E-Horizon Weather Alert Service Helps Drivers Avoid Traffic

Weather Telematics is now offering E-Horizon Weather Hazard Alert Service, an Add-In provides customers with a proactive accident avoidance system that transmits verbal and visual warnings of weather-related road hazards to dispatchers and drivers.

E-Horizon is designed to provide a toolkit for fleet managers and telematics service providers to manage the impact of weather hazards on fleet logistics.

“We are excited to be launching our E-Horizon Road Weather Hazard Alert Service with Geotab,” said Bob Moran president and CEO, Weather Telematics. “The focus of our business is reducing transportation risk and saving lives. Our relationship with Geotab reflects our strategic goal of providing safer transportation services in all global markets through strong global partnerships.”

The service is available on the Geotab Marketplace which offers GPS fleet management and vehicle tracking solutions. The Marketplace is a complement to the MyGeotab platform provides customers with an ecosystem of business-focused applications and add-ons. The Marketplace is on track to feature over 200 third party application by the end of the year.

“Fleet and driver safety is one of our major focal points at Geotab, which makes E-Horizon an excellent addition to the Geotab Marketplace,” said Neil Cawse, Geotab CEO. “With its proactive weather alert capabilities on both a verbal and visual level, we anticipate that Marketplace users from fleets of all sizes will reap significant benefits with E-Horizon.”

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International adds predictive cruise to ProStar, LoneStar models

Navistar has announced that is now offering predictive cruise control technology on Class 8 ProStar and LoneStar models.

Predictive cruise uses “preinstalled GPS maps and the latest commercial route data to make adjustments to cruising speed without the need to pre-drive the route,” the company said.

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New Goodyear tire targets rugged mixed-service applications

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has introduced its Armor Max Pro Grade MSD tire for hardworking construction, cement, dump and coal field trucks.

“Part of the Goodyear Total Solution for fleets, the Goodyear Armor Max Pro Grade MSD builds on the toughness of the popular Goodyear G177, while providing enhanced traction, miles to removal and retread ability,” said Evan Perrow, marketing manager, Goodyear.

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Can trucking prosper in a free shipping-minded world?

The demand for free shipping, especially for e-commerce goods, seems to be placing greater and greater stress on last-mile delivery networks.

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Meritor Wabco Earns Hino Quality and Delivery Awards

Meritor Wabco has received the 2015 Excellence in Quality and the 2015 On-Time Delivery Performance Awards from Hino Motors.

The two awards recognize Meritor Wabco for achieving a zero parts per million defect rate and a 100% on-time delivery during the 2015 calendar year. Meritor Wabco has been recognized with the quality award seven times in the past eight years and has received the on-time delivery award five times.

Meritor Wabco supplies Hino with pneumatic and hydraulic anti-lock braking systems for commercial vehicles built in North America since 2003.

The awards were presented to Meritor Wabco by Kazuhiro Somiya, president of Hino Motors, U.S.A, at the recent Hino 2016 Annual Business Meeting in Plymouth, Mich. The awards were received by Jamie Sanderson, a quality engineer at Meritor Wabco.

"Hino has a reputation for reliability," said Matthew Stevenson, president and general manager, Meritor WABCO. "We're proud to support Hino's well-earned reputation and honored to receive their quality and delivery awards so many times."

Related: Hino Trucks Produces 50,000th Vehicle

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Class Action Lawsuit Against Swift Re-Approved By Appeals Court

An Arizona Court of Appeals has overturned a previous superior court ruling, allowing a more than decade old class-action lawsuit against Swift Transportation to proceed.

In 2015, a trial judge denied the original approval of a class action lawsuit designation for the case, according to The Arizona Republic. The new ruling by the Court of Appeals overturns that trial judge's ruling.

In a court document, the Court of Appeals stated that Swift failed to show that the case would be unmanageable as a class-action suit and said that “Arizona law applies to the drivers' claim for breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing.”

The new ruling does not decide in favor or against the actual claims made in the case, but states that based on the defense and accusations made so far in the history of the lawsuit, there is enough validity for it to continue forward to trial.

The original 2005 lawsuit claimed that Swift cheated its drivers out of compensation and involved as many as 80,000 truckers employed by the company at the time. Swift is accused of using the Household Mover's Guide, which produced mileage figures that are less than actual miles driven, to calculate mileage driven compensation and did so without disclosing that information to the drivers.

The lawsuit claimed that, in some cases, compensation was shorted by up to 10% compared to actual miles driven. While both sides have argued whether the drivers were adequately informed of Swift's decision to use the HHG mileage standard and if it constituted a breach of contract, at the center of the case still remains the question of whether the carrier was acting in good faith by using it in the first place.

Swift has denied in court any wrongdoing.

For the full Appeals Court opinion, click here.

Related: Lawsuit Against Swift Transportation Certified as Class Action

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IronPlanet Adds Instant Financing Options

IronPlanet, an online marketplace for selling and buying used equipment and other durable assets, announced that buyers on IronPlanet, TruckPlanet, and GovPlanet can take advantage of instant express financing on equipment purchases when they want to bid.

Bidders can choose to get pre-approved for financing instantly via Express prior to bidding so they are confident in placing higher bids, or they can choose instant financing via Express after purchasing an item. Cat Financial, a trusted name in the industry, is also a partner with IronPlanet for equipment finance.

Buyers can pre-qualify for financing or get it at the time of purchase by clicking on the Express “power dollar” on IronPlanet equipment pages. IronPlanet buyers can take advantage of fast, competitive options for financing whether they are purchasing a crawler tractor on IronPlanet, a long-haul truck from TruckPlanet, or a Humvee (HMMWV) on GovPlanet.

“Express's ability to provide instant financing gives our buyers more purchasing power and greater transparency in their ability to make equipment purchases,” said Randy Berry senior vice president, operations & services for IronPlanet. “At IronPlanet we are committed to giving our customers the confidence to bid on big, heavy equipment that keeps their businesses running. From our IronClad Assurance, to our long-time partnership with VeriTread, and now our multiple warranty and financing options, online buyers have an integrated experience that lets them bid, buy, transport and put to work the used equipment they buy from us – all in one transaction from their office or jobsite.”

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