Missouri Gov. Vetoes Platoon Program After Tesla Incident

Missouri Gov. Vetoes Platoon Program After Tesla Incident

Missouri Governor Jeremiah W. Nixon has vetoed HB1733, a bill that would have established a pilot program for testing automated long-haul trucks using platooning technology.

In a letter explaining his veto, Gov. Nixon said that one of the reasons for his veto was that establishing a pilot program for testing platooning vehicles on Missouri highways could put the public at risk.

He specifically referenced an accident involving a self-driving Tesla car that lead to the death of an Ohio man as an example of the danger automated driving technology could pose.

“Automated driving technology has advanced significantly within the last several years, however the long term safety and reliability of this technology remains unproven,” Nixon stated. “That fact was tragically highlighted with the recent fatality involving a self-driving passenger vehicle.”

In the May 7 incident, a man Joshua Brown was killed while using the Autopilot feature of his Tesla Model S. A white tractor-trailer made a left turn in front of the Tesla at an intersection, but the autopilot failed to "see" the vehicle and did not brake. It is believed that the Autopilot's cameras were unable to recognize the white trailer against a brightly lit sky.

Gov. Nixon says that he felt that platooning could pose an even greater risk to the public because it requires multiple large trucks to travel in tandem with little separation and synchronized braking and acceleration.

“The risks associated with automated vehicles are even greater considering the size of long-haul trucks and the catastrophic damage that could occur if the technology failed,” he stated. “Using Missouri highways as a testing ground for long-haul trucks to deploy this unproven technology is simply a risk not worth taking at this time.”

Related: White Trailer Proved Invisible to Tesla's Autonomous System

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Shop productivity and OSHA travel the same road

There are many things you can do to keep OSHA happy. But the first thing you need to do is to keep yourself, your employees, boss or owner happy.

The first thing you many want to do is take a camera around the shop with you and take a couple hundred pictures. That's not hard today with a digital camera. Then, once you take those pictures, create a slideshow, and you will see that you have plenty to do.

Here are some basic things to consider:

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Love’s Adds CNG Pumps to Oklahoma Travel Stop

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Photo via Love's Travel Stops

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Photo via Love's Travel Stops

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The Love's Travel Stop in Guthrie, Okla., off Interstate 35, is now offering Fast-Fill compressed natural gas for heavy-duty trucks, the company announced.

The recently acquired Trillium CNG, now a part of the Love's family of companies, will maintain the CNG fuel systems at the travel stop and maintain reliable service.

“Trillium as the CNG affiliate of Love's strengthens the experience we can offer our Customers,” said Bill Cashmareck, general manager of natural gas for Love's. “Trillium is the best in the industry for CNG systems maintenance and their expertise ensures operations will remain in top condition for years to come. Meanwhile, customers can expect the same level of service Love's stores are known for.”

Love's added CNG to the Gurthrie location due to the heavy traffic on Interstate 35 40 miles north of Oklahoma City. It joins a string of Fast-Fill CNG Love's locations along Interstate 35, including fueling stations in Ardmore, Okla., Fort Worth and San Antonio, Texas.

Guthrie is Love's 18th overall location to offer Love's Fast-Fill CNG. Together Love's and Trillium own 65 CNG locations and operate nearly 100 additional locations.

“As Love's and Trillium move forward together, we will keep our focus on designing and building high-quality CNG stations, both for ourselves and others. Trillium will also keep providing maintenance services for existing locations, and for others in the CNG market,” said Cashmareck.

Related: Trillium CNG Officially Joins Love's Travel Stops

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MacroPoint Integrates with 3PL Systems’ BrokerWare TMS

MacroPoint has announced an integration with transportation management system software provider 3PL Systems to help automate certain processes between shippers and brokers.

MacroPoint is integrating with 3PLs Systems' BrokerWare to automate the tracking of shipment information, which will help customers book more loads from valued shippers.

3PL Systems BrokerWare TMS offers dispatch and operations capabilities that rely on accurate load tracking. Through customer and sales portals in the web-based application, brokers using the TMS can track shipments. Other features of BrokerWare include least-cost routing, a bi-directional accounting integration, and a carrier selection function for researching provider qualifications.

“Through our new integration with 3PL Systems, MacroPoint's load tracking solution will enhance benefits that 3PL Systems already offers its customers,” said Dave Halsema, executive vice president of MacroPoint. “We are pleased they have enabled MacroPoint with their TMS and look forward to providing their brokerage users with freight tracking and real-time location monitoring.”

MacroPoint designs freight monitoring and tracking solutions for shippers, brokers and 3PLs. Its solution works on any cell phone and with existing in-cab electronic logging devices or GPS tracking devices to provide real-time location monitoring and tracking, delivery monitoring and event notifications for third parties.

Related: Logistic Dynamics Offers Freight Tracking With MacroPoint

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Bestpass Brings More Features to its Online Portal

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Screenshot via Bestpass

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Screenshot via Bestpass

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Bestpass has launched a new version of its web portal at my.bestpass.com, allowing customers to more efficiently manage their fleets and access advanced tolling and trucking analytics and reporting.

The updated portal gives customers more options for viewing and changing their fleet data through an online interface. Previously, fleets had to go through customer service to access certain kinds of data or to make changes, but Bestpass redesigned the portal and upgraded it based on customer feedback, giving users more options and more accessibility.

The portal gains enhanced transparency with the ability to search and make vehicle updates, instead of having to directly contact customer service. It features targeted search across all toll transactions, as well as advanced filtering options, including transponder, date/time, facility, vehicle and cost center.

There is also a feature to upload necessary data and files, from entire vehicle lists to cab cards and truck photos and an improved dashboard.

“We always strive to make things easier for our customers, and this new portal has a number of features that will facilitate a great deal of back-office efficiency,” said John Andrews, president and CEO of Bestpass. “For a fleet manager with hundreds of vehicles incurring tolling fees with dozens of tolling groups, having all of that data in one place is invaluable, saving countless hours in the back office and allowing the manager to make more strategic decisions.”

By aggregating what would normally be multiple tolling accounts, with disparate interfaces and sets of data, the Bestpass customer portal allows fleet managers and other customers to see a more comprehensive and meaningful picture of toll usage and truck activity across an entire fleet, enabling them to make strategic decisions much more efficiently.

The portal also lets users download comprehensive toll spreadsheets, manage payments, and proactively submit tickets and violations for potential correction, among other options.

The portal's notification platform provides users with alerts such as exclusion zone infractions, inactive transponders, pending payments and automated toll exports.

In addition to launching a new web portal, Bestpass has also expanded its Customer Service team to meet the demands of the company's growing client base, which surpassed 3,000 accounts in 2015. The Customer Service department handled more than 40,000 incoming support requests last year, including phone calls, emails and live chats.

For more information, click here.

Related: Bestpass Revamps National Tolling Solution and Expands Coverage

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