Kenworth adds Medium-Duty Cabover Body Builder manual, video

The latest Kenworth Medium-Duty Cabover Body Builder Manual and new Kenworth cabover video are now available.

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Ford introduces new 2017 F-Series Super Duty

Ford released its all-new 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty pickup with class-exclusive driver-assist technologies.

Adaptive cruise control, adaptive steering, and Blind Spot Information System with trailer coverage are three of the new class-exclusive features available to heavy-duty pickup truck drivers for the first time on Super Duty.

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Geotab device measures, monitors off-road and trailer activity

Geotab announced the availability of GO RUGGED, developed for fleets with industrial heavy-duty and service vehicles. “Ideal for use in construction and engineering, agriculture, utilities, oil and gas, and mining, the GO RUGGED device provides users with increased visibility of location and status of equipment, powered assets and trailers; improved maintenance planning and reduced fuel costs,” the company said.

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FMCSA seeks ‘doable’ crash preventability assessment

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Scholarship Set Up in Memory of Aftermarket Leader

Jim Moss Photo courtesy Moss Family

A scholarship fund has been set up in honor of commercial vehicle aftermarket leader Jim Moss, who passed recently at the age of 82.

The Jim Moss, Aftermarket Legend, Scholarship will be awarded to a college student whose studies focus in the aftermarket or heavy duty industry with preference being given to Northwood University students. The scholarship was created by a group of aftermarket veterans and friends of Moss to honor his legacy in the industry.

Moss was an influential person in the commercial vehicle industry, starting publications like Truck Parts & Service and founding the Council of Fleet Specialists. He was also influential in the development of Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week.

After his passing, other industry people were inquiring about the best way to pay tribute to Moss, leading to the formation of the new scholarship. Moss was known as somebody who had a passion for his work and was willing to share his knowledge with others.

“I can say Jim was a good friend, a tireless advocate of the independent aftermarket, and shared his knowledge and wisdom freely,” said Dave Scheer, Inland Truck Parts. “We regularly discussed the marketplace and the various dynamics that caused it to grow and change.”

Donations of any size may be made payable to University of the Aftermarket Foundation. UAF is a 501c3; all donations are deductible.

Donors should indicate on their check “restricted to Jim Moss Scholarships”.

Checks should be mailed to:

Auto Care Association

Attn: Julie Brehm

Suite 1300

7101 Wisconsin Avenue

Bethesda, MD 20814

Related: Aftermarket Leader Jim Moss Passes Away

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FMCSA Proposes Taking Closer Look at Non-Preventable Crashes

Image: Minnesota DOT

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is proposing to pilot-test a program to determine the preventability of certain types of “less complex” truck crashes. Findings from the demo program could lead to FMCSA allowing the removal of certain non-preventable crashes so they do not count against a carrier's crash-indicator score.

During the project, the agency plans to accept Requests for Data Reviews (RDRs) that seek to establish the non-preventability of certain crashes through its DataQs national data-correction system.

FMCSA proposes that, as part of the demonstration program, the agency would accept an RDR when documentation establishes that a crash was not preventable by the motor carrier or commercial driver.

The pilot test may run for about two years, said Joe DeLorenzo, Director, FMCSA Office of Enforcement & Compliance, in a July 7 conference call with reporters. He noted that a 60-day comment period on the proposal will commence once it is published in the Federal Register, which he expects will be within the next few business days.

The FMCSA proposal calls for allowing carriers to challenge certain crashes in which it is clearly evident a truck is not at fault, such as when another motorist was driving under the influence; was driving the wrong direction; or struck the truck in the rear or while it was properly parked. Also included would be single-vehicle accidents involving an animal strike, “suicide by truck” or a failure of highway infrastructure.

DeLorenzo said that “interesting feedback from a study FMCSA conducted on the feasibility of using a motor carrier's role in crashes in the assessment of its safety was the source of the pilot program being proposed

That study assessed: (1) whether police accident reports (PARs) provide sufficient, consistent, and reliable information to support crash-weighting determinations; (2) whether a crash-weighting determination process would offer an even stronger predictor of crash risk than overall crash involvement and how crash weighting would be implemented in the Safety Measurement System (SMS); and (3) how FMCSA might manage a process for making crash-weighting determination, including the acceptance of public input.

“We looked at all the issues raised” by commenters on that study,” said DeLorenzo, including those who “talked about crashes that are easier to determine as non-preventable and then take off a carrier's [safety] record.” The agency also wants to consider looking at “more documentation than police reports” to make a determination whether a crash was preventable or not as well as whether either determination can be made. He did not rule out that such additional documentation might include video captured in a cab.

“By looking at this over perhaps 24 months or so, we can review the crashes and the impact [of this approach] on the agency, the industry and carriers,” said DeLorenzo.

He added that the demo program would “put some meat on” the agency's research “before we decided how we might move forward with such a program.”

The American Trucking Associations was quick to endorse the demo proposal.

"Since FMCSA began using crash history to rate motor carriers' safety, ATA has argued that crashes a driver could not have prevented shouldn't be counted on a carrier's safety record," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves.

He added that the announced project is “a step toward that goal and we appreciate FMCSA adopting ATA's call to provide a way for carriers to strike these tragic, but non-preventable crashes from their record.

"ATA hopes this demonstration project is a step toward a more robust and complete system for carriers to dispute and ultimately strike crashes that were not the fault of the commercial driver," added Graves. "We look forward to monitoring FMCSA's progress as they advance this important program. By improving crash accountability and data, FMCSA can improve the performance and accuracy of the CSA monitoring system-- a goal ATA wholeheartedly supports."

Click here to read FMCSA's notice on the proposal that will be published in the Federal Register.

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FTR: Class 8 orders for June remain depressed

FTR releases preliminary Class 8 net orders for June at 13,000 units, 8% below May and -34% Y/Y. June 2016 order activity was the lowest monthly total since July 2012 and the worst June since 2009.

FTR said it expects Class 8 orders to remain tepid through the summer months. All OEM's were equally impacted by slow order intake. The annualized rate of orders continues to drop, at 162,000 now for past three months, 185,000 for the past six months and 224,000 over the past 12 months.

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