January 2006 eReport

Dear #FirstName#,

Happy New Year!

Here's some good news to start the New Year...

Fatal-Crash Rate Involving Large Trucks Falls to Record Low

The rate of fatalities last year in crashes involving large trucks fell to its lowest level since the Department of Transportation began keeping records in 1975, according to DOT figures.

Newly released vehicle-mileage figures released by DOT's Federal Highway Administration, which are used to help determine crash rates for all vehicles, show the 2004 rate for large trucks stood at 1.96 fatal crashes per 100 million vehicle-miles-traveled.

The rate is the lowest since DOT began tracking large-truck safety records in 1975, and breaks the previous low of 1.97 fatal crashes per 100 million VMT set in 2002.

The figures are for trucks of 10,001 pounds or greater - Class 3-8 trucks.

The record-low improvement in the fatal crash rate comes despite an increase in the number of vehicles on the road. According to FHWA, there were nearly 6.3 million more registered cars and trucks in 2004 than in 2003.

"The numbers show a continuing improvement in U.S. highway safety within the trucking industry and among our professional drivers," American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves said in a statement.

And this just in from the Department of Corrections...in our recent Carrier of the Month feature we incorrectly quoted the fleet size at Decker Truck Lines, Inc as just of over 400 power units. Decker currently operates over 630 trucks.

And now this from the Bureau of Surveys...
(Hmmm - BS, - note to editor: consider changing name to Survey Bureau)

The survey read:

When it comes to Christmas, people think of me as...

And our readers said:

Santa Claus - 16%
Scrooge - 21%
An Angel - 06%
A Wise Man - 09%
Santa's Helper - 18%
A Jolly Old Elf - 09%
An ATM Machine - 21%

We were kind of hoping Santa Claus would come in a little higher - we're not sure what to make of the fact that 42% of you felt you were perceived as either a Scrooge or an ATM. Kind of makes us wonder even more about the whole "Merry Christmas" deal.

Speaking about the whole "Merry Christmas" deal. Here's the final word on Merry Christmas, 2005

From: m
Sent: Saturday, December 17, 2005 7:45 AM
To: jobs@truckdriver.com jobs@truckdriver.com
Subject: Re: Season's Greetings from Truckdriver.com

OK, enough!!! How about MERRY CHRISTMAS??!!!! I understand not wanting to offend anyone, but you have. How about recognizing the season. It is Christmas.

Trust me, it won’t hurt you to say it. Oh, and Happy New Year, too!!! That comes after Christmas. This is America. If you get offended saying Christmas, then just get over it. There are worst things to get offended about. If you are too timid to say the words, then just work through Christmas and not expect holiday pay. After all, it is nothing special to you. If you don’t want to recognize Christmas, then you should not expect the benefits associated with the day. If it is just another day to you, then go to work and don’t take any extra pay for the privilege.
Sheesh!!!!! Just get over it.

Apparently, 'm' missed our parenthetical reference to the "Christmas" controversy as well as the final quote we chose, which came from Old Saint Nick himself in The Night Before Christmas.

It's that resolution time of year again, but before you start making them, let's see how well you did on keeping them.
Take the 2005 Resolution Survey and let us know.

Here's to a Safe and Prosperous New Year for us all!

Keep on truckin' and please drive safely.

Your Comments Are Always Welcome

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