Will Congress consider allowing 18-20 year olds drive interstate trucks again?

Judge Dissed by Trump Won’t Block Border Wall in California

A federal court judge once accused by President Donald Trump of being biased against him because he's “Mexican” and a “hater” paved the way for construction of a section of Trump's proposed wall along ...

Real ELD Enforcement Kicks in April 1

CVSA's Kerri Wirachowsky speaking during a panel on ELD enforcement at Omnitracs' Outlook 2018 user conference in Nashville. Photo: Jim Beach

NASHVILLE — The electronic logging device mandate became effective in December, but law enforcement agencies have been observing a “soft enforcement” stance since then, with ELD violations written up as 395.22(a) violations with no CSA points or vehicles being placed out of service.

But that's about going to in a little over a month, explained Kerri Wirachowsky, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's director of roadside inspection program during a session on ELD enforcement at Omnitracs' Outlook 2018 user conference here on Feb. 26. She said that come April 1, the full enforcement of the ELD rule will kick in-- including the assigning of CSA points and the issuing of out-of-service citations

There is still confusion about the ELD rule, even among law enforcement, Wirachowsky said. Therefore, fleets should do all they can to help inspectors determine which type of device drivers are using. That's especially critical as certified AOBDRs are allowed to be used through Dec. 17, 2019, thanks to a grandfather clause.

“Make sure your drivers have the device cab card in the cab,” she advised. In fact, the regulation requires the following information to be available in the cab: a user manual describing how to use the ELD; an instruction sheet for producing and transferring data; an instruction sheet for reporting malfunctions and record-keeping procedures during malfunctions; and a supply of blank records of duty status for recording hours of service for at least 8 days. Any of this information can be in electronic form.

As of April 1, a driver can be placed out-of-service if:

• Using an unauthorized logging device not registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration,
• Unable to produce and transfer data electronically from an ELD to an authorized ...Read the rest of this story

ATRI IDs Best Practices for State Freight Plans

Texas was the highest ranked freight plan in ATRI's research based in part on the state's use of detailed commodity and freight flow data. Photo: ATRI

The American Transportation Research Institute on Feb. 27 released a report that presents best practices for freight planning at the state level. ATRI said the report aims to help state Departments of Transportation and their consultants “better address those freight planning components that are viewed as most critical by Federal Highway Administration, state DOTs and state trucking association leaders.”

The genesis of the report was ATRI's call for innovative state freight plans from state DOT personnel and freight stakeholders nationwide. The top 12 plans selected formed the basis for an Ideal Attributes Checklist, by which the other state freight plans were assessed.

The report compares state plans against FAST Act-required and recommended components. The upshot is that ATRI “synthesized minimum freight planning requirements along with innovative practices and mapped nearly 50 different freight plans against the model freight plan framework.”

The research group said its Ideal Attributes Checklist, along with lessons learned and the various innovative practices highlighted within, will allow freight planners to consider a broad continuum of freight planning techniques for their next updates.

“The highest ranked plans utilize a variety of tools, including quantitative industry data, visualizations, project prioritization tools and strong reliance on Freight Advisory Committees, among other approaches.”

Texas was the highest ranked freight plan in ATRI's research based in part on the state's use of detailed commodity and freight flow data in developing its plan, as well as active engagement of its Freight Advisory Committee throughout the planning process.

"We are excited to be able to contribute our knowledge base to this important effort, and even more flattered that we were chosen by our peers as a model freight plan," said Caroline ...Read the rest of this story

Flexible Lighting Comes in Different Lengths

Maxxima's Hybrid Auxiliary Combination Dual Color STT/ BU Flexible Strip lighting is available in 48- and 60-inch lengths.

The self adhesive hybrid strips can be applied to the rear of any vehicle to increase visibility and safety.

Lights come with a standard 4-pin flat trailer connector with an extra led for back-up light circuit.

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DTNA Predicts Year of High Truck Sales, Technology Advancements

DTNA President and CEO Roger Nielsen talks to reporters about meeting customer demands for trucks, uptime, and technology. (Video call screen capture.)

Coming off of a record year for North American Class 6-8 market share in 2017, Daimler Trucks North America is looking forward to a busy year as it keeps on top of its supply chain to meet high customer demand and readies for some big new-technology announcements.

In a video conference call for reporters, DTNA President and CEO Roger Nielsen teased upcoming announcements about predictive maintenance, electric trucks, and further advanced driver assistance systems that can lead to autonomous technologies.

The Truck Sales Challenge: Staying on Top of Demand

Around the world, Daimler Trucks last year sold more than 470,000 trucks last year. In North America, Daimler Trucks North America posted record Class 6-8 market share of 39.8%, or about 151,000 trucks, buses and chassis.

Driving that success, Nielsen said, were:

• more than 46,000 orders for the new Cascadia
• increasing popularity of the integrated Detroit powertrain, with 96% of all Cascadias spec'ed with Detroit engines. The DT12 automated manual transmission goes into 75% of all Cascadias and Western Star 5700 (93% in the new-generation Cascadia).
• Detroit Assurance 4.0, the latest version of DTNA's active safety system suite, which uses a camera system and radar to provide adaptive cruise control, emergency braking, lane departure warning, etc. “The penetration rate far exceeds what we expected,” Nielsen noted, saying it's spec'ed in nearly 90% of Cascadias.
• Western Star was at an all-time high for order intake.
• Aftermarket parts sales; 2017 saw another parts distribution center open in Indianapolis, and Daimler expanded with its acquisition of the Mascot driveline reman business.

For 2018, DTNA expects a “significant increase in overall sales,” to levels seen in 2015, if market conditions remain sustainable. January and February order intakes so far ...Read the rest of this story

Amazon is acquiring doorbell videocamera startup Ring, a 'Shark Tank' reject that turned into a massive success story (AMZN)

Amazon is acquiring smart doorbell maker Ring. Ring got its start on the TV show "Shark Tank" in 2013. Amazon is acquiring Ring, a startup that makes a popular line of video camera doorbells, in a deal that could help Amazon enmesh itself further into consumer homes and lay the framework for a high-tech pipeline that delivers retail goods and groceries straight to consumers.