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Border Officers in Michigan Stop Canadian Trash Truck Carrying 418 Pounds of PotMichigan's marijuana laws are more mellow than they used to be, but aCanadian trash hauler allegedly pushed the envelope a bit Friday whenU.S. Customs and Border Protection officers said they found 418 poundsof pot in a truck. The truck was flagged for inspection around 4 a.m. after crossinginto the United States on the Ambassador Bridge. An X-ray detectedseveral odd shapes in the rear of the hauler, and an examination byborder protection officers allegedly turned up 15 large trash bags fullof pot. The recreational cannabis law passed by voters in late2018 permits adults to travel with as much as 2.5 ounces of marijuanaflower. The stash discovered at the Fort Street Cargo Facility was2,675.2 times the Michigan maximum — though for the record, federal lawprohibits crossing the border with drugs in any quantity. Thedriver, a 36-year-old from Cambridge, Ontario, faces prosecution forpossession and transportation of illegal drugs, according to U.S.Customs and Border Protection. The truck was bound for a waste facility in Wayne County, said border protection spokesman Kris Grogan. "It was not your everyday trash truck," he explained, but rather a standard semitrailer. Thebust in Detroit followed the largest seizure in the history of the portof Buffalo, New York, on June 13. In that incident, an?inbound truck at the Peace Bridge was found carrying more than 3,460 pounds of marijuana disguised as peat moss in 58 cardboard cartons. Source of this article and other great articles ? Load restrictions on Snake River BridgeWYDOT is working to address the economic and transportation needs oflocal businesses that need to take heavier machinery and loads acrossthe bridge. JACKSON, Wyo. — In recognition that reduced weight limits on the agingSnake River Bridge on Highway 22 is restricting to a degree thetrucking industry’s ability to get goods into Jackson Hole in acost-effective manner, state officials are working to make a temporaryfix. After a recent safety inspection of the Snake River Bridge on WYO 22 near the intersection of WYO 390, WYDOT began restricting heavier loads from crossing the structure.?However, the Department of Transportationis working quickly to address the economic and transportation needs oflocal businesses that need to take heavier machinery and loads acrossthe bridge. The Wyoming Transportation Commission recentlydedicated funds to let a contract for repairs to the Snake RiverBridge.?With the improvements, the bridge will be able to accommodatenormal operations until its replacement in 2023.?The contract work willlikely take a few months and work will hopefully conclude this fall. Withthe current restrictions, WYDOT is working with local businesses anddrivers to accommodate one trip, one time, high-priority or urgentoverweight loads.?WYDOT takes each request and evaluates all possibleoptions and alternatives for that load and will approve crossings on acase-by-case basis. These exceptions are not intended to be for daily orweekly crossings. Requests could take up to a week to approve.?Those looking to make a request can contact Darin Kaufman at 307-352-3034. Safety at the forefront of trucking’s mindThe Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance said its Operation Safe DriverWeek will go on as scheduled July 12 to 18. During that week lawenforcement officers will be looking for drivers — of both cars andtrucks — that are engaging in unsafe driving. Several things I have readrecently have me thinking a lot aboutsafety. To be clear, safety is somethingthat is always top of mind,but recent reports have put it into sharp focus. ? ADepartment ofTransportation early estimate seems to indicate thatthere was a slight declinein traffic fatalities across the U.S. lastyear. Unfortunately, the data alsois showing a rise in truck-involvedfatalities. Then there was a report thatsaid in March there was a 14%year-over-year increase in the fatality rates permiles driven. This inan environment where actual miles driven declined 18.6%compared toMarch 2018, very likely because of COVID-19 related stay-in-place orders. I also saw that the board ofthe American Transportation ResearchInstitute (ATRI) approved top researchprojects for 2020 including onethat will examine new metrics for evaluatingsafety performance beyondtraditional rates per million vehicle miles traveled. Andfinally, the CommercialVehicle Safety Alliance said its Operation SafeDriver Week will go on asscheduled July 12 to 18. During that weeklaw enforcement officers will belooking for drivers — of both cars andtrucks — that are engaging in unsafedriving. Speeding is the focus ofthis year’s initiative. We have all experienced thedramaticchanges in the insurance industry over the past several years. We know that many accidents involving trucks are not the fault of