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14 > One puzzle piece at a time:
Robert Morris and ‘Fiona’
increase autism awareness
with eye-catching custompainted
inspirational truck
10 > On Trucking
22 > Puzzle
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ATRI study shows increase in ‘nuclear
verdicts’ while higher insurance
premiums are included in INVEST Act
By Cliff Abbott
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic drove freight rates
to unprofitable levels for most carriers, truckers were
stressed by the rising cost of insurance.
A recent study by the American Transportation Research Institute
(ATRI), released June 23, points to increasing amounts awarded
by juries in trucking-litigation cases as a cause of rising rates.
After studying detailed information about 600 cases between 2006
and 2019, the organization determined that jury verdict awards
A recent study by the American Transportation Research Institute
(ATRI) points to increasing amounts awarded by juries in trucking-litigation
cases as a cause of rising insurance rates. Additionally, the INVEST
in America Act contains a provision that states that motor carriers must
carry $2 million in liability insurance. The House has advanced the bill as
of press time. (iStock Photo)
against trucking companies had grown at a rate of 51.7% per year,
compared to an annual standard inflation rate growth of 1.7%.
Citing information received in a survey it conducted, ATRI
noted that liability insurance premiums have increased at a similar
pace — 35% to 40% for carriers deemed an “average-to-marginal”
risk — and that increases of those amounts have occurred for
three consecutive years.
During recent protests in Washington,
D.C., and elsewhere by small-business
truckers, rising insurance rates were listed
by many participants as an issue the government
should address. Larger carriers, including
the 4,000-employee Celadon, have
also cited high insurance costs as a reason
for economic troubles.
In 2019, ATRI’s Research Advisory
Committee identified so-called “nuclear
verdicts” against the trucking industry
as the highest research priority
for the group. The results released last month
are the initial result of a continuing study.
As part of its research, ATRI interviewed
and surveyed attorneys from both sides of
litigation cases, as well as insurance and
motor-carrier experts. The study contained
recommendations for pretrial strategies
and mediation approaches designed to help
avoid large posttrial verdicts.
“Runaway verdicts are increasing in both size
and numbers,” said Clay Porter, Partner at Porter
Rennie Woodard and Kendall. “This study
documents a frequency in excessive awards
that, while not surprising, tells us that the trial
system has gotten completely offtrack. Foundational
changes are needed in the way we determine
noneconomic and punitive damages.”
Another attorney, Rob Moseley with
Moseley Marcinak Law Group, said, “ATRI’s
research on litigation provides important
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guidance on leveling the playing field between truckers and trial
lawyers, both in and outside of the courtroom.”
The ATRI study breaks down jury verdicts by criteria such as
number of deaths, crash type, violations and even whether children
were involved. The statistics were used to develop average
award amounts for each category, enabling attorneys to better predict
jury awards in individual cases.
A geographic analysis showed disparity between states in verdicts
between plaintiffs and defendants. One example provided
showed the defense winning 92.3% of cases in Alabama, while
plaintiffs won 97.1% of cases tried in California.
While it could be easy to assume ATRI’s results clearly show
that some states are more favorable for litigation than others, it’s
important to remember that the overall numbers of cases in the
study are relatively small. Still, attorneys seeking the most favorable
locations for their clients will surely pay attention.
Another factor impacting jury awards, according to the study,
is something called “litigation finance.” Although relatively unknown,
the practice is rapidly expanding. Under litigation finance,
a third party provides cash to one of the parties involved in a legal
claim, such as a plaintiff or law firm. Repayment to the lender
is made once a verdict or settlement is reached. An attorney, for
example, might be able to develop a much stronger case with the
capital to pay a team of investigators prior to trial.
One legal firm that claims to specialize in litigating truck crash
cases, Ohio-based Leizerman & Young, posted a scathing reply to the
ATRI study on its website, truckaccidents.com. In the response, the
firm claims that the ATRI study is flawed and that, through ATRI, “the
trucking industry attempts to avoid responsibility for misconduct.”
The Leizerman & Young piece points to large jury awards in two
2018 cases in Upshur County, Texas, claiming that awards of $100
million and $260 million skewed the data, making the overall rise in
jury awards appear much worse than it actually was. Leizerman &
Young’s response also noted that posttrial motions that often result
in a reduction of the awarded amount, usually by agreed settlement.
The ATRI study also reported that carrier size plays a part in
insurance cost. A table included in the study showed that carriers
with more than 1,000 trucks reported paying less than 5 cents per
mile for liability coverage, while those with four or fewer trucks
paid more than three times that amount at 16.5 cents per mile.
