Webinar Replay #1: Characteristics of Great Trucking Companies

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Steve Kessler: Good morning. My name is Steve Kessler, and welcome to today’s Transportation Industry Best Practices Webinar sponsored by the INFINITI workforce system and Vertical Alliance Group. 

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Steve Kessler: Today’s topic is trucking industry best practices. What are the major characteristics of the best trucking companies. 

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Steve Kessler: But before we get started I’m going to share with you one thing about Vertical Alliance Group and the INFINITI Workforce Solution. 

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Steve Kessler: We are the online training company dedicated to empowering and streamlining safety programs for transportation companies across the United States. 

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Steve Kessler: With over 850 plus training videos, and a customizable system, to automate, track, and document all aspects of training. 

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Steve Kessler: It’s no wonder more than 2000 companies have chosen the INFINITI Fleet Safety Training. 

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Steve Kessler: The INFINITI Workforce Solution not only makes it easy to build an affordable best in class training program for your drivers. 

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Steve Kessler: But it also frees up your administrative time giving you the ability to communicate more effectively and train employees anywhere, anytime 

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Steve Kessler: So if you’re committed to having a training program that proves you value safety over profits but all the while still improving your bottom line. 

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Steve Kessler: type the words training in the Q&A box on your screen. And one of our senior training specialist will reach out to you. 

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Steve Kessler: And share how the INFINITI online training system can streamline your entire safety program while making your job easier. 

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Steve Kessler: Also after the webinar or you will all be receiving an email that will give you a link to a webinar replay. 

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Steve Kessler: That way you can share today’s program with others that couldn’t attend today and also will also be sending out a copy of the PowerPoint that will be used in today’s presentation. So you’ll 

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Steve Kessler: have those bullet points. Now, I would like to introduce all of you to our speaker today. Our guest today is Bob Perew, who’s a senior loss control specialist for Canal Insurance Company. 

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Steve Kessler: Bob has over 45 years of trucking and insurance experience starting out as an independent owner, operator with land star and then becoming a fleet owner 

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Steve Kessler: He became a safety manager at Landstar and later became the director of training and orientation. 

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Steve Kessler: After 20 years he moved over to the insurance industry becoming a loss prevention specialist and quickly moved up to the ranks vice president of risk management and safety of a large trucking insurance company. 

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Steve Kessler: After a short retirement. He went back to work as a senior loss prevention specialist with Canal Insurance Company. 

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Steve Kessler: Bob attended Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Bob is a certified director safety through the NATMI program and also a certified transportation risk specialist 

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Steve Kessler: Through the Motor Carrier Insurance Education Foundation. So without further delay, Bob, I’m going to turn it over to you welcome this morning. 

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Bob Perew: Well, thank you, Steve. And welcome everybody to the webinar this morning. It’s really nice to have a great audience and we want to talk about what really makes trucking companies. Good. And what makes them better. And what we can do to help 

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Bob Perew: Characterize those trucking companies that seem to excel in our environment today so 

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Bob Perew: We’re always looking at the management to see what kind of leadership, you have and if the leadership works from the top all the way down with their employees or their owner operators, we like to see very strong and consistent management as we go. 

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Bob Perew: Look at the best practices of these trucking companies positive attitude is so important. 

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Bob Perew: Especially from the owner of the company and the safety director. It’s always nice to know that the safety director in the owner, have a good relationship and they can discuss things 

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Bob Perew: amongst each other about drivers about the company about safety issues that pop up from time to time. 

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Bob Perew: We also like to see companies that have been in business for five or more years. And that is basically based on the 

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Bob Perew: Industry standards in terms of, you know, you get a brand new trucking company out there, new entrant, they may not have the experience developed yet to be where we would like to see him as an insurance company. So it’s also important that they have good 

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Bob Perew: Financials and they don’t skimp on things and spend the money in the right places we always had believed on the risk management side of that. 

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Bob Perew: If you spend enough money on safety that you’re going to have a really good trucking company. And before I go any further, I’d like to introduce a couple of 

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Bob Perew: Senior lost control specialists that I have the honor of working with every day. Susan Ogle. She’s our senior loss. 

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Bob Perew: Prevention specialist and has over 25 years of safety experience. And then I added a routine. 

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Bob Perew: Who is also a senior lost control specialist. And again, David’s got close to 30 years they’ve lost control of experience. So there’s a lot of lost control and safety experience here so 

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Bob Perew: At the end of the program. If you do have any questions, please let us know and and into your computer so we can answer those questions for you. Okay, moving on. 

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Bob Perew: I go ahead, then I’d like to piggyback on your, your opening statement here. I think one of the measurements when I walk in and sit down with an insurance is 

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Bob Perew: I’m looking at that culture accountability in buying and determining how successful they are kind of piggybacks on your new statement. 

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Bob Perew: Yeah, and and it’s important that you know the first impression that we get can be a lasting impression and and we visit a lot of trucking companies, day after day, and some good, some bad and we want to share this morning with you. What does make a trucking company. Good. 

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Bob Perew: The standards that we look for budget for fleet safety to include the following. Do you have a recognition program. 

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Bob Perew: Tied to driver performance. Do you give your drivers safety awards annual bonuses and do you reward your drivers for good roadside inspections and I see that happening more and more all the time and 

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Bob Perew: You know, I see a lot of companies given $100 for a clean roadside inspection clean driving records are very important and I know his NBA ours are sometimes 

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Bob Perew: Really hard to get over, especially if there’s a 

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Bob Perew: You know, bad driving record in terms of speeding 15 and over over the limit, things like that can really make an NPR look bad. 

