JAY THOMPSON: AT A GLANCE
FAMILY: My wife of 25 years, my son, a senior in high school, and my daughter, who is in nursing school. And we’ve got a grandbaby now. She certainly has Papa’s heart.
FAVORITE VACATION SPOT: Most people have been to Florida; we’ve done that. But my favorite place is Colorado.
FAVORITE HOBBY: We’ve got a small farm. That’s what I enjoy doing. That’s where I go when I get off work. We’ve got horses and chickens and I hang out at the barn or ride the tractor; that’s how I relieve my stress.
FAVORITE FOOD: Absolutely, for sure, pizza. FAVORITE BEVERAGE: My friends know what my favorite beverage is.
Thompson was visiting with some ATA members he knew from the transporta- tion industry in Arkansas. During the course of their conversation, the mem- bers asked why Arkansas didn’t have its own inspectors competition. “We were already providing officers
to judge at the Arkansas Truck Driving Championship and had been for years. The offer was extended that they would be glad to help us have our own inspec- tors competition in conjunction with the state truck driving championship. There’ve been many building blocks over the years, but I attribute that one event as being the biggest building block in making our relationship what it is today. We’re very blessed to have that relationship with the association. We have many, many of the same goals. Working together we can accomplish things a lot quicker.” While Thompson has always been
a safety advocate, he says it wasn’t until time and maturity had shaped his views that he began to see the big picture. As a young officer, he thought he and his fel- low officers were the only ones responsi- ble—he wasn’t aware of the time, money and energy the transportation industry puts forward to make sure trucks and drivers are safe. “That’s what this truck driving competition and inspectors competition does. It allows the officers to be up there and see how proud these trucking companies are of their drivers and how sharp they are, because they’re going around inspecting trucks and try- ing to find defects while our officers are sitting there watching. It gives our offi- cers another perspective …It’s good that
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our officers get to see that side of the transportation industry.”
WORKING WITH THE CVSA The Commercial Vehicle Safety
Alliance is a non-profit enforcement organization with the goals of achieving uniformity, compatibility and reciproc- ity across North America. The CVSA has over 4,000 members of various sizes of local, state and provincial, and nationwide agencies—both private and public. Thompson’s term as president will end in September of this year, but he will continue to serve on the execu- tive board as a past president for three more years. “I was very humbled that I was
elected as CVSA president. It’s been a very busy year, but it’s been rewarding, and I really enjoyed working with so many people across the world. I’ve been to Canada to meet with their counsel of transportation, and I’ve testified in front of Congress. You know, I’ve just worked with many leaders in the trans- portation industry on safety issues, so it’s been rewarding.” Though there have been many areas
to address over the last year, Thompson has no problem coming up with a few he has found particularly rewarding. CVSA was established to ensure federal regulations were being enforced in a uniform manner across North America. Applying those regulations uniformly is what allows each transportation compa- ny and commercial motor vehicle driver to be treated fairly and equitably. Achieving that goal doesn’t come without its share of difficulties. The
training can be expensive and diffi- cult to provide for a variety of reasons, including man power and the work officers must address on a daily basis, including accidents and crime. “You have to pull your officers off the road to provide this training. So with that said, one of the issues that I’ve been work- ing on diligently throughout the last year is to establish and create different training tools that CVSA can not only administer but offer to its members to help them train their officers in a more efficient way.” To help make the training more
affordable, and thereby easier to pro- vide, there are grants available. Though the grants assist in recouping expenses involved in enforcing federal regula- tions and providing training, the grant process had become cumbersome. With the FAST act, passed in December 2015, the grant process was restructured and streamlined, to make the entire appli- cation process simpler for agencies to complete. On a trip to Guadalajara, with
the help of a translator, over a dozen enforcement agency heads were able to pick Thompson’s brain about the why’s and how’s of inspection and CVSA’s role in the process. “It was just a very neat thing to be able to communicate with someone that speaks a different lan- guage but hear some of their questions. They’re dealing with some issues that we have dealt with here in the United States for years, but we’ve tackled and they’re trying to tackle them. They’re members of CVSA and we’re excited about helping them.” While Thompson will be stepping
down as president, his work with the CVSA will continue, as he moves into a position on the executive board as a past president. Because of the structure of CVSA’s leadership, in which past presidents are still available to assist, and the maintenance of institutional memory inherent within that struc- ture, Thompson is confident the work in progress will be completed, and the continuous effort to save lives will con- tinue.
Issue 4 2016 | ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT
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