TRANSPORTATION SAFETY DIVISION

MID-YEAR MEETING, Washington, DC

May 5-6, 2015

Embassy Suites Phoenix -Scottsdale

4415 e. Paradise Valley Pkwy South

Scottsdale, AZ

Professional Development Session

May 5, 2015

1.  Meeting was called to order by Teresa Cole - Division Chair

2.  Teresa Cole acknowledged John Brodbeck and Bill England. Although they were not able attend, Teresa acknowledged their commitment and support for the Council over the years.

3.  Teresa introduced the officers – Scott Claffey, Vice Chair and Tom DiSalvi, Secretary and thanked Rose McMurray for all efforts in coordinating the agenda and organizing the first-rate speakers who were in attendance.

4.  Teresa acknowledged the efforts of John Dougherty and thanked him for his guidance, leadership and mentorship over the years. Teresa also thanked the sponsors of the Division Meeting which included the National Safety Council, Lytx, JJ Keller, Landstar and Schneider.

5.  Rose McMurray provided an overview of the “Government Updates and Emerging Issues” agenda topic and introduced the line-up of speakers.

6.  Government Updates and Emerging Issues
Thomas Zoeller, Acting Executive Director, National Transportation Safety Board, Washington DC
> Mr. Zoeller described the mission of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which includes the investigation of losses within all modes of transportation - with the goal of arriving within five hours of the loss.
> The NTSB’s primary purpose is to 1) Investigate accidents and determine the cause 2) Make recommendations to ensure the accident doesn’t ever happen again.
> With nearly 13,000 open safety recommendations, the NTSB developed a Most Wanted List to clearly identify the Board’s Top 10 priorities:
- Operator distraction due to the use of electronic devices
- Substance impairment
- Positive train control
- Improve rail tanker car safety
- Improve mass transit safety
- Prevent loss of control in flight in general aviation
- Require medical fitness for duty
- Strengthen commercial truck safety
- Strengthen procedural compliance
Jack Van Steenburg, Chief Safety Officer, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Washington, DC
> There were 4,251 fatalities last year involving large trucks (NHTSA defines as 10,001 pounds or greater). The two most straightforward opportunities for crash and injury prevention – Slow down and Seat Belt Use.
There were 579 total fatalities in Work Zones – 25% involving large trucks. A pilot project is being conducted in NC that will send a signal to the cab of large trucks alerting them to the presence of up-coming Work Zones.
2015 Proposals and Rules:
- Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Mandate
- Safety Fitness Determination
- Unified Registration System (URS)
“Beyond Compliance” is an initiative being discussed that would provide motor carriers who are utilizing proactive safety initiatives and technology some form of credit or regulatory relief. However, the specifics of this proposal have yet to be defined and there would have to be a clear relationship and correlation between the safety initiatives/technology and reduced crash rates before it would be endorsed by the FMCSA.
> The most recent changes to the Hours of Service (HOS) rules were based on Science
- 12 am to 6 am are the best times to sleep
- 1 am – 5 am consecutive days of rest will help improve driver alertness
The current rules are suspended until a follow up research study confirms the positive impact on driver rest
> Changes to the Compliance Safety and Accountability (CSA) rule are forthcoming:
- The Driver Fitness BASIC will be raised to a threshold of 90
- Hazmat carriers will be compared against other Hazmat carriers (i.e. Bulk with Bulk and non-Bulk wit non-Bulk carriers)
> There are over 520,000 motor carriers and 7,200 are “high risk”, but only 330 FMCSA investigators. The CSA Safety Fitness Determination will help investigators better prioritize, manage and address carriers at risk with limited resources.
Chris Murphy, Regional Director, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Sacramento, CA
There were 32,719 highway fatalities in 2015; 90 deaths per day (28 alcohol impaired and 15 pedestrian).
Fatalities have been reduced (1964 there were 45,645 fatalities), but there are still too many!
There is on-going development of “touch technology” to detect .08 BAC and to prevent vehicles from starting.
Drug-impaired driving is under reported, under-enforced and under-recognized. There continues to be an increase in drug-related crashes; 2009 – 32% and 2013 – 38%.
> During a road-side survey in 2014-15, one in four drivers tested positive for at least one potentially impaired drug or medication. The increase in drug impaired driving could be in part due to the legalization of marijuana in some states.
> NHTSA has recommended further investigation of oral fluid screening devices. Future state, law enforcement could use oral fluid kits just after BAC testing during all field sobriety checks.
Eric Brooks, Acting Deputy Regional Administrator, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Bismarck, ND
> OSHA has 2,200 Compliance Officers, which equates to a 1: 71,000 employee ratio…
> Outlined the changes in OSHA injury reporting requirements – Executive Order 13673.
> Top three causal factors for North Dakota motor vehicle crashes
- Alcohol
- Speeding
- Seat Belts
The tremendous growth in oil fields in North Dakota has also led to an increase in the number of unattended deaths from “tanking gauging”
There has also been an increase in “struck by” hazards
- Parking on the roadway
- High traffic areas
- Low visibility
> Prevention initiatives include high visibility clothing and minimizing foot traffic near truck destinations.
> Run Away Diesel engines have also become a more common risk. Need to keep ignition sources 100 feet from vapors
> What OSHA expects:
- Communicate to drivers
- When in doubt – “Stop, call and figure it out.”

