Perspective

I’m proud to be a member of the North American heavy-truck supplier community. Together, we’ve made significant strides in Class 8 truck brake safety, but not since the introduction of non-asbestos brake linings more than 20 years ago has the heavy-duty industry seen technological changes to brakes as significant as those we are experiencing today.

For years, fleets have outsourced any number of services, from routine maintenance to information technology services to recruiting and hiring. But outsourcing a fleet’s entire accident management program is an idea that is just beginning to get noticed in the trucking world.

Each year, the Department of Transportation undertakes a number of new initiatives to further reduce or eliminate highway crashes. One measure DOT has announced it will undertake this year will have a marked effect on highway safety: mandating that speed limiters on large trucks be set at a reasonable top speed.

Why do cars run into tractor-trailers stopped on the shoulders of roads? How could anyone miss seeing a tractor-trailer? It happens all too frequently.

It has become something of a cliché that what followed the economic deregulation of trucking in the early 1980s was even more regulation, albeit in different forms.

Women now comprise more than half the working population and are visible in management and professional careers, and yet they still represent less than 4% of Fortune 500 CEOs, according to Catalyst, a nonprofit organization concerned with expanding opportunities for women in business.

In order to grow their revenue, many carriers say they want to be as flexible as possible in adapting to the specific needs of shippers and freight brokers.

Shippers depend on trucking as the key element in meeting their transportation goals. The old slogan, “If you got it, it came by truck,” is as valid today as it was 30 years ago.

If you’re an owner-operator and your wheels aren’t turning, you’re not making money. If another vehicle slams into your truck when you have the right of way, it means you’re facing downtime through no fault of your own.