Hire Truckers Podcast

00:00 - 00:17
Jared Whitson: To your point, there's actual enforcement going on, probably a level that we haven't seen in in quite a while. And qualified is being redefined, and it's not just from a document that we have in our our manual or our policy book. It's it's more what's being enforced on the road.

00:33 - 00:44
Ginger Craddock: Jared, does America actually have a driver shortage, or do we have a shortage of qualified professional drivers?

00:45 - 01:33
Jared Whitson: Well, thank you, first of all, for for the time and the opportunity to to join you this afternoon, Ginger. I I am, excited excited to be here, excited about the next couple days at TCA, and there's nothing like starting a podcast, with an opening question like that, whether we have a driver shortage or or a shortage of of qualified professional drivers. I I don't I haven't really, and and I don't really buy into the the qualified driver shortage or, mean, I'm sorry, the overall driver shortage of the industry. I would lean to more of a it's a qualified driver, shortage in in the country. As a whole, we we issue plenty of CDLs every year.

01:35 - 02:03
Jared Whitson: The pipeline of licenses isn't necessarily the problem. It's all the specialized kind of niche services that this industry has. It's the know how part of that. And a lot of that kind of plays into this concept of professionalism, right? And so what we do is not always as simple as hooking up and getting from point a to point b.

02:03 - 02:20
Jared Whitson: There's a lot of nuances and a lot of challenges along the way. So my personal opinion is it's it's not an overall driver shortage, but it would very much lean to a qualification, qualified driver challenge.

02:21 - 03:14
Ginger Craddock: And I want to frame the next piece around the qualified professional driver. You shared something at last year's Call on Washington that has stayed with me all year as we step into this year. And, Jared, you're also over safety, and you guys do a lot of heavy haul specialized freight. And one of the conversations that came up last year was what happens at a railroad crossing when you've got one of those heavy loads and it's got arms that go down. Walk us through what that professional driver has to be thinking about as they approach the railroad crossing and know the arms are fixing to come down.

03:14 - 03:46
Ginger Craddock: They're surrounded by four lanes of this is my scenario going to the right Yeah. Is there's a railroad crossing. It's a thoroughfare from Austin to Houston. It is backed up on all four lanes both directions at that railroad crossing. So we've got a heavy haul load that knows that those arms are fixing to come down, what does that professional driver have to be thinking about safety wise?

03:47 - 04:31
Jared Whitson: Well, hopefully, he's not sitting on the tracks at that point in time, and, hopefully, he's or she is very much aware of the situation. But, you know, that there's a lot of challenges due to kind of profile of the trailer, what kind of clearance the the trailer itself has. There's also type of load that's that's being considered. If we're talking a heavy haul load, I mean, we're ideally, we're not we're not coming to a a a complete stop unless we have to. We wanna get across as as quickly but as safely as possible, but those are not quick crossings.

04:33 - 05:16
Jared Whitson: And so I I I think that there's a lot to be desired, if I'm being honest, in, getting these loads across, railroad crossings safely. And and, you know, in my mind and and been involved in a lot of conversations, and I think that we're, you know, at least from a discussion standpoint, making some some headway in this area. But I look forward to the day where, you know, through technology or through whatever that these issues really are no longer. I think that it exists. I think the possibility exists.

05:16 - 05:42
Jared Whitson: I think we're always gonna be subject to, making poor decisions and and that kind of stuff. But I think we could do a lot better in in regards to getting across, safely and and more consistently, than we do. But there's not a lot, other than than what you mentioned. I mean, the the lights come on, I mean, just like you driving in your your car. Right?

05:42 - 06:23
Jared Whitson: And you've got thirty, forty seconds, I believe, something like that, between the time the lights come on and the the arms fall, if there are arms. And, you know, that that's and can be an eternity for a passenger car. But for an oversized, overweight permitted, type of transport, that's that can be, that can be a challenge. So, you know, I I I guess that's what I would say to that. I'm sure that there's a lot of, you know, I've learned a lot just about, you know, from in regards to railroad crossings over the past couple years.

