Zonar, a fleet management technology company, announced the appointment of Ron Cordova, director of safety and compliance at Zonar to the American Trucking Associations' (ATA) 2023 Law Enforcement Advisory Board (LEAB) and Fred Fakkema, vice president of Safety and Compliance at Zonar as chairman for the second consecutive year. 

Comprised of 37 members with a combined 900 years of law enforcement experience across federal, state, and local law enforcement, the board aims to help strengthen the ties between the trucking industry and law enforcement community and better align resources toward common goals. 

Prior to joining Zonar, Cordova spent 21 years with the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, Motor Transportation Police and Fakkema spent 25 years with the Washington State Patrol. 

Zonar is proud to work closely with @TRUCKINGdotORG. Last week, ATA joined @USDOT as a “First Mover” by committing to support the National Roadway Safety Strategy. Learn more here ➡️ https://t.co/YJpF9ClFEO

— Zonar (@zonarsystems) February 10, 2023

“We are thrilled to have representation from Zonar’s safety and compliance team on ATA LEAB as it is a powerful platform to bring shared experiences and expertise from across the industry together with law enforcement to make a real change on our roadways,” said Mike Gould, chief operating officer at Zonar. “At Zonar, we are dedicated to solving the complex safety and compliance challenges our customers face and we know that it will take a full industry effort to solve the biggest pain points.” 

In 2023, the ATA LEAB is focused on the following priority issues: 

1. Increasing truck parking capacity: The nationwide truck parking shortage creates growing highway safety issues as drivers are often forced to park in illegal or unsafe locations when authorized parking is unavailable. 

2. Confronting distracted driving: The rise in distracted and aggressive driving affects all motorists and makes roads less safe. 

3. Addressing impaired driving: Impaired driving is on the rise as more states legalize marijuana. The separation between federal and state law leads to misinterpretation for drivers, and without a federal testing standard, like there is for alcohol, it is difficult for law enforcement to address this issue. 

4. Combatting human trafficking: ATA LEAB is working to make trainings more accessible to teach drivers and the law enforcement community how to recognize, report, and stop instances of human trafficking.