Improving truck crash data and monitoring of highÂ-risk carriers are among the key factors that will lead to improved heavy truck safety, a panel of trucking experts told a Senate Commerce subcommittee last week.
March 20, 2017Letters to the Editor, Business, Government, Safety, Technology, Logistics
Letters: Entry-Level Driver Training, Cost Containment
Readers discuss the regulatory side of entry-level driver training and the best way to maximize profit is containing costs.
March 20, 2017Editorial, Business, Government, Safety, Autonomous, Technology, Logistics
Editorial: A Useful Discussion on Safety
Last week, we cheered the apparent demise of a federal regulatory provision regarding hours of service. Now we’d like to salute a positive development: a recent discussion on truck safety before a Senate subcommittee.
March 20, 2017Perspective, Business, Government, Safety, Technology, Equipment, Autonomous
Opinion: Effectively Utilizing Telematics Solutions
The electronic logging device mandate for tracking hours of service has brought a lot of attention to truck telematics, and many experts are providing advice on how to prepare for that transition. But one aspect of telematics that few are addressing is how underutilized most existing systems are. In my estimate, only three in 10 fleets are utilizing their telematics system to the max.
March 20, 2017Business, Safety, Government
160 US Carrier Bankruptcies Idle 4,510 Trucks in 4th Quarter
The freight-hauling capacity of at least 4,510 heavy-duty U.S. trucks evaporated during the last three months of 2016 as 160 fleets shuttered their doors and quit the industry, according to a study by investment firm Avondale Partners.
March 20, 2017Business, Government, Safety, Logistics, Technology, Equipment
Truckload Driver Pay Inches Up in 4th Quarter
Salaries for truckload drivers rose at the low rate of 0.04 point in the fourth quarter year-over-year, according to the latest National Transportation Institute index (or 0.03% on a preliminary basis), the slowest in 2016.
March 20, 2017Government, Safety
Panelists Push for Better Crash Data at Senate Subcommittee Hearing on Truck Safety
Improving truck crash data and monitoring high-risk carriers are a couple of key factors that will lead to improved heavy-truck safety, a panel of truck experts told a Senate Commerce subcommittee March 14.
March 14, 2017Business, Safety, Government, Logistics
Interstate Acquires American Red Ball World Wide Movers
Interstate Group Holdings, the Springfield, Virginia-based parent of Interstate Van Lines, has acquired Indianapolis-based American Red Ball World Wide Movers, one of the oldest movers of household goods in the United States.
March 14, 2017Government, Business, Equipment, Safety
Twin 33-Foot Trailers Would Boost Safety, Efficiency, New Analysis Concludes
A new analysis by traffic safety researcher Ronald Knipling has concluded that widespread adoption of twin 33-foot trailers would boost safety and efficiency for U.S. drivers, consumers and businesses.
March 13, 2017Perspective, Business, Government, Safety, Technology, Autonomous
Opinion: Eight Predictions for Our Industry
In 2008, I wrote an article where I described a future scenario in which a driver in a truck is leading a convoy of several driverless trucks. In 2011, I began predicting that we would have autonomous cars on the market and on the roadways by 2020. These predictions seem to be turning out better than my 2007 prediction that Apple would not get much market share in the cellphone business.
March 13, 2017