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Loyal drivers in private fleets improving safety, recruiting and truck maintenance

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Updated Feb 24, 2023

Private carriers continue to enjoy the benefits of having more loyal drivers than their for-hire counterparts, which is resulting in welcomed payoffs like reduced accidents and more devotion to equipment care and customer relations.

National Private Truck Council President and CEO Gary Petty talked to Commercial Carrier Journal about the benefits of driver loyalty among private fleets as NPTC gears up for its Annual Education Management Conference and Exhibition this May in Orlando.

“We think we're going to have the biggest attendance ever,” Petty said of the event which include electric trucks and the latest fleet technologies. “Private fleets are growing and they’re very keen on deploying new state-of-the-art equipment and they're looking for best solutions.

[Related: More pay? More home time? CCJ survey looks at what drivers want]

While the latest, greatest equipment can improve efficiency on its own merits, the North American Council for Freight Efficiency revealed that the driver can often make the bigger difference than the technology itself.

NACFE’s Tire Pressure System Confidence Report shows that automated tire inflation system adoption is lower among private fleets because their drivers are more likely to get involved and do their part to ensure that tires are inflated at the proper pressure.