Wanted: Truck drivers to attend safety summit in KC
Officials from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will meet in Kansas City, Mo., later this month to exchange ideas on improving highway safety.
The Midwest Commercial Vehicle Safety Summit will be Dec. 16-17 at the Loews Kansas City Hotel.
Truck drivers, who log more highway miles than anyone, are encouraged to attend the free two-day event and provide input.
Organized by Kansas State University, past editions of the Midwest Commercial Vehicle Safety Summit have brought together hundreds of government officials, university researchers, and representatives for law enforcement agencies, insurance companies and non-profit organizations. However, those installments lacked a large showing of truck drivers.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association wants that to change in 2025. OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh said that truck drivers are the true experts on highway safety and those who are available should attend and provide input in discussions that could shape future trucking regulations.
“If you can attend, please come,” Pugh said. “This is a chance for you to listen, ask questions and give input to DOT and others about the things that need to be done to truly improve highway safety. There is no one more knowledgeable about this topic than the nation’s professional drivers. There are plenty of decision-makers who care about highway safety, but they aren’t always sure about the right approach to take. That’s why the men and women who make their living on the interstate need to point them in the right direction. I can assure you that there will be plenty of safety advocates and others in attendance who will be telling them a much different story about what must be done to improve safety.”
Registration is free but must be completed by the end of the day on Wednesday, Dec. 10. You can register for the event here.
Agenda
The summit will kick off at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16 with FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs and FMCSA Regional Field Administrator Winsome Lenfert among the scheduled speakers.
Following the opening presentation with Barrs and Lenfert, the safety summit will feature breakout sessions on various truck safety topics over the two days.
Some of those topics include:
- The Truck Leasing Task Force
- Technology advancements to CMV safety
- Drug and alcohol prevention
- Crash research
- The trucking economy
- Automation
- Ways to prevent speeding
- Combating human trafficking
- Cargo theft and freight fraud
- The impact of ELDs
OOIDA will be active in several of the sessions.
OOIDA President Todd Spencer will participate in a session called, “Truck Leasing Task Force: Findings, Impacts and Next Steps” from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Spencer will be joined by task force members Steve Viscelli and Steve Rush to discuss how predatory lease-purchase schemes negatively affect highway safety.
From 3 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, OOIDA Foundation Director Andrew King will be participating in a panel titled, “Economic Signals, Freight Flows and Safety Outcomes.” King and C.H. Robinson’s Mat Leo will explore how economic pressures shape the decisions carriers make and, ultimately, safety outcomes.
Pugh will be joined at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 17 by several FMCSA officials for a session on, “Fighting Back: Cargo Theft and Fraud in the Freight Supply Chain.” Pugh will provide insight into how freight fraud can cripple small trucking businesses, while FMCSA’s Ken Riddle and others will share what the agency is doing about it.
A full agenda can be found here. LL