record earned him a spot in the National Truck Driving Championships in Indianapolis, Ind.

this week. It runs through Saturday. His local publication, HeraldMailMedia.com, wrote about Masser in a nice feature.

He earned his spot in the nationals by winning the Maryland truck driving championships earlier this year, according to FedEx. It will be Masser’s third time in the finals.

At Masser’s first two national contests, he drove a tanker and finished “in the middle of the pack,” he said.

This year he will compete in the flatbed division, driving a semi-trailer and a flatbed trailer through a series of obstacles and precision-driving tests.

“I’m not going to be pompous enough to say I’m the perfect driver,” says the 61-year-old Masser, who owns TOTGAS Trucking Inc. in Hagerstown, Md., and drives relay for FedEx Ground. “You watch out for the other guy, you yield the right of way and prepare for the other man to make a mistake.

“And, fortunately,” Masser continues, “when I’ve made the mistakes on the highway, the other guy’s been a defensive driver, and he was prepared for me to make that mistake, and we avoided an accident. It’s not just one person. It’s everybody working together.”

Masser comes from a family of truckers and has been behind the wheel since age 19.

“After a lifetime of being in the industry, it’s kind of like you want to take it up a step higher, and I should have started earlier,” Masser said. “It’d been nicer if this program is more widely recognized by the companies. You do step it up. It’s quite a lot. You learn more about the trucking history, the legalities of it.”

Read the rest of the HeraldMailMedia.com story here.

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