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more than 4 million accident-free miles. record earned the American Trucking meted 39.2 percent over the past decade.
The Anderson County, Mo., resi- Associations’ fleet safety award in the The injury rate saw a 34.2 percent
dent has spent the past 34 years driv- fall of 2014. decline over the past decade as well.
ing big rigs for the retail giant. He logs By industry standards, Walmart “The trucking industry’s efforts
about 3,000 miles per week hauling has one of the safest private fleets on to improve safety on our highways are
freight from Bentonville, Ark. to St. the road driving 2.11 million miles per showing results,” said ATA President
James, Mo. preventable accident, according to the and CEO Bill Graves. “While there is
“I make six trips during each five- retailer’s website and data provided by still much work to do, we should feel
day week and I’m home on the week- FMCSA. good that because of the efforts of ATA
ends,” Hart said as he runs between the and others in the industry, our high-
two distribution centers logging 600 truck-invoLved crash ways are safer, even as our trucks
miles a day over a nine-hour period. rate decLines deliver more goods all across
“I’ve been driving for some 50 years in After the release our nation.”
all since I was 21 years old.” of data from the ATA calculated the
Hart stated it was his safe driv- Federal Highway fatality and injury
ing record that led him to Walmart Administration of rates using the
in 1981 — that and higher pay. To be estimated miles figure for truck
considered for hire by Walmart, the traveled by large miles traveled —
minimum requirement is 250,000 trucks in 2013, the 275,018,000,000
miles without any preventable acci- American Trucking miles in 2013 accord-
dents in the past three years. And while Associations calculated ing to FHWA — and
Walmart’s trucking business gained a 1.6 percent decline in the number of truck-
headlines because of the high profile the large truck-involved crash involved fatalities and inju-
accident involving Tracy Morgan in June fatality rate in 2012. With 2013’s ries — to calculate the rates. ATR
2014, the company’s overall driving decline, the fatality rate has plum-

Trucking

The facts tell the story

 83,000 jobs in Arkansas — 1 in every 11
working people.

 $3.5 billion in wages annually —
wages that support Arkansas families.

 $448 million to Arkansas in fuel taxes
alone — funding to maintain our highways
and bridges, our critical infrastructure.

The Arkansas trucking industry’s impact is felt
everywhere. A strong trucking industry is a
stronger, more competitive Arkansas.

arkansastrucking.com

Source: American Transportation Research Institute

arkansas trucking rePort | issue 1 2015 19