the FAST Act were a study of CSA data accuracy and reliability, removal of carrier CSA scores from public view and a requirement that FMCSA initiate a pilot program to review non-preventable crashes. Coming in at number eight on the
Arkansas list and number 10 nation- ally is concern over the impact of Driver Distraction on our workplace, the nation’s roadways. According to 2014 statistics, 3,179 people were killed, and 431,000 were injured in all vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. Further, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 13 percent of distracted driving crashes were directly attributed to cell phone use. As such, increased concern about the rising use of technology in vehicles by all drivers will likely result in this issue continuing as a top concern in the coming years. Number nine on the Arkansas
list was Driver Health and Wellness, reflecting concern over how to best protect the industry’s most valuable asset, its commercial driver workforce. Several strategies were identified for doing so, including research to quantify the return-on-investment potential for various driver health and wellness approaches and encouraging increased availability of exercise facilities and healthy food choices at truck stops and travel plazas. Rounding out the Arkansas top ten
list is the state of the nation’s trans- portation infrastructure. The negative impacts of congestion, failing roads and bridges and the need for a long-term transportation funding solution all com- bined to keep this issue as a top industry concern (ranked No. 9 overall). With the December 2015 passage
of the FAST Act, $225 billion was allo- cated to the highway program over a 5-year period, $10.8 billion of which is allocated to freight programs. The first is the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects program, a new $4.5 billion grant program for high- way projects that improve the move- ment of freight on either the National
ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 6 2016
THE ANNUAL TOP INDUSTRY ISSUES SURVEY
PROVIDES AN IMPORTANT INDICATOR OF WHERE TRUCKING’S ATTENTION IS FOCUSED…
IT’S AN IMPORTANT TOOL FOR PROVIDING DIRECTION TO INDUSTRY GROUPS.
Highway Freight Network (NHFN) or the National Highway System (NHS). Another freight program, the $6.3 bil- lion National Highway Freight Program, apportions money to all states to only be spent on the NHFN for projects improving freight movements. A somewhat related infrastruc-
ture issue that made the overall list is the lack of available truck parking. The growing scarcity of available truck parking creates a dangerous situation for truck drivers who are often forced to drive beyond allowable HOS rules or park in undesignated and, in many cases, unsafe locations. In response to a congressional requirement, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released its Jason’s Law Truck Parking Survey Results and Comparative Analysis in August 2015 which con- firmed that truck parking continues to be a major issue in the United States. On the national industry ranking, truck parking has been climbing the list for several years now, ranking fourth over- all in 2016. Similarly, ATRI’s Research Advisory
Committee selected Truck Parking as the most critical research need for the industry in 2015. In response, ATRI is involved in a number of truck parking research areas including a soon-to-be released analysis of truck parking activity recorded by commercial drivers in ATRI’s “Truck Parking Diary.” The truck park- ing diaries captured driver challenges looking for available parking including time spent looking, number of locations visited before parking was found and the lost productivity experienced by drivers who park before running out of drive hours out of concern that they won’t find parking down the road.
ATRI is also involved as a core
team member in the Mid America Association of State Transportation Officials- (MAASTO) sponsored Truck Parking Information Management Systems (TPIMS) development, funded through a $25 million TIGER grant. When fully deployed, the TPIMS will deliver real-time truck parking avail- ability information to commercial driv- ers in eight Midwest states. ATRI is also part of a national partnership including the National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO) to develop the Park My Truck app for drivers, providing real-time information on parking avail- ability nationwide. The annual Top Industry Issues
Survey provides an important indicator of where trucking’s attention is focused and which issues may rise to promi- nence in the near future. It’s an impor- tant tool for providing direction to industry groups at the state and nation- al levels in terms of the issues and strat- egies that motor carriers and drivers believe will have the most impact on the industry for years to come. Armed with this information, state trucking associations and the American Trucking Associations are better equipped to address the issues more broadly and proactively. ATR
ATRI is the trucking industry’s 501(c) (3) not-for-profit research organization. It is engaged in critical research relating to freight transportation’s essential role in maintaining a safe, secure and effi- cient transportation system. A copy of the 2016 Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry report is available from ATRI at
www.atri-online.org. Rebecca Brewster is the President and Chief Operating Officer for the American Transportation Research Institute.
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