Driver of the Month
Congratulations Tom McCauley of Whitewood Transport, Inc for being selected for June Driver of the Month! Tom is a multi time recipient of Whitewoods safety belt buckle program. To win a belt buckle, a driver must be accident free, claim free and have zero moving violations in the calendar year.
CVSA’s Brake Safety Week Scheduled for August 25-31
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has announced Aug. 25-31 as the dates for this year’s Brake Safety Week.
Brake Safety Week is a commercial motor vehicle and driver inspection and regulatory compliance enforcement initiative, a brake-safety awareness and outreach opportunity, and a brake-related inspection and violation data-collection project.
Inspection and Enforcement
CVSA-certified inspectors will conduct routine commercial motor vehicle inspections throughout the week, focusing on brake systems and components. Commercial motor vehicles found to have brake-related out-of-service violations will be removed from roadways until those violations are corrected.
For this year’s Brake Safety Week, inspectors will focus on the condition of brake linings and pads. Brake lining and pad issues may result in vehicle violations and could affect a motor carrier’s safety rating.
In addition, some jurisdictions have performance-based brake testers (PBBT) and will be using them during Brake Safety Week. A PBBT is a machine that assesses the braking performance of a vehicle.
Awareness and Outreach
Educational efforts by inspectors, motor carriers and others in the industry take place during Brake Safety Week and are integral to the success of the campaign.
In addition to educational outreach by law enforcement agencies, transportation safety organizations and individual officers, CVSA also aims to help prepare drivers, motor carriers, owner-operators and mechanics for this year’s Brake Safety Week.
View the inspector’s inspection procedure.
Download a checklist that outlines the tools needed to inspect S-cam brakes, what to look for and how to measure pushrod stroke.
Learn about the components of the vehicle that the inspector will check.
Download a flyer with 10 brake lining and pad tips.
Brake Safety Week also serves as a reminder to drivers and motor carriers of the importance of a proactive vehicle maintenance program and provides an opportunity for law enforcement to highlight the importance of brake safety. Read More
Port Traffic Booms Despite Recession Fears
The busiest port complex in the U.S. is churning through import volumes near the highs set during the pandemic despite worries about a cooling economy.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which account for roughly a third of all U.S. container imports, had their third-strongest month ever in July, just shy of an all-time high reached in May 2021. Back then, a wave of inbound consumer goods caused supply bottlenecks on land and a queue of cargo ships waiting for a berth offshore was getting longer by the day.
Demand now is driven by retailers and other importers stocking up ahead of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods and a possible strike by a large group of American dockworkers — adding to the usual frenzy of pre-holiday ordering that occurs this time of year. Read More
ATRI Seeks Motor Carrier and Freight Broker Input on Industry's Cargo Theft Crisis
As part of its priority research on the growing problem of cargo theft, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) is asking motor carriers and brokers to participate in a new data collection initiative.
Cargo theft – which has evolved from thieves simply stealing cargo to sophisticated impersonation schemes – is becoming more common according to some industry stakeholders. In March 2024 ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee (RAC), citing FBI statistics that indicate $15 to $30 billion is lost to cargo theft annually, voted to prioritize research on the topic.
While the problem of cargo theft is growing, many industry stakeholders are hesitant to publicly provide cargo theft data. ATRI’s survey is designed to confidentially and anonymously collect accurate loss data as well as identify successful counter-strategies used by both motor carriers and freight brokers.
“Cargo theft is a pervasive issue that won’t go away without a collaborative effort,” said Ben Banks, Vice President of TCW. “With accurate cargo theft data, our industry will be able to quantify the issue, and work more effectively with law enforcement and commercial insurance to combat this costly problem.”
Motor carriers and brokers are encouraged to complete the survey by clicking here.
Truck Driver Appreciation
Truck Driver Appreciation week is September 15-21 and we will be honoring the drivers Wednesday September 18th at the Billings, Conrad and Haugen scales! Below is the volunteer and sponsorship form for anyone who wants to celebrate everything professional drivers do for us!
MTA Annual Convention
We are excited to announce that registration is open for the MTA Annual Convention! Use this Link to download the registration and sponsorship form, this Link for the agenda or visit our Webpage! Please note the room block deadline is coming up fast! It has been extended to August 30th but don't wait too long!
Will's Safety Message
Safety Management is a broad category, so think of it as all of the things you can do at a company level to increase the likelihood of employees staying safe and staying on the job. This might be establishing a safety committee, creating training for certain tasks, even simply talking about safety in an ongoing and natural way.
The truth is safety isn’t accomplished in one day or with any one set of rules. It’s something that everyone gets to work at together – and benefit from – over time. So, feel free to make safety a goal that you work on gradually, with responsibilities that you share. It’s likely that starting small and involving more people in the process will produce more sustainable practices for the long run.
Stay Safe!
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