Though the holiday season rings in a festive spirit and cheer to most Americans, it is work as usual for a section of commercial drivers who haul freight through those weeks. This is a time of year when drivers contend with the frustration of being separated from their families and brave inclement climatic conditions that make driving difficult, and even perilous.
Rain, snow, hail, ice or fog enhance risks to roadway mobility and safety and can significantly increase travel times, create congestion and decrease highway capacity — distressing possibilities for drivers who get paid by the hour.
“When truckers drive over the course of several hours, they can go through a variety of different weather conditions. For example, when temperatures drop or if there’s heavy rain, the propensity to hydroplane or lose some control of the vehicle increases,” said Jason Palmer, the COO of SmartDrive, a transport intelligence platform helping increase fleet performance. “It’s important for drivers to know when they are getting into such situations and start slowing the vehicle down during instances where their visibility or control is affected.”
Palmer explained that in his work, he regularly encounters truckers who go roughly 5 mph over the speed limit — which isn’t considered unusual. But set against dangerous driving conditions like low visibility and slippery surfaces, excess speeding can cause drivers to lose control of their vehicles, leading to disastrous consequences.
“Another key focus is to think of cruise control. Fleets need to have tighter control over the operation of the vehicle, and from the best practices standpoint, it is safer to disengage cruise control so that they can more readily manage the operation of the vehicle,” Palmer said.
Fleet management can incrementally improve driver behavior by repurposing recorded incidents from previous years as coaching tools. “Using videos of collisions or near collisions and explaining how to avoid them can help. The goal is not to show or say who the driver is, but to focus on educating drivers to be more aware of the consequences or impact of such different kinds of situations,” Palmer said.
Video tutorials can help cement best practices and help drivers pay more attention to how fast they drive and the changing conditions around the vehicle. Identifying changing conditions is vital, especially during winter, when weather conditions can tend to deteriorate more rapidly.
Apart from training drivers, carriers must also have policies that define how their fleets operate during inclement weather. For instance, vehicles that haul freight during winter must be equipped with all-season tires, snow chains, jumper cables, and tactical flashlights. Trucks should also be modernized with advanced braking and advanced traction control systems, which helps vehicles operate better in harsh winters.
Additionally, companies can leverage data to improve driver safety. “Fleets are starting to bring in weather data and messaging drivers to ensure they understand the weather they may be driving into and also the changing conditions they need to anticipate,” Palmer said. “We are starting to see more real-time information being fed to drivers, and this is a trend that will really help drivers make better decisions.”
John Cook
Welcome to the;” nanny state”.
Jeff Pearson
Good things….have some food in the truck..and some water..just incase you are stranded for hours..along with warm enough clothing in case you dont have heat..as in an engine thats not running..
Bad thing…that ELD just keeps on ticking whether you are doing 5 mph in bad weather..or 65 in good weather..so where is that a safety factor? So many instead of being safe at 5mph..will drive 45 to make better time..and think they will be further down the road when that 11 hour bell goes ding..your out of time..
Bob harmsy
Experience and real time wisdom behind the wheel is not being given consideration. Tech-savvy leads dependence on something other than common sense. When everything is controlled by an AI system it may work, but human decisions always have consequences. Who is to blame for AI fault?
Call 511 and get your route laid out to eliminate surprises. Putting chains on is stupid unless you get caught, and getting caught by a storm (not DOT stupid) is missing management of your vehicle. Sit it out until the chains are called off and the pass is open. 511 systems need to be the same in every state and updated by law enforcement. It is a driving necessity. Drive safe. Look out for “hotdogs in the hammerlane”.
Jeff Pearson
So one shouldnt travel across Donner on 80 in the wintertime? Because i remember over 30 days you had chain control up every single day…waiting that one to clear is called gone broke..its easy to chain up..after you learn how..and thats mostly learning hands on..errasing the screw ups the next time you chain..have good chains..and dont drive 40 mph when chained up..when they blow up..you wont like the paperwork or the bill to pay from the damage..Nevada is easy..you dont need chains..BUT if you lose traction and spin out..VERY good chance you will be getting a ticket..
Yep that's me
This is stupid, every bit of it nothing but stupidity
Vanya Kouveli
“Drivers paid by the hour”????? So…the writer has no clue that the OTR drivers get paid BY THE MILE and in harsh conditions + road “work” (yeah sure, barrels and cones only) the drivers make 0 money to support their families
B. W. Bibb
Seems your answer is more technology with a larger carrier oversight to the issue. When actually training from the start, I mean from the moment one decides to obtain a cdl, is sorely lacking. No clear cut outline of industry wide training standards are a major issue.
Also company pay mindset forces drivers to work in conditions some would most likely not want tu o nb operate.
And to ignore other factors like other motorist, the lack of state maintenance on the highways at critical times. All play a factor.
Still comes down to training training training.
Bob harmsy
Experience and real time wisdom behind the wheel is not being given consideration. Tech-savvy leads dependence on something other than common sense. When everything is controlled by an AI system it may work, but human decisions always have consequences. Who is to blame for AI fault?
Call 511 and get your route laid out to eliminate surprises. Putting chains on is stupid unless you get caught, and getting caught by a storm (not DOT stupid) is missing management of your vehicle. Sit it out until the chains are called off and the pass is open. 511 systems need to be the same in every state and updated by law enforcement. It is a driving necessity. Drive safe. Look out for “hotdogs in the hammerlane”.
🐷
Have two pairs of sweat suites on under your clothes you never know when your going to break down. That cold wind cuts into your clothes. Inside of your chest feels like it’s frozen so have something to cover your face .
Former Rick Roehl curtain side
Have two pairs of sweat suites on under your clothes you never know when your going to break down. That cold wind cuts into your clothes. Inside of your chest feels like it’s frozen so have something to cover your face .