Top 10 safety articles of 2024

In 2024, fleets faced a multitude of safety challenges, including hurricanes, distracted driving, new safety regulations, cargo theft, and more. The FleetOwner team rode the wave of safety challenges with the rest of the industry, covering each safety concern to shed light on how fleets can manage. Here’s a look at the top safety articles from FleetOwner in 2024.

While the number of deaths from truck-car crashes has trended down over the decades, motorist and truck driver safety should always be paramount.

10. Less than 1 in 20 American adults understand truck blind spots

Findit Parts surveyed more than 1,000 Americans 18 and older and discovered that less than 5% of them know the locations of a semi-truck's blind spots. This lack of truck knowledge could lead to dangerous behaviors on the road and contribute to crashes involving commercial vehicles.

This data also coincides with a 2004 study by the University of Michigan analyzing fatal truck and car crashes from 1994 and 1995 (the most recent data available). The study found that 70% of crashes between large trucks and cars occurred due to passenger car driver behavior alone.

While truck-car crash fatalities have declined since 1995, the safety of the motoring public and truck drivers should always be a priority. Breaking down the results of Findit Parts’ survey could help shed light on the dangers of the motoring public’s lack of knowledge about driving alongside heavy-duty trucks. Read more…

As legalization grows, marijuana continues to be more prevalent in DOT tests.

9. Don’t let safety go up in smoke

It seems I have developed a knack for dating myself in this column, so why stop now? Besides the usual aches and pains I experience every day, the very fact I remember Cheech and Chong’s “Up in Smoke” bursting onto the scene more than four decades ago really ages me.

Since the cult classic film about cannabis was released in 1978, marijuana use has become more mainstream. Looking at a U.S. map of legalization efforts in 1978 versus today shows a dramatic difference. From being fully legalized to decriminalizing or incorporating medical aspects, the U.S. in 1978 is far from what it is today. Read more…

A breakdown, in plain language, of all FMCSA's plans for the proposed and final rules from the latest regulatory agenda.

8. All of FMCSA's current regulatory plans

The latest regulatory agenda gives a preview of the rules and regulations each federal agency is considering. For the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, that agenda includes 16 proposed rules and six final rules.

Each rule in the agenda comes with a brief description, links to any relevant sections of the federal register, and a tentative deadline. However, Dan Horvath, SVP of regulatory affairs and safety policy for the American Trucking Associations, cautions against reading the deadlines as certain truth. Read more…

Speeding is one of the most critical factors in litigation that can be controlled or eliminated.

7. What are you doing to mitigate 'nuclear' risks to your fleet?

Motor carriers' insurance costs are increasing. According to data from the American Transportation Research Institute, per-mile insurance expenses jumped 12.5% last year after remaining steady for three years. Litigation and, more specifically, the potential for nuclear judgments against trucking companies likely contribute to these increases. According to ATRI, in the last 15 years, significant judgments skyrocketed 967%—amounts often large enough to push a trucking company into financial ruin.

There is a ripple effect as well. Nuclear verdicts not only raise insurance rates but also the prices of motor carriers to offset higher costs, and higher transportation costs increase consumer prices.

Among the factors driving litigation and the potential for nuclear verdicts are what some parties call legal system abuse. Read more…

MC number manipulation occurs when MC numbers are sold to cargo thieves who use the numbers to steal loads.

6. Cargo theft trends: Motor carrier number manipulation is on the rise

Imagine you’re a freight broker who has done business with the same trucking company for many years. The fleet has a good reputation, and you know them personally. Unbeknownst to you, those in charge of the trucking company sell its motor carrier number; unbeknownst to the fleet, those who purchase the number are cargo thieves.

With this MC number, the cargo thieves come to you, the freight broker, for a load. The cargo thieves paid extra to the original fleet for its phone number, email, and other contact information. So, on your end, nothing has changed; the fleet information looks the same in your system. You have no idea that your once trusted carrier sold its MC number. You give them a load, and the thieves steal it and others in one fell swoop, abandoning the MC number afterward.

