Over the course of history, the White House Rose Garden has been the venue for many Presidential decisions which heralded a new direction for our country. Earlier this summer, I had the opportunity to participate in one such event that, hopefully, we can look back on years from now and recall as the beginning of important change for our citizens, our nation and our industry.

The event was the signing by President Barack Obama of an official presidential memorandum on Fuel Efficiency Standards, which directed his administration to establish fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for commercial medium- and heavy-duty vehicles beginning with the nation’s 2014 models.

In a country so reliant on fossil fuels, increasing fuel efficiency while reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a goal worthy of everyone. The President’s action recognized the efforts of a group of industry leaders who see this goal as not only worthy for the environment, but necessary for our business.  And that’s the Heavy-Duty Fuel Efficiency Leadership Group, a diverse coalition of trucking fleets and related technology providers formed earlier this year.

The mission of the group is to assist federal agencies in formulating effective policies to reduce GHG emissions and increase fuel efficiency in heavy-duty commercial vehicles, while avoiding unintended consequences that could disrupt the industry and our economy.

This group, of which Con-way is a founding member, believes that a strong GHG/fuel efficiency program can result in significant environmental, economic and national security benefits. Encouragingly, the President’s call to action emphasized the importance of collaboration between government and industry as the path forward to developing, refining and implementing effective policy.

To that end, the leadership group created and presented to the Administration and federal agencies a Statement of Principles to support and help guide the rulemaking process. These basic principles call for future regulations to:

• Leverage and build upon on existing programs proven to be effective

• Emphasize the prompt deployment of viable technologies

• Recognize the diversity of medium- and heavy-duty fleets

• Are complemented by financial incentives and transportation policies that accelerate results

At Con-way, we’ve already taken many critical steps in that direction. We’ve implemented initiatives that include reducing the speed of our tractors, moving to single wide-base tires for decreased rolling resistance and better fuel economy, no-idling policies and reengineering our freight network to run fewer miles and use less fuel.

As President Obama noted that day, freight vehicles are thought to be responsible for approximately 20 percent of the GHG related to transportation. He believes that we can increase tractor-trailer fuel economy by as much as 25 percent using technologies that now exist.

This is an achievable goal — if industry and government work together in a true partnership to make it a reality. The outcome will be the first-ever national GHG/fuel efficiency program for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. It’s a goal that has benefits for all — and one that, for the sustainability of our industry and our environment, deserves our full support.

Doug Stotlar is president and chief executive officer of Con-way Inc. He, along with Tommy Hodges, chairman of American Trucking Associations, and other industry executives joined President Obama at a Rose Garden signing ceremony earlier this year that laid the groundwork for new fuel efficiency standards for the trucking industry.

Every day, thousands of our fellow citizens are deployed serving in the National Guard or Reserves, playing a fundamental role that protects our freedoms, maintains peace, and provides relief services to communities in the United States and around the globe.

It’s a role that will grow as our standing front-line military continues to evolve. Thousands of businesses have been and will continue to be impacted as more reservists are called to duty. It’s a challenge for the employer, who is often faced with having to backfill or replace key employees. We will only see these challenges increase as our country continues to deploy more resources in the global battle against terrorism.

For the Guard and Reserve member, the sacrifice endured when called to duty is significant on many levels. These men and women leave their homes, families, jobs and careers, sometimes with as little as a week’s notice, when their unit is deployed. They put their personal lives on hold in the name of freedom and service to our country — for anywhere from 12 to 24 months. Many are called up for multiple tours of duty.

As if the stress of a combat zone is not enough, some Guard and Reserve members also suffer financial hardships due to their service. This happens when their military pay while on deployment is less than that which they were making in their private industry job. Worse yet, even though federal law mandates that an employer must provide re-employment at a similar level and pay to returning employees, some Guard and Reserve members come back, find their employers have abandoned them, and have to fight to get their job back — a travesty that was brought to light by the TV newsmagazine “60 Minutes.”

These are honorable men and women who put their lives on the line for our freedom and safety. You may have noticed that people with military experience have certain intangible qualities like self-awareness, pride and a sense of purpose. The military instills these qualities in all of its ranks because it makes them good people. By embodying such core values as honor, courage and commitment, men and women build character and confidence, develop strong team skills, and learn to accept responsibility and accountability for personal actions. These are exactly the employee values and life experiences that create and sustain successful businesses.

Our citizen-soldiers should not come home from serving our country only to face yet another battle to get their job back. They deserve our respect and admiration, and our unqualified support. Nothing less is acceptable.