06:23 - 07:26
Jared Whitson: And, but there really is I mean, there's limited resources a driver has in that event. And, even from a response standpoint, that that blue ENS sign, we we actually did, sort of like a podcast, a Facebook Live or whatever with, James Payne from the FRA, a couple weeks ago, and we went through in-depth that ENS sign with the phone number and and what you're supposed to do and and call. And, so it it just I don't know, you know, other than the awareness aspect, and and I call them red zone scenarios. So sports term and and football, when you're in the inside the 20, you're in the red zone, but the the field is kinda more compact and and execution becomes more of a premium. The margin of error is much smaller.

07:26 - 07:45
Jared Whitson: So those railroad crossings, especially on oversized overweight loads, low profile loads, are very much one of those red zone scenarios where the execution just have has to be perfect, and and that's that's how we get across safely.

07:46 - 08:47
Ginger Craddock: Yeah. I was so impacted after I heard you explain that in one of the meetings that we were in last year and just how little clearance they have to get over the railroad crossing and then if they do have to come to a complete stop, how long it takes them to get going again and actually fully get that oversized load safely across the track. And in my scenario, as we head from Austin to the ranch, the other thing that makes that difficult is there's immediately a light. So there's probably not two and a half tractor load lengths between that light and the railroad crossing. And and so I really hear you in that driver's trying not to come to a complete stop, but then when you see how long those trains are, realistically, they have to.

08:47 - 09:35
Ginger Craddock: And so then going from a dead stop to also getting across and knowing the light's fixing to change on them again, it it re reframed my compassion and my respect for the professional driver and to your point, just what's required on the different types of loads that you're hauling. And so I really appreciate you unpacking that for us. So, Jared, you've spent roughly two decades in transportation and you've seen this industry from operations, risk, compliance and safety. Today, you're helping lead safety and compliance across Bennett family of companies. Before we get to Washington, I want you to give us your perspective.

09:36 - 09:45
Ginger Craddock: How has the definition of a truly qualified professional driver changed during your career?

09:45 - 10:04
Jared Whitson: I don't know that it's changed all that much. I think how we get there has changed a lot. Right? So I think at the end of the day, when I first started, it was very much a know how based kinda thing. I think it also depends on the operation.

10:04 - 10:41
Jared Whitson: I think, there's a lot of variables that that that go into this. But for the most part and I'm just gonna speak from us because we're a larger carrier or whatever. I think it is very much moved from or from just a a know how, kind of perspective and a and a valid CDL with a with a good enough MBR and a past physical, like, that is your basic stuff. Right? And as long as you could check those boxes off of a checklist and and throw them in a DQ file, then you're good to go kind of thing.

10:42 - 11:00
Jared Whitson: That is not where we are today. Today, it is verifications. It is very much a holistic perspective of the driver of the individual. You're talking about PSP inspection histories. You're talking about clearing house status.

11:00 - 11:34
Jared Whitson: You're talking about MVR patterns, verifications have been full and it DAC reports. You're talking about and then you get to the demonstrated skill on the actual equipment that they're gonna be operating. And so it is much more holistic approach today because of all the data that we have. And that's not in not even considering the telematics aspect and, and that kind of stuff. So very different.

11:35 - 12:00
Jared Whitson: Like I said, I think that I'm not naive enough to say that the operations don't exist today where that old kind of way of doing things still exists. I think absolutely they do. But I think for the major players, I think for those that are really trying to ensure that excellence throughout, I think that there's very much a different standard today than there was twenty years ago.

12:01 - 12:13
Ginger Craddock: Absolutely. Jared, where do you see the biggest gap between meeting the minimum regulatory requirement and actually being a safe professional driver?

12:14 - 12:34
Jared Whitson: Yeah. I think the minimums prove that you can operate the equipment one time on on a test day. I think at the, you know, at the end of the day, you know, you you've got a good MBR. You've got a good driving record. They don't they don't really say much about judgment.

12:36 - 13:25
Jared Whitson: They don't say much about actual driving performance over the course of time. And I mean, like, speed and space management things, fatigue decisions, knowing when to shut down, how to navigate specific weather conditions throughout the year. I think there's a you know, for for me, I I will say that for what we do, for our freight, I I would say the the largest gap or the widest is the widest in load securement and specialized handling. I think that those things, no CDL test covers chaining down an excavator or running a jeep and booster combination. It just doesn't exist.

