CSA 2010 Pilot Program Shows Better Safety Scores

August 20th, 2010

According to TruckingInfo.com’s article, “8/12/2010 CSA Changes Look Promising, Carriers say” by Oliver B, Patten, Washington Editor, and shortcomings are being removed.  This is the opinion of those Truck Driving Companies that are testing CSA 2010.  Those companies in pilot states see extreme positive changes in safety scores.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is hoping that Trucking Driving Companies learn the CSA 2010 program and how it works.  Beginning 8/16/2010, Carriers can go online to http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov to review their performance in all seven Behavior Analysis & Safety Improvement Categories, or as they call it, the BASICS.

FMCSA has evolved the CSA 2010 program in response to feedback, both good and negative.  They believe it is turning into a very good program that will benefit the driver as well as the Truck Driving Companies.

American Trucking Association met with FMCSA with their concerns.  FMCSA, was quoted as stating:

“We held a series of private meetings with (FMCSA Administrator Anne Feero) and her staff, showing them examples of how we felt the previous methodology was not accurate and didn’t do an effective job of targeting truly unsafe carriers.  We were able to show instances of carriers that have super crash rates and great recent compliance reviews, but the system showed that they were labeled as safety deficient.  If you target carriers based on flawed methodology, you’re really using your limited resources to focus on the wrong carriers.  We really appreciate the administrator’s willingness to listen and address our concerns.”

As the pilot program comes to its end and it is rolled out to all, the Trucking Industry seems confident that the truck driver records will help to hire and train better drivers across the board.

http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=71328&news_category_id=3

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Truck Driving Jobs Increasing in 2010

August 17th, 2010

Great news for the Trucking Industry!  According to Transport Topics Article, “Unemployment Rate Holds at 9.5%;  “Trucking Jobs Increase” from 8/12/10, the trucking industry is employing 6,000 more drivers than last month.  This is the third month of growth in the last four months.

This is great news for those in the trucking industry who are wanting a stable job.  The statistics shown in the Transport Topics Article states:

“Trucking added 5,900 jobs last month, bringing the total to 1.24 million jobs. The trucking industry’s payrolls rose 5.9% from July 2009, Labor figures showed.

Overall, the economy lost 131,000 jobs, led by a cut of 143,000 temporary federal census jobs that ended. Private employers added 71,000 jobs, following a 31,000 gain in June.”

The transportation  industry is showing a lot of promise. Everyone from mechanics to freight brokers are all seeing positive signals.

Truckinginfo.com wrote a similar article expressing excitement about more Truck Driving Jobs in the last four months.  Bob Costello, the chief economist of American Trucking Assoc. stated: “To be sure, this rate of growth is not as fast as one would expect after such a sever recession, but it is evident that the private sector is adding to payrolls.”

It seems to me that now is the time to get into the truck driving business and make the money and have the stability that most Americans are looking for right now.

There are a couple of very large Trucking Companies that actually hire those who are accepted into their truck driving schools.  And since the companies train, they make sure their curriculums are focused on safety and success in driving.

Go online and research Trucking Companies and look for those that guarantee a job to those accepted into their truck driving schools.

Visit these sites for the full and complete articles.

http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=24937

http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=71283

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Adopt a Driver Program

August 9th, 2010

There is a great program at C.R. England called the “Adopt-A-Driver” program. Through this program each driver involved is assigned to an elementary class in the Salt Lake City Area. When they are assigned, the driver “adopts” the class and in turn the class “adopts” the driver. As the driver travels around the country they can send postcards, letters or pictures to the class and teach them about the life of a truck driver.

Through these letters they are able to teach the students about the importance of truck drivers in our country and incorporate lessons about geography, history, math and English. As the class receives these things from the driver they can respond with notes or cards asking the driver questions or simply responding to what the driver has said.

The driver is encouraged to go and visit the class at least once a year and possibly take their truck to show the kids. The students LOVE this and it creates even more opportunities to teach and learn.

I think this is such a fun idea implemented by C.R. England. It creates a great way to give back to the community while at the same time providing drivers with a sense of satisfaction as they strengthen the community in their own way. While truck driving is a growing and important industry it is a great idea to teach elementary age kids about this career. It gives both parties an opportunity to interact and learn more. I can imagine the satisfaction it would give a driver as they saw the interest that these young students have in what they do everyday. Any driver for C.R. England can be considered for this program so if you are interested please contact Jeanie at jeanib@crengland.com or at qcom ext 3824. I would encourage any driver to get involved and give back in any way that they can!

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Truck Drivers Switch to EOBR

August 6th, 2010

As the world of trucking evolves paper logbooks are becoming almost obsolete.  The new CSA 2010 safety- scoring process and the pending EOBR (electronic onboard recorder) regulations are creating opportunities in which paper drivers’ logbooks are unnecessary. The new innovations of EOBR make this device hard to ignore.  CR England is one of the companies that has made the switch over to electronic logbooks. Dustin England the director of safety for CR England said that the company moved to using EOBR’s in 2009 for several reasons. As a company that trains its own drivers these reasons included making logbooks easier to maintain for beginning drivers, reducing log book violations and making logs easier to manage.

Gaining access to full real time information was also a benefit of making the switch.  So far, England reports that the switch has been a success. Service violation rates as well out-of-service rates for drivers have declined dramatically. Also after the switch, fatigued driving became their lowest CSA basic.  Switching to electronic logbooks has made the company more efficient and helped them to achieve a higher standard of excellence. However, along with the benefits there are also some concerns.  Defense Requirements for truck fleets can change according to the CSA 2010 in which plaintiffs’ attorneys might try to use accessible data to prove a culture of recklessness. The problem comes when the scores become self-distorting and because preventable and unpreventable incidents are treated the same, warnings gets the same amount of attention as actual tickets.  With these beginning concerns businesses simply need to keep their eyes open for potential problems.  Despite these small kinks using EOBR has been a great adjustment for CR England.  With complete confidence in the switch Dustin England stated that they “would never, ever, ever go back to paper logs again.”

http://fleetowner.com/regulations/experts-paper-logbooks-eobr-0805/

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Tony Sly a True Truckin Hero!

July 22nd, 2010

When Tony Sly decided to make the career change to the truck driving industry his wife was shocked.  Switching from working in the casino business where he wore a suit to work everyday. To driving a truck in jeans and work boots, was definitely a change.  But Tony made up his mind and his family supported him. Together they decided to take money out of their savings account and send Tony to driving school at C.R. England.  He immediately loved this career opportunity and worked hard. Graduating at the top of his class.

During the three months that he was at school and away from his family he stayed busy and kept in contact.  As he started out on the road he would call home and tell his loved ones about all of the amazing places that he had read about and was now receiving the opportunity to see. It was truly a dream career and Tony continually expressed his love for driving.  After going through school Tony worked for a company as an evaluator of their drivers. He was dedicated to his work and expected the best from all drivers on the road.  Although Tony was thriving and growing, his career was sadly cut short.

Tragedy struck on July 14, 2007 when Tony was killed in a trucking accident. While driving his truck a car crossed a median and in order to avoid hitting the car Tony veered off the bridge and was killed. Tony gave his life in order to save another and for that he died a hero.  His wife is grateful that he passed away doing what he loved.  His passion for driving became his way of life and his dedication to excellence was evident.  Tony’s wife says that she was never worried about him on the road because she knew that he had received the best training at C.R. England.  Tony was proud to be a driver and loved every minute of his work.  He is a great example to all as a driver who worked with dedication and committed his whole heart to the job.  He will always be remembered for the positive impact that he left on the driving industry.

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