The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has identified its research priorities, so we wanted to take a moment to dive into each of those research priorities to see what it means for the trucking industry. According to their latest report, they are identifying the following as critical trucking industry issues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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These are essentially research topics that were voted on by\nthe board of the transportation research organization. What the organization\nstudies throughout the year will be directly influenced by this list. Time to\ndive into each topic individually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Safety for Younger\nTruck Drivers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is no secret that because of the massive wave of new\ntruck drivers entering the transportation sector, safety has become a concern.\nThere are so many \u201cgreen\u201d truckers on the road, that even with new regulations\nand safety technology, accidents involving large commercial motor vehicles have\nnot dropped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As such, ATRI wants to better quantify the safety\nperformance of 18 \u2013 20-year-old truck drivers driving intrastate operations\nversus experienced interstate truck drivers. This is happening among the\nbackdrop of the federal government mulling allowing 18 \u2013 20-year-olds to haul\ninterstate freight as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a decided lack of data looking into 18 \u2013\n20-year-old truck drivers. But studies completed among the general population\ndo show that the younger a driver is, the greater the chance that they maybe\ninvolved in an accident. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control\nand Prevention, those aged 16 to 19 are nearly three times more likely to be\ninvolved in a fatal crash than those 20 and older. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many transportation industry groups assert that proper\ntraining would decrease these risks. Safety technology has also been touted as\nan automatic go-to to eliminate fatal crashes among younger drivers. Will\nlawmaker\u2019s push to lower the legal age for interstate trucking ultimately pass?\nFurthermore, will it make a big difference where safety and employment levels\nare concerned? ATRI aims to find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reevaluating ROI on\nTruck Safety Tech<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Next up on ATRI\u2019s list is to update the cost-benefit\nanalysis for advanced safety technologies being deployed on modern big rigs.\nATRI already conducted an analysis for the FMCSA previously, but it was based\non older technologies. This new study will look closer at new technologies,\nspecifically ones that have added a large amount to the cost of doing business\nfor trucking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n ROI on truck safety tech has long been a simmering question\nfleets grapple with. One example of the debate takes us back to when automatic\nemergency braking (AEB) systems were coming online. At the time they were being\nintroduced, there were many instances of false alerts and low braking\nperformance. Many fleets questioned the need for these systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since then, however, later generations of the technology\nhave reduced the rate of false alerts and improved braking performance. Now,\nmany fleets could not imagine operating without AEB systems installed on their\nvehicles. Another area that is under greater ROI scrutiny are truck driver\nmonitoring systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many fleets are currently asking how well these systems\nimprove vehicle safety. While ATRI compiles the new research data, it is\nimportant to note that many technologies that were once considered too\nexpensive or cumbersome to implement have come a long way. They are now\ncritical components on new semi-trucks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From lane departure warning systems, telematics, and video\ndata, there are so many new safety technologies available to fleets today,\nhaving some research backing up their effectiveness will save fleets a lot of\ntime and money trying new technologies without knowing whether those\ntechnologies are right for their fleet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Examining \u201cNuclear\u201d\nVerdict Impacts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It should be a surprise to no one in the trucking industry that jury awards and out-of-court settlements are on the rise in the trucking industry. As such, ATRI wants to document and quantify the historical trends and business impacts associated with such verdicts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n [wp_ad_camp_2] <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem is that \u201cnuclear\u201d verdicts are taking a big toll\non insurance firms\u2019 willingness to underwrite trucking companies. Trucking\ncompanies already have a bulls-eye painted on their back by the plaintiff\u2019s\nbar. Still, some of the jury awards and decisions have been positively\neye-watering. Take a case in Texas against Werner Enterprises, Inc., a large\ntruckload carrier and logistics provider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Texas case, the jury awarded a plaintiff $89 million\nover a fatal accident that happened on December 30, 2014. In this particular\ncase, a pick-up truck lost control and ended up in oncoming traffic, where it\ncollided with an oncoming Werner Enterprises tractor-trailer. The case has\nstunned the trucking industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The family involved in the accident contended that Werner\nshould have known better than to let the truck operate during the weather\nconditions that were present at the time of the accident. Even though the truck\ndriver was not cited and was driving below the posted speed limit, the family\u2019s\nattorney stated that the truck should have been traveling even lower than that\ndue to a weather hazard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, the insurance company backing Werner Enterprises is\nappealing the verdict, as it would have to pay $79 million of the verdict,\nwhereas Werner would only need to pay $10 million. A \u201cnuclear\u201d verdict is\nessentially a jury award totaling millions of dollars. These verdicts create\nchaos on a trucking company\u2019s claims-loss ratios. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On average, insurers paid out $111 in claims during 2017 for\neach $100 they charge in premiums, which is an unsustainable paradigm for the\ninsurance companies. In fact, many large insurers have completely exited the\ntrucking insurance market altogether. Hopefully, the ATRI research will help\nshed some light on this intractable issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Truck Parking in the\nSpotlight<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We have been talking about the truck parking problem for\nquite some time. ATRI is going to investigate developing an ideal truck parking\ndata format that can be standardized based on truck driver preferences.\nAccording to ATRI\u2019s own prior research, truck drivers spend an average of one hour\nsearching for parking during a given work day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even more, according to the American Trucking Associations\n(ATA) data, there are only 300,000 parking spots available for the nation\u2019s\nthree million truck drivers. Of course, the problem will be more acute in some\nareas than others, but it is a large problem none-the-less. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another ATRI study also shows that a whopping 58 percent of\nall truck drivers admit to parking in an unauthorized or undesignated spot at\nleast three times a week. Even 10 percent reported that they park off the grid\nevery day. Parking off the grid presents many problems, the first of which\nbeing a truck driver\u2019s personal safety. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The lack of available parking for truck drivers hits both\nthe truck drivers and the motor carriers financially. The lost time a truck\ndriver spends looking for a parking spot equates to $4,600 in lost wages per\nyear! That is no small amount of money. Nonproductive trips or trip time are\nincredibly detrimental to truck drivers working on a per-mile basis. The motor\ncarrier suffers productivity issues because the truck driver is too busy\nlooking for parking when they could be already on to the next haul. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, if a law enforcement officer spots a truck\nparked illegally, they could issue a citation, which will cut into the motor\ncarrier\u2019s profits and end up with a violation. When a trucker is dealing with\nhours of service obligations, all while trying to prevent fatigue and stay safe\non the road, inadequate parking becomes a major safety liability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n