My company, Con-way Freight, recognizes this not only as a responsibility, but a duty.  At any one time we may have as many as 100 employees on active deployment. While on leave for deployment, the families of these service men and women continue to receive company medical benefits. In the case where the deployed-employee’s military pay is less than their Con-way pay, the company makes up the difference. Upon return, these employees have access to resources and counseling under the company’s health plan to help them deal with the stresses of their deployment and reintegrate into society.  And finally, the job they had when they went on deployment is there for them when they come home.

Our Guard and Reserve members and all active-duty military are heroes in every sense of the word; we should not take them for granted. Consider doing something to support our troops. For example, this past holiday season, Con-way employees in several cities participated in a “Santa Claus for Soldiers’ Families” effort, collecting gifts and presenting them to families of deployed Guard and Reserve soldiers who otherwise were not able to afford or manage Christmas on their own. In addition, several times a year, Con-way employees around the United States band together and collect donations of goods into care packages that are sent to the troops.

You can also participate in similar “support our troops” collection drives done by community service organizations. You can encourage your local schools to adopt a solider or a unit, sending supportive cards and letters.  And you can participate in national and local military support groups that reach out regularly to deployed-soldiers’ families and provide basic assistance.

These efforts make a huge difference to our men and women in the military. They are the front line of our freedom. Your kindness and support will be recognized deeply and broadly, confirming to them that their sacrifices and commitment to the defense of our liberties are not only recognized, but respected, honored and revered.

Lt. Col. David L. “Duke“ Ellington (ret.) is a 30-year military veteran who served as a logistics officer in the U.S. Army and the Indiana National Guard. He also served as executive director of the Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), Indiana Chapter, a national advocacy organization that facilitates collaboration between employers and all branches of the active military and reserves. He is currently a personnel supervisor for Con-way Freight’s Indianapolis service center and participates actively in the company’s recruiting, hiring, training and support programs for veterans.

I was talking to a Con-way Freight driver the other day and we got on the subject of distracted drivers. It really lit him up. “It’s getting worse,” he told me, shaking his head in despair. “If it’s not someone distracted on a cell phone, it’s somebody else trying to read or send a text message. They take their eyes off the road and the next thing you know, they’re drifting into me!

It’s time that we ratchet up the volume on this problem and get people to pay attention. Kudos to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, whose Welcome to the Fast Lane blog last week saluted organizations taking steps to combat distracted driving and the threat this presents to the safety of America’s highways.

Con-way has nearly 18,000 employees who are literally working on the road every day. It’s like their office. They treat driving with all the attention and professionalism you would expect of someone who pilots a large commercial truck for a living, and has dozens of businesses reliant on that driver for the safe delivery of their goods. We share Secretary LaHood’s concern over this issue. Congress has held hearings on it and I recently testified before a House committee on this very subject, on behalf of the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

Con-way and ATA believe that while driver distraction can take many forms, the most problematic is the use of hand-held electronic devices and the act of reading, writing or sending text messages while a vehicle is in motion. According to a Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study, text messaging makes the risk of a crash or near-crash 23 times higher (see www.vtti.vt.edu) than normal. That threat to safety is unacceptable. Both Con-way and ATA support the ALERT Drivers Act of 2009 (H.R. 3535), the proposed legislation that would ban texting while operating a vehicle. Con-way already prohibits its drivers from using any PDA device while operating company trucks.

With some other forms of in-cab technology, the issue of distraction becomes more complicated. In-cab communications and driver monitoring systems, used widely in particular by long-haul truckload carriers, are a prime example. While under some circumstances these devices could cause driver distraction — and many companies including Con-way Truckload have addressed this issue through specific policies and usage training — they also enhance drivers’ ability to do their jobs safely, effectively and efficiently. We join ATA in the belief that detailed analysis and public comment should take place if any restrictions on this type of technology are considered.

New policies and, as necessary, legislation, will help battle the problem of distracted driving with the motoring public. But it won’t make a difference or resolve the threat to highway safety unless the change in laws is matched by a shift in public perception, attitude and especially, behavior. If automobile drivers don’t see these distractions as a threat to safety, behaviors simply won’t change. And that’s unacceptable.

Come on, America. Put down your PDAs while driving. You will be safer, as will the hundreds of thousands of professional truck drivers who are sharing the road with you and providing the critical services that keep our supply chains and economy humming.

Here’s a great idea for a bumper sticker: Gotta text? Pull over!

Source: The National Guard

As we approach the Holiday Season, it’s a good time to remember and recognize those citizen/soldiers and active military who are “standing the wall” for us in countries around the world, protecting our nation and defending us against those who would try to take away those freedoms that so many of our fellow citizens before us have fought and sacrificed for.

