Tag: drivers

A Safer Tomorrow Starts Today- 3 Changes Every Trucker Should Make

Bob Holtzman

Here at Western Truck Insurance Services, we want you to “Travel with Care”. We all know that transportation is a risky industry (truck drivers are 5x more likely to die in a work related accident than the average worker), but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to reduce your risks and increase your safety. Today we’re sharing 3 doable changes you can make for a safer experience on the road.

Buckle Up

More than 1/3 of truck drivers that die in accidents weren’t wearing a seatbelt. The number should be 0. Hooking your seatbelt before you hit the road is an easy change to make if you aren’t doing it already (and 1 in 6 truckers aren’t). Accidents are a leading cause of death for truck drivers; 2012 saw 700 fatalities of large truck drivers and their passengers and another 26,000 injuries.

Re-commit today to better seatbelt practices. It could save you your life.

Stop Smoking

Truck drivers are much more likely to smoke than the general population. More than half of truck drivers (51%) currently smoke, compared with the U.S. average of 19%. We understand the urge to smoke on a long haul, but that doesn’t make the practice any less risky. Luckily, it is never too late to quit smoking. Quitting at any age has benefits and the sooner you quit, the sooner you can start to heal. Diabetics may notice an immediate improvement in blood sugar control and your risk of heart attack drops steeply after just one year.

Quitting isn’t going to be easy, but you don’t have to do it alone. Call 1-800-Quit-Now for phone help (a great option wherever your next load takes you) or visit SmokeFree.gov for resources (including a free chat with a live help information specialist).

Put Down Those Cellphones

Did you know that commercial drivers that text are 23 times more likely to experience a safety incident (like an accident, near accident, or inadvertent lane change) than those that don’t? Not 2 times, not 3 times, but 23 times. Isn’t that reason enough to put down that phone?

Texting is illegal for all commercial drivers. What exactly is texting? The rules might be stricter than you think. You are prohibited from manually entering text or reading text while driving. This includes sending a text, reading an email, IM’ing, visiting a web page, dialing a phone number (pressing more than a single button to initiate a call), etc. The penalties are hefty (up to $2,750 or driver disqualification for multiple offenses, not to mention the impact on your SMS score), but pale in comparison to the risk of accident or death. Put down those phones and drive safely.

Make the commitment today to make a few safety changes for a safer tomorrow. Trucking might be a dangerous industry, but there are things you can do to make it safer.

A New Addition to the Western Truck Insurance Services Family

Bob Holtzman

Western Truck Insurance Services and Sentinel Financial are pleased to welcome TNT Insurance Services to their family. This addition will help us bring superior insurance value to our customers from coast to coast. We merged back on May 1 of this year and have been busy, busy, busy getting everything integrated.

These changes are very exciting for us and as our customers, exciting for you too. Let’s take a quick look at the specialized care and services we can now bring you at Western Truck Insurance Services.

·         More Experience– If you need experience to help you navigate through the rocky terrain of trucking, we’ve got it in spades. Together Western Truck Insurance and TNT Insurance have over 300 years of experience. We have the knowledge, skills, and expertise to help you.

·         New East Coast Offices– TNT Insurance is based out of Tampa, FL. We now have an east coast office ready to serve you. We are now here to help 12 hours a day so there’s always a convenient time to get the insurance or service you need.

·         Expertise for Towing Operations– TNT specializes in tow truck and truck insurance. This brings us enhanced expertise for clients with towing operations. TNT’s strong relationships with many tow insurance companies helps us to expand our reach and bring you more insurance offerings.

·         Personalized Service You Can Depend On– Do you need help with your FMCSA, registration, or filings? This new partnership doesn’t change any of the personalized services you’ve come to love from Western Truck Insurance Services. If anything the addition of new helpful staff will help us to serve you better.

·         No Fleet Too Large or Too Small– From an owner operator to a fleet with hundreds of trucks, we are ready to help and serve you. Western Truck Insurance is licensed in 19 states. We know that no two trucking operations are the same and can accommodate anyone from local drivers to nationwide truck drivers.

Let’s give a warm welcome to our new friends and partners from TNT Insurance. We look forward to the future and continuing to bring you the high quality insurance you’ve come to expect. Let us worry about your insurance so you can focus on the road.