the truckdriver, andthe Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announcedit is makingpermanent a pilot program that will not count a crash inwhich a motor carrierwas not at fault when calculating the carrier’ssafety measurement profile, along overdue and much needed correction. So,you can see why I amespecially focused on safety at this point. Forme, safety is not aset-it-and-forget-it item. It is not something wesimply mention at driverorientation and then don’t speak about again.It starts from the top down. I think all drivers want tobe safebut sometimes even the best of us has a lapse and safety slips down the priority list. It is our job as managers to make sure safety stays topof mindwhether that is through driver meetings, safety incentives,safety handouts ora simple reminder from a dispatcher “to be safe outthere.” I am interested to see whatoptions ATRI comes up withfor measuring safety other than by the mile. As theindustry hasshifted its focus to more regional haul with fewer miles driventheremay be other metrics that the industry can use to measure how safe we really are. ? Butregardless of how wemeasure safety, we all need to continue to keepfocused on it, especially asthe economy starts to pick up and we beginto see more traffic on the road. California’s ‘Advanced Clean Trucks’ rule cracking down on diesel poised to pass this week![]() This week, California authorities will consider a new rule intended to “accelerate” the adoption of zero-emission trucks. OnJune 25, 2020, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will conductthe second of two public hearings on the proposed “Advanced CleanTrucks” (ACT) regulation that would enact sweeping changes to forcetruckers to make the move away from diesel-powered trucks. A final voteis expected to take place on June 25 or 26. According to CARB,“the proposed Advanced Clean Truck Regulation is part of a holisticapproach to accelerate a large-scale transition of zero-emissionmedium-and heavy-duty vehicles from Class 2B to Class 8 … When comparedto diesel vehicles, [zero-emisson vehicles] are two to five times moreenergy efficient, reduce dependence on petroleum, and reduce GHGemissions substantially.” The proposed regulation consists of amanufacturer sales requirement and a reporting requirement, according toa CARB fact sheet:
The ACTproposal has been criticized by the trucking industry because of thecost, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Though CARBadmits that zero-emission trucks are more expensive up front, the agencysays that “the total cost of ownership in California can be comparableto conventional trucks for certain duty cycles without grants orrebates.” CARB also points to rebates and incentives like theZero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project to help truckowners mitigate costs. CARB released an updated version of the ACTregulation proposal on April 25, 2020 that is stricter than theoriginal version that debuted in 2019 after community and environmentalactivists complained. Slow Roll Planned For I-40 Tomorrow![]() A slow-down protest is planned for tomorrow on Interstate 40 through North Carolina on Wednesday, June 24, 2020. According to the Raleigh News Observer, a group called YoungAmericans Protest is trying to help spread the word for drivers to slowdown at 8:46 am, in observance to the 8 minutes and 46 seconds officerDerek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck. Motorists are being asked to protest by slowing down to 10 mph from 8:46 am to 9:30 am. Aco-founder of the group, Zainab Baloch said that the slowdown is “meantto bring more attention to demands to defund police and hold themaccountable,” the News Observer reported. If you’re going to be passing through the area, use caution. Quantron unveils fuel cell truck Quantron unveils fuel cell truckGerman e-mobility company Quantron AG has unveiled its new Energon fuel cell truck that will soon be available across Europe. The Energon will be the first vehicle in Quantron’s upcoming fuelcell product range, with production scheduled to start in mid-2022. Quantron has been working on hydrogen propulsion for commercialvehicles since its founding, and now its 44-tonne truck with fuel cellfor freight transportation can be fully integrated into logisticsprocesses. The truck has a range of approximately 700km. The 130kW fuel cell issupported by a 110kWh lithium ferro phosphate battery to power the 340kWengine, which is equipped with a two-speed transmission. In a statement, the company said it is working hard on other vehiclesin order to be able to offer a wide range of fuel cell solutions forcompanies and local authorities in the near future. | Supply Chain News: A Look at Nuclear Verdicts against Carriers by ATRIA new report from the analysts at the AmericanTransportation Research Institute (ATRI) find that large lawsuit awardsagainst trucking companies are having a growing