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Bob Perew: Do you have a fuel mileage bonus. And how do you pay drivers for accident free driving, year after year after year. 

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Bob Perew: Susan. Go ahead. Yeah. Also, when he mentioned the consistent practice in the previous slide, all of these things would be pertinent to practicing everything consistently regardless of 

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Bob Perew: Relationship family member, whoever it is in your organization consistency in what you say and what you do. 

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Bob Perew: And how you practice that what’s written needs to be practiced consistently through across the board of all staff or employees. Exactly. And I think it reinforces your values as well. And studies show that that positive reinforcement goes a long way and driving performance. Absolutely. 

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Bob Perew: You know, give me a pat on the back or a cookie, you get more out. I’ll take the cookie. 

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Bob Perew: As far as a bit business growth itself. 

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Bob Perew: Moderate growth is okay 15 20% you know is not unusual. What we don’t like to see is a trucking company that will say go from 

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Bob Perew: 15 trucks to 50 trucks within a very short period of time, let’s say, a year. So, you know, if you manage your growth really well then you’re able to keep up with your safety department and 

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Bob Perew: And be able to add more people as needed in your growth. And I think you have to understand that growth and how it’s going to impact your ability to 

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Bob Perew: To really maintain an oversight of your operation and not let that finger off the pulse of the things that are going to contribute to negative trending. So understanding your, your manpower planning in an actually managing this processes. Exactly. So, you know, like I said, if you grow. 

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Bob Perew: doubling in size and the year you know that’s a huge recipe for disaster and 

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Bob Perew: I hate to interrupt. I think one of the other things that you really is really important is also looking at your internal bench strength, making sure that you have the right people in place that are subject matter experts. 

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Bob Perew: That can help you control and manage that deafness and. And another thing is, you know, if you’re a 15 unit trucking company and you’re going to your want to grow. 

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Bob Perew: 1015 more units. And you might think, Oh, wow. My insurance companies really gonna like this. We’re gonna double. We’re going to give more premium and everything. Well, that’s not what insurance companies like to see they like to see very very slow growth. 

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Bob Perew: As 15 to 20% and no more than that. So, 

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Bob Perew: You know growth is very important and how you grow. 

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Bob Perew: Now this is something that we always want to talk about, because this has become such a standard in our industry is the CSA and SMS scores, and I believe 

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Bob Perew: We as a panel here, we believe that trucking companies who understand CSA and SMS have a much better vision of how to run their safety department. 

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Bob Perew: I wouldn’t recommend that any safety person that’s listening this morning should get us familiars 

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Bob Perew: Familiarize as they can with CSA an SMS understand those seven basics month safe driving hours of service vehicle maintenance control substance driver fitness trashing indicator hazardous material compliance. 

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Bob Perew: From the insurance side when we see unsafe driving and hours of service violations underwriters have a very, very tough time dealing with that. 

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Bob Perew: Insurance companies actually ate the unsafe driving because that’s the area where you’re going to have 

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Bob Perew: More crashes because of drivers who consistently show up on your unsafe driving category. And if they 

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Bob Perew: Show up time after time after time, what are you doing with those drivers are you putting them on probation. Are you trying to retrain those folks. 

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Bob Perew: What exactly should you do when you have a driver that gives you a ticket and say, Hey, you know, I just got caught for speeding. 

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Bob Perew: I think it’s also really important to understand burn getting granular on this understand the root causes of what is contributing to these received violations. 

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Bob Perew: Or particular driver behaviors and tie that back to more of an inward reflection on maybe you have operational influences that are contributing to these received violations or maybe it’s a cultural issue. 

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Bob Perew: Adding on to that. I think that it just dovetails into being proactive because you don’t want to be in a reactive state when something does happen, you have the claim. You have the accident. 

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Bob Perew: Because of the litigation is going to file follow with any of that. And the more documentation that you have as being a proactive and and 

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Bob Perew: And documenting what you’ve done. When you have these problems and trying to improve performance and behaviors is extremely critical when it comes to any sort of litigation and just helping people to learn and and to reduce similar losses in the future. 

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Bob Perew: Okay, moving on. I assess doors. I’m sure you all are pretty familiar with that the ideal score in our opinion would be 50 or below which means that if you go through an inspection station or a way station, it would be up to the officer to 

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Bob Perew: Either pony around back. But in most cases it’s a pass of anything at 50 or below. 

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Bob Perew: 74 and below is acceptable if anything above 74 it’s a mandatory inspects of the the OT officer has time, you will probably ask you 

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Bob Perew: To pull around back and prepare for a deity inspection. So use those as guidelines, if you will, 74 and above. You don’t want to dwell in that area. 

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Bob Perew: Good trucking company is usually always under 74 and you’re really, really good companies are at 50 or below. If your ISS score starts creeping up 

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Bob Perew: Take a look to see what you can do to bring it back. Now the duration of the alerts are important and make sure that you trend down and not trend. 

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Bob Perew: As far as a good direct characteristics of a trucking company. 

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Bob Perew: Additional break 

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Bob Perew: It wants to achieve that conditional rating. It doesn’t help you at all with your insurance premiums and it doesn’t help you at all when the D. O. T. Officer pulls you over and they see that that conditional rating on their computers. 

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Bob Perew: You know, and I think if you have 

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Bob Perew: A conditional safety rating or you are working to address category alerts. I, I always recommend having another set of eyes on that and drafting a fleet safety plan. 

