Mid-Year Meeting Minutes

Date: September 3, 2003, Wednesday
Time: 2:00-4:30 p.m.
Place: Keck Center, Room 105, 500 5th St, NW, Washington, D.C.

Attendance

In-Person
- Michael Belzer, Chair, Wayne State University
- Brenda Lantz, Secretary, North Dakota State University
- Elaine King, TRB Staff
- Rebecca Brewster, American Transportation Research Institute
- Tina Casgar, Global Insight
- Bob Clarke, Truck Manufacturer's Association
- Michael Conyngham, International Brotherhood of Teamsters
- Lee Husting, National Institute Occupational Safety & Health
- Tim Lynch, Motor Freight Carriers Association
- Mary Powers-King, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
- John Siebert, OOIDA Foundation, Inc.
Via Conference Call
- Alan Clayton, University of Manitoba
- Don Jauquet, Schneider National, Inc.
- Dan Rodriguez, University of North Carolina
- Pete Swan, Pennsylvania State University

Agenda

Discussion of the Minutes from January 2003 Annual Meeting.
- Stand approved as submitted
Distribution of Committee Roster.
- Additional Members? Especially from more sectors of the industry. (No limit on number of task force members)
- New Member - Joel Anderson, CA Trucking Assoc.
- ACTION: E-mail any suggestions for members to Mike
- ACTION: Alan Clayton will suggest some nominees from Canada
Distribution of list of TRB trucking-related activities and publications prepared by Elaine King.
- The web link for this is: http://gulliver.trb.org/publications/Truck-Activities-Publications.pdf
- Use as handout at session / booth?
Discussion of plans for January 2004 meeting.
- Joint session with Truck and Bus Safety committee
  - Panel discussion
    - List of possible presentations (Ron Knipling had suggested Partners in Compliance program in Alberta, and also Gene Bergoffen, who wrote the safety certification of a TRB synthesis report) - benchmarking, self-regulation
    - Panel discussion to follow-up / react to presentations
  - Target specific individuals to attend and/or make presentations
    - New VP for Safety at Schneider National?
    - Partners in Compliance (Roger Clarke, Alberta)? - NPTC is also involved, copying the Australian plan
    - Mike suggested Mike Quinlan from Australia
  - Discussion of how to get people to attend / participate
    - Panel discussion - industry reactions
    - Topics of practical interest - "focused applicability" to specific industry segments
  - Topics to be covered:
    - Safety - what have implemented that has greatest effect?
    - Cost of insurance issue
      - Alberta "Carrier Rating and Insurance" session at Oct. meeting (Alan Clayton)
      - Central Analysis Bureau (research arm for insurance industry)
    - Ability to benchmark against information not already available
      - Operating costs
      - Workmen's compensation
      - Problems with extracting / entering data - (Lee Husting said that NIOSH is just starting to work on project to reduce truck collisions and may be able to help fund data collection.)
  - ACTION: Ron Knipling, Tim Lynch, Lee Husting volunteered to help coordinate. NOTE: all session information including confirmed speakers must be completed and submitted to TRB by Oct. 1st - who will lead this effort?
- Preferred schedule: two sessions and task force meeting all on the same day, Monday or Tuesday.
- Publicize to industry: Rebecca Brewster and others recommend a special announcement that can be sent out to industry people who might not ordinarily come to TRB.
- ACTION: Task force members should provide e-mail lists to whom an announcement can be distributed. Elaine King will help to develop a one-page flyer.
Idea of co-sponsoring a session with A1B06 regarding "demand management."
- Factors causing warehouses to locate inland? (Pete Swan chair of A1B06 is developing the session).
- Group agreed it is better to focus on two sessions on the safety, insurance, etc. topics that will appeal to trucking industry and be a good draw, so the task force will not cosponsor this session.
- It is a topic of interest to the Teamsters.
- Better for mid-year meeting?
Distribution and discussion of Task Force mission and scope.
- Should focus on this scope, and perhaps narrow to just "operations"
- Reminder that the task force was created for a three-year term, ending January 31, 2005
Plans for 2004 Mid-Year meeting / event(s) / industry outreach session(s).
- Idea of holding a session / having a booth to discuss TRB and research agenda in conjunction with:
  - ATA Meeting (Oct. 19-22) (Rebecca Brewster indicated that it's probably too late to plan for this year; cost for exhibit booth is several thousand dollars)
  - Major truck shows (possibilities include CA in Anaheim, Sept. 2004, or Dallas, TX. Others in Atlanta and Louisville)
- ACTION: Mike will appoint a steering committee to coordinate - volunteer now or Mike may volunteer you!
- ACTION: Pick a focus area - perhaps related to NIOSH and/or insurance issue?
  - Topic: health & safety and business impact
- ACTION: Pick one or two industry venues such as truck show or state trucking association meeting and work with those organizations on how to piggyback on their meetings. Logistics need to be coordinated. It is not too soon to make these contacts.
- Build on discussion from January session(s)
- Need to decide priorities in terms of outreach efforts
- How to present examples practical research information that can help to encourage industry to suggest topics of interest to them.
- There was also discussion about the potential benefits for the task force to meet in conjunction with the large TRB midyear meeting on planning, economics, freight, etc. This is a good outreach and educational opportunity with public sector officials (federal, state, and MPO), but it was decided that the higher priority for the task force next year is to focus on industry outreach.
The meeting adjourned at 4:15 p.m.