Championship Safety
Marty H. Lawson Jr., the 1998 grand champion, led off the discussion Aug. 17 by pointing out that a driver won't be eligible if he or she has an accident during the year. NTDC rules require competitors to be "accident-free" for one year.
Those who aspire to compete in the challenge "work all week, then on our days off, we go out and practice," he said, "We always have to be conscious of the fact that we just can't have an accident. Even one accident, and we are out of the running."
Lawson, who drives for Harley Davidson Transportation Co., said participation in the championships fosters an attitude that leads to safer driving.
Mark Darling, director of safety at Oakley Transportation, Lake Wales, Fla., is 1999 chairman of the NTDC.
"Think about the direct effect," he said. "You have about 350 or so drivers here who have all had a full year accident-free. And then there were all those who competed at the state level who had to have an accident-free year. Look at all the safe driving the championships caused to happen right there."
Over the past several years, driver performance has become the a top focus of how to improve safety in trucking. Harry Eubanks, president of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, the organization of government safety people, said driver error is increasingly a cause of accidents.
"It has been happening over the course of several years. Vehicles are better maintained," Eubanks said, and this leaves the driver as a more important factor in safety.
For the full story, see the August 23 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
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