A November 2019 blog post from Willis Towers Watson, a global advisory
and insurance-brokering firm with 45,000 employees, predicted
the rise in insurance rates before the ATRI study. “In liability lines, the
losses of yesterday are paid for tomorrow,” the blog stated. “General liability
is starting to show signs of distress due to loss severity.”
The Willis Towers Watson blog points to “social inflation” as a
cause of increased jury awards. “The key characteristics [of social
inflation] include a trend to hold corporations and other organizations
responsible to a much greater degree for their actions
— sometimes for actions in the distant past,” the blog concluded.
The blog also cited rising health care costs, and longer life
spans, as factors in larger jury awards.
Meanwhile, the House passed the INVEST in America Act.
Those interested in repairing the country’s infrastructure were
dismayed to learn that an amendment to the act increases minimum
financial responsibility levels from $750,000 to $2 million.
The amendment was proposed by Rep. Jesus G. “Chuy” Garcia (D-
Illinois) and passed the committee by a vote of 37-27 on June 17.
The amendment prompted the Owner-Operator Independent
Drivers Association (OOIDA) to pull its support of the bill,
saying the amendment was a “poison pill” for its membership. At
the same time, American Trucking Associations (ATA), an organization
comprised of mostly larger carriers, announced its support.
More recently, Rep. Mike Bost (R-Illinois) introduced an
amendment that would strip the requirement for the increase in
financial responsibility levels from the act. Bost is a former trucker
himself, and drove for his family’s trucking business before moving
into a management position.
OOIDA quickly announced its support for this new amendment;
however, gaining acceptance through the Democrat-majority committee
was an uphill battle and the amendment was not included in
the final version of the INVEST Act, which is part of the Moving Forward
Act. The Moving Forward Act was approved by the House July
1 and passed to the Senate, where it will likely face strong opposition.
Opponents of the bill complain that only $300 billion of the
$1.5 trillion cost of the bill is earmarked for repair of bridges and
roads, while huge amounts are slated for increasing the availability
of broadband and for “green” initiatives, including $25 billion
for the U.S. Postal Service to, among other goals, develop a “zero
emissions” fleet of vehicles.
Election years typically bode well for infrastructure bills; however,
Congress has already spent lavishly to stimulate the economy during
the COVID-19 crisis while suffering a sharp decline in tax revenues.
The idea of taking on another $1.5 trillion in debt may be unpalatable
to conservative members of Congress, and President Trump has not
indicated whether he will sign the bill in its current form.
For now, the road remains bumpy — both literally and figuratively
— for small-business truckers who are trying to cope with
rising insurance rates along with the other problems of the year
2020.
12
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One puzzle piece at a time: Robert Morris and
‘Fiona’ increase autism awareness with eye-catching
custom-painted inspirational truck
By Kris Rutherford
Robert Morris has a lot of women in his life.
“I live with seven females,” he said. “There’s my wife, twin
daughters Amber and Summer (19), and three other daughters,
Hayley (15), Emily (13), Caydence (7) — plus the dog.”
Then there’s “Fiona,” the 2018 Peterbilt Morris drives for CDJ Bulk
Express, based in West Columbia, South Carolina.
As for Morris, a lot of years passed between the first time he took the
wheel of a tractor-trailer and Fiona’s arrival.
Growing up below the wheel
“I’m a 16-year driver with 38 years of experience,” Morris said with
a laugh.
Like several drivers we’ve met from the days before a truckdriving
job required a commercial driver’s license (CDL), Morris
got into the business at an early age. Then again, for kids like
Morris growing up in Southern regions like Carroll County,
Georgia, learning to drive before they could reach the brake pedals
wasn’t unusual. Of course, most kids didn’t start out with an 18-wheeler.
“My grandfather and father both drove trucks,” said Morris, who today
lives in Villa Rica, Georgia.
“I remember my grandfather’s first truck,” he said. “My grandfather
had a K-100 cabover. It was the first truck I ever sat in.” It was also the
first truck he ever drove.
“I must have been 10 or 11,” he said. “We were traveling some empty
road in Texas.”
Morris’s grandfather told him to sit on his lap and trying steering the
truck. The next thing Morris knew, he was sitting alone in the driver’s
seat; his grandfather had slipped to the passenger side.
“I don’t know how far I drove,” Morris said. “It may have been a quarter-mile,
but to me it felt like a hundred miles.
“At some point, my grandfather offered a little training,” he continued.
“He pointed to the white line on the shoulder and said, ‘Don’t cross
it.’ Then he pointed to the dashed line and said, ‘Don’t cross it.’ After that,
as far as I know, he slipped off into a nap.”
Trucking without a booster seat
Despite the family tradition, Morris didn’t rush into a professional
truck-driving job. He spent a few years working in the HVAC business
before taking a step toward driving a truck.