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Bob Perew: To to effect a reduction in that and it’ll help you plan out your 

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Bob Perew: Your attack plan to reverse that trend now it’s easy to explain. Then that you’ve identified in your reacting. Exactly. 

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Bob Perew: A strong safety culture obviously good hiring practices, a lot of trucking companies. 

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Bob Perew: Have trucks setting up against the fence that they can’t fill simply because they can’t find the right driver. So if you have trucks setting. 

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Bob Perew: And you can’t find the right driver, then maybe you ought to take a look and see what’s going on out there. 

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Bob Perew: It depends on the geographic area of the country because in some areas drivers are a lot easier to find than others, but you know have those hiring practices in place have a driver hiring policy that 

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Bob Perew: You can put on the internet. If you’re hiring hiring at all for the Internet. 

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Bob Perew: Have good driver training and safety discipline policies in place and 

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Bob Perew: Whatever you do, do never deviate from your safety policies if it’s in writing. You want to make sure you follow those policies we would rather see you not have a policy and writing 

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Bob Perew: Than to violate your own policies and that comes up so many times in litigation and that’s 

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Bob Perew: You know, you can have a crash and not be your fault, but if there’s anything that doesn’t look good from the 

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Bob Perew: safety policies or driver hiring guidelines. Let’s say you may have hired that driver that you went outside of your hiring guidelines, then you just violated your own policies. Okay. 

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Bob Perew: Low driver turnover and I know this is a big hot button in the industry. We like to see less than 20% and I know there’s many of you out there that may have 100% driver turnover by 20% 

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Bob Perew: Is a good practice to have happen thorough orientation process and what we mean by that, a lot of times we’ll ask a 

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Bob Perew: Trucking Company. Well, tell me a little bit your orientation process and they’ll say, Well, you know, we get to drive ran for a couple of three hours and explain to them what they need to do. And that’s it. 

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Bob Perew: Maybe that’s not enough. I think for a good practice at least the full day of orientation to include some safety practices and some safety topics for the driver to push that 

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Bob Perew: Bob, I’m going to piggyback on this because this is an area that I have a lot of passionate 

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Bob Perew: So when I hire someone, I want to set the performance expectations to begin with. I want this relationship deal long lasting relationship. 

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Bob Perew: And 

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Bob Perew: Case studies over the years have indicated that training. 

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Bob Perew: Effective training leads to good driver performance. So if you hire someone and you saturate them with defensive driving skills. 

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Bob Perew: And you do it. We iteration of the FM CSA rules and regulations going to kind of fill a gap that has not really been effectively conducted throughout the industry and you’re going to lower that exposure to future claims and violations, both of which affects your premiums. 

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Bob Perew: Okay and and going off of that setting those expectations and you’re heading this during an orientation and you have to understand and remember that people are inundated with information at higher they are hearing 

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Bob Perew: You know, blah blah blah cents per mile, blah, blah, blah. 

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Bob Perew: Vacation, blah, blah, blah. Whatever. So if you can get those people back in there to reiterate those expectations. 

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Bob Perew: If it’s if it’s in two weeks or whatever time frame you deem necessary but get them back in there and remind them. This is our disciplinary policy. 

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Bob Perew: This is what we are expecting of you. And do you have any questions or are you having any difficulty and how, how are you, how are they communicating with dispatch, etc. 

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Bob Perew: You know, how are they doing under vehicle maintenance reports and the pre and post so get them back in any other thing when Bob mentioned the 

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Bob Perew: safety policies do not, under any circumstances, select and take someone else’s saved policy and put your name on front of it. 

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Bob Perew: You need to tailor policies after your own operations. Do you even know points. Yes. Do you know what’s in that policy, because whatever you have. You are held responsible and accountable to 

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Bob Perew: under any circumstance, and it may even have names in there are people that aren’t even within your within your organization. So each sure and Taylor, anything that I don’t that’s specific to you and do not have 

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Bob Perew: Things that are fluff. You know, you don’t need in there just have what you need and how you need it. 

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Bob Perew: According to your company, your expectations and I’m really big on driver orientation, simply because of two reasons. Number one, you have a captive audience at that time. 

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Bob Perew: Chances are if you do a three hour orientation and he gets out on the road. It may be a long time before you get them back in. So try to get as much covered. You know, like drug and alcohol testing safety practices. 

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Bob Perew: Teaching the driver about your own policies. 

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Bob Perew: Everything that he needs to know to equip him with as much information as he needs to do a good job. That’s why I’m orientation is so important. And that’s a question that we ask when we visit our clients do you have an orientation program. And how long does it last. You know, so 

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Bob Perew: Three hours just sometimes just isn’t enough because we are truly invest in in the success of this employee. 

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Bob Perew: In our organization that was no longer. Yeah, we can keep them in our organization, the more successful. They’re going to be any more profitable. The care is going to be 

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Bob Perew: On the safety side customer service vehicle maintenance. It’s going to build an employee buy into our program. Well, another thing, you know. 

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Bob Perew: Outside of the orientation is newer equipment. A lot of drivers like to drive new stuff, you know, I like to drive a new car. Every time I get a chance 

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Bob Perew: I just love the smell of a new car, you know, drivers like newer equipment. I’d like clean equipment well maintained equipment. 

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Bob Perew: Automatic transmissions. As you see here on the PowerPoint presentation. 

