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Safety Starts Here
Safety is the highest priority at Jacobson Transportation Company, Inc. The safety of all drivers, personnel, customers, and other highway users is paramount. Safety will always be an integral part of operations and the policies, procedures and programs governing our business. The
safety program starts with top management and transcends every level of the company.
Safety protects our most important asset - our people
Jacobson Transportation obtained the highest safety rating available from the Department of Transportation, Satisfactory. Our current DOT chargeable rate is .20/million miles.
We have received the Iowa Motor Truck Association highest Safety Award for the past 9 years. We salute our professional drivers as Our Drivers Make the Difference.
Safety at JTC begins with ensuring only safe and qualified drivers are hired. Whether a company employee or
owner/operator, all drivers adhere to the same high standards for qualification. We go beyond the regulations in evaluating potential drivers. Character is of primary concern. An evaluation is made prohibiting anyone with felony convictions along with a thorough review of driving records, past employment stability, work records at previous jobs and reasons for leaving.
Each new driver attends an orientation prior to their first dispatch. The agenda is heavily weighted with
safety related topics: safety policy, alcohol and controlled substance policy,
safety bonus, DOT compliance, injury prevention (entering and exiting the cab, seat
belts, etc.), obeying the posted speed limit, roadside inspections, parking on
the road and shoulder, stopping distance, defensive driving, backing, winter driving,
accident prevention, preventing tractor and trailer theft, driver’s daily log,
and downloading safety lane.
Once on board, drivers’ safety performance is evaluated regularly through a formal review triggered by every accident and out-of-service roadside. We have created data bases that contain information on all accidents/incidents, roadside inspections and citations received by the driver. A
safety file is maintained on every driver containing copies of roadside inspections, citations, service failures and other overall performance documents. The content of these files is included in the review.
Daily dispatch plays a major role in the safety function. Fleet managers are constantly aware of driver’s available hours, allowing appointment times to be made, ensuring legal and safe pickup and delivery times. If circumstances arise during the transit of a load, appointment times are changed to allow for time needed.
We reward our safe drivers with a monetary performance bonus every 6 months. Our
safety program is designed to recognize accident free and safe drivers. Drivers are reviewed on their anniversary date with the company and presented awards for years of accident free driving. Besides a lapel pin denoting the number of years of accident free driving, drivers are presented with JTC belt buckles, watches and rings for various levels. In 2006 Jacobson established the
"Million Mile Club" to recognize drivers who drove a million accident free miles with Jacobson.
Safety meetings are held regularly throughout the year. In order to meet the needs of the increasing number of satellite fleets, we have added another
safety manager in order to perform site evaluations and safety meetings. Meeting agendas include accident prevention training, DOT regulations, sharing company data on accidents/incidents and
operational information.
Jacobson Transportation exercises a liberal open door policy and keeps the chain of communication open to our driver fleet. Our drivers are our
ambassadors and we value our drivers’ opinions and recommendations to improve our safety and quality customer service.
We provide top of the line, modern conventional power units equipped with satellite communications units and maintain a quality maintenance program for all equipment.
We provide a Driver Friendly Safety Department, which is always ready to assist our drivers and to answer questions, 24 hours a day.
At Jacobson Transportation, we are a team and we count on each other in obtaining our safety goals and providing customer service second to none in the industry.
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