In our efforts to not only improve regulatory federal standards on underride guards but, also, to catalyze voluntary industry improvement, we heard back from several companies to whom we had written, including:
- UPS in Atlanta (Dan)
- CR England (Chad England)
- Extra Mile Transportation (Brent)
- J.B. Hunt (Greer Woodruff, Lowell, AK
- UPS (buys from Great Dane)
- FedEx
Chad England committed his company to looking into the matter seriously. (CR England) And Dean Engelage (Great Dane) invited Jerry and I to visit their Research & Design Center in Savannah in June 2014:
We’re looking forward to hosting you and your wife next week. I thought we would start the day off with an 8:30 am breakfast at a local favorite, J. Christopher’s which is near the hotel 122 E Liberty Street. Brandie Fuller, our VP of Marketing, will join us. Parking for the restaurant is street-side at a meter.
This is what we learned from the Great Dane visit: Underride Guards: Can we “sit down at the table together” and work this out?
In addition, we received a letter from Brent Hudson at Extra Mile Transportation:
I am in receipt of your letter and packet dated 17 Feb 14.
First, let me offer you my most sincere condolences on the loss of your beautiful daughters. I have a daughter who is two months shy of her 18th birthday, so I do not even want to imagine the heartache associated with this tragedy. I can only offer you my most sincere respect in working to turn such a tragedy into something good.
Extra Mile Transportation is a non-asset based, third party freight broker. That means that we don’t own any equipment, we contract out for everything we move. However, we are in a position to exert some influence on this matter. By copy of this email, I am requesting our Director of Logistical Solutions incorporate this awareness campaign into some of his efforts. I will be meeting with him to go over this issue and we’ll see what impact we may have.
I wish you only the best for the times you share with your other children and hope that your memories of Mary and AnnaLeah continue to have a positive impact on our safety.
My warmest personal regards,
Brent Hudson, Vice President
Extra Mile Transportation
For more details of our efforts in reaching out to the trucking industry and, in particular, the encouraging response from J. B. Hunt, see: An unexpected phone call from a trailer buyer with good news on underride guards
All in all, we are hopeful that the combination of calling for both more appropriate regulations through Vision Zero rulemaking and, at the same time, voluntary action will yield the desired result–SAVED LIVES. Together, we can do this!
Taking the Vision Zero Petition to DC on March 3 & 4! Sign & Share: Save Lives Not Dollars: Urge DOT to Adopt a Vision Zero Policy