7.  After a break, Tom DiSalvi and Jim Dougherty presented topics that improve safety results and strengthen corporate safety cultures.
Tom DiSalvi, CDS, Vice President of Safety and Loss Prevention, Schneider, Green Bay, WI
Benefits of conducting a pre-employment drug test using hair…
Hair testing detects the presence of illegal drugs up to three month prior to testing- the DOT mandated urine test only tests for the last three days of use…
Hair testing sends a strong, zero tolerance message to incoming and current employees
Because hair testing is not yet recognized by the FMCSA, Schneider continues to test all applicants for hair and urine. Since 2008, Schneider had tested 80,000 applicants – 260 tested positive on the urine test, while 2,800 tested positive on the hair test.
> While 2,800 drivers are not driving for Schneider, they are driving for other carriers who do not have a hair testing procedure. Because hair testing is not recognized by the FMCSA, Schneider cannot report to other carriers that a former driver or applicant failed a drug test while at Schneider.
> Schneider is partnering with other carriers who use hair drug testing to advance legislation that will recognize hair testing as an approved method of motor carrier pre-employment drug screening
> Schneider conducts random hair testing of their entire fleet (in conjunction with the FMCSA random testing program).
Jim Dougherty, Chief Safety Officer, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Washington, DC
12,000 employee working to safely transport 1 million passengers a day (800,000) by rail.
During Jim’s initial audit and investigation, he found WMATA lacked culture, was understaffed, had no engineering expertise and lacked transparency in reporting.
WMATA invested $5 billion in capital over a six year period, rebuilding safety culture, investing strategically and restoring confidence.
High visibility – 40% of the WMATA’s riders are federal staffers
The Board and Executive management are working to integrate safety at all levels.
> Fatigue risk management system policy and Hours of Service; No employee to work more than six days (typically, 12 hours with two hours of transit time).
> Injury improvement – 14% employee and 20% customer.
> WMATA provided $500k for sleep apnea assessments and CPAP devices…
> Building a Safe Climate for Reporting:
- Established Employee’s Safety Hotline
- Strengthened Whistleblower policy
- Close Call program with Labor Union
> Summary:
- Safety is WMATA’s number one focus
- BE aware of complacency/maintain situational awareness
- Talk to ALL staff at all levels and Listen
- Investigate near misses/close calls and react swiftly

8.  Driver Shortages: Finding Safe Drivers during times of Market Shortages:
Ron Thackery, Envision Healthcare
Drew Jones, Keolis North America
> Hiring and Recruiting Drivers
- Driver shortage: Do not compromise your standards. Maintain a consistent and measurable process
- Serve as the conscience of the company – do the right thing
- Utilize an applicant tracking system
> Personality Assessments – Find the traits that are relevant
Structured Interview – Past behavior is an indication of future behavior…
Physical Agility Testing – It’s important to validate their ability
What We Know:
- People are human and they make choices…for example wearing seat belts, but many won’t report others because the punishment is so serious…
- Just Culture – A culture designed to empower others to speak up
- If you see something and don’t say something, you condone it!
Millennials…
- Generation “Me”
- Believe the future is promising
- Student loans
- Will switch jobs frequently
> Need to mentor the Millennials...Coach them, but also learn from them…

