I-95 Now Open Through North Carolina

Image: North Carolina DOT

Interstate 95 has been re-opened throughout North Carolina after earlier closures due to Hurricane Matthew, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has announced.

However, NCDOT said that I-95 Southbound is reduced to one lane in these two locations:

NCDOT added that many roadways in eastern North Carolina still remain closed due to extensive flooding in low-lying areas, caused by the powerful the storm that hit the Southeast Atlantic Coast between Florida and the Carolinas from Oct. 7-9.

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CTEA 53rd Annual Manufacturers’ Conference

Navistar launches Core Advantage Program

Navistar announced the launch of the Core Advantage Program, a new approach for core life cycle management. The Core Advantage Program helps fleet owners reduce their overall costs by helping them to manage their core and remanufacturing activity through new tools like the Navistar proprietary software Core Management System (CMS), Navistar said. Cores are used or failed parts that have been returned by the customer at the end of its product life.

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Time for a few video updates …

There's a lot going on in the world of trucking at the moment – with the sluggish start to what's generally considered to be the “peak season” for freight volumes one of the more worrisome items.

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NHTSA Official Talks Autonomous Vehicles, Safety Tech at FTX

Photo by Thi Dao

Tim Johnson, director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Vehicle Research and Test Center, gave the keynote address at the Fleet Technology Expo in Schaumburg, Ill. Johnson provided an overview of vehicle safety technologies, covering systems that have recently been introduced to the market as well as technologies currently being developed, such as autonomous vehicles.

NHTSA conducts research on safety systems, offers grants, and sets policy related to traffic safety. Its Vehicle Research and Test Center evaluates safety systems from a variety of sources.

"We're testing whatever we can get our hands on at the test facility," Johnson said.

The main focus of the presentation was autonomous vehicles, and Johnson provided details of five levels of autonomous vehicle technology. Driver alert systems, such as crash warnings and electronic stability control, are considered Level 0 because they alert the driver but do not offer any sustained control of the vehicle. Level 1 features, which offer sustained lateral or longitudinal control, are being incorporated in many safety systems today, including adaptive cruise control and truck platooning.

Level 2 features offer sustained lateral and longitudinal control, in which the driver is responsible for monitoring the driving environment and retaking control. An example of this level is the Tesla autopilot. At the moment, no available vehicles have reached Levels 3-5, though Johnson noted that it's the next step. The agency issued a federal policy on autonomous vehicles in September.

The agency's ultimate vision is implementing onboard sensors and vehicle-to-vehicle communications systems for 360-degree awareness around the vehicle. Johnson believes that more safety technologies will cut down on accidents significantly.

Johnson also took questions from conference attendees, addressing the importance of keeping vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems secure and government's role in promoting safety technologies.

Related: Feds Release Autonomous Vehicle Policy

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