Arkansas Trucking Association

David O’Neal has been named the director of safety services of the Arkansas Trucking Association after the

Arkansas Highway Commission awarded the association with funds from the Arkansas Commerical Truck Safety and Education Program (ACTSEP) to promote safety on Arkansas roadways.

O'Neal will serve as a liaison with the FMCSA, Arkansas Highway Police, OSHA and other regulatory bodies.

He will also provide safety and regulatory expertise for ATA members and to all carriers operating in Arkansas. He will oversee industry training and spearhead the 'Share the Road' and 'Arkansas Road Team' programs.

A native Arkansan, O'Neal joins ATA after a 19 year career at FedEx, serving most recently as the Managing Director of Safety at FedEx Ground in Pittsburgh, Pa.  In this role, David established the strategic direction for the company's safety initiatives and led a 120-person department.  During his tenure, FedEx Ground was awarded the American Trucking Associations' President's Safety Trophy in recognition of the company's superior safety programs and commitment to industry-wide promotion of highway safety.

O'Neal has also held leadership roles in FedEx's truck driving championship program, as well as the creation of education platforms for the growth and development of employees. O'Neal's multiple industry associations include the Safety Management Council of the American Trucking Associations and inaugural membership on the Arkansas Trucking Association's 40 Under 40 Council.    

ATA President Shannon Newton said, "We are grateful to gain a resource like David and to find shared goals and cooperation with the Highway Commission to promote safety for all those operating on Arkansas highways."  

ATA also hired Cara Speegle as the new executive assistant in July. Speegle is a recent graduate of Harding University with a BA in English.

The Arkansas Trucking Association-sponsored program is a public education service made possible through the Arkansas Commercial Truck Safety Education Program. It is designed to address highway safety and to educate the public on safe driving, especially near large commercial vehicles.

Arkansas Road Team Captains will be trained for speaking to media, schools and lawmakers about their passion and expertise in the field. They will also appear at industry events like the ATA annual conference and state trucking conference and state trucking championship to reinforce safety values.

Arkansas Road Team Captains will be available upon reasonable request to conduct Share the Road demonstrations, safety best practices, industry promotion, and a variety of other topics.

The Arkansas Road Team nomination process is open until Aug. 31. Contact David O’Neal at 501.372.3462 or davidoneal@arkansastrucking.com for more information about nominating a driver to represent your company and the industry as a Road Team Captain.

The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) is pleased to announce a formal partnership with the Arkansas Trucking Association (ATA) to promote the new inGauge™ Online Performance Benchmarking Service to ATA members. The inGauge™ service was formally launched September 1_^st and has quickly caught the attention of the trucking industry.

inGauge™ allows motor carriers and their employees to anonymously compare their operational results on approximately 15–30 performance metrics against a chosen peer group, and share best practice knowledge to enhance future results. The service is available on a monthly subscription basis with no annual commitment.

“A strong association is built with strong members,” stated Shannon Newton, President of ATA. “We are pleased to support this initiative that seeks to enhance the performance of our members. Evaluating against past performance is important, but being able to compare results to other well-managed motor carriers will help to eliminate status quo in a company, as well as validate macro trends that other companies have experienced.”

In addition to quantitative results, the service will provide the results of monthly qualitative surveys on a dedicated Best Practices Dashboard. This feature will help to translate specific strategic and operational decisions into improved bottom line results.

“Benchmarking, both external and internal, is crucial to the positive long term performance of motor carriers. inGauge™ leverages the data and knowledge we have gained through our successful Benchmarking groups over the past 13 years,” added Debbie Sparks, VP of TCA. “We are pleased to be able to deliver this valuable and sophisticated tool to ATA members.”

Regular online webinars will be conducted for ATA members, as well as personal online demonstrations as requested. For those interested in a personal online demonstration, please go to www.tcaingauge.com/online-demo-request/ and register. ATA has published a calendar of scheduled group webinars accessible via the following link: http://tcaingauge.com/

Dave Hall and Loren Hatfield, both of ABF Freight, each placed second in their respective divisions at the 2015 National Truck Driving Championships. Hall and Hatfield joined 429 other professional truck drivers in St. Louis, Mo., August 11–14 to compete in the annual “Super Bowl of Safety” sponsored by the American Trucking Associations.

The 431 contestants represented all 50 states and 85 different companies.Arkansas sent 9 competitors, each representing an Arkansas Trucking Championship winner from 7 different companies. The event spanned four days with contestants tested on their knowledge of safety, equipment and the industry. The championship includes an obstacle course testing competitors’ skill of real life driving situations.

According to David O’ Neal, director of safety services at the Arkansas Trucking Association, "Arkansas should be very proud of Dave and Loren. They represented their company, state and industry professionally and positively all week. They both worked really hard for this accomplishment and are deserving of this national honor."

Hall won the grand champion title at the 2015 Arkansas Trucking Championship in June, finishing with the highest score in the 4-Axle class. He has worked in the industry for 28 years with over 2 million lifetime safe driving miles. He resides in Austin, Ark. with his wife Eileen and children David (17), Zachary (16) and Madison (13). A two- time winner, Hall also placed 6th at the national championships in 2008.

Hatfield has worked for ABF Freight for 16 years and holds a no-accident record over the course of 21 years in the industry. He has received a 10 year safety award and numerous other safety and performance awards from his employer. Hatfield volunteers for the Jr. League of Little Rock and currently serves as a Captain on the America’s Road Team as well as on the ABF Road Team. He and his wife Tammy live in Maumelle, Ark. They have two children: Jeff (25) and Skylar (20). Hatfield has competed in the state-level truck driving event since 2004, finishing 1st in the Flatbed division in both 2013 and 2014. Over his years of competition he has also placed in Twins and Tank divisions, earning the state grand champion title in 2009 and 2013.

"The industry is safer than it has ever been because of the professional drivers who commit to safety and take such pride in their jobs. All the competitors who took part in the National Truck Driving Championships are the best of what truck driving has to offer," Arkansas Trucking Association President Shannon Newton said. "And it is an honor to have so much Arkansas talent, skill and professionalism representing the industry.