PacLease Partners with Indiana-based Carrier to Encourage Safer Driving

A lot of companies operating trucks talk about safety, but ICON Transportation Co. lives and breathes it daily. Indianapolis, Ind.-based ICON consistently preaches safe practices among its drivers and backs it up with award-winning programs. That commitment to safety has paid off in keeping its insurance rates down over the years.

ICON provides time-sensitive transportation services for the entertainment industry, such as delivering DVDs, cassettes and CDs for film distributors. It leases 50 Kenworth T600s with 475-hp Cummins ISX engines and autoshift transmissions through Palmer Leasing Group, the local PacLease franchise in central Indiana.

ICON has followed a safety program since its launch in 1990. In recent years, it has beefed up the program to further reduce insurance costs and operating expenses.

“They take safety very seriously and are right there at the very top among the fleets we work with,” said Dawn Jaeger, insurance manager of PacLease Insurance.

ICON maintains a multi-faceted safety awareness program that begins when a driver is hired. A 2 1/2-day safety orientation covers everything from backing and parking a vehicle to getting into and out of a truck cab without injury. PacLease runs each driver through a 17 to 20 mile road test during the orientation.

ICON, in partnership with PacLease, holds regular monthly meetings with its drivers, covering a wide range of topics.

“I’ve made presentations to drivers about safe winter driving, reducing damage to tires, trailers and trailer doors, and I made a video about safely backing up to loading docks,” said Jack Elder, manager of the Terre Haute branch of Palmer Leasing. “We provide these value-added services to ICON and other
customers. They want to reduce expenses and loss from damage to their equipment.

“Providing these value-added services to ICON and other customers helps them reduce expenses and loss from damage to their equipment,” Elder added.

ICON and PacLease work continuously with the drivers. If a driver is experiencing a problem with some aspect of his job, PacLease and ICON provide additional training.

At the same time, safe drivers are rewarded. PacLease provides recognition for top male and female drivers who perform without accidents or violations.

“Drivers get very excited about this program, especially when they get awards,” said Melissa Hughes, ICON manager of driver personnel and safety. “One of our drivers has been with us for 13 years and received an award for having a perfect driving record during that time.”