GT Radial Offers SmartWay-Verified Long Haul Drive Tire

GT Radial has introduced the GDL651FS long haul drive tire to the North American market, offering improved fuel economy, traction, and tread wear for long haul operations.

The SmartWay-verified tire is made with a low-rolling resistance compound to improve fuel economy and lower heat generation for durability.

A four zigzag longitudinal groove design improves traction and driving stability while a continuous shoulder rib design helps to prevent irregular wear for longer mileage performance. An optimized tread block ratio also helps prevent irregular wear for longer mileage performance. An enhanced angle in the groove wall and tie bar helps to prevent stone trapping.

The GDL651FS, with a tread depth of 26/32-inches, is currently available in the 295/75R22.5 size; the product line will be expanded to all low pro and tall sizes in 2017. Like all GT Radial medium/heavy truck tires, it is backed by a 72-month limited warranty and limited two-retread casing warranty.

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Fiat Chrysler accused of emissions tampering

New York City’s Sanitation Department Begins DME Test

DME-fueled Pinnacle tractor waited at Mack's Allentown customer center last fall for test to begin. Photos: Tom Berg

Oberon Fuels and Mack Trucks say a demonstration of a dimethyl ether-fueled tractor has commenced with New York City's Department of Sanitation. First announced last fall, the project got underway after issues with storage of the unusual fuel were resolved.

DSNY will run the vehicle at the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island, New York, and evaluate performance and overall drivability. The test will take several weeks and results will be announced later this year.

The test is the first step in the city's evaluation of both DME trucks and DME fuel as a potential long-term strategy to help greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to achieve the city's goal of sending no waste to its landfill by 2030, the announcement said.

The tractor is a Mack Pinnacle axle-back model equipped with a 12.8-liter MP8 engine modified to run on DME, which is stored at moderate pressure in steel fuel tanks like those used for propane. The tandem rear-axle tractor has an mDrive automated manual transmission, and will pull equipment trailers to support DSNY operations.

New York City recently announced a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% in 2050 compared with 2005. In order to achieve this goal, the city must cut 43 million metric tons of GHG emissions from its fleet vehicles. If produced from organic waste, DME also could effectively reduce waste stream to the landfill.

“The New York City Department of Sanitation is committed to seeking opportunities to reduce our environmental footprint,” said Rocco DiRico, DSNY's deputy commissioner. “DME could be one solution to help us achieve this goal, and we are pleased to be partnering with Mack Trucks on this endeavor.”

“It is an honor to work with Mack Trucks and DSNY to ...Read the rest of this story

FMCSA to prepare safety fitness rule addendum

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) filed an update to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking this week regarding its new safety fitness determination (SFD) metho

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Driver Detention Rule Shelved For Now

A rule regulating driver detention may be shelved for the foreseeable future, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Policy Director Robert Miller said this week, according to a report posted by JOC.com.

While a report on excessive driver detention time will be released in the spring, a rulemaking will not follow it as FMCSA is expected to forgo extending regulations to shippers. The FAST Act does not require MCSA to regulate driver detention times or shipper operations, according to Miller, and the agency is not planning any rulemaking on it.

The federal government has been planning and assessing research on loading and unloading delays for drivers for many years. With the upcoming ELD mandate and current hours of service regulations, long delays while on duty can reduce a driver's productivity and profitability in ways that might encourage unsafe driving behavior or regulatory cheating.

The FAST Act directed FMCSA to issue regulations on collecting data on loading and unloading delays and to report the impact of those delays on the economy and efficiency of the transportation system.

As the JOC.com news story points out, Anne Ferro, FMCSA Admninistrator for part of the Obama administration, seemed to be focused on driver detention issues, even as she was on her way out of the position, advocating for drivers to receive at least the federal minimum wage for time spent waiting to be loaded or unloaded. She left her post in 2014.

“It is essential to recognize that professional drivers should be compensated for all time on duty,” Ferro told reporters in a 2014 exit interview. "That's integral to achieving the overall safety mission."

Related: 63% of Drivers Spend Over 3 Hours Waiting to Load, Unload

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