When it comes to training your tuck drivers to operate safer out on the nation’s roads, why not add an element of competition to incentivize behavioral change on a macro scale. We’re here to tell you exactly how to do that.

Take a peer group and set up a competition system, whether your truck drivers are working individually or within a team. Turn safe driving into a competition and offer prizes to truck drivers who play “the game” the best.

First you want to set up the goals for your safety competition.

Using SMART Goals

One of the most effective goal-setting techniques in the modern corporate world is that of SMART goals. SMART stands for:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Results-focused
• Time-bound

As one example of how you can use SMART goals to create a better safety paradigm within your fleet is if you want to decrease overall idle time to less than 15 minutes per day. Pick a specific time period and choose your factors. You may want to focus on several goals at a time, and that is fine, but make sure your goals do not overlap or cause confusion. You want your truck drivers to understand and buy-in to the program. It should be more than simple safety window dressing.

Once you have selected your measurable factors and chosen your timeline, you want to establish behavioral patterns you wish to see changed. You can measure behavioral changes through hard baseline data.

Using Data to Reach your Goals

In order to figure out how well your fleet is doing at meeting the goals, it will be important to collect the data and determine a method for analyzing it. You want at least 30 days of control data, regardless of the time frame parameters of your competition. Make sure you do not notify those in the competition pool of the pre-defined parameters so that you don’t tempt them to try and game the system.

Once you have the data collected, use it to determine whether you have set a realistic timeline for the program. Also make sure you are taking outside factors into consideration. If you are trying to set up a competition surrounding idle time, you don’t want to hold bad weather or construction against them within the game.

What Are Your Incentives?

Of course, the only way you will see real results from the program is if there is a winner or group of winners. You could also create specific categories of winners, whether it be “Least Idle Time” or “Most On-Time Deliveries.” With larger groups you may want to have more winners.

Remember, the best way to inventivize real change is to create a realistic program. You could use cash prizes, gift cards, company schwag, more off-hours, or other things you think your truck drivers or employees may find particularly meaningful. Above all, make sure there is a reasonable chance to have a winner every time.

Be Transparent

Transparency is extremely important to ensure you have buy-in for your program. You could place stats or standings in the break room or provide an online portal your truckers can log into to see where they rank.  This helps motivate participants to do better by creating a little open friendly competition among them.

Finally, use the data to provide actionable tips and tricks to your truck drivers. Use the information you find to enhance your overall training endeavors. Whether you use a classroom-type setting, online video, or in-cab prompts, there are many ways you can use the data to increase safety measures.

Of course, in the end, the most important thing is making sure your truck drivers are both safe and happy. Utilizing friendly competition to accomplish these goals is a healthy way to do it.

The ELD Mandate, which went into effect on December 18, requires that the majority of interstate commercial truck drivers use ELD devices to ensure they are properly tracking their hours of service so as not to exceed the federal limits. Yet, that majority has been steadily shrinking as exemptions and uneven enforcement potentially neuters the mandate’s effectiveness.

OOIDA Requests A Major Exemption

There are currently many petitions sitting with the FMCSA, from a technical exemption for UPS to petitions from power and communications contractors. Yet, there is one petition that represents a huge question mark in the future and effectiveness of the ELD mandate.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) has petitioned the FMCSA to exempt small business trucking companies with operations under $27.5 million in annual revenue. Should this petition be approved, the exemption would in effect exempt 95 percent of all trucking companies.

To be fair, the OOIDA did include some qualifiers in their petition request. One such exemption was for motor carriers who have an unsatisfactory safety rating. The other was that exempt fleets would be required to document and present a proven history of safety performance that includes no at-fault crashes.

Those opposed to this line of reasoning say that there is no specific definition of what constitutes an at-fault crash. With nearly 93 percent of OTR trucking companies currently reporting no DOT-reportable crashes, the number of trucking companies removed from potential exemption is negligible. Should the OOIDA’s request be approved, the number of motor carriers looking at an exemption could stand in the tens of thousands.

While many do not expect the petition to wind up being passed by the FMCSA, it should be noted that 25 members of Congress sent a letter to the FMCSA supporting the petition. On the other side, the Trucking Alliance filed comments opposing the exemption.

What both sides acknowledge is that even if the FMCSA were to approve the petition, the inevitable result would be a trip to court and a legal battle. Why? The ELD Mandate is a Congressional imperative, so any major changes granted by the FMCSA would be subject to lawsuit by either side.

Will the ELD Mandate Have Any Teeth?

With the ELD Mandate suffering under the burden of enforcement issues and constant questions, some wonder if it will have any major impact on trucking safety. Consider that 17 states are waiting for April 1 to begin enforcement, with another 12 allowing the enforcement officer to decide. With the resulting 10 states writing ELD tickets, enforcement has been spotty across the board.

Currently, most of tickets being written are not for specific safety concern but are instead related to either no logs available or spec problems with the device being used. With the ELD enforcement picture so cloudy, is it even possible to determine whether their use is having a positive impact on trucking safety? With the jury still out on the effectiveness of the current HOS rules, no one knows.

Although December was the intended start of enforcement, many operators are waiting until April 1 to get compliant. With enforcement uneven across the board, trucking operators are betting that low enforcement levels will mean they won’t get a ticket, or even if they do, they won’t be put out of service or get a CSA ding. With the incentive to get compliant now taken away, the time between December and January provides a nebulous picture of the mandate’s effectiveness. How this will all play out as trucking advocates and fleets attempt to evaluate crash rates and safety levels is anybody’s guess.