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Bob Perew: Is actually been proven that the accident frequency has gone down by as much as 15% with companies using automatic transmissions, you know, and it’s funny that you bring that up, Bob, because you know I learned 

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Bob Perew: On a 400 split when I learned how to drive and all of a sudden over the years. Now with automatic transmissions coming in a lot of the lot of mine shirts are telling me that when they’re recruiting 

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Bob Perew: The driver base that’s coming in. Now that’s been driving for the last, let’s say, five to 10 years they don’t know how to shift the 13th. 

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Bob Perew: That’s right. They weren’t on automatic transmission, which is amazing. Yeah, that is, and pet peeve here again governor’s set at 68 mile an hour or below. Well, we all know that excessive speed causes accidents and the faster you go, the more fuel, you’re gonna burn so 

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Bob Perew: Part of our best practices is try to govern your trucks at 68 or below not saying that you got to have them at 60 miles an hour. But if you have a disciplinary problem with a driver, you may want to consider cutting this truck back of it so 

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Bob Perew: Any other part of that Bob is to make sure that this batch people are aware of this, that they can’t keep pushing drivers and then having them go over hours of service because they’ve done that. And I do want to go back to one thing 

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Bob Perew: David mentioned, because it is about building a mutual respect and if you give people back in there to reinforce these things and 

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Bob Perew: How are you doing, and you’re building a respectful rapport with your driver letting them know that 

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Bob Perew: They are more to you than just someone to put in a driver’s seat and haul things from point A to point B, C and D. They are very important to the organization build on that and let them know how they are valued. 

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Bob Perew: Hey, I just can’t talk enough about that and it allows you to address Foreman’s issue when it’s small before it becomes large, so that you can in fact driver. Exactly. Yeah. 

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Bob Perew: Driver compensation. 

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Bob Perew: That’s always a hot topic, you know, what are, what are we paying our drivers. These days, and we all know that the compensation has increased tremendously over the last two or three years and this is a trend that’s probably going to continue 

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Bob Perew: To slide upwards, as the driver shortage becomes more of a reality. 

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Bob Perew: We believe that 40 cents five cents per mile should be the minimum 

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Bob Perew: Based on what we’re seeing out there but you know a lot of drivers are making even more money than that now additional compensation for stop offs. 

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Bob Perew: Make sure that you pay your drivers for everything that they do competent compensation for unexpected delays and I know that’s hard to do, but 

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Bob Perew: A lot of times if a driver gets into customers facility. He may he or she may have to wait hours to get on loaded or to get loaded 

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Bob Perew: If you have a policy that would help compensate that driver, you know, just a fraction, you know, to make them feel better. 

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Bob Perew: Is would be a good best practice to us owner operators should receive at least 70% of the gross revenue pulling your trailer and 

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Bob Perew: In many cases, we’re seeing as much as 80 and 85% of their revenue these days do you offer health insurance. And I know health insurance is very, very expensive and it’s not getting any cheaper. 

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Bob Perew: If you can provide something close to health insurance is better than having no health insurance at all 401 k plans. Those are actually easy to do. If, if you just want to add 2% to the driver on his 

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Bob Perew: Very important vacation packages and safe driving bonuses and fuel bonuses the compensation package is probably the most important things that driver look at in today’s especially in today’s economy, wouldn’t you guys agree. 

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Bob Perew: You know, I would agree. And over the years and actually it’s it varies throughout the region. Yeah. As I travel around its 

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Bob Perew: compensation packages changed by region by segment of the trend absolutely industry. And I think some of the things that my, my best in class insurance have in common is 

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Bob Perew: Really the benefits pack health insurer absolute, is it really important vacation. 

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Bob Perew: A lot of a lot of drivers will look at going to a regional carrier, not because they want to, but because it offers them a good compensation package on health insurance. Oh, absolutely. 

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Bob Perew: telematics, and I tell you what the electronics out there that drivers have and the telematics 

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Bob Perew: That they have access to and that you as a fleet owner as a trucking company have access to are just unbelievable. There are so many things that can help you manage your drivers. 

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Bob Perew: Manage your maintenance, find out what what your drivers are doing. We’re seeing a lot of companies that are using cameras now. 

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Bob Perew: Both ways where they look inside the truck and outside of that track. Those are very good practices to have if you can get with a company that provides 

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Bob Perew: Good cameras those costs appear to be going down from what we have seen and the things that cameras can do as far as excessive G forces speeding. 

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Bob Perew: It gives you another tool to manage your drivers better than ever before GPS systems are 

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Bob Perew: Are out there that you know i i go in a trucking company and I see these huge big screens. But guess their wall and these dots all over the country, indicating where each and every one of their trucks are 

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Bob Perew: That is just so nice to see, and then I talked to the dispatchers and he’ll tell me yeah this driver here he’s 

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Bob Perew: Taken is taking this break right now this driver. Here’s fielding up this driver. Here’s doing this and doing that. 

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Bob Perew: They did you have it you know I did, I, I’m a big supporter of this especially you know all these safety technologies. But I think the most important aspect of this investment. 

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Bob Perew: Is to manage the system. Make sure that the system that you implement or invest in that you’re managing the process to identify exposure to make your drivers better 

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Bob Perew: counseled them based on these triggered events so that you can address an issue when it’s minor detail for it results in a large loss. 

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Bob Perew: And, you know, it’ll help you again on the retention side and 

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Bob Perew: It will provide a good return on investment with this technology. Oh, absolutely. And most of us have a yo do these in their trucks now. 

