Briefly: Schneider wins Safety Council’s Green Cross for Safety -

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin-based carrier Schneider National, Inc. recently announced the company received the National Safety Council’s Green Cross for Safety Advocate Award for the company’s work piloting technology to combat impaired driving. Schneider said in a statement the award underscores the carrier’s commitment to the motoring public as a whole.

The NSC’s Green Cross for Safety Awards recognize individuals and organizations for their contributions to the advancement of safety in the workplace, on the road and in homes and communities.

“Receiving the safety advocate award is a huge honor,” said Schneider Vice President of Safety and Training Tom DiSalvi. “At Schneider, our number one core value is Safety First and Always; it’s this enterprise value that leads us to continue to innovate with both technology and processes to improve highway safety.”

With Schneider’s Green Cross for Safety distinction, the carrier is the first and only company to win all three safety awards from the NSC. Schneider has now been recognized in each of the NSC’s award categories. In 2019, Schneider won NSC’s Green Cross for Safety Innovation Award and in 2018 the company received the Green Cross for Safety Excellence Award.

The Safety Advocate Award honors a community partnership, program, individual or coalition that has made a significant impact on a safety issue by advocating for proven or promising practices to raise awareness or change policy to prevent further injuries and deaths.

Schneider said it is the first in its industry to conduct a trial deployment of the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety Program’s lifesaving technology. The DADSS program was created to research and develop a first-of-its-kind alcohol detection technology in commercial motor vehicles. To test the technology in real-life settings, the organizers of the program sought a contributor who could provide consistent, reliable data from frequent drivers who operate vehicles in a variety of temperatures at regular and irregular intervals.

“We are constantly looking for ways to improve the safety of our drivers and the motoring public. As the first truck carrier to test the alcohol detection sensors alongside DADSS, we are contributing impactful data that will be used to create a technology that could help eliminate the country’s number one traffic safety problem and save lives,” said DiSalvi.

Yellow repays federal COVID loan

Former less-than-truckload carrier Yellow Corporation Monday, Feb. 5 announced the repayment of a secured U.S. Treasury loan it received from the federal government through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act under a provision of the CARES Act earmarked for businesses critical to maintaining U.S. national security. Yellow has repaid $700 million in principal, as well as more than $151 million in interest, which includes all outstanding principal and accrued interest on the loan. In doing so, Yellow said it has fully satisfied its loan commitments under its agreement with the treasury.

Yellow applied for its CARES Act loan in April 2020, as it faced potentially crippling economic dislocations caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. Ultimately, on July 7, 2020, after months of extensive due diligence and the Department of Defense providing Yellow the requisite national security certification, Treasury approved Yellow’s loan application.

Treasury also received 29.6% of Yellow’s stock, totaling 15.9 million shares. Treasury’s equity stake is currently worth about $72 million, according to astatement from Yellow.

“This repayment demonstrates Yellow’s absolute commitment to fulfilling its promise to the American taxpayers that its CARES Act loan would be repaid in full with interest,” said Yellow’s Chief Restructuring Officer, Matthew Doheny. “At the time the loan was made, the U.S. supply chain was in danger of collapse and Yellow was proud to have secured its CARES Act loan, which helped Yellow preserve its 30,000 jobs, protect the U.S. economy during the height of the Covid crisis, and ensure that our brave men and women in uniform continued to receive the supplies they needed to defend our great nation.” Doheny added that, “despite receiving bipartisan support, Yellow’s CARES Act loan would not have been possible without the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Mnuchin for which Yellow is and remains grateful.”