Con-way Truckload has set a 22-year low in accident frequency, dropping its rate nearly 34% since 2004, the company has announced. The achievement was marked by a ceremony and a video of Randy Cornell, vp of safety & recruiting, skydiving to fulfill a promise to the company’s drivers if they met the strict safety standards.
Con-way Truckload president Herb Schmidt gave credit to the company’s drivers. “This is a tremendous achievement by our drivers and a real measure of their commitment to safety in everything they do,” he said. “We maintain the highest safety standards at Con-way Truckload and our drivers live up to that challenge every day as they represent the company on America’s highways. This is great news for us, our customers and the public.”
The 2009 rate is the lowest since the company started keeping records back in 1987. According to Con-way, the rate of 7.9 accidents per million miles driven is more impressive when compared to its Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) mark of 0.628, or one accident for every 1.6 million miles driven.
The reason, according to Con-way, is in the reporting practices. FMCSA defines a reportable accident as “an occurrence that renders a vehicle inoperable or causes an injury requiring immediate medical assistance away from the scene.” Under that scenario, Con-way is well below the FMCSA operating standard for safe carriers of 1.50.
Con-way, though, goes several steps further in classifying incidents.
“Our company considers an accident any incident where one of our vehicles comes in contact with another vehicle or property resulting in visible damage, even as minor as a small scratch,” said Randy Cornell. “Other standards used in the industry typically define an accident as an incident involving injury or significant damage.”
“I would like to congratulate Con-way Truckload on this significant achievement in safety,” said Gov. Bill Graves, president & CEO of the American Trucking Assns. “Con-way Truckload’s record demonstrates their commitment to safety on the road for their drivers and for the motoring public.”
