Inside Coverage Insurance Summer 2008
A publication of Great West Casualty Company
Copyright 2008, All Rights Reserved

Although it was late in coming, spring is officially here. Spring means two things, school will be letting out soon and construction zones are popping out like leaves on a tree.

Construction zones can present a serious hazard for the entire motoring public. A significant percentage of accidents involving large trucks happen in construction zones.

1) Before the construction zone. Watch closely for speeding motorists that may cut in front of your vehicle; be prepared to make room for these people. Carefully read the warning signs for instruction on which lane to drive in and adjust your speed.

2) Inside the construction zone. Maintain a proper following distance, read the road ahead for sudden slow-down areas, and watch out for workers or construction equipment that may cross into your lane. Adverse conditions, such as blowing dirt and debris, require lower speeds to get through safely.

3) After the construction zone. Watch out for impatient drivers that may quickly change lanes and pass without warning. Be patient and accelerate at your own pace.

Exercising Proper Driving Technique in construction zones:

• Do not tailgate.
• Pay attention to other drivers’ actions.
• Do not get distracted by happenings in the construction zone.
• Drive within the posted speed limit.
• Slow down if visibility is limited.
• Maintain patience.
• Do not give in to road rage.
• Drive conservatively.
• Remember: road construction is a fact of life. We need good roads.
• Drive to protect the amateur motorist...you are the professional.

Driving Championships

the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) Safety and Loss Prevention Management Council hosts the National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC), one of ATA’s largest programs, known to many as the “Super Bowl of Safety.” 

The 2008 NTDC will be the ATA’s 71 st annual championship competition. It is at NTDC that the best professional truck drivers in the country gather to vie for national titles in various classifications and for the top honor of NTDC Grand Champion.

The 2008 National Truck Driving Championships will be held from Tuesday, Aug. 19, to Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008, at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.  The primary hotel will be the Hilton Americas – Houston.

At NTDC, each driver has a chance to demonstrate his or her driving skills and knowledge of the trucking industry through a series of tests. The drivers are given a written examination, personal interview, pre-trip inspection test, and a field test.

Background Checks

To control insurance costs, trucking companies should take the steps needed to lessen their exposure to a serious claim. One key step is hiring good drivers. These are drivers with good driving records, good experience, and professional conduct.

While it is important to get a motor vehicle record (MVR) when hiring a driver, it is equally important for motor carriers to do a criminal background check. A criminal background check may reveal a driver with history of equipment or cargo theft. It’s important to note that when Great West is considering insuring a motor carrier and reviewing it’s drivers, we only review the drivers’ MVRs. We don’t conduct background checks.

  Upcoming Events  

Truck Show Las Vegas
June 26 - 28
Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV

Walcott Truckers Jamboree
July 10 - 11
Iowa 80 Truckstop, Exit 284, Walcott, IA

ADS International Convention & Tradeshow
August 6 - 10
Wynn Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV

Great Salt Lake Truck Show
August 15 - 16
Thanksgiving Point, Salt Lake City, UT

ATA National Truck Driving Championships
August 19 - 23
George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX

Great American Trucking Show
August 21 - 23
Dallas Convention Center, Dallas, TX

Developing a Culture of Safety

Safety is not a project or program. You do not create a culture of safety unless it is a part of every business process. Hiring additional safety people or spending an extra 30 minutes each week “working” on safety won’t get the job done. You have to examine each business process and make sure safety is integrated into it. Some points to consider:

• Safety is not first, it is always. Unsafe acts and behavior should not be tolerated and should be communicated to all personnel.
  
• Management has to walk the talk. Top management has to reinforce the commitment by its actions. Safety must receive equal billing with customer service and profitability.
  
• You cannot just hire warm bodies to put behind the wheel. It is still tough to find highly-qualified drivers with safe driving records, but hiring drivers with poor employment and driving records is a recipe for disaster. The same holds true for all other positions in your organization, do not hire your problems. Make sure you have the right people on your team.
  
• You have to have a zero tolerance approach. Almost is not good enough when it comes to unsafe acts or slipshod DOT compliance. Drivers, their managers, and all other personnel must be held accountable for their actions.
  
• Train and communicate. You cannot do enough of either. Recognize and reward the top performers and let everybody in the company know who they are. Training is not just an attempt to improve competence; it lets people know you care enough about them to spend time and money trying to help them improve.
  
• Continual evaluation. Getting the desired results? Make modifications as necessary or scrap the plan and start over.

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