13:26 - 13:55
Jared Whitson: And so for us, that's probably the biggest gap. Entry level training, the federal floor for the DOT I'm sorry, the entry level driver training materials. But the distance between that floor and the finished professional drivers is is it's something that I I truly believe experience really can only produce, not ours in a classroom. So

13:56 - 15:06
Ginger Craddock: Absolutely. And that saying of it's ten thousand hours to the expert, it doesn't matter what field we're talking about. When you start talking about these specialized heavy loads, you know, we're not only looking at health and safety for the driver, but also the community and all the things that are involved. I think as I've gotten into trucking, I thought I respected big commercial vehicles because of what my dad taught me. But man, the deeper I get into this industry, I realize as operating my personal vehicle, I have so much more that I can do on the road to demonstrate respect to these commercial drivers and in particular the oversized specialized loads because they literally are keeping the driving public safe for the things that in what I'm learning the driving public does out of ignorance that puts that driver, that load, and themselves in harm's way.

15:06 - 15:24
Ginger Craddock: Hiring CDL drivers isn't about more leads. It's about better ones. That's why serious carriers partner with Hire Truckers by Trucking Clicks. We don't sell ads. We bring clear strategy, straight talk, and a relentless focus on quality drivers.

15:25 - 16:04
Ginger Craddock: Even in a tough market, our clients see improved performance month over month by optimizing smarter and making every hiring dollar work harder. For honest insight, sharper targeting and results that you can trust, visit truckingclicks.com or call (512) 982-0816. Hire Truckers by Trucking Clicks. Clarity, courage, results. So I'd be curious to know what does Bennett look for beyond does this person have a CDL?

16:05 - 16:32
Jared Whitson: Yeah. So, I mean, hopefully hopefully, you're doing more than just the bare minimum in your investigation and and and things like that. But for us, for for me, it's really about pattern identification. It's not so much about checkboxes on paperwork. How does one event on a PSP coincide with some things that you're seeing on the MVR?

16:32 - 17:24
Jared Whitson: Or maybe a VOE where a driver was terminated for something specific that was listed. You know, it's it's very much a cross referencing exercise between all your resources, that that you obtained during the, during the process. Coachability, golly, I I have stressed this. And if you're you're looking at getting into the industry as a driver, that's where I would tell you to start is is just making sure that you go into it with with a mindset of I'm not perfect. I don't know everything, and there's technology that's that's in the industry now that's gonna be very blunt, and and showing me that I I have some areas to grow in.

17:26 - 17:47
Jared Whitson: And, you know, being able to to to take that feedback and turn it into something productive, like, I I think that that is one of the key elements to success in this industry right now as a driver. And and, you know, feedback's not always pleasant. You know? I think a lot of it is in delivery. You know, I think all of us agree to that no matter what job we're in.

17:47 - 18:15
Jared Whitson: Right? It it's sometimes feedback just not very fun. But I think that's one thing that that I would really point to is trying to identify whether or not someone's coachable or not. And then right fit for the freight, do they do they know what they're doing in in, you know, regarding this specific type of freight operation? What kind of experience do they have there?

18:15 - 18:30
Jared Whitson: What kind of know how do they have? That goes a long way. But again, the coachability, if we were looking at one thing just kind of universally, would be the one thing that I pointed to was the coachability aspect.

18:32 - 19:01
Ginger Craddock: Coachability is gold no matter what industry you're serving. And my observation in having been in business for multiple decades and being in the fourth quarter of my career is a pattern that I've seen is no matter what the industry, the longer a person has been in an industry, there can be a tendency to be less coachable.

19:02 - 19:02
Jared Whitson: Sure.

19:02 - 20:31
Ginger Craddock: And being coachable, in my observation is actually a personal skill. I think from my own lens, my own framework, my background before trucking was in education and banking. Both of those career paths were easier for me to master quickly than trucking has been. And then here I am doing trucking the fourth quarter of my professional life. And so the amount of humility that it has required on my part, I would say personally I've had to grow more in this fourth quarter because of the need to be coachable for a longer period of time before I even became even I hesitate to say expert but because in transportation we learn something new You every know and I'm hearing this from the people who've been in twenty, thirty, forty years and so just from my personal standpoint the humility that it's required for me to be coachable it hasn't been comfortable or easy like you're saying but man has it been exhilarating to grow with such competent professionals.