9.  Deborah Hersman, President and CEO, National Safety Council, Itasca, IL
Creating a safer world at work, at home and everywhere
Mission of the NSC – prevent unintentional deaths and injuries
Unintentional deaths are rising, in part because of prescription drugs…
Poisonings and overdoes from prescription pain killers – people are not talking about it, but it’s one of the leading killers of young people
> Motor vehicle crashes are decreasing, but still too high…
> Falls are increasing the deaths of those who are over 40 years old
> Record keeping has been a challenge in tracing the cause of death back to the originating event (e.g. pneumonia in the hospital after the fall)
> Measuring NSC Impact
- Distracted Driving metrics
- Prescription Drug metrics
> Social Media Campaign – 2015 Theme “What I Live For”
> Priorities: Transportation Safety, Prescription Pain Killer Abuse, Ergonomics, Emergency Preparedness, Slips, Trips and Falls…
> Are we moving the needle?

National Safety Council Update

May 6, 2015

1.  Emerging Trends in Litigation Cases: “How Good Cases Go Bad – How to Avoid Being Bitten by the Snake”
Mark A. Barber, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC, Atlanta, GA
All is going well, then the company deposition goes poorly and the case “blows up”:
- Industry has a reputation for “dangerous driving”
- Our (the trucking industry) “normal’ seems risky to others (100% turnover, 14 hour work days with up to 11 hours of driving, etc...)
- Every juror has had a bad experience with a large truck…
What changed? The driver use to be the lynch pin for a case, now, it’s the company official that makes or breaks it.
“Reptile Revolution”
- Create fear among the jurors
- Plaintiff’s attorneys believe the jurors will try to protect others
- However, if you create anger, the defense attorneys can control the jury’s fear… and who they get angry with…
There have been more large verdicts lately – all across the country. The average death case in Fulton County is $7 Million.
Plaintiff’s attorneys believe this to be a trend and that this is the best time to be a plaintiff attorney.
How? Plaintiff’s attorneys focus on company behavior – not the accident itself. They search for a safety rule that was violated:
- “Rules of the Road”
- FMCSA Regulations
- State laws
- Industry standards
- Company policies and procedures
The key is to defuse misplaced jury anger and establish moral ambiguity – not one side is right or wrong
> for example, in certain situations, the answer is “yes”, but it depends on the circumstances. Provide examples were the right course of action may actually conflict with the FMCSA regulations.
> Remember, when anger kicks in, your brain shuts off and you can’t be rational. You can’t ever allow yourself to get angry! Phrases such as “it depends” and “not necessarily” are often necessary.
> Trials today are more about theater - not fact…

2.  DDC Programs Update
James Solomon, National Safety Council, Itasca, IL
Professional truck driver, 5th Edition
- Overview and outline of the new program – to include multi-media
- The program lasts three to four hours
- “Modulizing training” – currently developing library of modules
- Distracted driving is tailored to the user…
- Additional topics are covered for Summer release and other topics are being considered for Winter release

3.  Vicki Verboom, National Safety Council, Itasca, IL introduced herself and her new role:
- Vicki reports to Michael Pollack
- Her direct reports include Christy Maes and Kim Youngblood
> Vicki reviewed the “Accountability Ladder”

4.  Journey to Safety Excellence
Pat Cunningham, Director, Safety and Auditing Services, Browz Corporation
Jim Johnson – “Safety is a never ending journey”
The Journey answers the questions – “where am I now and where do I want to be?’
Pat covered the four pillars of the Journey – Plan, Do, Act and Check
Pat covered the free tools on the Journey Home Page
- System Assessment (identify gaps, strengths and baselines)
- Incident Rate calculator
- Basic guides and lots of resources (nsc.org/journey)

5.  Cell Phone Policy Assessment
Deb Trombley, National Safety Council, Itasca, IL
Cell phone policy assessment
New resources:
- Seven questions
- Indentifies safety loop holes
- Gives tailored feedback with resources
Deb encouraged the group to view Dave Teater's very compelling presentation on YouTube
> Best practice cell phone policies
> nsc.org/policytool

Transportation Division Meeting

1.  The meeting was called to order by Teresa Cole, Division Chair.

2.  The majority of the Division meeting centered on: 1) Opportunities and initiatives to broaden interest and increase membership and 2) Development of a process that will indentify members of the TSD with specific skills and knowledge who could assist the NSC in the advancement of top priorities and safety initiatives (e.g. lobbying, public speaking, etc…)