Mike Hitchcock
I’ve seen and done a lot in my several decades in trucking, starting out as an owner/operator, then a company driver, then working my way into driver training, and finally to becoming a senior safety director in a large trucking company. Along the way, I’ve learned a thing or two about how to make safety pay dividends. I’m excited about my new role serving ICSA as its full time Safety Consultant. You’ll see Coaching Corner as a regular newsletter and website feature, and I will appreciate having your suggestions for topics to cover.
- Mike Hitchcock, ICSA Safety Consultant
I was once told, "The best drivers on the road each think that they are the best! They also think that their truck is (no matter how old) the best truck on the road!"
True or not, we do know that truckers like the freedom of the road and the independent lifestyle. Seasoned drivers will admit that their greatest safety challenge is avoiding complacency. So how do you make a good driver a great driver? A safer driver? How do you reduce the odds of you or your driver being involved in an accident?
There are a lot of new technologies being developed today to help. One of the most helpful is video cameras. SmartDrive is the system I am most familiar with and the approved vendor for ICSA. Being in trucking for over 40 years, I have seen so many recent accidents that used to be charged against the trucker now being accurately charged back to the motorist. In the past, we could never prove a car cut us off. Now we can.
That being said, no one wants to be in an accident no matter whose fault it is. How can we affect that? I can’t tell you that a driver with a good SmartDrive score will not be in an accident. I also can’t tell you if you smoke you will get cancer. I can tell you that the odds are against you if you smoke, and the odds are against a driver with a high SmartDrive score. They are at higher risk of being involved in their own accident or someone else’s. They are also more difficult to defend as a safe driver if they ever have to go to court for any reason.
Many drivers have a fear of video cameras, but in my experience they make a good driver a better driver. The Navy takes video of every carrier landing no matter how many years of experience the pilot has. The pilot is debriefed using that video after every trap. Why do they do this? To keep getting better! Video technology is being used all over the country to help good drivers get even better and reduce the chances of being in a crash. Defensive driving instructors will tell you that nearly all crashes can be prevented, given enough time and space. Video reviews help the professional driver fight complacency and help give them that time and space.
More to come on this topic soon!
Every year, TAT (formerly called Truckers Against Trafficking) honors a member of the trucking, bus or energy industry, whose direct actions help save or improve the lives of those exploited or prevent human trafficking from taking place, with the Harriet Tubman Award
Bob Costello has indicated that the freight market has improved – but very slowly – since January. It must be said that ATA’s indices are dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot rates.
Now, however, with Republican control of both houses of Congress and the White House (and, some say, the Supreme Court) I am optimistic that trucking will get a fairer shake than it has during Biden’s term in office.