Educational Session

Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) have fundamentally transformed Hours-of-Service (HOS) compliance, but fleets continue to face evolving regulatory requirements, enforcement challenges, and operational realities. The panel will discuss the current state of ELD and HOS compliance, emerging regulatory developments, and practical strategies for improving safety and efficiency. The relationship between HOS compliance, driver fatigue management, and roadway safety.

Physical AI can handle the repetitive, time-consuming work of monitoring, flagging, and reporting — freeing your team to focus on judgment calls only people can make. We'll cover where AI is already doing this work for fleets and how you can start shifting your teams' time accordingly.

Two years ago, this session made the case for why driverless trucks matter to the future of trucking. Today, that future is arriving: driverless trucks are moving freight on public roads, and the industry is learning in real time what it takes to operate alongside them. This session translates those early lessons into practical takeaways: how tasks once assumed to require a driver in the cab (navigating weigh stations and fuel stops, handling gate access at customer facilities) are being managed today, and what that means for fleets, terminals, shippers, and infrastructure providers.

The Supreme Court's unanimous decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II reordered the competitive stakes for every carrier in America. Brokers can be sued under state law for negligently hiring unsafe motor carriers, which means your safety record, your data, and your documented safety culture are no longer internal concerns. They're the criteria brokers, shippers, and insurers will use to decide who gets the freight.

True safety excellence requires a broader, more proactive approach. As regulatory expectations, insurance pressures, litigation risk, and operational complexity continue to rise, carriers are increasingly investing in advanced safety technologies, data-driven risk management strategies, driver coaching programs, and safety cultures that go well beyond minimum compliance standards.

The Best Fleets to Drive For® program is now in its 19th year identifying the carriers that provide the best workplace experiences for their drivers. As we emerge from a lengthy freight recession, driver recruitment and retention is rising up the list of priorities for many fleets. The Best Fleets program has become a foundation for fleets to benchmark their workplace cultures and develop stronger businesses overall.

In this session, two of this year’s winners will share their secrets for building a high-performing fleet and improve driver recruitment, retention, and satisfaction.

Fuel is the second-largest operating expense for commercial fleets, accounting for approximately 21% of annual operating costs. While fuel prices will always fluctuate, many of the biggest drivers of fuel spend are within a fleet's control. From fraud and inflated pricing to inefficient operations and disconnected systems, hidden fuel waste continues to erode budgets and profitability.

AI-powered dash cam systems have become standard tools for improving driver behavior and reducing risk. But as video safety programs mature, a more difficult question emerges: What if the greatest risk is not the event your system caught? What if the greater risk is the event your system missed, under-classified, or never escalated?

This panel discussion will feature the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform’s newly-released publication “Roadblock: The Trucking Litigation Problem and How to Fix It.” This segment will address the rapid lawsuit inflation faced by American trucking firms, the impact on affordability for American households, and proposed solutions for addressing these issues.

Nobody clocks in wanting to drive unsafely. So why does safety coaching so often feel like a fight? Across billions of miles of fleet driving data, a clear pattern emerges: the fleets seeing real, lasting improvement aren't simply cracking down harder. They're building trust.