Safety Companies Offer Advice Ahead of Roadcheck 2017

Image via Instructional Technologies Inc.

With the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's International Roadcheck around the corner, several trucking safety brands are offering free training and advice to help fleets prepare for roadside inspections.

This year's Roadcheck takes place from June 6-8 and will put special emphasis on cargo securement. During the three-day event, CVSA-certified commercial vehicle inspectors around North America will conduct inspections of commercial vehicles and their drivers.

Instructional Technologies Inc. is offering free cargo securement training ahead of and after the 2017 Roadcheck. From now until June 15, ITI will offer its Flatbed Safety class free of charge. The course focuses on securement rules for flatbed cargo as well as safe operating instructions for securing cargo. Topics include working load limits, anchoring straps, proper use of tie down bars, PPE for flatbed operations, working at heights, and interacting with forklifts or cranes.

Click here to access Flatbed Safety Training for CVSA Roadcheck.

Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems is offering advice to fleets preparing for the inspection blitz, emphasizing the attention to detail required in fleet and vehicle operation. Regular and thorough maintenance is a key component of safe commercial vehicle operation, according to Bendix, and the company stresses a two-level approach.

The first level is the pre-trip visual inspection: Drivers should never get behind the wheel without a walk-around look for loose hoses, damaged or dangling brake components like air chambers and pushrods, and similar obvious problems. If a vehicle is equipped with an active safety system that includes a forward-facing radar unit or camera, these components need to be kept clear of obstructions like snow, ice, and road debris.

The second level is preventive maintenance: Regularly scheduled, bumper-to-bumper review of a vehicle. Where the air brakes are concerned, in-the-shop inspections should include conducting a 90 to 100 psi brake application and listening ...Read the rest of this story

CRASH!

I just knew there had to “be an app for that.” I'm not sure there is—YET. The smart phones now have crash sensors. They can sense when the phone is being dropped and can prepare the circuitry for the shock of hitting the pavement.

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Volvo: Class 8 outlook remains steady for 2017

WINSTON-SALEM, NC. Roughly five months into 2017, Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) still thinks the North American Class 8 market will top 215,000 units for the year – truck production volume that is being driven in part by strong construction spending, which the OEM said is at its highest level since 2007.

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Rethinking the regional trucking market

WINSTON-SALEM, NC. The main reason driving Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) to introduce the new VNR family of trucks to replace its VNM model is a fairly simple one, according to Chris Stadler, the OEM's product marketing manager for regional haul: “The VNM is an aged truck; it was time for a refresh. We needed a more adaptable truck, too: one that can operate in the city and on the highway.”

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Senators Reintroduce Bipartisan Vehicle Technology Bill

Photo: Peloton

U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) have announced that they are reintroducing the Vehicle Innovation Act, which is aimed at encouraging investment, research, and development in clean vehicle and advanced safety technologies.

The authors of the bill argue that it could help Americans by increasing vehicle fuel efficiency and reducing our dependence on foreign oil. The three senators introduced similar legislation, the Energy Policy Modernization Act, in 2016, which was approved by the Senate. The House of Representatives then approved a version of that bill that included changes that were not in the Senate version. The changes between the two bills were never resolved so the legislation was never passed

The new Vehicle Innovation Act would strengthen and streamline the Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Office. The Vehicle Technologies Office promotes public-private partnerships to conduct technology-neutral research and development on a range of new technologies to improve fuel efficiency in light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The bill supports domestic research and development, growing the advanced manufacturing industry in the U.S., and reducing dependence on foreign oil.

“Michigan and the United States are leading the way in developing innovative technologies that will make the next generation of cars and trucks safer and more efficient than ever before,” said Sen. Peters. “This bipartisan bill will help ensure that American manufacturers remain internationally competitive by encouraging the development of cutting-edge clean vehicle technologies that improve fuel efficiency, save consumers money and help support American jobs.”

The legislation would authorize resources for the Vehicle Technology Office to encourage research, including $313.6 million in funding for fiscal-year 2018 with a 4% increase each year through 2022.

The money could be used to advance potential fuel –saving technologies such as vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications, hybrids, engine downspeeding, power pack modeling and testing, advanced ...Read the rest of this story

IdleAir Not Letting Lower Diesel Prices Stop Idle Reduction Growth

A partnership with Duke Energy is allowing a truck stop facility to be installed in Kenly, N.C. Photo courtesy Duke Energy.

As temperatures heat up around the country, IdleAir is working to expand the number of fleets using its idle reduction technology to keep trucks cool and provide power for cab comforts.

IdleAir offers heat and air conditioning, power, TV, Internet and other services at truck stops, terminals and other locations to reduce overnight truck idling. But low fuel prices have made it harder for truck owners to justify the investment in idle reduction services and technologies, whether that be APUs or electrification.

When Convoy Solutions bought the defunct Idle Aire and resurrected it as IdleAir in 2010, diesel fuel was running about $3 a gallon retail. Last year it averaged about $2.30. If idling takes a gallon of fuel per hour, and the charge for Idle Air at truck stops is $2.19 per hour, that's not a lot of savings (although bundles are available that can get that cost down to as low as $1.75 per hour.)

“We've had to be more competitive on a price basis because diesel prices are 40% lower than they were in 2014,” IdleAir CEO Ethan Garber told HDT in an interview.

Last year, Idle Air said it was responding to the challenge of lower diesel prices by offering more value, locking in long-term electricity rates when possible, streamlining internal operations to reduce costs — and focusing more on building its facilities at fleets.

IdleAir's traditional market is owner-operators at truckstops. But today, major fleets such as Covenant Transport and Western Express are tying IdleAir usage to their fuel cards on a seasonal basis, allowing them to turn on the access to the service only in the summer months, relying on more-efficient bunk heaters ...Read the rest of this story

Volvo’s Tough Tech Truck

A bold grill and striking swept-back fenders give the new Volvo VNR tractor a bold, big-truck vibe with real-world aerodynamic and visibility benefits. Photo: Jack Roberts

With all the industry buzz today focused on autonomous tech and futuristic designs, trucks still need to work hard in tough surroundings. That's a theme clearly on display with Volvo's new VNR tractor. The truck targets the rapidly evolving regional-haul business model, but this is not a radical design by any means. Rather, the truck is more of a distillation of everything Volvo has learned over decades of vehicle design, combined with the latest in ergonomics, connectivity, and advanced technology. The result is a highly capable urban delivery system that is optimized for uptime, productivity, and safety.

I just completed a route through the center of Winston-Salem, N.C., in a new VNR to see for myself how Volvo is approaching the increasing demands of inner-city delivery demands. The truck itself is loaded with new technology. But the new tech isn't overwhelming or even all that evident while you're driving. It's more accurate to say Volvo engineers have scaled the technology in a way that consistently compliments or aids a driver, as opposed to demanding their attention or attempting to do tasks for them.

Volvo engineers started with the basics. The VNR features outstanding sight lines anywhere a driver looks. Normally, when I talk about sight lines, I'm referring to exterior views to the front, sides and rear of a truck. But Volvo has taken this a step further with the introduction of a new, tilt-neck steering wheel.

It's a pretty slick system all the way around. Depress a foot pedal at the base of the steering column all the way to the floor and the wheel assembly easily pivots up or down, as well as in or out, ...Read the rest of this story