impact on the industryand will drive costs and capacity issues for shippers as well. ATRI says that large legal verdicts, sometimes called"nuclear verdicts" have been a part of the legal landscape of thetrucking industry since 2006. Awards to injured plaintiffs of sometimesmore than $10 million naturally stem from serious crashes involvingmassive injury and death. "However, these large verdicts can exist on tenuous legal grounds and can have negative effects on multiple parties," ATRI says. In fact, rising insurance costs is a key factor in pushing many trucking firms out of the industry. The report starts by notingsome history, notably how the dollar awards to plaintiffs have grownenormously over time. If also reviews various types of negligence that aplaintiff can allege against a trucking company connected in some wayto an accident, as well as various types of liability. These negligence and liability frameworks can combine to give plaintiffs an edge, ATRI says. For example, ATRI says thatstates with what is called joint liability (any liable defendant can berequired to pay the entire damages award) may find that plaintiffsplace the entire burden of the damages onto a carrier, despite thecarrier being less negligent than other defendants. For this report, ATRIcompiled litigation data for 600 cases to statistically analyze the keymetrics of large verdicts in the trucking industry. This data wascollected and amalgamated from multiple external sources in theindustry, including a litigation database firm. Case information withjury awards over $1 million was inputted into an ATRI-developedspreadsheet; incorporated data included verdict amounts,crash/filing/publication details, and jury/litigation details. The data is interesting.Cases in which plaintiffs won awards of more than $1 million roserapidly for a few years after 2010, to over 70 in 2013, as shown in thechart below from the report. Since then, the number of million awardshas been generally been trending down, to about 35 in 2019. That isstill much higher than levels seen pre-2010. The average award in the data pool of over $1million verdicts was $3.1 million, with a median of $1.7 million, acrossthe 451 cases analyzed. If a carrieris involved in an accident in which children are hurt or killed, awardsgets really high, with average awards of over $40 million. On the other hand, when carriers use an expert witness, the amount of the awards falls dramatically. The analysis also showed that the time between the crash date and the verdict date increases the size of verdict. The report contains a significant amount of other data. What the industry should do about all this was not addressed. Source of this article and other great articles
Are driver-facing cameras legal?![]() An increasing number of trucking companies are requiring in-cab cameras that film drivers — but is it legal to do so? Driver-facing cameras have been unpopular in the trucking communityfor years. They leave drivers with the uneasy feeling that they’re beingwatched by their employer. Many truckers even argue that driver-facingcameras violate their right to privacy, since a driver’s truck is oftenalso his home where he eats, sleeps, and spend free time. So is an employer legally within his rights to require an in-cab camera system? Theshort answer is, yes, especially if you’re in the U.S. Employers arenot violating any specific law when they require driver-facing cameras. Inward facing cameras are already widely legally deployed throughoutthe trucking industry and have faced few legal challenges to date. Here’s what else you need to know — 小川阿佐美番号Truckingcompanies that utilize in-cab camera systems routinely assure driversthat they are not saving video continuously. Most camera systems areonly activated by a triggering event like hard braking or speeding andprovide employers with a few seconds of video before and after theevent, companies say. Trucking companies are increasingly pushingfor the technology to reduce liability in the event of a crash and tocut down on driver distraction. 小川阿佐美番号In2017, the Superior Court in Quebec upheld a ruling that Sysco Quebecwas not allowed to install driver-facing cameras on its trucks, findingthat a driver’s right to privacy trumped the company’s attempt toincrease safety through the installation of the Lytx DriveCams. Thelegal battle began in 2012 when Sysco Quebec installed both driver andoutward facing cameras on its fleet of trucks. Though the cameras areonly supposed to permanently record a handful of seconds before andafter a triggering incident, the camera is always recording the driverand overwriting the recorded data. This did not sit will with thecompany’s drivers, especially given their claim that the camerasrecorded randomly several times per day. A union filed a complaintabout the driver-facing cameras after drivers said that they feltintimidated and watched. Last year an arbitrator sided with