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The Latest Headlines:

• FMCSA to Take Comments on Wireless HOS Tracking
• Qualcomm Updates FleetAdvisor System
• DOE Says Ethanol Could be Viable Option

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FMCSA to Take Comments on Wireless HOS Tracking

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said last week it will accept comments through July 8 on a request from a software firm to use wireless systems such as cell phones to track drivers’ hours-of-service records.

Xora Inc., which makes mobile employee software systems, had asked FMCSA’s permission to use such systems.

FMCSA, which announced the request in a Federal Register notice Wednesday, said the Xora’s software can transmit hours of service data through a driver’s cell phones instead of equipment installed on trucks.

“Xora believes the use of their hours-of-service monitoring system by motor carriers would achieve a level of safety equivalent to what would be provided” by automated onboard recorders, the agency’s notice said. Transport Topics

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Qualcomm Updates FleetAdvisor System

Wireless communications provider Qualcomm Inc. said Tuesday it released two new versions of its FleetAdvisor management tool for the private fleet market.

Qualcomm said in a statement although the two versions are similar, one is especially tailored for larger fleets.

Both products give vehicles and drivers near real-time connections with their management and dispatchers, the company said.

In addition, both provide automated Department of Transportation-compliant logs, automated arrival and departure alerts, and mileage and location information, Qualcomm said. Transport Topics

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DOE Says Ethanol Could be Viable Option

A Department of Energy official said that ethanol generated from corn and farm waste could produce more than 30% of the nation’s energy needs, but the technology must be cost-competitive to accomplish this goal.

David Garman, assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy, told participants at a June 2 biofuels conference "the day is not too distant when [ethanol] can and will compete" with fossil fuels.

Garman based his projection on data from a study released in April co-by DOE and the Agriculture Department.

The United States has 20 commercial facilities that can produce up to 3.4 billion gallons of ethanol annually — more than double the 2000 level of 1.6 billion gallons, and companies can produce 150 million gallons of biodiesel, Garman said. Tarun Reddy

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