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It’s a great honor to be named the National Tank Truck Carriers’ Professional Tank Truck Driver of the Year, because being safe out there is the most important thing for all of us — the drivers, our companies and the people we share the roads with. As a professional driver, I want to share my thoughts about safety on the road — what the risks are and how to avoid them.

Economists often speak of a “regulatory drag” on our economy related to the costs associated with the many regulations passed over the years.

There’s currently a lot of buzz about autonomous, self-driving vehicles, including trucks. And, yes, most truck makers are working on technologies that could make such vehicles viable years in the future.

Receiving the title of chairman of American Trucking Associations is, for many of us in the industry, considered a pinnacle of one’s career. It’s certainly the pinnacle for me.

Sinatra didn’t play to an empty auditorium in Vegas. Ali didn’t become the heavyweight champion of the world with just the referee and opponent in the room. If Bruce Springsteen sang “Born in the USA” in front of thousands of empty seats, would the impact be the same?

A year ago, I stood before you in Philadelphia and accepted the title of chairman of American Trucking Associations. It has been a tremendous honor to be your chairman at such a critical time for our industry.

A few weeks ago, I was on a conference call organized by a transportation industry association. Invited on the call were woman- owned trucking companies gathered to address a Small Business Administration proposed rule change. After the call, a few people contacted me to ask why some on the call were not certified women- owned businesses nor certified Women-Owned Small Business.

One thing we’ll start to hear more about in the coming months is the next administration’s first 100 days in the Oval Office. It’s an opportunity to articulate a vision and begin executing new goals. As ATA’s new president and CEO, I’m nearing the end of my first hundred days in office and it has been an exciting time for me and our leadership team. There have been meetings to take and calls to make and all that goes into starting a new job, but we’ve hit the ground running to start securing victories for the trucking industry.

You can’t work in the trucking industry for long without realizing the interconnectedness of the trucking world — goods with communities, roads with ports, airports and railways, regulations across international and provincial borders and municipal boundaries, you name it. Another connection may not be immediately apparent: Canada’s National Trucking Week and “Jake” brakes.

Approximately 10% of ocean cargo may cite an inaccurate weight, according to Loadstar. In 2015, an estimated 16.3 million out of 200.5 million TEUs, or industry- standard 20-foot-equivalent container units, of cargo were shipped without an accurate measurement, which speaks to an industrywide problem.