In today’s military, the burden of this defense falls not only on active military, but also in large part on the shoulders of the National Guard and Reserves, who continue to serve our country in important capacities that are critical to the success of our front-line military.

When our citizen/soldiers go in harm’s way, they put their lives on the line for their country and for their fellow citizens.  They need the assurance that while deployed, we (the private sector) have done everything in our power to assure continuity of support for their families, in their communities, and in their work places awaiting their return.  When a company employs veterans and members of the National Guard and Reserve, they join other patriotic companies that willingly support our greatest national resource – the men and women who voluntarily and faithfully serve our great nation, or who have done so during active military service.  These men and women undergo extensive training to protect our country and families. We simply cannot do enough to honor their commitment to that duty.

Con-way endorses hiring veterans and hiring members of the Reserve and Guard, and we actively seek them out for employment.  We encourage businesses to support the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR).  This organization provides important recognition for the many companies which actively support their employees in the armed services.  For many service men and women, the ESGR is the conduit that helps them reenter their lives in mainstream America.  It is also important for employers to actively engage with veterans’ outreach programs to help facilitate the hiring of our Nation’s veterans as they complete their military service.

Veterans and Reserve/Guard members are disciplined, hard workers, family oriented, and used to working long hours under some of the most arduous of conditions.  They are good corporate citizens, who firmly understand Esprit de Corps, and they lead by example.  They are the embodiment of the phrase, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."

Every employer can benefit from hiring veterans, and by employing members of the Reserve or Guard.  It is a responsibility we all share, because supportive employers are critical to maintaining the strength and readiness of the nation’s National Guard and Reserve units and to provide returning veterans the opportunity to pursue the piece of the American Dream they’ve earned.

Please keep our veterans, active military personnel and those serving in the Reserve and Guard in your thoughts this Holiday Season and every day as they defend our Nation.

As much as I’d like it to be otherwise, for the foreseeable future, the trucking industry will continue to be virtually 100% dependent on fossil fuels for energy to power our fleets. As such, the industry will remain for some time a significant source of carbon emissions.

Hybrids, electric trucks and other emerging technologies all have promise, but as we all learned in high school, the physics of applying energy to mass to achieve motion are pretty absolute. It takes a certain amount of energy to pull a heavy-duty Class 8 tractor- trailer – up to 80,000 pounds of truck and freight -- down the road. And while diesel engines are getting more efficient and eco-friendly every year, they still burn diesel, which at Con-way, equates to about 150 million gallons a year.

Yet when it comes to how we operate trucks, there are small and relatively easy actions that can lead to big victories for reducing carbon emissions. One of the answers is found in two simple words: Slow Down.

We did this in 2008 for both our less-than-truckload and full-truckload operations at Con-way.  In our LTL operations, which run both in cities and between them, we turned back the throttle governors of our trucks to run at a maximum speed of 62 mph, down from 65.  In our truckload operation, which runs mostly long-haul highway miles across the nation, we turned back their speed governors to 65 mph from 70 mph.

In the process, we made a couple of discoveries.  We saved fuel, to the tune of 6.6 million gallons annually, and saw a roughly 3% to 5% improvement in fuel mileage.  We lowered annual emissions of CO2 produced by our fleets, reducing them by more than 73,000 tons over previous levels.   The change didn’t impact on-time service since on an average run of 500 miles, the speed reduction in our LTL operations added about 25 minutes to the run time.

We also found benefit from an entirely different perspective.  Slowing down can make trucks safer.   At 70 mph, a truck will travel 257 feet in the average reaction time it takes a driver to apply the brakes when recognizing an object in the road ahead.   At 65 mph, that reaction distance goes down to 238 feet, so the truck slows and stops quicker.  And at 62 mph, the reaction distance shortens even further, to 227 feet.  With today’s congested highways, the shorter reaction distance gained by slowing down can mean the all the difference.

The second answer lies with driver behavior.  When truck drivers are trained to progressively shift, to avoid fast starts, hard stops and not idle their tractors, studies have shown that fuel economy can be improved anywhere from 5%  to 10%, depending on the skill of the driver.

The American Trucking Associations has called for a nationwide maximum truck speed limit of 65 mph and supports training drivers to maximize fuel economy. And while we’re not going to be speeding up our fleet (our LTL trucks already are at 62 mph), we believe the ATA standard is one we can and should rally around. It would be good for our industry, good for our environment and good for the motoring public with whom we share the road every day.