Will truck drivers, locomotive engineers, railroad workers, commercial airline pilots, flight crews, and commercial mariners be any safer from risk of injury or death under this “first-ever” federal freight system overhaul?
On September 3, 2020, The Secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced the “first-ever National Freight Strategic Plan (NFSP)” as a means “to strengthen America’s economic competitiveness.”
According to the Transportation Department, each day over 51,000,000 tons of cargo move across this country in various ways. Some products move as air freight, others as freight on ships. Much of the nation’s freight is transported by semi-truck, tanker truck, and train.
DOT reports that the amount of freight being moved each day keeps rising. In response to the upward trend, this new NFSP has been released with the goals of (1) easing the current strain on the U.S. freight system; and (2) insuring future adequacy of the system through its infrastructure and technological innovations. A third “strategic goal” involves improving safety within the national freight system.
Safety Concerns in the 2020 National Freight Strategic Plan
There are specific safety concerns spotlighted in the NFSP as its “key issues.” These are (1) truck safety, (2) truck parking, (3) grade crossing safety, and (4) hazardous materials. (Executive Summary, page 7.)
Of importance to those of us driving the roadways of the “Crossroads of America,” the NFSP recognizes the very real danger to commercial truck drivers.
From its Executive Summary, page 7 (emphasis added):
As freight transportation activity has increased, the number of freight transportation-related fatalities has risen. Across all modes, 5,340 people died in freight transportation-related crashes and accidents in 2017—a nearly 24 percent increase over the 2010 total. Fatalities resulting from truck-involved crashes made up 89.2 percent of all freight transportation fatalities and 12.8 percent of all highway fatalities in 2017. Key factors that may affect truck safety include increased traffic volume on the Nation’s highway networks, driver performance and behavior, and insufficient truck parking in rest zones.
In response, the federal plan outlines its “Strategic Objectives” to address these dangers facing the workers responsible for moving cargo in this country (Executive Summary, page 10):
- Support the development and adoption of automation, connectivity, and other freight safety technologies
- Modernize safety oversight and security procedures
- Minimize the effects of fatigue and human error on freight safety
- Reduce conflicts between passenger and freight traffic
- Protect the freight system from natural and human-caused disasters and improve system resilience and recovery speed.
Railroad Industry Expert’s Response to NFSP: Vague, Lacks Data and Capital
In response to this new report, railroad industry expert Jim Blaze provided his insights in an article published on September 4, 2020 by Railway Age and written by its editor-in-chief, William C. Vantuono, entitled “USDOT Releases National Freight Strategic Plan.” Among his concerns are the following:
- Lack of supporting Research and Development in the NFSP full report;
- Lack of clear “funding stream” for this federal effort; and
- The report “hands off the ‘heavy decision lifting’ to the states.”
Trucking Industry’s Response to NFSP: Where’s the Money?
The reaction to NFSP’s debut by various representatives of the trucking industry has been collected in an article published by Transport Topics on March 4, 2020, entitled “Trucking Industry Weighs In on DOT Freight Plan.” They include voicing a real concern over financial issues that include:
- funding for sections of highway that are in need of repair or redesign to end congestion;
- long-term funding established to help infrastructure;
- investment in building commercial truck parking facilities; and
- funding for new truck platoon lanes directly connected to ports.
Impact of the NFSP on Safety of Indiana and Illinois Transportation Workers
As explained in an article written by Deborah Lockridge entitled “Long-Overdue National Freight Strategic Plan Addresses Topics from Drones to Data,” published by Trucking Info on September 3, 2020, this new report has been in the making since it was mandated by Congress in the 2012 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act. This new release has been eight (8) years in the making.
Nevertheless, while the NFSP does address the key areas of safety, infrastructure, and innovation for the future of moving freight in this country, the practical details on how this is to be undertaken as well as the vital issue of how it is to be financed are not clear in the Full Report.
Meanwhile, Illinois and Indiana are at the crux of this new National Freight Strategy Plan as our part of the country is a hub for freight transportation in all its aspects: truck, rail, ship, and plane. The need to increase the safety of our truck drivers, railroad workers, maritime and dock workers as well as those involved in air freight is extremely important here.
We have discussed the dangers that face workers in these various facets of the national freight system, see:
Trucking
- Coronavirus: Truck Driver Dangers of Injury and Accident in Indiana and Illinois
- Audit of FMCSA Reveals that Federal CSA Regulation of Trucking Safety Is Still Lacking in Majority of USA
- Exhausted Truck Drivers: Who Can Discover ELD and HOS Fraud to Enforce Federal Safety Laws?
- Federal Truck Driver Training Law Halted: The Danger of Inadequately or Improperly Trained Truckers Remains
- Fatal Truck Driver Crashes: Record-Breaking Trucker Fatalities According to New Studies
Railroad
- Railroaders: Railroad Accidents on the Job in Illinois and Indiana
- Fatal Railroad Accidents: National Rail Safety Week is September 22 -28, 2019
- Train Crash Deaths: Fatal Accidents at Indiana and Illinois Railroad Crossings
- Types and Causes of Train Crashes and Railroad Accidents
- Dangers Facing CSX Railroad Workers in Indiana and Illinois
Shipping and Ports
- The Jones Act vs. the Longshoreman and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act for Maritime Workers
- Injuries to Longshoremen and Harbor Workers in Indiana and Illinois: Maritime Accidents
- International Longshoremen Association’s Safety Bulletin: How the Law Protects Maritime Workers / Longshoremen Hurt or Killed While Working on the Job
Planes and Air Traffic
- Plane Crashes: Feds Issue Safety Alerts for General Aviation
- General Aviation Accidents: Fatal Plane Crashes in Indiana and Illinois
While the NFSP does have the intent to make things safer for freight workers and those that share their space with them (roadways, etc.) it remains to be seen if the “first ever” freight plan will do anything to make things less dangerous in our part of the country.
Sadly, present circumstances suggest that the risk will remain high for serious injury or death on the job for these freight system workers with the only true financial tool being used to make them safer being the personal injury and wrongful death claims asserted against the pocketbooks of those in the industry who continue to put profits over people.
For workers and their families in Indiana or Illinois who are involved in the moving of cargo or freight in its various ways (truck, railroad, ship, plane) there are laws in place in both Indiana and Illinois to help you in the event of a serious accident while on the job. Please be careful out there!