This Trojan Horse method is called motor carrier number manipulation, and according to cargo theft experts, it’s currently on the rise. Read more…

Communication between fleets and drivers is key during adverse weather.

5. How fleets should prepare for adverse weather

Hurricane season in the U.S. is in full force with the recent Hurricane Debby and incoming Hurricane Ernesto. Even outside of hurricane season, it’s important for fleets to have plans in place for when—not if—adverse weather events affect their operations.

While some weather events, such as hurricanes, are predictable in terms of when and where they are going to happen, others like tornadoes are less predictable. Either way, fleets need to plan ahead for handling bad weather before, during, and after the storm. Read more…

Brake Safety Week serves as a reminder to drivers and fleet managers of the importance of vehicle maintenance and provides an opportunity for law enforcement to highlight the importance of brake safety for all.

4. 2024 Brake Safety Week: What fleets and drivers should know

Another year, another chance for the trucking industry to focus on brake safety. Let’s go over what fleets and drivers need to know for this year’s Brake Safety Week.

According to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, Brake Safety Week is a commercial motor vehicle and driver inspection and regulatory compliance enforcement initiative, a brake-safety awareness and outreach opportunity, and a brake-related inspection and violation data collection project. Each year, this event is hosted by CVSA. Read more…

While marijuana testing doesn’t measure impairment, it is still necessary to ensure fleets have the safest drivers—and is particularly important under the threat of nuclear verdicts.

3. For carriers, growing use of marijuana challenges driver retention

Laws around marijuana are relaxing. Buying marijuana is becoming easier. But federal standards for drivers using marijuana remain the same.

Drivers are still subject to Department of Transportation regulations and testing. This brings some confusion for drivers and retention challenges for carriers.

On top of all this, the Drug Enforcement Administration may soon relax the federal classification of marijuana. Read more…

The bridge was originally constructed after the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel began to experience daily heavy congestion.

2. How the Baltimore bridge collapse impacts trucking

The collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge will significantly impact trucking operations, both regionally and nationwide.

The bridge’s collapse not only limited traffic around major Maryland distribution centers but also shut down the nation’s largest port for roll-on/roll-off cargo. Sudden diversions, congestion, and longer travel distances will make handling some types of freight more expensive, according to industry analysts who spoke to FleetOwner on March 26.

“The Key Bridge and Port of Baltimore are critical components of our nation’s infrastructure and supply chain,” Sean McNally, VP of public affairs and press secretary for the American Trucking Associations, told FleetOwner on behalf of ATA. “Aside from the obvious tragedy, this incident will have significant and long-lasting impacts on the region. Read more…

The Clearinghouse-II final rule expands the penalty of drug and alcohol violations by requiring states to revoke CDLs from drivers with outstanding violations.

1. What Clearinghouse-II will bring to trucking

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is entering its next phase.

After the compliance update for the Clearinghouse-II final rule, state driver licensing agencies will remove commercial driver’s license (and commercial learner’s permit) privileges from any commercial drivers with a "prohibited" status in the Clearinghouse. If prohibited drivers complete their return-to-duty process, SDLAs will restore their privileges.

The change does not affect carrier compliance but better coordinates state and federal law enforcement. Read more…

Along with these articles, FleetOwner publishes several popular annual features that garner attention throughout the trucking and transportation industries. These include our annual looks at the largest commercial transportation systems in the U.S., the FleetOwner 500: For-Hire and FleetOwner 500: Private Fleets.

Our annual profiles of women in the industry, Women in Transportation 2024, were published this summer. Each year, FleetOwner recognizes the transportation operations of private fleets with the FleetOwner Private Fleet of the Year award. This fall, we expanded and rebranded our annual New Models to the 2025 FleetOwner vehicle guide, our largest-ever look at the next generation of heavy-duty, medium-duty, light-duty, and alternative-powered trucks and vans.

We put a bow on the year with the 2024 Trucking by the Numbers feature, an info-graphical look at the facts and figures that make up the trucking and transportation industries. To view what's ahead for FleetOwner in the new year, please check out our 2025 Media Kit.