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Bob Perew: And the good thing about it the LDS can do a lot more than just the logging part of it, you know. So when you’re looking at the oldies see what you can get that majors. Other things that your drivers are doing so you can manage them better. 

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Bob Perew: Also a lot of 

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Bob Perew: Your truck manufacturers now coming out with the telematics like Lane Departure systems and collision mitigation technology anti rollover and Electronic Stability technology. One important aspect that I see in working when you’re looking at some of this safety technology. 

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Bob Perew: There thought that it’s compatible with your operational software that you’re using internally. 

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Bob Perew: So it’s an ease of use throughout your, your operations. So, and, and one other thing on that is make sure that you do not sign into any contract until you have actually had a chance to try this, that, that’s a really good point. Susan because you can get 

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Bob Perew: Sucked into a deal that you’re thinking, Man, I do. I want to get out of this. Yeah, a lot of your camera companies. They want you to sign that three year contract, you know, 

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Bob Perew: A lot of accounts that have gotten right they dug and dug a hole there and they have to wait for that contract to 

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Bob Perew: Be able to pick up a different piece of equipment so sure be very cautious about that and 

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Bob Perew: Because many of those you’re able to set your own thresholds so that you’re not, you know, people will say, oh, that kind of picked me up every time I hit a hard break or whatever. But you can set thresholds or 

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Bob Perew: Hard turns breaking and things like that will go off on certain so i just i guess you want to do a little trial dating before you enter into this relation to absolutely 

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Bob Perew: One of the other things that you may want to consider if you don’t want to get in with a big company that provides the telematics for cameras is 

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Bob Perew: You can buy these cameras at a truck stop now for for 30 to $50, you know, a camera, no matter how cheap it is is better than no camera at all because you want to be able to prove your innocence. If you’re ever involved in in a crash and also 

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Bob Perew: Also it’s it’s even fine if it is our fault if it’s the driver’s fault that your claim scheme can get in there quickly and try to keep 

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Bob Perew: Emotions, a lot more calm before they start going out and lawyer enough and to say hey you know what we see that this is 

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Bob Perew: Our problem. So we’re going to go ahead and handle this before they get in there and people can stay calm and so either way. Very good point. So, yeah, yeah. 

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Bob Perew: As far as driver trainings concerned use driver training programs and another driver training aids because training, training. Training is probably the most important things that you can do with your drivers. 

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Bob Perew: Even your most senior drivers who have one, two, or 3 million miles need to be retrained from time to time, we call it like a remedial training program. 

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Bob Perew: Have that in place for your senior drivers and now also use your senior drivers to help mentor, you’re young. 

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Bob Perew: And newer drivers and here’s the thing, as far as hiring new drivers and they don’t have to be brand new. They could be experienced drivers. But I’m talking about any driver. They to get that net walks through your front door. 

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Bob Perew: Take him for a road test longer road tests, as proven in the past to reduce backing accidents by as much as 15% now that 

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Bob Perew: Yeah, you know, and I know my whole audience out here. You guys have all had your share of backing accidents and more you do with your drivers, when you have them. 

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Bob Perew: on on the on the driver test testing your driver on the road test more you find out about not only how he drives. But you find out a little bit about his personality. So we bring 

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Bob Perew: In during that road test that is the best that driver will drive because it’s been observed another trek 

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Bob Perew: That’s common and industry if you’re able is to do what you would call like a safety five or later on fall back drive around and around. 

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Bob Perew: Covering your observer and the observed that drivers behaviors and see if he lives up to your performance safety standards. 

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Bob Perew: And one more thing using your in house knowledge base and the skills of the more experienced drivers. 

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Bob Perew: They’re going to go out there and they’re going to want to succeed, and they are not going to want to go against what they just taught someone else. So you’re going to be building that 

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Bob Perew: Foundation, also a little stronger foundation from that perspective, one of the largest trucking companies that I know they drive Barrett Brown trucks. If any of their drivers have had an accident. 

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Bob Perew: The safety manager or safety person that next day will go out with that driver to do an evaluation. So to me, that’s a really good best practice, it’s something 

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Bob Perew: That you can nip it in the bud right away to ensure that those types of problems don’t happen in the future, little maintenance. But I’ll tell you what we spent a lot of money annually on vehicle maintenance and I know this is a tough subject and 

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Bob Perew: You know, you got policies in place involve your mechanics in your overall safety program. Make sure your equipment is inspected daily, weekly, and monthly. Make sure that your drivers do a walk around. 

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Bob Perew: Every time they get to their truck, you know, and yet you can go do a fuel stop and while you’re fueling your truck do a walk around. 

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Bob Perew: Hit the tire see what’s going on, ensure that you have certified vehicle mechanics. I know the deal T likes to see mechanics, who are licensed and certified. So whoever works on your trucks. 

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Bob Perew: Make sure those guys know what they’re doing. Reward mechanics. This is a big topic. To me, the more you involve your mechanics and get them to understand your SMS scores. 

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Bob Perew: And and give them a reward, just in the pat on the back, just like you do your drivers. 

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Bob Perew: The big things out there that we see our tires lights and breaks. Those are the three major components that drivers always get thing for yeah so I would like to also say that mechanics are not sitting there. 

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Bob Perew: In front of a crystal wall thinking oh gee I wonder what’s wrong with unit number 649 

 203 

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Bob Perew: People need to communicate and need to keep that communication exact driver dispatch using SMS scores but that communication that there’s a breakdown in one of those three areas, your, your vehicle could be missing something very critical. 

