Safe Trucking Companies to be Awarded Fleet Safety Certification

Safe Trucking Companies to be Awarded Fleet Safety Certification
Sunday, April 6, 2008

Aon Risk Services, the retail brokering and risk management services unit of Aon Corporation, has developed the first nationwide fleet safety certification for trucking companies.

SafeFleet Certification, developed by the company's trucking practice, is a performance-based safety certification. The safety performance of trucking companies is measured by comparing a fleet's safety performance to national averages for the trucking industry based on several safety performance criteria, including out-of-service violation percentage, DOT-crash rate per million miles, crash-related injury and fatality rate per 100 million miles, and injury rate that results in lost workplace time per 100 workers.

SafeFleet Gold Certification is awarded to fleets whose safety performance is at least 35% better than the trucking industry average, whereas SafeFleet Silver and Bronze Certifications are awarded to fleets whose safety performance is 25% and 15% respectively better than the national average.

David Mitchell, director of risk control and safety for Aon's trucking practice, said that only about 15% of trucking companies would be able to meet such rigorous certification standards. Trucking companies that do meet those standards, however, are expected to experience improved claims defense and reduced claims costs, better treatment from insurance and reinsurance underwriters, higher driver retention, and increased sales to shippers.

Doubt Cast Over Mexican Truckers' English Proficiency

Doubt Cast over Mexican Truckers’ English Proficiency
Friday, April 04, 2008

Mexican truck drivers, traveling throughout the United States under the patronage of a pilot program created to test how safe Mexican trucks are on U.S. roads, are required by law to demonstrate their English-language proficiency. However, according to a testimony on March 11th at a Senate hearing, U.S. Department of Transportation regulations allow those drivers to answer questions in any language other than English when proving they recognize U.S. highway signs.

Senator Bryan Dorgan, who has always been an opponent of the program, has expressed his concern over such a clear disparity between the legal requirement and that particular regulation, arguing that the Mexican truckers’ English proficiency is an integral component of the safety issue. In addition, he has accused the Bush administration of not requiring Mexican truck drivers to meet the same level of safety standards that U.S. truck drivers meet. Chairing the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing, which was called to examine the six-month-old pilot program, Dorgan demanded an explanation from Transportation Secretary Mary Peters.

Peters admitted that during border inspections Mexican truck drivers are allowed to use any language that a U.S. inspector understands when answering questions to prove they recognize U.S. signs. However, she proceeded that inspectors determine the drivers’ English proficiency through other questions, such as asking them their names, what their trucks are carrying, and where they are going.

The Transportation Department's inspector general Calvin L. Scovel III told the panel that the road-sign test is only one factor that inspectors take into account while determining the Mexican truck drivers’ English-language proficiency. However, he acknowledged in an issued assessment report that the pilot program still suffers from some serious defects.

William Quade, associate administrator at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said after the hearing that inspectors normally wait until Mexican truck drivers have demonstrated their English-language proficiency before they begin to ask them to identify signs. He adds that once the Mexican drivers’ English proficiency has been proven, the inspection needs to be carried on in any language that inspectors and drivers understand.

While opponents of the program have sought to shut it down through legislation and litigation, U.S. transportation officials state that a comprehensive inspection process confirms that Mexican trucks allowed in the program are just as safe as American trucks.

The Bush administration regards the program as a step forward toward more north-south trade between the U.S. and Mexico, a trade which would benefit the economies of both countries.