Fontana: Keep the focus on safety

Once again, there has been a decrease in traffic fatalities, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In 2025, traffic fatalities were down 6.7% from 2024. This is good news, and while the statistics are for all traffic fatalities, I would like to think that the trucking industry's actions are, in part, responsible for the decline.

Many fleets, including Transervice, are attacking vehicle safety in a number of ways. We are investing in safety-related technologies such as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and we understand that these systems do not replace safe driving. They are designed to warn drivers of an impending safety-related issue and, in some cases, intervene if the driver fails to heed the audible and haptic warnings. ADAS can be helpful if another vehicle cuts too close in front of a truck. Many times, that vehicle is a car, driven by someone who perhaps does not understand how long it takes for an 80,000-lb. truck to stop traveling at 65 mph.

We are also limiting vehicle speed, recognizing that speed plays a role in many accidents, and with diesel at $5 a gallon, slowing down gives us the extra bonus of improved miles per gallon.

Educating the public about trucks and what it takes to stop a truck is one area where the industry can do a better job.

A truck needs 525 ft. to stop—that’s longer than two football fields. I wonder how many drivers of passenger cars know this.

Smart fleets recognize that while technology is one tool in our safety arsenal, the key element in highway safety is the driver. The way fleets recruit, on-board, train, monitor, coach, and reward drivers plays a critical role in the value drivers place on safety.

It is important to note that if you want drivers to focus on safe driving, you need to develop a safety culture throughout your organization. Drivers need to see that upper management is committed to safety and not just paying lip service to it. In my opinion, safety needs to be a core value of every fleet.

This means safety should be emphasized regularly in communications to the drivers, and corporate policies should reflect a commitment to safety. It also means that drivers who achieve safety milestones should be acknowledged and rewarded; you can never overcommunicate what “right looks like.” There needs to be clear, safe driving policies, especially regarding distracted and drowsy driving; those policies need to be enforced every day, with coaching as a key part of the fleet’s safety program. Add to that strict adherence to hours-of-service regulations and to speed limits. Dispatchers need to be involved in the fleet’s safety efforts to reinforce its safety policies.

While traffic fatalities are down, fleets shouldn’t get complacent about safety. It is something that deserves our attention every day.