the unionand drivers and ordered Sysco Quebec to remove the driver-facingcameras. Sysco Quebec complied, but filed an appeal, saying that they had a duty to promote health and safety. TheQuebec Superior Court upheld the decision of the arbitrator to keepdriver-facing cameras out of Sysco Quebec’s trucks. The court pointedout that Sysco Quebec could use other, “less intrusive” methods topromote safety, including increasing driver training and surprise checkson drivers. Though the court ordered the removal of theinward-facing cameras, the ruling only applies to Sysco Quebec. However,it opens the door for similar cases against driver monitoring inCanada. California AG ruled in favor of driver-facing cameras for disciplinary purposes in a major 2014 decisionIn 2014, then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris ruled that employers may take disciplinary action against a truck driver employee based on in-cab video provided by a third party company “Continuousvideotaping surveillance of truck drivers during their on-the-jobdriving does not constitute a misdemeanor under Labor Code section 1051where the video file is inspected by a third party and used as a basisfor discipline by the driver’s employer, provided that the third partyis an agent of the driver’s employer who is videotaping and inspectingthe file for the sole benefit of the driver’s employer, and that thefile is furnished only to the driver’s employer,” Harris wrote. Some companies might pay you more if you use themNotably,Illinois-based GP Transco announced an unusual incentive program inFebruary 2020 that made driver-facing cameras voluntary while offering a2 cent per mile pay increase for drivers who choose that option. Moretrucking companies could follow this lead as drivers remain reluctant toallow the technology into their workplaces — and their homes. Rand McNally expands ClearDryve lineRand McNally today debuted three new ClearDryve headphone and headset devices aimed at professional drivers. ClearDryve is the company’s line of wireless stereo headphones thatconvert into mono headsets through removal of one earcup, providingflexibility for over-the-road drivers. The two-in-one design providesprofessional drivers with two high-end products in one. The three new ClearDryve models are:
“We have seen an amazing response to ClearDryve in thepast 18 months since we launched the first device, including two CESInnovation Award honors,” said Fletcher. “The next three ClearDryvedevices we’re launching have been fine-tuned even further, withadditional features.” The company says the hallmark of the ClearDryve line is the superiornoise elimination – canceling out the noise in the earcups for betterhearing, as well as blocking outside noise through the boom microphonesso calls are clear on the other end. The devices block and/or eliminatemore than 90-to-95 percent of ambient sound, according to the company. The company says other ClearDryve features include:
The company first launched an over-the-ear model, the 200, in August2018 followed by a second model, the 180, with on-ear cups, a yearlater. People are shooting at semi trucks in the south, drivers say![]() Socialmedia users and police recently shared alarming stories and images ofthree trucks that have taken gunfire from unknown shooters in Georgiaand Tennessee. Memphis Police Seek SUV Driver After I-40 ShootingMemphis, Tennessee police say that a semi truck driver was fired upon by an SUV while traveling onI-40 on June 20. The truck driver was not hurt, but the truck was hit bybullets. Police are asking for the public’s help in locating the SUV. Another Trucker Targeted In Memphis, Post SaysThe daybefore, a social media user shared a warning to other drivers after hertruck driver husband’s vehicle was reportedly fired upon in Memphis. Driver’swife ?April Marin? shared the story of the June 19 shooting in truckingsocial media groups. Marin said that her husband’s truck took gunfireon the passenger side window as he left a delivery location near E.Raines Road and Mendenhall. Marin said that her husband wasn’t hurt butwas “of course shaken up!” Marin also shared images of the damages believed to have been caused by bullets. CDLLife has reached out to Marin for more information. Gas Tanker Reportedly Takes Gunfire In GeorgiaAnother interstate shooting aimed at a trucker was also reported in Georgia over the weekend. Accordingto social media user Skipp Homschek, a shooting occurred on the BobbyJones Expressway at Highway 56 in Augusta, Georgia on Saturday, June 20.The truck was said to have been fully loaded with gasoline, but therewasn’t any penetration to the tank. The truck driver fortunately escapedwithout injury. Homschek shared more than a dozen images of the damage caused by gunfire. Homschek writes, “I drive a gas truck for a local company and thishas all of us mad as hell and our families worried. Please pray thatthey find who did