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Bob Perew: But it’s just because of a lack of communication, right, then let’s talk about our driver selection real quick. 

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Bob Perew: Make sure that you hire drivers with clear driving records the cleaner. They’re driving record, the less likely that driver is to have a serious 

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Bob Perew: serious accident in the future, we would like to see a minimum of six months probation period for anybody that comes drives 

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Bob Perew: For your company and and depending on what your MBA or looks like. You may even go out full year on your 

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Bob Perew: Probation road test for two hours or longer. And I know that sounds like a long time. But again, like we said earlier, the longer you spend with your driver, the more you can learn about this person so 

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Bob Perew: To have a road test to me is not that excessive if you can afford to do that, by all means do that based on recent studies by a try. 

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Bob Perew: New drivers that are road tested for excessive amount of times are less likely to have serious crashes. 

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Bob Perew: That’s a big one. Folks that that that is really, really big good trucking company companies perceive that good driver selection is the strongest part of your safety program. 

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Bob Perew: And this is what makes up good characteristics of what we consider very good trucking company. 

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Bob Perew: So your overall driver safety management and this, in my opinion, includes everybody in your company from the top all the way down to the person that cleans your shop area. Okay. 

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Bob Perew: Provide route plans for drivers don’t always assume your driver knows exactly what route. He needs to take understand 

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Bob Perew: If there’s 

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Bob Perew: Necessary mileage that is being driven because the route planning is not done properly. 

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Bob Perew: Hey, Bob, I’m going to jump in on this one. 

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Bob Perew: So if, if you’re servicing a regular customer base right books are an excellent form of of making a new driver familiar with a route in will allow you to identify noon hazards in that route or on site, and that includes low bridges and then he kind of 

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Bob Perew: Crashes or road construction or anything down the road. 

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Bob Perew: A little bit more familiar with turkeys in a go. 

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Bob Perew: Which which reduces some of that, and especially with the regional drivers. Now when when you get these guys that do the short house. You know, it’s not 

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Bob Perew: Not as bad but download electronic information as much as you can document safety related contracts with drivers. 

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Bob Perew: Document everything that you do and leave a paper trail, because if you ever get audited by do it, you’re, you’re going to want to show that, hey, we’ve 

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Bob Perew: Done this and done that with the driver have written training outlines and training meeting agendas, if you do any safety meetings and I know this. A lot of trucking companies are getting away from safety meetings. 

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Bob Perew: They’re doing these electronically. Now I don’t have a big problem with it. But every once in a while, you know, it’s good to have the drivers all get together and 

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Bob Perew: Have have a guest speaker, there may be maybe a speaker from your insurance companies safety group. I know that we’ve done that in the past. So that’s always nice to have somebody 

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Bob Perew: From the outside, talk to your drivers about what’s going on. Well, again, you’re building a relationship with your teammates for longevity. 

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Bob Perew: And they’re learning from one another. I think that that whole thing about trying to get people together for a meeting. I know that it’s difficult that 

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Bob Perew: In some way, shape, or form to share that information, especially when it comes to route planning. Maybe someone got shipped from one route to another route. 

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Bob Perew: Well you know what, hey, maybe there’s a low hanging of building here and and it’s easy to pick that off, unless you go around the other way, or whatever it might do. 

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Bob Perew: There are things that only a driver who has made that route before is going to be familiar with and and it’s good just helpful information and sharing that information that knowledge base. 

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Bob Perew: Another thing is scheduled departure times and not tell you why I’m saying that a lot of drivers. They love to wait until the last minute to leave and 

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Bob Perew: You know, let’s say they want to be at home with the family on Sunday and they probably leave at 1011 O’clock Sunday night that’s going to create a bad environment for the driver because he may have further to go and 

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Bob Perew: You know, it may not get there in a timely manner. So that creates a lot of problems. And I think that’s an area that been, you know, 

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Bob Perew: Most major office settings. That’s an area that is taught and retort numerous time is proper time management. Yeah, absolutely. And talking about time management. We don’t have a whole lot of time left. So we’re going to try to get through this presentation just as fast as we can, folks. 

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Bob Perew: Again, like I said, a good practice is to schedule departure times if you can. And I know not all of you guys can do that. Install a marriage check station. And what I mean by that is on your 

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Bob Perew: Facility, you can actually draw a line where a truck and pull up to and have his mirrors set based on what that check station does for you. 

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Bob Perew: There you can go on the internet and find out. Mayor check station Google and it’ll show you how to set set up one. It’s not very expensive. All it takes is a little bit of paint. 

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Bob Perew: Coach drivers went to MIT recorders are are activated do the speed heartbreaking and excessive. 

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Bob Perew: Forces and I know a lot of you are doing that. That is a very good practice because once you find out that a driver is trending with a lot of these things. 

 241 

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Bob Perew: Try to get them in and talk to them as safe as quickly as you can have a following distance of 68 seconds and slightly slower than the flow of traffic and 

 242 

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Bob Perew: It’s a good practice to do. And I know in a lot of areas. You can’t do that. You get up in Chicago, you leave a gap and somebody’s going to take it every time you know so 

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Bob Perew: Following distances important because if you have bad following distances and and one of the biggest things when we see a regulations and folks riparian collisions cost a lot of money for your insurance carrier and somebody always seems to get that hurt and to get hurt bad 

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Bob Perew: Provide vehicle in vehicle training for accepting drivers provide post crashing vehicle training use one on one training and 

 245 

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Bob Perew: A lot of times a safety director can do that or even one of your senior drivers can help you do that. 

