Page 21 - ATR 3 2013

doing the Right Thing

Safety and a positive public image are links to profitability

By Todd Traub “No questioN there’s a direct liNk betweeN

Contributing Writer the way the public perceiVes us aNd what we
caN get doNe oN capitol hill.”
What’s next for the trucking —mike card, combiNed traNsport
industry? In a panel discussion at the
Arkansas Trucking Association’s recent
business conference, a trio of industry
executives offered some frank opinions THe pUblIc’S VIeW trucks are an issue unto themselves,
and predictions on the trucking indus- In his opening remarks Card raised such statements illustrate how safety
try’s future. the issue of the industry’s image, not- groups and others are shaping the pub-
Arkansas Trucking Association ing that the subject had come up in one lic’s opinion of the trucking industry.
President Lane Kidd introduced mod- of his previous stops at the American “We read publications and we find
erator Chris Burruss, president of the Trucking Associations Summer ourselves being portrayed in a way that
Truckload Carriers Association, and Leadership meeting in Palm Desert, is neither what we believe nor who we
offered up that the executive forum California. He noted that in an era of are,” said Burruss.
had been a very popular event over the road rage, distracted driving and truck- Card said it is important for truck-
years, featuring such industry icons targeting lawyers, how the public views ing company owners and executives to
as the late J.B. Hunt and Sheridan trucking is important. consider all possibilities when it comes
Garrison along with such notables as Image is more important than ever, to image improvement, from better care
Robert Young, now chairman of the Card said, and the national ATA recent- of drivers, to uniforms, to promoting
board of Arkansas Best Corporation, ly hired an advertising agency to address and humanizing the drivers and the
J.B. Hunt’s current chairman Kirk how to launch some image building in industry through social media.
Thompson, Crete Carrier’s chairman the industry. Salisbury, who began his career
Duane Acklie and Schneider National’s “If we’re going to change the way as an owner/operator, said that image
president Chris Lofgren. people look at our trucks and our driv- is important to the industry’s profits,
“We’ve had some of the industry’s ers and our industry, we need to have a more so than most owners and execu-
best executives on these forums but this serious, life changing movement,” Card tives believe. He thinks that image can
year,” Kidd quipped, “I guess we just said. “And we need to all be part of it be addressed basically on two levels: at
have these guys.” and it needs to start at the driver level.” the level of the executives who set the
Burruss’s panel consisted of three Burris mentioned an article in standards for the drivers and at the level
well-known and often outspoken per- Fleet Owner magazine that quoted Joan of the drivers themselves.
sonalities in trucking – Maverick USA Claybrook, former administrator of Referring back to Card’s mention
Inc. chairman and CEO Steve Williams, the National Highway Traffic Safety of uniforms, Salisbury said drivers can
Fikes Truck Line president and CEO Administration (NHTSA) and currently help a great deal just by being properly
Gary Salisbury, and Oregon-based the chairperson of Citizens for Reliable dressed and making a solid appearance
Combined Transport president and CEO and Safe Highways (CRASH). Claybrook when dealing with shippers.
Mike Card. All three have served the recently described the 4,000 people who “People used to respect truck
industry in various roles with Williams died in accidents involving big trucks drivers because they were dressed like
and Card serving as chairmen of the last year as being “slaughtered” annu- somebody important,” said Salisbury,
American Trucking Associations and ally in truck accidents, and stating that recalling the driver practice of keep-
Salisbury as chairman of the Truckload transportation companies continue to ing a pressed uniform shirt hanging in
Carriers Association. push Congress for bigger trucks.
Burruss noted that while heavier 

arkansas Trucking reporT | issue 3 2013 21