Texas poised to be next to allow autonomous testing

Texas is poised to become the next state to allow testing of fully autonomous vehicles on public roads after the state's legislature approved a bill creating the basic framework manufacturers will need to follow.

The legislation was passed by the House on May 20. That approval came several weeks after the Senate unanimously approved the measure. If signed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R), the law would take effect on Sept. 1.

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Musk’s Boring Company shares photos of underground electric cars

The Boring Company, a venture started by Tesla founder Elon Musk, created an online frenzy late last week with the release of several new images showing a concept version of its electric underground cars.

The series of photos were posted without any additional information on Boring's web site. They show a number of passengers, several with bicycles, inside a glass-enclosed shuttle.

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Keep up the Pressure

Inflation pressure should be checked with a reliable gauge at least weekly, and every time a trailer comes out of a drop yard. Photo from Michelin.

Almost everyone is familiar with the adage 10% under-inflation can cause a 1% degradation in fuel economy due to the increased rolling resistance of softer tires. So, are we talking about 1 tire out of 18, just the tires on the truck, just the tires on the trailer or would all the tires have to 10% under inflated to account for the 1% reduction in fuel economy?

We asked several tire makers that question and the answer was universal: all the tires need to be 10% underinflated before the truck sees a 1%-drop in fuel economy.

Here's how Terry Smouter describes it. He's the business development manager for Continental Commercial Vehicle Tires.

"The overall fuel economy of the vehicle is dependent on the axle position of the under-inflated tire," he says. "The drive and trailer axles contribute more to the overall fuel economy of a truck than the steer position."

There have been multiple studies conducted in Europe and here at home that show in general that tire pressure maintenance isn't something all fleets are good at.

So, what exactly is recommended pressure? There is only one official reference to tire pressure anywhere; the tire makers' Load & Inflation tables (also available through the Tire Industry Association). The L&IT speak only to the minimum pressure required to support a given load, which isn't much to go on.

"The load and inflation tables are standards that are consistently maintained by all tire manufacturers and provide the guidelines to which tires can safely carry a given load," notes Prosser Carnegie, product development manager for Continental Truck Tires, NAFTA. "The key concern as a tire manufacturer is when a tire is being run ...Read the rest of this story

Regular Tire Inspections Save Time in the Long Run

Stay on top of tire inflation and most of your roadside failures will disappear. Photo from Goodyear.

Today, Monday May 29, marks the beginning of National Tire Safety Week. It's a consumer-focused initiative presented by the Rubber Manufacturers Association designed to remind passenger car drivers and owners to get their tires into tip-top shape prior to the beginning of the summer road trip season, which begins officially with the long Memorial Day weekend.

This year, the American Automobile Association estimates that more than 39 million Americans will have hit the road this past weekend on a trip of 50 miles or more. That's a lot of potential flat tires.

But what's 50 miles? Heck, our tires aren't even warmed up in 50 miles. Every day of the year, long haul trucks run the equivalent of an average family's "big summer road trip" or cross-state visit to Grandma's place, so reminders such as this one could be easily dismissed. However, we all know that tire maintenance isn't one of trucking's strongest suits.

Besides, in less than two weeks we'll be facing CVSA's RoadCheck 2017 (June 6-8). While the stated focus of this year's RoadCheck event is cargo securement, rest assured that inspectors will not be ignoring tires.

If there are problems with your tires, you might need some time to schedule service to sort out the problem. Even if time is tight, remember that a thorough tire and wheel inspection will take a lot less time than the service call required to repair a tire gone bad.

"Not practicing proper tire care is the biggest pitfall we see," says Jason Evans, director of store operations for GCR Commercial Tires & Service, a division of Bridgestone Americas' Tire Operations. "We expect our tires to do a lot for us, and they need to be inspected frequently. ...Read the rest of this story

In Observance of Memorial Day

Like many across the country on Monday, Heavy Duty Trucking is observing Memorial Day and closing our offices. However, many of our readers will still be working hard that day, so we have filled our newsletter with some of the most popular online articles from the past few months.

Our editors not only put in hard work to publish our print magazine, but also produce great online content, all of which is written and edited to help improve your fleet business as well as provide various thoughts on every aspect of the industry.

Whether it is our features, blogs, or videos, all of it is done in the hope that our readers will gain new and useful insights on trucking.

Follow @HDTrucking on Twitter

Uber Retires Otto Brand Name

The retirement of the Otto brand name comes on the heels of a tough year for the autonomous truck company. Photo: Otto

Uber has quietly put the Otto brand name out to pasture, according to published reports out of San Francisco. As Forbes reports, “Uber consolidated Otto's activities under its Advanced Technologies Group, or Uber ATG, in April and ‘retired the Otto name.'” Uber has had no further comment on the move since, although the Forbes article does note that “the change came shortly after the dismissal of a trademark infringement suit brought by Kitchener, Ontario-based Otto Motors, a unit of Clearpath Robotics that makes autonomous vehicles for warehouses and industrial facilities.”

There is no word yet from Uber on what the company will rename its autonomous truck technology business. In a written statement to Forbes, Otto Motors spokesperson Meghan Hennessey said, “We are continuing to operate under the Otto brand, whereas Uber has recently announced on its website that it is retiring the Otto name.”

The report comes amidst a tough year for Uber's autonomous vehicle development. Uber acquired Otto last summer, only to have another autonomous technology company, Google's Waymo business division, file suit against it in February of this year. The lawsuit accused Otto co-founder and former Waymo employee, Anthony Levandowski, of stealing tech secrets and colluding with Uber to have that company acquire Otto once the company was up and running.

When Uber launched its much-anticipated Uber Freight brokerage app last week, some observers were surprised that it had nothing to do with autonomous trucks. While there's much speculation that Uber Freight and the company's autonomous truck division will eventually synchronize operations and offerings, the company is downplaying such talk, for now, telling HDT Editor in Chief Deborah Lockridge, “I can say Uber's mission is to make transportation reliable, seamless ...Read the rest of this story

Uber Retires Otto Brand Name

The retirement of the Otto brand name comes on the heels of a tough year for the autonomous truck company.

Photo: Otto

Uber has quietly put the Otto brand name out to pasture, according to published reports out of San Francisco. As Forbes reports, “Uber consolidated Otto's activities under its Advanced Technologies Group, or Uber ATG, in April and ‘retired the Otto name.'” Uber has had no further comment on the move since, although the Forbes article does note that “the change came shortly after the dismissal of a trademark infringement suit brought by Kitchener, Ontario-based Otto Motors, a unit of Clearpath Robotics that makes autonomous vehicles for warehouses and industrial facilities.”

There is no word yet from Uber on what the company will rename its autonomous truck technology business. In a written statement to Forbes, Otto Motors spokesperson Meghan Hennessey said, “We are continuing to operate under the Otto brand, whereas Uber has recently announced on its website that it is retiring the Otto name.”

The report comes amidst a tough year for Uber's autonomous vehicle development. Uber acquired Otto last summer, only to have another autonomous technology company, Google's Waymo business division, file suit against it in February of this year. The lawsuit accused Otto co-founder and former Waymo employee, Anthony Levandowski, of stealing tech secrets and colluding with Uber to have that company acquire Otto once the company was up and running.

When Uber launched its much-anticipated Uber Freight brokerage app last week, some observers were surprised that it had nothing to do with autonomous trucks. While there's much speculation that Uber Freight and the company's autonomous truck division will eventually synchronize operations and offerings, the company is downplaying such talk for now, telling HDT Editor in Chief Deborah Lockridge, “I can say Uber's mission is to make transportation reliable, seamless and ...Read the rest of this story