THE LAST WORD Delivering the Good News


By David O’Neal Director of Safety


You’ve read a lot about safety in the


preceding pages. You’ve seen coverage of the trucking championships, both in Arkansas and at the national level—possibly the best and most tangible illustration of highway safety, given the 157 drivers who competed in Arkansas (not to mention 5,000 driv- ers who competed accross the U.S.), all at least one year accident free and many with decades of blemish-free driving. Add to that the 430+ drivers from all 50 states who competed at the NTDC in Indianapolis. You read a feature on Arkansas Highway Police Major Jay Thompson—a man who has devoted his career to keeping our highways safe.


Those things are all about the good


news of safety! A celebration of safety! Recognition of a safety-focused career! Yet when I started writing this, I


was headed down a path well-trod with directives by safety professionals every- where: Don’t drive distracted. Never drive impaired. How you can make safety more important to your organization, etc. ad nauseum. There’s so much more to safety. You may have heard about the Arkansas


Road Team—professional drivers with conta- gious enthusiasm and a passion to make our industry better (and safer!) every day. They don’t speak in slogans, and they don’t speak AT their audiences—they speak TO their audiences. They educate through engage- ment, not bland talking points. We should all catch that bug! Or you may have heard about our Share the Road program—less than one


year old but already connecting a positive message of safe driving with driving-age students and other groups around the state. You’ve seen the video, right? If not, go now (don’t wait!) to arkansastrucking.com/ sharetheroad and watch. And the state of safety is strong in


Arkansas! In less than one year’s time, the Natural State will have played host to two major safety related events. Last November, the American Trucking Associations held their Safety & HR National Conference and Exhibition in Little Rock, bringing together hundreds of the trucking indus- try’s top safety professionals—many of them from within the state—to share best practices and review the impact of new and expected regulatory changes. And at press time, we’re only days away from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Annual Conference, also to be held in Little Rock, where government officials, commer- cial vehicle enforcement and industry repre- sentatives will gather to affect meaningful changes to highway safety from all over North America. This is all proof positive that Arkansas


is on the map when it comes to a culture of safety in the trucking industry. We’ve been known for decades as the home to some of the most recognized names in the trucking industry, and now adding state-wide recog- nition for our collective safety efforts sends a strong and positive message. Want more good news? Try this num-


ber on for size: 216,944,810. That’s the number of safe driving miles those 156 drivers that competed in our state’s truck driving championship have accumulated over the course of their careers. For per- spective, remember that the earth’s sun is


“only” around 93 million miles away. Our nine state TDC champi-


ons—#TeamArkansas—certainly contribut- ed to a good news message in Indianapolis, demonstrating professionalism and pride through the four-day event, cheering on their fellow competitors no matter what state they were from or what uniform they were wearing. Certainly, we face challenges. A


regulatory environment that will remain uncertain no matter who wins in November. An anti-trucking lobby that masquerades as “safety advocates”. Social and traditional media that enables an “always on” culture—meaning we have to do everything right 100 percent of the time, and everyone else just has to have a camera at the ready one time. But we’ve come so far. Safety is a


cornerstone of many if not most compa- nies’ cultures—a far cry from the days of Smokey and the Bandit. It’s at the top of the list when our industry speaks as one voice. And events like the state and nation- al competitions, along with constructive relationships with our enforcement and regulatory colleagues, are demonstrations of our progress. So that’s the good news of safety.


Positive and professional. Engaging and edu- cational. And always committed to safely delivering Arkansas and America. Also: Don’t drive distracted. Never


drive impaired. It can wait. Sorry; I couldn’t let the opportunity


pass me by.


David O’Neal is the director of safety services at the Arkansas Trucking Association.


Opinions expressed on this page may not reflect official policies or opinions of the Arkansas Trucking Association or the American Trucking Associations. 50 Issue 4 2016 | ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT


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