Mud Flap Retention System Can be Installed by Hand

BettsHD has introduced the Trailer Mud Flap Retention System designed for the retrofit or repair of trailer mud flap mounting on a variety of frames.

The system is designed for mounting on 48-inch wide slider boxes and frames where there are 2-inch or 2 7/8-inch mounting hole centers available.

It is an engineered mud flap mounting system that uses a proprietary spring steel mounting bracket. The bracket is capable of being installed using common hand tools, eliminating the need for welding during new mud flap installation or replacement. This allows for roadside and driver repair and is designed to increase vehicle uptime and keep trailers operating within legal requirements.

The mounting bracket is compatible with either the BettsHD Direct Flex mud flap hanger for severe-duty applications or the company's 27 ½-inch long, heavy duty spring-loaded mud flap hanger engineered specifically for wider trailer frames and full tire coverage.

The Trailer Mud Flap Retention System is available with either a left-hand or right-hand replacement/installation or as a complete system retrofit.

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Omnitracs Partners with Peloton on Truck Platooning Product

Photo: Peloton

Omnitracs and Peloton Technology announced a partnership that will bring Peloton's truck platooning technology to Omnitracs fleet management solutions customers. The partnership will also lead to joint solutions that combine each company's safety, efficiency, and fleet management capabilities.

Peloton will begin filling pre-orders of its platooning product for Class 8 trucks in 2017, offering a technology that synchronizes braking and acceleration between pairs of trucks, enabling the trucks to travel safely at aerodynamic following distances..

The trucks are synchronized through integrated vehicle-to-vehicle communications with radar-based collision avoidance systems.

“Peloton has developed technology that is on the cutting edge of advanced driver assistance systems and the automated vehicle movement,” said John Graham, CEO of Omnitracs. “Its emphasis on spatial awareness is a crucial and foundational component of improving truck safety and fuel efficiency.”

Peloton will help roll out its automated vehicle technology to Omnitracs customers, beginning with two-truck platooning. Omnitracs has a large customer base in the long-haul trucking segment, which stands to benefit significantly from platooning, according to Peloton.

Co-developed solutions from the partnership may include integrated cloud-based fleet management services and hardware.

Omnitracs is a fleet management software company offering solutions for fleet management, routing, and predictive analytics. Peloton is a connected and automated vehicle technology company that offers a driver-assistive platooning system.

“We are excited to be part of the first partnership of a commercial platooning system supplier with a leading fleet management provider,” said Joshua Switkes, founder and CEO of Peloton Technology. “We will offer expanded opportunities for platooning across the broad customer base that Omnitracs has attracted by focusing on cost advantages for fleets.”

Related: Self-Driving Trucks and the Platooning Stepping Stone: How Soon?

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Defending fleets against cyber threats

Every fleet today is connected, connected to its trucks, connected to its drivers, connected to its customers and even connected to its regulators. They have data that thieves want, and a password and firewall aren't enough anymore to keep them at bay.

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Old Sayings Apply While Driving Through Bad Weather

Jackknifes can occur fast and on snow and ice, and are very difficult to recover from. Photos: Tom Berg; from ABC and NBC newscasts. 

In my long-ago truck driving days, I always managed to “keep it between the fence posts,” to use an old saying. That means in dry or sloppy weather, I kept trucks on or near the roadway. It doesn't mean a truck never got away from me. That happened in the wee hours of a late winter morning, when light snow caused my truck to spin out, twice within a few minutes, on 90-degree curves.

The real cause was me driving too fast for conditions. Had I been driving a semi, it might not have ended well because pulling a trailer is far more tricky.

Newscasts within the last week, when blizzards hit the Northeast and elsewhere, showed a lot of scenes of jackknifed semis on various Interstates, and a few in ditches. While I didn't have to pull trailers through snow and ice in Wisconsin winters, I sometimes whined about traffic, idiot car drivers, and the weather.

My boss, a former driver, once lectured, “You're the one who's supposed to be in control of the truck. If you get into trouble, you're the one who's responsible.” Funny thing: Police tend to see it that way, too. My boss could've added that for every truck and driver that comes to grief along a certain stretch of road, there are many that don't. They must've done something right.

Slow way down in blinding conditions? Sure, but not so suddenly that you get rear-ended. Even better, park the truck in a safe place, like a truck stop, customer's yard (if they'll allow it), or rest area, and wait out the storm. Or seek a way around it. Watching weather forecasts, particularly those of a ...Read the rest of this story

CFI appoints new vice presidents of logistics, sales

CFI, a North American full-truckload carrier, announced the appointment of Bill Carter to the newly created position of vice president, logistics and Shepard Dunn as vice president, sales. Both will report to CFI President Tim Staroba.

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uShip raises $25M Series D to fund next wave of logistics automation

uShip, the online shipping marketplace and freight automation software provider, announced the close of a $25M Series D round led by DB Schenker.

DB Schenker's funding comes on the heels of unprecedented investment in logistics and supply chain technology. Since 2015, top pure-play logistics corporations have made 26 investments and/or acquisitions (13 each year), while logistics tech startups were on pace (as of October) to raise $5B through over 300 deals in 2016, according to CB Insights.

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Fleet Owner named Neal Award finalist

Fleet Owner has been nominated for two Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards.

The magazine is one of four finalists in Best Range of Work by a Single Author (Kevin Jones) and Best Commentary/Blog (Editor's Page). In addition, Fleet Owner's sister publication WardsAuto is a finalist in the Best Technical Content category.

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