The American Transportation Research Institute plans to prioritize six issues this year, which includes a focus on disruptive weather, industry goodwill and driver training.
Other issues include state-by-state costs of doing business, assessing state and federal regulations and quantifying driver health impacts.
“The topics that they came up with this year set the climate with where we're at,” ATRI Research Advisory Committee Chairman Andy Owens told Trucking Dive.
For the first time since 2019, there are more than five issues listed for the annual initiative.
The six issues identified this year involve:
- Identifying driver coaching best practices that make the biggest impact on safety
- Examining potential incentives for a “Beyond Compliance” program regarding fleets’ voluntary efforts to improve a safety
- Developing regulatory cost-benefit analyses that also evaluate stakeholder understanding and enforcement levels
- Advancing a benchmark for how states rank in facilitating business and detailing how costs vary across areas
- Measuring how driver health impacts operational costs by examining medical card status
- Investigating how the industry and government can best prepare for major weather events such as hurricanes, wildfires and snowstorms that disrupt freight flow
ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee typically consists of about 35 people, including carrier executives, attorneys, law enforcement and other stakeholders, Owens noted. ATRI staff assist in developing white papers for committee members’ ideas, and 25 research proposals emerged this year, he said.
RAC members debate the ideas for nearly a day then vote on which ones to advance before taking another ballot on the committee’s final five recommendations. ATRI’s board then signs off on the final list.
The organization also annually releases its Top 10 lists, highlighting leading concerns of industry stakeholders. Last year's industry rankings included areas such as insurance cost, diesel emissions regulations and driver training standards.