this.” The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office isreportedly investigating the incident. CDLLife has reached out forcomment and this story will be updated with any new information. There is no information that would connect the three shootings at this point. Earlier this month, CDLLife spoke with truck driver Marcus Sommers, who reported that he was shot at while driving on I-70 near Dayton, Ohio. Sommers wasn’t hurt but the incident caused significant damage to his truck. For several weeks now, truckers have been on edge as protests over police brutality have at times taken a violent turn. Crash causes fireworks to ‘actively explode’ in semi trailer![]() The Nebraska State Patrol is investigating a crash involving a semi truck hauling fireworks that left multiple people injured. The crash happened around 11 a.m. on June 19 south of Uehling, Nebraska. Troopers say that an SUV and a semi truck collided at the intersection of Highway 77 and Road F in Dodge County. Bythe time that Nebraska State troopers arrived on the scene, the semitruck, which was hauling fireworks, was fully engulfed in flames “withfireworks in the trailer actively exploding.” Both people in the SUV were transported to the hospital for treatment. The truck driver was treated at the scene. The crash remains under investigation. The future of trucking is always changingWill your kid’s trucks have all kinds of options from cleaner diesel, CNG, electric power, and hydrogen power? We all are aware of thedramatic and even transformationaltechnological changes that have come to thetrucking industry in recentyears. But frankly, this is not new. ? I had the opportunity to givea virtual presentation on changes intrucking for the Mid-America Trucking Show about the changes in trucking overthe past generation. I started off by talkingabout your dad’s truck, which was probably along and tall classic tractor thatwas probably built in the 1990swhen fuel was around $1 a gallon. It had a flathood, vertical exhauststacks and external air cleaners. When fuel prices rose closer to $5 agallon for those external air cleaners, it ended up costing your dad$500 to $600 to purchase and $1,500 to $2,000 in fuel,? assuming he wasdriving 110,000 miles a year and getting 6 mpg. Those babiescaused alot of extra aerodynamic drag. Additionally, the vertical exhaust stacks, while cool to look at, probably added another $500 to his fuelbill. In general, your dad’s truckwas 15% less efficient due to aerodynamics alone than the truck you are drivingtoday. Moreaerodynamic trucks beganto be produced by the truck builders and thenwith the advent of emissionsregulations, the stacks moved behind thecab out of the air stream whichreduced drag. Today’s trucks areaerodynamic marvels with the truck makersthemselves designing asleeker truck right out of the box. We are also seeinglots of work oncustomizing engine-transmission combinations and setting engine parameters for improved fuel economy, so you burn less fuel. Some of the developments that occurred as a result of the Department of Energy’s SuperTruck 1 and now 2 programs have found their way into thetrucksof today, so not only are they more fuel efficient, but they areputting outless NOx and particulate emissions (PM). You all probablyalready know this,but it takes 70 of today’s trucks to emit the sameamount of NOx and PM as oneof your dad’s trucks did back in the day. Thatbrings me to the future.What will your kids' trucks look like? Wethink they will have all kinds ofoptions from cleaner diesel to CNG toelectric power to hydrogen power. Thesethings have gone beyond theidea stage to the prototype stage and are now amatter of “when” not“if.” We also see folks working onplatooning and automation.While I can’t speculate on when we will see fullautomation, I know wewill continue to see improvements in advanced driverassistancesystems, which are the building blocks for autonomy. We think there are a lot ofsolutions out there that will be available to your kids as they move intotrucking. Tosum things up. The futureis coming fast, and your kids' trucks mightnot look much like your trucks.Because of the quick pace of change,you need to stay up to date ondevelopments in these new technologieswhile at the same time having a thoroughunderstanding of your businessand how you operate so you can take advantage ofthe technologies thatmake sense for you. Talk to people whose operationsare likeyours and copy the things you think they are doing right. And let them copy from you. The industry will be better if each of us strives toimprove. Buy trucks and technologieswith total cost of ownershipin mind. Look past initial purchase price to whatthe asset is goingto cost you over its lifetime. This is where having athoroughunderstanding of your own operations will come in handy. ? And remember the future truckwill be different. Again. |
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