You know something, I am often pulled into conversations here at TCA that involve the image of the trucking industry and whether or not it would ever appear to be contradictory to safety. You would be surprised at some of the “outside the box” conversations that we, as staff, have had just to make sure that a safety message can be delivered in virtually any program that we preach.
That being said, I certainly find it ironic that as the hours-of-service regulations get bandied about in Congress yet again, the administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) writes about fatigued driving in a DOT blog titled “Fast Lane, The Official Blog of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation.” In this industry, and throughout the hallowed halls of TCA, the term fast would never be used to reference or support safe driving.
Regardless, what surprised me is the fervor in which the post discusses three accidents that occurred when the drivers fell asleep at the wheel and the steps the agency has taken to keep tired truckers off the road. What the post neglected to mention was that the agency does not act alone when it comes to safety.
While I know I speak on behalf of an industry that certainly regrets every fatal accident that it causes on our highways, I can confidently say that not a single driver mentioned in the administrator’s post got behind the wheel hoping and wishing to be in an accident that day. Not one word in the entire post focused on the over 3.1 million drivers who did not get into an accident that day, or that we, as an industry, have been hoping to incorporate crash accountability into many of these statistics that would eventually prove that the majority of these accidents can be the fault of the passenger vehicle.
At some point, perhaps FMCSA should put its focus on the industry when it does something right. I can assure you that the rights that this industry bestows upon this country and its highway users far outweigh the wrongs.
In the halls of the Dept. of Transportation is a poster that depicts accident victims who have died in crashes with large trucks. Isn’t now the time that we should start to look at a poster that depicts Highway Angels or industry drivers who have achieved millions of accident-free miles? Shouldn’t we be promoting these drivers as the face of our industry? How about the driver who delivers a truck full of water to people who are thirsty from drought, or the driver who carries emergency supplies to a town ravaged by a tornado? These drivers perform these tasks with little fanfare yet optimum results because they do it safely and help those in need.
As an industry, we should rally around the positive aspects of our over 3.1 million drivers and make this an industry that strives for something higher rather than focusing on the negative aspect that continues to mire our drivers and the work they do in the doldrums.
Let’s encourage our drivers to stay out of the “Fast Lane,” since many others seem intent on putting them there.
David Heller, CDS, is director of safety and policy for the Truckload Carriers Assn. He is responsible for interpreting and communicating industry-related regulations and legislation to the membership of TCA. Send comments to [email protected].
