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With a perfect written exam score, a solid pre-trip inspection and a 265 out of 300 on his road skills, Ralph Hamilton of Old Dominion Freight Line clinched his Grand Champion title at the South Carolina Truck Driving Championships.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is focused on improving infrastructure and creating common-sense regulations, and open communication with the trucking industry enhances the government’s efforts.

The National Council on Compensation Insurance last year reclassified workers’ compensation codes for motor carriers, a move that somewhat “blurred the lines” between over-the-road truck drivers and the city-local drivers who are home every night, said Sam Tucker, CEO of Carrier Risk Solutions.

Whether truck drivers are classified as employees or independent contractors is becoming an increasingly difficult challenge for many motor carriers when it comes to workers’ compensation and other insurance coverages, industry experts said.

An aging workforce of drivers is elevating the risk of workers’ compensation claims for fleets even as trucking companies are seeing stable or even lower premiums for workers’ compensation insurance, industry experts said.

After recent hurricanes destroyed transportation corridors in the Southeast part of the country, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Democrats on Capitol Hill ramped up their calls for rebuilding infrastructure that would be far more resilient.

Law enforcement personnel will be on the prowl for bad behavior by commercial vehicle and passenger drivers on the nation’s roadways, including a special focus on speeding, during this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week event scheduled for July 14-20.

Photos from the Tennessee Truck Driving Championships in Antioch, Tenn., April 26-27, 2019. (Tennessee Trucking Association)

Photos from the South Carolina Truck Driving Championships in Columbia, S.C., May 3-4, 2019.

Last year’s Wisconsin Truck Driving Championships Grand Champion win by XPO Logistics’ Jeff Langenhahn was said to be a “family affair” due to his dedicated practice time with his wife and children. This year, the Wisconsin Motor Carriers Association is taking the role that family plays in drivers’ success to heart with the addition of a Family Fun Zone.