Trucking news and briefs for Friday, Dec. 11, 2020:
Have lingering HOS questions? FMCSA has answers
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is hosting a question and answer session next week to answer public questions about the hours of service changes that took effect Sept. 30.
The session will be held Thursday, Dec. 17, from 2-3 p.m. Eastern. Space is limited for the free webinar, and registration is required.
Those with lingering questions about the recent HOS changes can register for the webinar here.
Trucker Tools’ on-demand cargo-insurance partner
Trucker Tools’ mobile app and predictive freight-matching platform announced a new partner in cargo insurance provider Loadsure. Access to the company is now a feature available through Trucker Tools’ carrier engagement platform for brokers and truckers, and on the driver app.
Loadsure offers a fully digital, cloud-based, one-click product for supplemental cargo loss and damage claim insurance. Available to brokers, independent owner-operators, and small fleets, Loadsure does business as a managing general agent offering insurance-tech solutions that help manage risk exposure and reduce insurance costs, typically for higher-value spot freight moves.
“Brokers and carriers are often exposed to higher liability with loads that have insufficient coverage relative to their value,” said Johnny McCord, Loadsure’s chief executive, who noted that in today’s capacity constrained environment, more overflow freight is hitting the spot market where brokers may end up utilizing unfamiliar carriers. Loadsure can add insurance on-demand, on a per-load basis to help reduce risk exposure.
Trucker Tools also announced the broker Penske Logistics is now utilizing Trucker Tools’ tracking functionality for its moves with carriers.
Driver named Highway Angel for helping fellow trucker
Joseph Brown, a truck driver for Halvor Lines, has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association for stopping to help a driver after his tractor-trailer overturned in a heavy rainstorm.
On Aug. 10, Iowa was hit with a driving rainstorm that brought with it 99 mph winds. Brown was on I-35 in rural Iowa and headed north toward Minnesota. He slowed down and pulled over for a few minutes, but the winds were pushing the truck, so he decided to get back out on the road. He was thankful for the extra weight of the load he was hauling.
He went a little farther down the road and saw an overturned truck with the cab lying on its passenger side in the right lane. Brown pulled up about 20 feet from the truck and put his flashers on to protect the overturned truck from traffic.
“Trucks were flying by him and cars were going around,” Brown said. “I wasn’t sure it was safe to get out.”
After waiting a couple minutes, he didn’t want to wait longer, so he went over and found the driver standing up inside the cab. He had been able to maneuver out of his seatbelt.
“He was standing there wet,” Brown said. “I offered to have him come and sit in my truck. He said he’d been driving for 20 years.”
Although the driver didn’t have any visible injuries, he told Brown his shoulders were hurting from the seatbelt. He had already called 911. As they sat there, Brown was worried about someone hitting them. Visibility was low, it was too windy for triangles, and the heavy rain would have distinguished flares.
The men sat there for 30 minutes before the fire department and EMTs arrived. Brown and the other driver have stayed in touch since the accident.
For his willingness to help, TCA presented Brown with a certificate, patch, lapel pin and truck decals. Halvor Lines also received a certificate acknowledging their driver as a Highway Angel. EpicVue sponsors the Highway Angel program.