It’s a brand new year and in my opinion we’re on the verge of seeing some real improvements in commercial trucking highway safety, particularly in the States. The new hours-of-service rules there will limit the number of hours that a driver will be able to spend behind the wheel. To me, that’s good news.

However, the rules also put new pressure on your drivers to be more efficient and have less downtime. Time spent waiting at the dock now counts as time worked, so drivers will want to make the most of their time on the road.

That means we all have to re-examine our training and even our spec’ing practices. I don’t want the improvements in safety these new rules bring negated by the urge to drive harder and faster – to keep moving when it’s prudent to pull over to read a map or make a phone call.

A recent AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study noted that drivers are more likely to swerve when they are reaching, eating, or using cell phones. Many professional drivers have trained themselves to adroitly juggle their cells, CDs, CBs, and even glances at dashboard readouts.

But as safety managers, we have to remind drivers to keep their eyes on the road ahead and not on the radio dial. Make this a regular safety-meeting topic because it’s only going to get worse. We have to help all drivers live with those distractions. Here’s an agenda:

Cell phones: For one thing, if you’re going to outfit your drivers with cell phones, buy units that come with messaging systems so they can respond at a more convenient time. And you should instruct your drivers to use the phone only when parked.

It’s a tough sell. Tell them that the average time it takes to dial a 10-digit number and push the “send” key is 12.9 seconds. If you’re doing 60 mph, how far do you think you’ll go by the time you’ve punched in the number? Almost a quarter of a mile.

Do your drivers also know that studies have shown that a driver on a cell phone has worse hazard-perception and reaction time than someone who’s legally impaired?

FOOD & DRINK: Drivers will want to dine as they drive-probably more than they used to. But eating or drinking while driving is a hazard waiting to happen.

Encourage your drivers to have their meals before they settle in behind the wheel. It’ll keep them healthier as well as safer.

GADGET ALERT: Lastly, when you’re buying equipment, consider whether you’re promoting or adding gadgets that might distract your people.

Spec only equipment designed to be within easy reach and user-friendly. Avoid add-ons that interfere with driving or have to be positioned in a hard-to-reach place. Any time a driver takes his or her eyes off of the road to deal with changing a radio station or a dashboard control is a time of potential risk.

That said, I have some news about a bit of technology that will make it easier to adapt to increasing pressures and therefore make us all safer.

A Canadian company is distributing an affordable training device called the Safe-Sim Truck Driving Simulator. It runs on a desktop PC, comes with a steering wheel and pedals to make it more realistic, and retails for less than $1,400.

You can adjust it for real-world conditions such as aggressive drivers, animals darting on the roadway, brakes fading, or brake failures on steep grades. It monitors and grades the driver’s performance so you can better assess their decisions.

Folks pay big money to play high-tech arcade games, so why not make Safe-Sim in your driver room? Sure would beat that old pool table. For more information or a trial run of the Safe-Sim, contact Rick Robertson at Top Tape & Label, Ancaster, Ont. Or phone 1-800/262-6238.

Have a safe start to 2004.