20:31 - 20:48
Ginger Craddock: I'm having the most fun ever, but it's required the most humility from me. So I think that frame of understanding, that's what we're asking drivers for, but we have to lead with that in our spheres of influence within the industry as well.

20:49 - 20:49
Jared Whitson: A 100%.

20:49 - 20:58
Ginger Craddock: Have you experienced that? Like, because you've you've been in for several decades and you're seeing these changes. What has it been for you as a leader?

20:59 - 21:30
Jared Whitson: Sometimes it's felt like hang on for dear life. Sometimes it's felt like you've got your feet under you. I think there's you know, the industry is is always changing from regular regulations to the economy, to new opportunities, to whatever. There's always something going on. And it does require a good bit of humility, and it will tend to humble you a lot at times.

21:31 - 22:01
Jared Whitson: And I think to your point, the older that we get, the easier it is or the tendency is to rely on what we think that we know. So, And putting that aside sometimes and and looking at something with a a blank canvas or or a clean slate is is, not always easy. But, I don't know. I would definitely experience the ups and downs over the twenty years.

22:01 - 22:54
Ginger Craddock: And and that really brings us to where we are in our conversations in the call on Washington. We're seeing stronger enforcement in 2026 across several fronts at the same time. Talking about that movement in the economy or in enforcement and so when you think about the English language proficiency, drug and alcohol enforcement, CDL integrity, you know the entry level driver training to the professional driver, medical qualifications, FMCSA oversight. When you think about all those buckets, when you put all those together, are we going through a reset in what it means to be qualified to operate a commercial vehicle in America?

22:55 - 23:39
Jared Whitson: If I had to say yes or no, would say yes. And I would throw in that it's probably long overdue, but I think, really, what's happening is that to your point, there's actual enforcement going on, and at probably a level that we haven't seen in quite a while. And qualified is being redefined. And it's not just from a document that we have in our manual or our policy book, it's more what's being enforced on the road. Those are two completely different conversations.

23:40 - 24:23
Jared Whitson: The Clearinghouse closed a huge loophole of a driver failing a drug test and then reappearing across town, for example. I mean, that's something that, as long as the, the original carrier is is following the rules that that can't happen. English English language proficiency, brought up enforcement, then the CDL integrity scrutiny are closing other gaps. And so carriers who are already doing it right, I don't know how much pain they're really feeling from this this reset. Like, but but the pain lands where the shortcuts were essentially.

24:23 - 24:52
Jared Whitson: The it lands on the people that that were taking the shortcuts. And and, honestly, in in my opinion, that's exactly the point. You know, our job as an industry is to support, you know, while, this kind of reset transitions and and while we go through it. And we you know, to an extent, it's our job to insist that it's administered fairly and consistently state to state. I mean, I feel passionately about that.

24:52 - 25:07
Jared Whitson: I think that's one of our biggest challenges as an industry is sometimes it feels like we have 50 different rule books. I know our drivers feel that pain, but it's our job to really advocate that, hey, these rules get enforced equally across all 50 states.

25:08 - 25:32
Ginger Craddock: Yes. And that's why I want to encourage Fleet leaders and executives out there listening to this episode, please join us and get involved. We're seeing an openness on Capitol Hill on both sides of the aisle. They want to hear from fleet professionals. They want to hear from professional drivers.

25:33 - 26:30
Ginger Craddock: Come join us in these conversations to make a difference. So thinking about the drug testing and thinking about what are we really willing to know, one of the numbers that stopped me when preparing for this call on Washington came from research that involved more than 88,000 commercial driver applicants who received both a urine test and a hair test. And these numbers just the gap between these two numbers just caused me to pause and ask some hard questions. So urinalysis identified four zero three positives. Hair testing identified four thousand three hundred and sixty two.

26:31 - 26:51
Ginger Craddock: Let that settle. Yeah. If we have a tool capable of identifying substantially more drug use among people applying for a safety sensitive job, do we have an obligation to use it? Jared, I didn't come with the easy questions.

26:51 - 26:57
Jared Whitson: Yeah. No. You didn't. Yeah. I mean, I've I've gotta say that there's an obligation to use it.