“I worked as a driver’s helper, distributing food products to all Burger
King franchises in the Southeast,” Morris said. When the company
created an in-house CDL training program, Morris jumped in with
both feet.
“It was a great setup,” Morris said. “I was riding in the truck, so I just
as well could have been getting hours behind the wheel. After six weeks,
I had the supervised experience I needed to take the CDL test.”
After Morris received his CDL, he drove for five years before becoming
a trainer himself. “I rode with 24 trainees,” he said. “As far as I know,
all 24 are still on the road today.”
Morris says truck driving is an occupation almost tailor-made for
him.
“I don’t like working inside, and I really don’t like working with a
lot of people,” he said. Those preferences lead to Morris hauling a lot of
specialty freight, something other drivers try to avoid. He’s worked as an
OTR driver but prefers driving for a small carrier like CDJ Bulk Express.
“When CDJ buys a new truck, the company encourages the driver to
come up with a unique color scheme or wrap, and the company pays for
customization,” he said.
“When I got my truck, I wanted something different,” he continued.
“The trucks arrive green, and a lot of drivers just add some black or
white. But the company wants us to take ‘ownership’ of our trucks, so I
kept looking for something unique.”
Morris’ wife, Tiffany, works as a special-education teacher at a day
care. When the son of one of her co-workers was diagnosed with highfunctioning
autism, Morris said the issue of autism awareness intrigued
him.
“The NFL and NASCAR have autism-awareness weeks,” Morris said.
“I liked the idea. I showed the graphics guy the colored puzzle pieces
symbolizing autism awareness. He took my idea to a whole new level.
The wrap he put on is 3D.”
Driving ‘Fiona’
“The hood looks like it’s ‘puffing’ out as you walk by. People can’t help
but touch it. I’ve posed for a lot of photos with Fiona,” Morris said.
But where did the name come from?
“My last truck was green, and I called it ‘The Incredible Hulk,’” Morris
said. “When the kids’ movie ‘Shrek’ came out, Fiona was the ogre’s
girlfriend. The guys started calling (The Incredible Hulk) ‘Fiona’ instead.”
With a new green truck, Morris decided to beat them to the punch.
Plus, he said, “Fiona” is a good name.
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Robert Morris said that when the company he works for, CDJ Bulk Express,
purchases a new truck the company encourages the driver to come up
with a unique color scheme or wrap. His wife, Tiffany, works as a specialeducation
teacher at a day care. When the son of one of her co-workers
was diagnosed with high-functioning autism, Morris said autism awareness
intrigued him. (Photos courtesy of Robert Morris)
“Drivers like naming parts of their trucks,” Morris
said. “Fiona has twin stacks — there’s Becky and then
there’s Bill.’”
You’ve got to give Morris a break, after all. With all
those women around, it’s only fair he has an exhaust stack
on his side.
Morris said he hopes Fiona’s autism-awareness theme
helps people understand the struggles different families
face.
“My first introduction to autism (was) a family at
church who had a son on the spectrum. He was nonverbal,
with sensory issues,” Morris said. For Morris, meeting
and watching the youngster was an education in itself.
“One day he had what other folks called a ‘temper
tantrum,’” Morris said. “But it wasn’t a tantrum; it was a
full-fledged meltdown. I could see his family was really
struggling.” It turned out the wind had blown the youngster’s
hair a direction he didn’t like, and he experienced
sensory overload.
“Part of Fiona’s message is, ‘Don’t judge a kid off what
you think you know,’” Morris said. “Every kid is unique,
and every family has unique challenges.”
A benefit of driving Fiona is the many people, including
drivers, who take the time to tell the stories of their
own children who are on the autism spectrum.
“They really seem to appreciate what I’m doing with
my truck,” Morris said.
Puzzling the pieces together
Morris advises anyone interested in driving a truck to
understand that it is not a job — and it is not a career,
either.
“Truck driving is a lifestyle,” he said. As a driver, he
and his family accept the impact the nature of the job has
on their lifestyle.
“They all know that when I’m home, it’s only temporary,”
Morris said. “And during that time, I only have
a few hours a week to be a dad, husband, lawn boy and
handyman.”
As far as driving a truck for a living is concerned,
Morris said young drivers need to steer clear of the stereotypes
shown on television.
“It’s not all ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ out there,” Morris
said.
As Morris suggests, driving a truck may not be as entertaining
as Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed creating chaos
between Texarkana and Atlanta. In the real world, it’s
Robert Morris, his family and Fiona, Becky and Bill, all
traveling with a purpose — focusing on autism to remind
us our differences don’t nearly offset the sum of what we
have in common.
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