Trucking Leaders, FMCSA Promote Safety Investments
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NEW ORLEANS — American Trucking Associations highlighted motor carriers’ increasing investments in their safety programs while industry regulators outlined a plan to continue promoting adoption of driver-assist technologies during the Technology & Maintenance Council’s 2024 annual meeting.
The trucking industry $14 billion annually on safety technology and training to improve road safety and comply with government regulations, according to a recent ATA report.
That figure, based on the results of an ATA survey of motor carriers on their safety investments in 2022, represents a significant increase from a prior survey that pegged industry safety spending at $9.8 billion in 2014.
Dan Horvath, ATA’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs and safety policy, discussed those findings March 4 at the annual TMC Town Meeting.
He said the technologies that trucking companies deploy in their fleets ultimately keep their professional drivers safe out on the road.
“I think this speaks to why we are here,” Horvath said.
On the same day, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced it has awarded a second contract to continue its TechCelerate Now program, an initiative aimed at accelerating adoption of advanced driver assistance systems to prevent crashes and save lives.
“This is a great program that talks about using safety technologies and how to get more fleets to adopt them, rather than with mandates,” Horvath said.
The second phase of TechCelerate Now will be a four-year program to develop new and updated technical information and guidelines for various ADAS technologies, such as collision mitigation systems, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warnings and lane keeping assist.
“We’re very pleased to continue the progress TechCelerate Now has made in examining various safety technologies and setting a course for expanding the industry dialogue on the potential safety benefits of these systems,” said Jeff Loftus, chief of the advanced technology division at FMCSA’s office of research and registration.
Get the inside scoop on ATA's Technology & Maintenance Council Annual Meeting March 4-7 in New Orleans. Tune in above or by going to RoadSigns.ttnews.com.
Multiple industry organizations are participating in TechCelerate Now, including ATA, TMC, the American Transportation Research Institute and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Foundation.
As part of the effort, TMC will produce new ADAS recommended practices and an ambassador program to support the initiative.
Also during the Town Meeting, TMC presented four of its members with the council’s highest honor, the Silver Spark Plug.This year’s honorees are: David Kegley, director of training and development at Ryder System Inc.; Paul Cigala, senior CVL applications engineer at ExxonMobil Product Solutions Co.; Chris Disantis, vice president of maintenance at Aim Transportation Solutions; and Radu Mihai, corporate fleet manager at Burnco Rock Products.
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