And yet trucking companies and professional drivers are expected to complete their tasks on time and safely, amid this sea of unpredictability. How? Planning and emergency preparedness.

By Steve Vaughn, National Director of Field Operations for PrePass Safety Alliance, for American Trucker

Worker checking truck tyre

Prioritize planning

Planning requires you to decide: what you want to do, how you want to do it, and when you will do it. All that should be written down on your calendar. If you’ve done that planning for the upcoming winter conditions, you and your team should double-check the alternate routes and the additional parking locations now.

Part of preparing that reliable response is having good resources to turn to for accurate information. Every truck driver and every motor carrier dispatcher should have a list of phone numbers and websites for up-to-date reports on local weather, road closures, road construction and emergency notifications, such as during floods and storms.

Truck with mountains in background

HERE’S A GUIDE TO BEGIN BUILDING YOUR OWN LIST OF TOP PLANNING RESOURCES:

The weather

The National Weather Service is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information from the nearest National Weather Service office. Weather radios aren’t expensive, and some can be powered with a variety of sources.

Road closures

You can find out what road conditions are like in any state with Drive-Safely. Dial 511 from your cell phone for local road closures.

Road construction

Check your state DOT website for construction-related road closures and other delays.

Emergency notifications

Go to Ready.gov for severe weather alerts. You can also get emergency and disaster alerts from the website, delivered to your mobile device.

Always pull off the road and park in a safe location before checking websites or placing a phone call. Predictable responses and resources will help you meet the unpredictability of Mother Nature.

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