 246 

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Bob Perew: Install right lane and left lane side fender mounted mirrors. It’s been proven that those fender mountaineers absolutely help reduce losses. Okay. 

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Bob Perew: Share CSA and I assess scores with all your drivers, let them know what your scores are because it’s the drivers that created those scores and make it 

 248 

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Bob Perew: To where the drivers are going to help you improve those scores, if they know what the numbers are. Then they know what to do about the numbers. 

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Bob Perew: Clear driving records have a significant impact on overall safety it clear driving record is defined this no serious violations in the past five years, and no moving or or 

 250 

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Bob Perew: Or other violations in the past three years. That’s a clear driving record with man. We love to see those, but unfortunately there’s not that many of math, they’re 

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Bob Perew: Driving records. And finally, we’re on our last slide. So companies with 60% or more clear NBA ours had a 42% lower crash rate than those with less than 60% clear driving records so 

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Bob Perew: Steve, I think that’s all we have. This is a time where we have about 10 minutes if anybody has any questions and we’ll open the floor up to you, Steve. 

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Steve Kessler: Sure. Thanks, Bob. By the way, this is fantastic information. I appreciate all of you, there is a couple of questions. And the first question relates back to, we had conversations I believe about 

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Steve Kessler: Pay on the drivers and when they asked that you talked about 45 cents. She says that 45 cents. Should that be a base pay or said that include all per diem stop off dropping hook, etc. 

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Bob Perew: That should be just a base pay 45 cents per mile any other SS Orioles should be added to that Steve. 

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Steve Kessler: Okay, perfect. Chad’s also asking as it relates to delay pay. How long would you consider before you pay for delays, maybe all 

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Steve Kessler: About that. Yeah. 

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Bob Perew: Yeah, usually after a couple of hours. I would start putting an hourly wage to that for that driver and that can be anywhere from let’s say $10 to $15 an hour, but you’re compensating him. 

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Bob Perew: Or her something for their extra time because two hours delay, you know, if they could be driving at 45 cents. 

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Bob Perew: Yeah mile that’s that’s a lot of money. 

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Steve Kessler: Yeah. Sure it is. 

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Bob Perew: It is negotiated back at the time that the lotus tendered with your shipper yeah and you know you can you can ask the shipper for detention pay as well so 

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Bob Perew: There’s a lot of things that you can do to help keep your driver because drivers who are always being delayed because of the shipper are constantly, then I know stay with the very low. They’re gonna move on, you go with a company that is going to compensate you 

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Steve Kessler: Absolutely. There’s another question here. People are a couple of folks have asked this question about 

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Steve Kessler: It there a, I guess, a benchmark on training frequency safety messaging is is monthly better than quarterly or what we, any thoughts about that. Well, 

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Bob Perew: Well, you know, studies show that adults learn most effectively through repetition. So I don’t even have to look at your messaging based on your historical and current exposure trend in 

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Bob Perew: And, you know, sometimes it depends if you’re running an over the road operation you’re not can see your drivers, all the time. I say bare minimum. 

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Bob Perew: Would we be quarterly at the bare minimum. I like to see monthly but 

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Bob Perew: You know it’s effective training that matters most. But the biggest thing. Steve that I like to see is get those training topics. 

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Bob Perew: Out to your drivers, at least on a weekly basis. You don’t want to end a bit inundate them with a bunch of stuff. But if you can have a 

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Bob Perew: Some kind of safety message once a week to the drivers and then once a month, go into a little more detail and doing some testing. 

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Bob Perew: wouldn’t be a bad idea at all. You know, so think about that and you want to make sure that everything you do is documented so they know 

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Bob Perew: Show that you are, in fact, yeah. Putting these kind of measures out there and everything that we’ve talked about this morning is what and 

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Bob Perew: If trucking companies go by those guidelines and you all are more than welcome to use this PowerPoint presentation, any way that you want. If you go by what you see there it will make you a better trucking company. Yeah, and 

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Bob Perew: But by by doing that is going to make us safer trucking company and make the training more pertinent to your problems and your exposures. 

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Bob Perew: And also on the frequency right as following as quickly after you see 

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Bob Perew: A situation or a bad behavior or or driving habit or whatever as quickly as possible, because then that way, it’s not forgotten. It’s not letting the past or 

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Bob Perew: An employee is saying all the old man, he’s not going to see it for another month, you know, just, you know, the more closely, you can track things and the quicker that you can call them out. I think is better. 

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Bob Perew: And if it doesn’t, you know, not calling them negatively. Right. And, you know, we talked about before we got on the call. This morning we were talking about safety videos. 

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Bob Perew: We like to five minutes safety topics. A lot of drivers love that as well because five minutes is not much of your time. We don’t necessarily want to listen to safety video last 45 minutes to an hour at those five minute training videos are really helpful. 

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Steve Kessler: Perfect that so that’s kind of how we look at it here in our company, a couple of follow up questions here. I think this also relates to the compensation conversation Sergio was asking, Isn’t all on duty time compensable by law. 

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Steve Kessler: Well, yeah. 

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Steve Kessler: Maybe that’s the argument that yeah 

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Bob Perew: Yeah, yeah. You know, I’m not really a lawyer, but it some good attorney can probably open that up and 

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Bob Perew: Put a put a lot of thought into it. And yeah, I can see where that would be a problem. So I think that is what has led to see over litigation right to the success also of short training videos like INFINITI workforce. 

