Meet Joe Kizaur, Ruan's Dedicated Operations Safety Leader, who has played a vital role in advancing our culture of safety over the past 13 years. Starting as a Safety Manager within our Gas and Chemical business unit, Joe has grown into a leadership role where he supports a team of Safety Managers and Driver Safety Instructors across the organization. With his expertise in safety management and passion for protecting our drivers and the motoring public, Joe plays a key part in shaping and reinforcing Ruan's unwavering commitment to safety. As we recognize Distracted Driving Awareness Month, Joe shares how Ruan integrates safety-focused practices into every aspect of our operations, from training and technology to company-wide support for distraction-free driving.
Q: What does Distracted Driving Awareness Month mean to Ruan, and how does it align with the company's Guiding Principle of Safety Focus?
We know that according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving accounted for 14% of all traffic-related fatalities in 2024. Ruan's Guiding Principle of Safety Focus means that we view everything we do through the lens of safety. For Ruan, Distracted Driving Awareness Month highlights our commitment to operating a vehicle in a manner that allows the operator to focus on the immediate task- driving the vehicle safely.
Ruan's safety policies clearly state that while operating a vehicle for Ruan, employees must not engage in any activity that materially impacts their ability to focus on their primary task of driving safely. Team members must be mindful of any activities or conditions that may lead to distracted driving. Eliminating distractions while driving dramatically increases the driver's ability to avoid accidents.
Q: How does Ruan's safety team use data and incident reporting to track trends and proactively prevent distracted driving?
The primary data source used by the safety team to prevent distracted driving is provided by our video safety program in all company-owned or operated vehicles. These devices collect information on events and behaviors like hard braking, following too closely, and lane departures that help us determine what type of distractions in the cab may have led to these events. The distractions fall into one of three categories:
- Visual distractions that cause you to take your eyes away from the road.
- Manual distractions that cause you to remove your hand from the wheel.
- Cognitive distractions that take your mind off driving.
Once the distraction(s) are identified, the safety team and the operations leader coach the driver to eliminate the distraction and may provide additional training to reinforce why distraction-free driving is important for their safety and the safety of those around them.
Q: Can you walk us through how Ruan integrates distracted driving awareness into its ongoing driver training and onboarding processes?
Distracted driving awareness is woven into new driver training, primarily through introducing Ruan's proprietary safety program, the Megasafe7 Rules for Safe Driving. These seven rules provide the backbone of our safety program and highlight the importance of preparing to drive. Additionally, our safety policies address activities in trucks that may become distracting, like talking hands-free on a cell phone or eating, and those activities that are always distracting and never allowed, like texting or watching videos.
Distracted driving continues to be a focus in our safety training. The safety team also conducts check rides, observations, and safety lane events with drivers in their office, the yard, or the truck, to encourage distraction-free driving by providing tips, suggestions, and training events focused on staying alert. Things like proper trip planning, eating before you leave, or taking a lunch break can help avoid in-cab distractions.
Q: How are non-driving employees at Ruan, like dispatchers or operations managers, encouraged to help drivers avoid distractions?
Non-driving employees who interact with drivers are encouraged to use company-approved communication tools designed to minimize distractions. Directly calling or texting drivers while they are on the road can increase the risk of distraction. Most people have witnessed a driver glancing at their phone while driving, and some may have even experienced close calls due to this behavior, like drifting onto the shoulder, missing an exit, or nearly causing a collision. The urge to check a message or answer a call can be strong, even when it's unsafe or against regulations.
To help mitigate this, employees are encouraged to check whether a vehicle is in motion before reaching out, using tools provided by the company. These systems also offer a way for operations staff to send messages to drivers through dedicated in-cab platforms that convert written messages to speech, creating a one-touch, safer line of communication between the road and the office.
Q: Can you share a recent success story in which Ruan's safety initiatives directly prevented a distracted driving incident?
Although it is hard to identify a specific event, Ruan's commitment to our video safety program and the Detroit Assurance Module technology now deployed in Ruan trucks has provided many opportunities to alert drivers to distracted driving behaviors through forward-facing radar, the lane departure system, and voice/audio alerts that work to keep drivers focused on the road ahead. Our video safety technology may recognize distracting behaviors in the cab, can remind drivers to modify this behavior in real-time, and provides an opportunity for managers to coach the behavior.
Q: Looking ahead, what new tools or strategies is Ruan exploring to reduce distractions further and elevate its safety culture?
A significant focus area for Ruan moving forward is reducing task saturation in the cab. New technologies have increased the amount of feedback the driver receives while driving, including things like automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane departure, speed alarms, etc., that were not explicitly designed to address distracted driving but do perform an important role to intervene or warn a driver that is not focused on the road. This is a good thing, but all the associated alarms and warnings in the cab can also create a distracting environment for the driver. Ruan is investigating technology to manage these systems in the cab better so that the driver can reduce distractions.