26:57 - 27:31
Jared Whitson: I I I think failing not or or failing to use it is more of a do we really wanna know the problem that we have or do we not, kind of question. But yeah. And and just to be clear, this is something that the industry has asked for for quite a while is the ability to use hair follicle testing. Are not easy questions. And there's always multiple sides to every one of these issues.

27:32 - 28:02
Jared Whitson: But yes, I mean, I think that if the testing is there or the capability is there that we should be putting process, procedure, whatever resources are needed to support it and to make sure that the industry is as clean as we can possibly make it, therefore as safe as we can possibly make it.

28:02 - 29:11
Ginger Craddock: So thinking about your point of in being fair to the drivers, we need things that are uniform state to state that are true across the nation. So that brings us to as we're thinking about this because these aren't aren't easy things to wrestle with and and years ago one of the pastors that I enjoy following actually Andy Stanley out of Georgia. He said the further away you are from decision or understanding something it's easier to think something is black and white yes or no. He said if you're actually accountable for making that decision and you understand the complexity of that decision you understand that there's much more to the conversation that needs to happen and that whatever the decision is, it's not a simple yes or no. And I thought that frame is really appropriate to this conversation.

29:12 - 29:44
Ginger Craddock: That first example of the question, if we have a tool capable of identifying this, that seems like a yes. Correct. But then when we dig into it and we're closer to the challenges of it, what you brought up is solid. So we want to think through those things thoughtfully and make sure that we're a part of the conversation as we work towards solutions.

29:45 - 30:01
Jared Whitson: There's a fairness aspect to that too. Mean, you can't hold one driver to a different standard than another driver or this company to a different standard than than this company. Sure. The pricing comes into play. Money always comes into play.

30:01 - 30:20
Jared Whitson: So the expense part of it. But there is definitely the fairness aspect to it. And, you know, so is it widely available? Is it gonna be an industry standard? Because I think that's what you're looking at with your analysis is well, it's a it's an industry it's established industry standard.

30:20 - 30:59
Jared Whitson: Right? So it's almost like you would have to say, okay, well, six months, a year, two years from now, this is the new industry standard and move the entire industry to it. That's not a small proposition, nor is it, you know, the easiest thing in the world to do, move anything through Washington or or or get something set up with a a rule making like that. But, and that that's not even considering whether or not the infrastructure and all of that stuff is there to support, hair follicle testing. So there's there's a lot that goes into that conversation.

30:59 - 31:12
Jared Whitson: I just and and I loved your I I love your analogy there. The closer you are to something, the the the more complex it gets because it's it's not always this black and white answer.

31:12 - 31:35
Ginger Craddock: I wanna move from those pieces that we've talked about to there are some safety tools out there and then the human side of safety which has kind of been threaded through what we're already talking about. So Jared, what can AI tell us about a driver today that a safety department may not have known ten years ago?

31:37 - 32:22
Jared Whitson: Yeah. So this one is this one's all about leading and lagging indicators. And what I mean by that, ten years ago, we managed completely by lagging indicators, things like crashes and claims, out of service violations shown on the MCMIS report, false reported duty status, being called at the the roadside inspections. And today, we have so many more tools and and resources available to kinda see that drift happen before the event actually takes place. And, you know, with with that comes the ability to really look at risk models.

32:24 - 33:16
Jared Whitson: And, obviously, there are certain, you know, there are certain things that no algorithm or or whatever is gonna take into account. So it's it's certainly not a fail proof, but it is much more, capable of trying to identify and and and hopefully provide opportunities for the driver to self correct prior to an event actually happening as long as we bring it to their attention and, whether it's through technology, whether it's through a coaching session, whatever. But, hopefully, get out in front of that, and and change the behavior before it results in the crash, the out of service violation, whatever that that is lost time, lost money, and worst case scenario, lost lives. Right? Like, that's, at the end of the day, what we're we're trying to prevent.

33:17 - 33:54
Jared Whitson: It's it's, again, back to the trend thing, you know, not only in the DQ file, but also looking at the telematics. And, you know, this thing is it it's not there's not an exact science to it. And and more times than not, like, there's a human element and a human aspect to to this as well. And this is important because people go through things in life. And and this concept that you go to work and you leave everything at home at home, and then you leave work, and you leave everything at work at work.

