Throughout 2010, while Congress and the transportation industry debated how to improve our transportation infrastructure, data from an important research study was being analyzed to help accelerate progress in another promising area for truck safety — the adoption of advanced “detect, alert and respond” safety technologies for commercial trucks.

Con-way Freight joined with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute in a 10-month field test of an integrated suite of crash warning technologies, a study which was completed late last year. The suite was designed to provide drivers with early warning of the three most common causes of commercial truck crashes.

We found the results of the study so compelling, we chose to invest in these technologies for our fleet this year, ahead of any government mandate. We put into service 1,300 new trucks with these technologies installed. For our drivers, it was a worthwhile investment to make them better and help improve their safety and those with whom we share the nation’s highways.

Since then, interest in these technologies has been growing. And we were particularly pleased that John D. Dingell, Michigan’s representative for the 15^th Congressional District, chose to take action and reached out to his colleagues to share the findings of this important study and its potential to improve safety. Rep. Dingell’s support is exactly the type of leadership we need to advance highway safety in meaningful ways. Following is his letter, which was sent this month to members of Congress:

Dear Colleague,

I am writing to you today about an issue I have long been passionate about — transportation infrastructure and the safety of America’s roadways. Every day commercial trucks keep freight and our economy moving, so improving their safety performance positively impacts us all.

To date, we’ve been focusing on the important task of repairing and updating our antiquated interstate highway system. Now, we are learning about new ways to concurrently enhance safety over the roads — through the use of advanced “detect, alert and respond” technologies in commercial trucks.

On Sept. 9, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and trucking company Con-way Freight announced the positive results of a year-long field test of an integrated system of crash warning technologies for commercial vehicles. The study, which was funded by the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office of the U.S. Department of Transportation, revealed significant safety benefits from technologies installed in a number of Con-way Freight’s tractors. They not only helped drivers avoid the most common examples of crashes involving commercial trucks, such as lane departures and rollovers, but also drivers’ awareness of the traffic environment around their vehicles. As a result of these findings, every new Con-way Freight truck will be equipped with these technologies.

As legislators, I believe it’s our duty to learn about — and advocate for — new ways to make our highways safer for truck drivers and the motoring public. Clearly, this was a successful partnership between the public and private sectors, and I hope you share the study findings with your staff. A full copy of the report is available at http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/Technical%20Publications/2010/811362.pdf.

With every good wish,

John D. Dingell

Member of Congress

Most people would agree that a driving habit which makes you 23 more times likely to become involved in a traffic crash is inherently extremely dangerous.  Common sense would tell you to avoid at all costs any activity that puts you at such serious risk.  Yet only 38 U.S. states have so far taken steps to address the problem.

I’m referring, of course, to texting while driving.

In Missouri, our administration, led by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, has taken an interesting approach to combating this dangerous habit – one that we hope more states will follow. First, we banned all texting while operating a motor vehicle for drivers 21 and under. This is the age group responsible for the largest proportion of distracted driving-related fatalities.

Second, we developed a special “No Driving While Texting” graphic, which we are giving out as a “window cling” decal to motorists, schools and business around the state. It’s a visible reminder to put down your PDA and focus 100% on the task of driving.

Third, we launched a public service campaign, introducing the “no texting” logo with a formal kickoff event in St. Louis, our largest city, on July 16. The message: we want every motorist – regardless of age – to stop texting while driving. To help promote the message, Con-way Freight and Roush Fenway Racing joined us in the cause, prominently displaying our “no texting” logo on the hood of the No. 16 Con-way Freight Ford Fusion race car driven by Colin Braun at the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Gateway International Raceway July 17. Colin had his best finish of the year at that race, and we like to think the new logo brought him luck.

Missouri’s motto is the “Show Me” state, but we hope in this case we’re providing an example that other states will embrace. Cell phone usage while driving contributed to more than 1,780 traffic crashes in Missouri in 2009, more than any other form of distracted driving. In the first half of 2010, there were 791 traffic crashes related to the use of cell phones behind the wheel, resulting in eight fatalities and 239 injuries. Additionally, in this same time period, there were 17,535 crashes where distracted driving was cited as a contributing cause.

