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TRUCKERS PREPARE FOR BIRD FLU: Although the avian flu hasn’t reached North or South America yet, federal officials are urging U.S. business and industry to prepare for a possible pandemic should the flu cross to humans and cause widespread infection. Heeding the call, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) has formed a task force to prepare truckers for dire scenarios and to monitor planning initiatives. “We just felt it was time to get ready,” said Fletcher Hall of the ATA. “These are serious threats.” Hall said that trucking companies that haul food and farm products must prepare for any eventuality of the deadly virus. Not only would truckers be crucial to delivering flu vaccines and other medicines, but they would also be counted on to deliver food to grocers, restaurants, and schools. Hall noted that trucks could transmit the flu, and that possibility needs to be addressed. If truckers become ill or refuse to work for fear of becoming infected, the supply chain could fall apart. One precaution is to make sure truck drivers are priority recipients of the bird flu vaccine. “We already have a shortage of drivers,” Hall said. “If we can’t get food and vaccines to people, we really will have a problem. We’ve already learned from experience, after 9/11 and hurricanes, if a major disruption of transportation occurs, then most grocery stores would be empty in three to five days.”
PORT SECURITY IN THE HOT SEAT: Since 9/11, local officials have been saying that American ports are vulnerable to acts of terrorism. And now that a Dubai company’s ownership of shipping terminal operations in U.S. cities is in question, the issue of port security is finally being scrutinized. “If there’s a silver lining to this,” said the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, “it’s that I’ve spent two years trying to get people drummed up on this issue and it was very difficult to get them to pay attention. In the last 10 days, there’s been no shortage of people paying attention to it.” To date, the federal government has spent more than $4 billion on airline security, but no more than $825 million on port security. The Coast Guard estimates that between $7 billion and $11 billion is needed for domestic ports and a global cargo security system. Since 9/11, the federal government has helped improve port security by funding fences, closed-circuit cameras, and electronic access-card systems. New radiation detectors and gamma-ray screening are also being used, but radiation scanners screen only 37 percent of incoming containers. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., introduced a bill that would require 100 percent of incoming containers to be scanned. But Heritage Foundation Senior Research Fellow James Carafano says Congress should not act rashly. “You don’t need to buy a $7 billion company to penetrate maritime security,” he said. “The mafia doesn’t buy FedEx to smuggle.”
SPEED LIMITERS DEBATED: The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has proposed that all new trucks be equipped with speed governors to prevent trucks from traveling faster than 68 mph. In a press release, the lobbying group said that its endorsement is “aimed at reducing the number and severity of speed-related crashes among all vehicles on U.S. highways.” According to an ATA study, 75 percent of trucks evaluated already have speed governors, most of which are set to 70 mph or lower. “There has been a growing sense within the trucking industry for the need to slow down the large truck population as well as all traffic,” said ATA president and CEO Bill Graves. “With speeding as a factor in one-third of all fatal highway crashes, it makes all the sense in the world to work to reduce this number.” Not everyone in the industry agrees, however. The Owner-Operator Independent Driver’s Association (OOIDA) says speed governors would in actuality make roadways more dangerous for drivers of all vehicles. “It may sound like a good thing to some to slow down all the big trucks,” said Todd Spencer, OOIDA executive vice president. “But unless you slow down all the other vehicles too, you’ve really only made things more dangerous.” Studies have shown that drivers of light vehicles are the primary speeders, not truckers. Although OOIDA does agree that speeding is a legitimate problem on U.S. highways, it believes that roadways are safest when all vehicles travel at the same speed and comply with all laws and regulations.
THE SEARCH IS ON: “The driver market is the tightest it has been in 20 years,” according to Bill Graves, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations (ATA). The driver shortage severely limits how much freight motor carriers can haul. In an effort to address the growing problem, the ATA is looking at a new pool of driving candidates: the over 50 crowd. Graves said that the industry is hoping to recruit more “experienced workers.” The president of the Nebraska Trucking Association says this is a great opportunity for baby boomers. “They’ve always been unique,” Larry Johnson said. “For them to leave a 9-to-5 office environment and finally get out and travel the country has its possibilities. There’s a huge amount of people who are finishing one career and looking for a new opportunity.” Those include baby boomers laid off from blue- and white-collar jobs and those looking for a career change. Other potential truck drivers include veterans returning from Iraq, immigrant workers who might need to learn English, and women. The shortage can be traced to three main reasons: the stress of driving long haul, fewer young people pursuing trucking as a career, and existing drivers retiring. The real key to recruiting new drivers, according to one driver training facility, is to let people know that driving can be an attractive alternative to unemployment or a low-paying job. Many people don’t know that getting a CDL is less expensive, easier, and quicker than going to a technical school.
ANY DISTRACTION IS RISKY: Several studies have already determined that cell phone use while driving increases the risk of accidents. Now a study finds that hands-free cell phone use and just about any other activity other than driving also increases the risk of accidents. The reason: the human brain struggles to look and listen at the same time; when it tries to do both, reaction time slows. The new study found that participants trying to brake while doing a simple task—such as using a hands-free phone, pushing a button, or even talking—were on average 174 milliseconds slower at braking. For a car traveling at 65 mph, that 174-millisecond delay translates to 16 feet. “This study joins a growing body of research that ‘freeing up the hands’ does not result in faster brake response times,” said a researcher. A previous study found that a 20-year-old driver talking on a cell phone had the same reaction time as a 70-year-old driver not using a phone. Cell phone distraction causes an estimated 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries each year.
HANDLING STRESS: Companies that provide benefits programs that deal with employee stress may find the added insurance pays off. A survey by ComPsych, a behavioral health/EAP provider, found that 67 percent of employees polled report having high levels of stress along with extreme fatigue and feelings of being out of control. The researchers said that stress inhibits productivity and other priorities and negatively affects people’s everyday lives. The survey also found that: (1) 32 percent said they miss three to six days of work each year due to stress; (2) half of employees miss one or two days of work per year due to stress; (3) 38 percent of employees lose one or more hour per day in productivity due to stress; (4) 45 percent cited work as the leading cause of stress, followed by people issues (28 percent) and juggling work and home (19 percent). Only 16 percent of workers, however, say curbing stress is a top priority. Sixty-one percent of employees said accomplishing basic responsibilities was their top priority, and 23 percent cited simply showing up as their priority.
THE MAN BEHIND THE PRIZE: One morning in 1888, Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite, awoke to read his own obituary in the newspaper. The French paper proclaimed that “the merchant of death is dead.” Of course, the newspaper had made a mistake; it turned out to be Nobel’s brother, Ludwig, who had died. Nonetheless, reading the news may have shaken up the inventor. He saw himself for the first time as the world saw him, as “the dynamite king,” the great industrialist who had made a fortune selling explosives. But Nobel did not want to be remembered this way. Several years later, the inventor, having no direct heirs, changed his will. He wanted to be remembered not as a “merchant of death,” but as a giving man, who worked to improve human conditions. Alfred Nobel changed his will to establish the Nobel Foundation. He requested that each year the Swedish Academy honor individuals who have improved human conditions through their work in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and world peace. His will was disputed by relatives, and Swedish newspapers criticized him for not using his wealth to benefit his own country. The naysayers eventually came around, however. Today when one hears the name Nobel, they are more likely to think of the Nobel Prizes and the excellence they represent, rather than the invention of dynamite.
A minute of thought is worth more than an hour of talk.—Unknown