33:54 - 34:14
Jared Whitson: If you possess that power, more power to you. Like and and I have a great respect for you. But when you're when you're looking at somebody's driving performance, like, I I I think it's important that to look. They didn't just forget how to drive in the past thirty days. Like, something else is you know, something could be driving that.

34:14 - 34:41
Jared Whitson: Maybe not. But whether that's an issue with, with, they had a a bad interaction with one of your compliance people, or maybe they had a bad interaction with with an operations manager, or, maybe they got something going on at the house. And I think that's that's a huge challenge in understanding that, look. The numbers and and all these risk scores or whatever you wanna call them, are they effective? Yeah.

34:41 - 35:00
Jared Whitson: But you still have to approach this from a very human aspect and and understand that, hey. Let's try to solve at what what's at the root of this. And if it's if it's our business, and if not, then let's just be supportive and and and say, hey. Look. We we understand, but this has gotta be fixed.

35:00 - 35:15
Jared Whitson: Right? Like, we we can't have this behind the wheel of a CMV. So so I think that there's a lot that's that's changed in in all of that, but we have to maintain some type of human element to it.

35:15 - 36:27
Ginger Craddock: I could not agree more strongly with you. And I think the more we can think about the person in front of us as a human and know them relationally, the better we can serve them. The technology is a fascinating shift because I really appreciate your frame lead measure versus a lag measure you know so it is helping us identify some things earlier but it's not only identifying unsafe behavior it can also protect a professional driver who did the right thing. It's kind of on both sides but I have a personal lens from my 20s that gives me compassion for the commercial vehicle drivers that do this every day. I had to make an unexpected trip from Tennessee to Alabama because my younger brother had been involved in an automobile accident and they asked me to get there as quickly and safely as possible and I didn't know if my brother would be there when I got on the other end.

36:27 - 37:17
Ginger Craddock: And Jared, I put my five month old in my little two door car and I got from Tennessee to Alabama in an hour and a half faster than I should have, and I don't remember how I got there. And so I share that story because the real things that people are navigating, I didn't talk to anybody. I got in the car and I went to my family. And so your point is well made. These are men and women who really care about safety, who care about their jobs, but we never know what's going on in the background of their life and so I appreciate your frame around there.

37:18 - 37:31
Ginger Craddock: So how do we use technology to make a good driver better without making a good driver feel that they are constantly being watched for doing something wrong?

37:32 - 38:02
Jared Whitson: I think there's gotta be some positive in there. I think that that's probably the biggest key to that. I also think being reasonable and and being transparent and clear about what you're actually watching and how that impacts them so that everybody's on the same page is important. Kinda setting expectations and that kind of stuff. But I think if the only thing that you're looking for is the negative, then I think that that's that's gonna get pretty negative by default pretty quick.

38:02 - 38:16
Jared Whitson: Right? Like, I I I think that that's, the other thing. I also think that it's important that, you brought up the exoneration part. Right? I think it's important that you share some of those.

38:16 - 38:56
Jared Whitson: You might not share the video or you might not share the names of the drivers or whatever, but, man, when it works for you, like, let's let's let's make sure that we're we're communicating that. Because at the end of the day, that when we first started down this this path, that really was the core heart behind it was, hey. Let's make sure that our guys are fairly represented. And, you know, I don't think that we should lose that. Think that that, you know, you know, no matter what the the technology capabilities turn into, like, I think it should always be, hey.

38:56 - 39:18
Jared Whitson: Let's make sure that that our drivers and and we as carriers are represented fairly, first and foremost. Now if we make a mistake or we we make a poor decision, it's gonna be right there on the video. Like, we know what to do, and we know our responsibility in it. We're gonna we're gonna act responsibly in that. And I think that's important too.

39:18 - 40:17
Ginger Craddock: And it goes back to that very first core thread that you shared, the the being coachable. Yeah. And thinking about what is available in technology, what's available in my personal vehicle now versus what was available in my twenties, I would have been alerted before I got that far down the road and recognized oh my goodness!' So that's a great example of how the technology really can help the driver both personal vehicle and commercial vehicle recognize, 'Hey, pay attention here. Here's an opportunity to make a better decision.' So a responsible carrier is investing in the safety professionals, the driver training, the technology, the cameras and the telematics, the drug testing, the insurance, the maintenance, compliance and driver coaching. You know, the best fleets are making those investments both in time and resources.