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Steve Kessler: Because now your driver can 

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Bob Perew: can receive this training ensure quick increments of 35 minutes that’s easily absorbed and doesn’t cut into that on duty, not driving right 

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Steve Kessler: That’s very true. 

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Steve Kessler: Another question here. 

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Steve Kessler: Robin is asking drivers have such a huge impact on a company CSA scores. We have bonuses for everything and still have those drivers that that 

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Steve Kessler: Really don’t do a pre or post trip you can’t prove it. But, you know, any ideas on how to get these guys and gals to not just be steering wheel holders good drivers. 

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Bob Perew: I do and I love this game so hopefully Robbins drivers, get back to the back to the yard on regular basis what I used to do. 

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Bob Perew: Was go out there and puts a little lockout tag out around truck ones that aren’t really visibly noticeable, but they can say, See, Robin. You can place them around on Slack Adjusters are glad hand seals on the 

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Bob Perew: dipstick on sticky notes names, Robin. And now, instructing where I expect in that driver brings that back to me and I give them a reward. It may be a gift certificate to 

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Bob Perew: Starbucks. But if they don’t bring it in. I know who to focus on, then you have a disciplinary issue that you need to deal with, you know, and you revert back to your disciplinary policies and I’m sure part of the daily pre trip inspection. 

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Bob Perew: Is going to be part of that, if they’re in violation of that, then you know it’s a day off. It’s a writeup 

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Bob Perew: Even up to and including termination. If there is no consequences to behavior. People will always continue that pattern. And I think that’s 

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Bob Perew: One of the cream Greek key ingredients to an effective safety culture is that to be firm fair and overall consistent in the application of any of these policies. 

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Bob Perew: You have to make it a habit. 

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Steve Kessler: Perfect another quick question here from Wendy. She’s asking the panel. 

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Steve Kessler: What are your thoughts on drivers hourly versus cents per mile 

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Bob Perew: Well, it’s a good question. It depends on how far they’re going and what type of freight they’re hauling 

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Bob Perew: If they’re local I would mostly consider hourly if they’re going more than 

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Bob Perew: 150 mile radius, I would think mileage. I actually have a couple specialty fleets that pay their over the road drivers, our league. 

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Bob Perew: And they are amazing carriers, but they are specially fleets. 

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Bob Perew: And they’re very selective. I would say they recruit the best and they retain the best, and I would recommend that if you are thinking about maybe doing an hourly pay schedule that you would also have a mileage pay schedule and 

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Bob Perew: Then that would run parallel with it. You know, so a driver can probably make a choice to see what if he would rather be paid by the hour, or by the mind. 

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Steve Kessler: Makes sense. Hey. One last comment here and and it’s related to, I think there was a comment. I’m not sure. Maybe Susan talked about no deviation from your safety culture. 

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Steve Kessler: And the common and this is my comment is so often we hear slogans like safety is our number one priority. And sadly priorities change. 

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Steve Kessler: So in the in the world that I think about, you know, safety has to be a core value of the company that doesn’t change depending on circumstances. So that’s just a comment that I had out there, as you’ve got a. If you can’t do it safely, you shouldn’t do it. 

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Bob Perew: And, you know, in the safety arena, you know it’s it’s in black and white, you know, 

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Bob Perew: And there is no deviation. When you start deviating your safety policies. What else are you going to deviate. You know, you have to be strong and firm. 

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Bob Perew: With your overall safety program. And once you BVA you are no longer defendable Correct, yeah. 

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Bob Perew: Let me give you a for an example, if, if you have a safety policy and you have followed that safety policy to the T and then all of a sudden you bring in and driver who does not meet your safety policy, but you hire many now and he goes out and has a serious crash. 

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Bob Perew: The attorney is going to tear 

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Steve Kessler: No good over that. 

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Bob Perew: Whole. In that case, even if, now this is the key, even if it is not your fault. 

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Steve Kessler: Oh yeah. Because if you’re not following your own company policies, you’re actually putting in a an unqualified driver on the road. 

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Steve Kessler: And you’re never going to win that in court. 

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Bob Perew: And just remember that negligent hiring practices can cost you your insurance company a lot of money. Yes, and your company company because it yet all goes yeah all goes back to your previous yeah yeah 

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Bob Perew: gotta follow 

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Steve Kessler: All your own policies. Alright folks would you pop up the last screen real quick. I think there’s one more slide behind this one, Bob. 

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Steve Kessler: Yeah, that’s my contact information. I just wanted to tell everybody that if you have other follow up questions that you would like to present to Bob. David or Susan, if you would send those to me. 

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Steve Kessler: At my email address. They are just pick up the phone, give me a call. I’ll be happy to reach out and see if they can get back with you and answer your questions for you. I hope that’s okay. Bob’s I do that. 

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Bob Perew: Absolutely, absolutely. 

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Steve Kessler: Fantastic. But lastly, I want to thank all of you there, Bob. David and Susan. This was really great information. I think you provided a good guideline that companies can look to to 

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Steve Kessler: Try to meet all these good requirements that we have to have to be a top notch trucking company and be safe and defendable so I appreciate everything that you all presented today. Thank you all very much. 

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Bob Perew: You folks are welcome and have a happy holiday everybody 

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Steve Kessler: Same to y’all and to everybody out there that was listening today, appreciate you being on and we’ll look forward to having you join us on a webinar next month. Thank you all very much. 

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Steve Kessler: Goodbye, my