Too often our troopers witness the tragic end-results of distracted driving. Of all the actions that cause traffic crashes, this is one area where a simple decision by every motorist can immediately make our highways safer. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics, nearly 6,000 people died in accidents caused by distracted driving during 2008. How many is too many?

We would like to invite every other state highway patrol organization in the U.S. to join us in this important public safety campaign. Start your own campaign to encourage all your state’s motorists to put down their phones while driving. We’ve got the template in place and we’re happy to share, and I’m sure our partners Con-way Freight and Roush Fenway Racing would lend their support to you as they did to the citizens of Missouri.

Highway Patrol and local police vehicles get a lot of visibility out on the roads, and simply displaying the message is an effort worth making. If even one person sees the logo and stops texting even one time, our highways will be a little bit safer that day.

Col. Ron Replogle is Superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. He has been a state trooper in Missouri for nearly 27 years.

After graduating high school in 1976 I was living in an old steel/manufacturing town where there were few employment possibilities.  At that time continuing on to college just wasn’t an option.   I was 18 years old. I needed to decide what to do with my life. How do you know what you want to do when you’ve experienced so little?

My father ingrained in me simple but important qualities that you should always work hard and give a job your best effort.  Surely there were employers looking for workers with such traits. But what could I offer an employer? My father worked in a small family business alongside his 4 brothers.  The rest of my family worked in one of the large manufacturing plants.  There was no room in the family business, and the large plants were all in decline.

The only things at that time that interested me were truck driving and serving in the military.  If I wanted to enter a truck driving school, I would have needed to take out a loan.  Most employers wanted their drivers at a minimum age of 21. If I didn’t get a job in trucking how would I pay back the loan? If I entered the military, they would train me to drive a truck, and when my enlistment was up I would be 21.  So that’s the course I took, serving my country and being a truck driver in the military.

I came out of the service three years later, smack into a slumping economy. I decided to focus all my efforts on one employer that was hiring drivers.  I submitted 54 applications to this employer in hope for an opportunity.  Finally I got an interview and a road test.  While being tested, the safety manager told me he was impressed with my determination, and I got the interview because I always filled out a consistent application and never gave up.

I was so excited to get that job.  Not only did it alter my career, but it changed my life. It gave me purpose. It reinforced basic principles about respect, integrity, dignity, being accountable to yourself and others, and the value of an honest day’s work. It gave me confidence that I could achieve things I once doubted, such as owning a home and providing well for my family.

I have been a professional truck driver for 28 years now, and increasingly I ask myself, where will we find the next generation for our industry?  I realize that today’s young adults are different (Twitter? Facebook? Online everything all the time?) from my generation in lots of ways.  Yet many of them will come out of high school much like I did: unsure of their future, not knowing what options are available to them to shape it.  They will ask many of the same questions I did 28 years ago.

How do we attract them to the trucking industry? Simple. Just ask them. Take a page out of the past, invite them to join as an “apprentice” (when did you last hear that term) where they can learn and experience the profession through paid, on-the-job training.

That’s exactly what my company, Con-way Freight, has set up, and what I will be doing as a driver-training instructor in this new program. Apprentice drivers will be offered a part-time 20 hour week working on the dock to provide them with income.  The other 20 hours will be spent learning the industry’s rules, safety regulations and how to drive a truck – at no cost. When the candidate successfully completes the program, they’ll be offered the opportunity for promotion to full-fledged Con-way Driver Sales Representative.

This program is designed to do much more than fill the seats of Con-way Freight’s trucks.  When the student completes the program, not only will they have their Commercial Drivers License (CDL), they will have learned how to be CSA 2010 compliant – a requirement for the future. They’ll be among the best trained, safest and most knowledgeable drivers in the industry.

Many things have changed over my 28 years of trucking, but the need for good people has not.  Tomorrow’s drivers will have to be better and more knowledgeable than I was when I started.  I’ve learned a lot over the years, and as a driving instructor I hope to share that insight and experience with the young people who join our program.  For me, it’s time to “Pay it Forward” by giving back to an industry that’s given me so much.

David May is a driver-sales representative for Con-way Freight and works a city route for the company’s Buffalo, NY service center. A 28-year industry veteran, he is an America’s Road Team captain and a vocal advocate for the trucking industry, professional truck drivers and improving safety for all motorists on America’s highways.