40:18 - 40:28
Ginger Craddock: So, Jared, does the current marketplace adequately reward carriers that invest heavily in safety?

40:28 - 40:33
Jared Whitson: Again, you just throw in softballs at me today, Ginger.

40:34 - 40:37
Ginger Craddock: Because I have one of the best in the industry with me.

40:37 - 41:01
Jared Whitson: Yeah. I hear you. So the spot market rate is gonna be the spot market rate. And if a shipper wants the cheapest price, then they can they can go do that. It is it is a challenge that I don't know that that the industry has solved.

41:02 - 41:51
Jared Whitson: I know that the with the capacity tightening, rightfully so, then that's gonna move a a little bit of leverage on on rates. But there's always gonna be the cheapest guy out there. I mean, there just is. And so, I mean, my answer to that is typically no, but I do think that we have some long standing relationships with great customers that understand the value of a great safety culture, a great safety program, a great carrier with a lot of know how and a lot of special niches. Like, they there is a value to that, and it's something that they've experienced and that they don't hesitate to to stand behind.

41:51 - 42:41
Ginger Craddock: Absolutely. And not all carriers are created equal when it comes to safety, and I like how you connected it and delivering the freight safely, how you connected it to the client relationship but also relationship with the insurance carriers or the insurance providers. Because relationally, it should be a different business discussion with them as well. And we do need some reform in that area with the nuclear verdicts that are coming out. Should that penalize all of the good carriers or the ones that are being intentional about safety?

42:41 - 43:08
Ginger Craddock: So again, when we get closer to the decision it's not a quick yes or no and so all the things that you shared are super valuable. So as we wrap up here what's one thing that you wish every member of Congress understood about trucking before voting on legislation affecting this industry?

43:08 - 44:13
Jared Whitson: I would say that there's there's a lot of knowledgeable people, a lot of resources, a lot of smart people in this industry that can contribute towards those conversations and those answers or potential solutions and give a lot of insight on on what a real solution looks like. I would want them to just be encouraged to to use whatever means that they have to to establish those communication channels to really take the time and and just hear us out before you just vote along party lines or because so and so, you know, cosponsored a bill. Let's let's really have a a comprehensive discussion on what it means, how it's going to impact the industry, how it's going to impact real carriers, and more importantly than that, how it's going to impact real drivers.

44:13 - 45:13
Ginger Craddock: Absolutely. And I would say to our industry leaders and to our professional drivers who your point is well made, Jared, you know, we want to hear we want Washington DC to hear from fleets of all sizes and we want them to hear from drivers. And maybe know one thing and I hope this is true of our group this week I haven't seen our assigned group yet for this week but you know we had Bennett in our group last year who's a large carrier. I was there as a strategic vendor in the space. We had another large fleet there but then we also had professional driver of the year who actually runs a 14 truck fleet for a mega carrier and is an owner operator for them and runs 14 trucks.

45:13 - 45:58
Ginger Craddock: So to your point, them get the legislators on both sides of the aisle getting to hear from the spectrum that really represents our industry. So if you're out there no matter where you are in the spectrum, again please get involved. Come join us in these conversations. Your legislators do want to hear from you and that's the only way they're going to be able to make these decisions is if we participate in the conversation that we want them to hear. So Jared, we have a frame that these questions are not easy yes or no, that it's important to be at the table.

45:58 - 46:07
Ginger Craddock: These are complex decisions but I am gonna do rapid fire with you. So more regulation or better enforcement?

46:07 - 46:18
Jared Whitson: There are definitely things where I could see some regulation needed, but I'm gonna say better enforcement on that. I I I very much tend to be on that side of the the spectrum.

46:19 - 46:24
Ginger Craddock: More driver data or better use of data that we already have?

46:24 - 46:37
Jared Whitson: Better use. We are swimming in data. We've got so much data that until we until we maximize the use out of our current data, we have we have no reason to be asking for more at this point.

46:39 - 46:42
Ginger Craddock: Biggest safety opportunity from AI?

46:42 - 46:57
Jared Whitson: I'm gonna say scalability. You know, we can argue the the effectiveness of that scalability, but but I'm gonna say scalability and prioritization. That that's what I would I would throw out there.

