App Helps Truckers Report Accidents

The Accident Plan app leads drivers through each step of the accident reporting process, keeping administrators informed in real time and documenting every aspect of the event to assemble into a comprehensive report.

The Accident Plan app provides a seven-chapter training video to teach drivers about proper accident reporting and conduct.

“The motor carrier has long held the disadvantage when it comes to crash defense,” says Brendan Dawson, founder and CEO of Accident Plan. “That's due, at least in part, to the driver not having proper tools and training with which to adequately handle a stressful crash scene event.”

Finding the old paper accident kit inadequate, the Accident Plan app was built from the ground up to give drivers a tool to help them focus on the critical task at hand and to help carriers proactively manage claims.

An annual subscription to the Accident Plan service costs $25 per driver.

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Charger Keeps Batteries Topped Off in Winter

Purkeys has developed the 100 amp Pack Accelerated Charger to quickly and safely charge batteries in nearly half of the time of other chargers.

The PAC is designed to help fleets keep batteries at a good state of charge during cold winter months, according to Purkeys. Cold weather can make it harder to crank a motor and the extra loads from the heaters and other equipment can strain heavy-duty vehicle batteries.

Fleets can use the PAC to keep batteries in a high state of charge. The 100 amp continuous charger is compatible with AGM and flooded cell batteries. The device also shows how long it will take batteries to charge, based on voltage and the number of batteries being charged.

The PAC can charge up to eight batteries simultaneously without removing them from the vehicle. Because the PAC is a 100 amp continuous charger, it decreases recharge time to keep batteries optimally charged.

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EROAD adds IFTA Easy File to tax management solution

EROAD announced a new IFTA Easy File enhancement to its Electronic Tax Management solution. The new feature is designed to reduce the time and complexity of filing quarterly IFTA (International Fuel Tax Agreement) returns.

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Daimler: Mexico a ‘Land of Opportunity’

Daimler Trucks North America sees opportunity in Mexico -- but challenges include new emissions standards and volatile currency. Credit: Mexico Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes

PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO – In a year when dealers in the U.S. and Canada face a dramatic downturn in truck sales, Mexico is a world apart. As of November the market for Class 4-8 vehicles was up 18.5%, and Daimler Trucks North America accounted for 36% of it – up 7.8% over last year.

But Stefan Kurschner, president and CEO of Daimler Vehiculos Comerciales Mexico, says there's room for more.

“It's a country which has its problems, but it is a land of opportunity as well,” he said Thursday in a briefing to media from across North America.

The year-to-date sales of 30,190 Class 4-8 trucks – 26,890 of which were Class 8 models – is still a fraction of what the country should require, he said, suggesting the market could handle double those volumes. The average age for a truck in Mexico is also 17.8 years; more than 150,000 vehicles on the road today are still over 20 years old.

There are undeniable economic challenges, though. Mexico's Gross Domestic Product will grow by just over 2% this year. And the peso continues to struggle in the face of low oil prices.

Daimler is offsetting the currency challenge by setting prices in pesos, unlike other manufacturers in the market, and guaranteeing the prices for six months at a time. Prices had been set in U.S. dollars until as recently as 2015, leaving dealers to account for shifting exchange rates in quotes and when filing taxes.

“It was very, very complicated,” said Fernando Zapata of Zapata Camiones, a dealership group with 558 employees. But the peso pricing has simplified the issue, and is playing a role in Daimler's growing market share, ...Read the rest of this story

Don’t dismiss small trucking companies just yet

I'm as guilty as anyone in terms of predicting the demise of the small motor carrier – overlooking, as many in trucking do, that 90% or so of the fleets in this industry operate six or fewer trucks, while 97% or so operate fewer than 20 trucks.

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Q. We get requests for adjusting the self adjusting clutches. Are there any options for manually adjusting the clutch?

A. The self-adjusting mechanism on the Eaton Solo Advantage and EverTough self-adjust models does not require manual adjustment. In normal operation, the clutch will make periodic adjustments to keep the bearing position in an optimal position for bearing travel and plate load. The only time there may be a need to make any manual adjustment is in the rare case of an over-adjust event. In that case, the reset procedure in the CLSM 0200 (heavy duty clutch service manual) or the CLSM 0100 (medium duty clutch service manual) should be followed.

These documents can be found on www.roadranger.com.

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OOIDA to Michigan: Public-private partnerships are not the solution