This is the TDMST Weekly Round-Up of news affecting professional truck drivers, written by Vicki Simons for the week ending May 13, 2017.
We welcome your comments, thoughts and feedback on the items of your choice below.
1. According to an article — and following the announcement of a $10 million quarterly operating loss — Celadon Trucking plans to cease operations at its Battleboro, NC, facility and lay off 127 employees by June 30, 2017. “Celadon blamed the operating loss on irregular freight route operations and vowed to fight the problem by hiring more company drivers and relying less on owner-operators.”
A May 10, 2017, article stated that “18 local drivers” will be affected.(a)
2. A May 11, 2017, article stated, “Uber hired the team behind a Chicago transportation brokerage last fall as part of an effort to break into the long-haul trucking industry” and “The deal comes as Uber is vying to apply the logistics expertise it has gained ferrying passengers in countries around the world to the trucking industry.”
Do you believe that Uber will be as successful in matching freight with trucks as it has been in matching passengers with rides?
How will this affect your income, truckers?
3. What would cause a truck’s brakes to “suddenly” not work correctly?
A May 10, 2017, article reported, that a “Semi-truck ran stop sign, hit SUV, then crashed through fence and into tree”. The trucker was cited for reckless driving.(b)
In the event that this accident was due to brakes being out of adjustment, learn the lesson to make sure that your brakes are properly adjusted.
4. An analyst stated in a May 10, 2017, article: “We think many trucks could make the transition to an electric drivetrain without adding more than 4,000 pounds in gross weight.”
What would be the gain or loss for your truck operations if you added 4,000 pounds’ worth of electric drivetrain weight to your truck?
How long would it take to realize a return on investment?
5. This is for all of the dunces at all trucking companies who think that every truck accident is preventable.
According to a May 10, 2017, article, a small plane clipped the top of a semi trailer and left one of its wheels behind.
How could the semi driver have prevented this?
Answer: He couldn’t have.
This was a low clearance accident that was 100% the pilot’s fault!
6. Our condolences go to the family of the two people who were killed when a trucker failed to stop his vehicle when he came upon slowed traffic over the crest of a hill.
The May 7, 2017, article stated that the Winchester, VA, area accident happened at about 6 a.m., which means that it occurred before sunrise. The trucker was charged.
This is a tragic example of the need to never overdrive your stopping distance — and to be especially careful when cresting hills and mountains.
7. According to a May 12, 2017, article from The Wall Street Journal:
- “A glut of used heavy-duty trucks means some long-haul carriers are ‘upside down’ on their rigs, owing more than the trucks are worth”;
- “Large long-haul trucking companies typically run a truck for three to five years, then trade it before the warranty expires”; and
- “Repair and maintenance costs tend to skyrocket after about 500,000 miles.”
Consider the pros and cons of buying a vehicle new vs. used and for how much you can afford to sell your old truck.
8. According to the May 8, 2017, article, “Both fully loaded trucks were rounding a curve in the road when the frac sand semi entered the opposite lane and the trucks collided head-on.”
Is there any sort of maneuver that could have been done to lessen the severity of this two-truck accident that killed both truckers? If so, what?
9. An Australian truck driver “has been charged with criminal offences and the truck and trailer defected” after smoke was seen pouring from the truck’s brakes.
The trucker was “driving unlicensed, aggravated due care and failing to use low gears,” according to a May 10, 2017, article.
Remember to keep your truck driver’s license active, do a thorough pre-trip inspection, and use the proper gear for the road on which you’re traveling.
10. In advance of the June 6-8 blitz, Kinedyne will be offering a webinar entitled “A Survivor’s Guide for Cargo Securement Inspections During International Roadcheck 2017,” according to a May 12, 2017, article.
You may register for the webinar here.
11. From FleetOwner.com are two articles of interest:
- Welcome to the Amazon jungle, truckers (May 10, 2017), which summarizes Thom Albrecht, a long-time Wall Street analyst who is now president of Sword & Sea Transport Advisors, who “anticipates that 2018 and 2019 ‘will feel good’ to truckers… [but] carriers shouldn’t get too used to the good times, because a lot of truckload demand is going away and never coming back… thanks largely to Amazon and the e-commerce revolution in retail.”
- Real-time load tracking: At what price? (May 12, 2017), which raises my question, “If trucks are being tracked in real time, will truckers be paid for all of the miles that they must drive to deliver loads?”
12. A May 11, 2017, article states that the first of “Rhode Island’s trucks-only tolls” will be operational by December.
Since I-95 goes through Rhode Island, what choices do truckers who ordinarily use this interstate highway have?
Can they very well use an alternate route? If so, which one?
13. Do the results of the study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) — which found that “reinforced guards instead of aero side skirts could stop roof-crush, decapitation in collisions with passenger cars” — have you rethinking what you’ll install on your truck?
14. One fuel tax hike and one new truck fee are slated to go into effect if South Carolina state lawmakers override the governor’s veto.
Quoting a May 10, 2017, article, Governor McMaster said,(c)
Right now, over one-fourth of your gas tax dollars are not used to repair roads. They’re siphoned off for government agency overhead and programs that have nothing to do with roads. Then, much of what is left is spent on the wrong roads, roads with almost no traffic” and “If we would simply reform how DOT spends your tax dollars to be responsible and accountable, we’d have plenty of money and this gas tax hike would be totally unnecessary.
15. Why can’t all road construction and re-construction be done as quickly as the 6-week repair to the collapsed bridge in Atlanta?
16. A May 11, 2017, article listed five Smartphone apps to help you find “the best fuel stop near you”.
Which app is your favorite — and why?
My husband Mike and I wish you safe travels and lots of money saving opportunities on the road.
Return from TDMST Weekly Round-Up: 2017.05.13 to our TDMST Weekly Round-Up Trucking Commentary or our Truck Drivers Money Saving Tips home page.
Reference:
a. www.rockymounttelegram.com/news/2017/05/10/battleboro-trucking-facility-to-close/ (no longer online)
b. www.rockymounttelegram.com/news/2017/05/10/battleboro-trucking-facility-to-close/ (no longer online)
c. www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=33338#.WRXcaNwpDIU (no longer online)