46:58 - 47:00
Ginger Craddock: Biggest AI risk?

47:00 - 47:35
Jared Whitson: So you're sharing data, essentially with a third party. I think that that's there's definitely a data security aspect to that. And I think losing the human element of what we were kinda talking about earlier, I think that there's an aspect to that too that you have to keep an eye on. So one thing to to use it to execute a part of your program, it's a whole different story when you're relying on it to be your total program, if that makes sense.

47:36 - 47:40
Ginger Craddock: It does. One regulation you would modernize tomorrow.

47:41 - 47:56
Jared Whitson: I should've looked that one up. No. I actually have an answer for that. I would issue guidance regulate not guidance. I would actually clarify personal conveyance through regulation.

47:57 - 48:26
Jared Whitson: Right now, there's guidance, and it is probably one of the single most difficult things for a carrier to manage in the compliance world, is especially if it's a carrier of any any size. But I would I would ask that they actually put personal conveyance in the regulation with stipulations on when or or just remove it altogether, remove the guidance and and the availability of it.

48:27 - 48:34
Ginger Craddock: One thing every new CDL driver should understand before getting behind the wheel.

48:35 - 48:54
Jared Whitson: I would fall back to the coachability thing. There's going to be people that are looking at telematics data that have never driven a truck. There's gonna be people that are calling you saying, hey. You know, we we saw this. How are you how are you capable, and how are you able to respond to those scenarios?

48:55 - 49:24
Jared Whitson: I think that that I think that's important. And I would I would just say, hey. If you know that you can't handle those situations right out of the gate, then then I don't know that this is for you at this point, especially a carrier that has invested in that technology and so on and so forth. So certainly not pushing people away, but I do think that there needs to be a realistic approach to that on the front end.

49:26 - 49:32
Ginger Craddock: Absolutely. One thing every fleet executive should understand about their safety department.

49:33 - 49:55
Jared Whitson: That's another good one. I would say, intentionality doesn't mean really much of anything in the long run. You know, you make a decision that cost you a million dollars. It doesn't matter if your intentions were good or not at that point. Right?

49:56 - 50:46
Jared Whitson: But I I think it's important to know that that compliance work is certainly not attractive. It's it's a it's a job that is full of conflict constantly, and that it takes a certain type of person, a certain with a certain skill set to to execute on that and not completely just make a a a a crap storm every time they pick up the phone. And I think that, you know, more times than not, you know, we're not here to to make your life miserable, or to always be the people that say no. At the end of the day, our job is to to protect the company, to protect the motoring public, to make sure that our files are accurate. And there's a reason for that.

50:46 - 50:54
Ginger Craddock: Yeah. That that was I really appreciate how you painted the picture when you're at an incident and the things went right.

50:54 - 50:55
Jared Whitson: Yeah.

50:55 - 51:12
Ginger Craddock: So, Jared, when we come back to Washington five years from now, what needs to have changed for you to say we actually made trucking safer and made the profession better for the men and women behind the wheel?

51:12 - 51:48
Jared Whitson: We've talked about driver qualifications a lot. I would like to see more opportunity, more professional upskilling, whatever you want to call it, right, that brings skilled quality drivers into this industry. I mentioned the insurance piece. I think that that's something that I would want to see some kind of movement on, in the next five years, not just at a state local level, but but, some type of standard. Nobody's trying to shirk responsibility, but let's keep it reasonable.

51:48 - 51:59
Jared Whitson: And it should determine what state you get into an accident in that that determines your your liability exposure. I think that's that's one big one.

52:00 - 53:04
Ginger Craddock: I agree. This is the conversation that I hoped we would have, Not simply how we put more people behind the wheel, but how do we build an industry where the right people want to be behind the wheel, where great carriers can compete for those great professional drivers and where technology, regulation and enforcement help those professional drivers get home safely. Jared, thank you, thank you, thank you for the work that you're doing at Bennett and with the industry. I'm glad that we both get to be a part of the conversation on Capitol Hill of making our industry better. So if you've got value from this episode of the Hire Truckers Podcast, I encourage you to subscribe and follow along and join the conversation because your perspective and what you're doing for this industry, it matters.

53:04 - 53:14
Ginger Craddock: Come join us for the meaningful work that we get to do to level up our entire industry one conversation at a time.