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RIDOT: Tractor trailer truck tolling to begin June 11 |  | 
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — The state of Rhode Island will begin collecting tolls from tractor trailer trucks starting June 11, which is Monday. The first two of 14 expected toll locations are up and ready to go online after some delays to make sure the system was working properly. "We knew we were getting close week and a half ago because the systems were getting stable, showing all green," said Peter Alviti, who is the director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation. The first two gantries are located on Interstate 95 between exits 2 and 5. Passing through both of those will cost truckers a total of $6.75. The first two gantries are expected to bring in $7 million annually, with all 14 expected to generate $450 million for the state over the next 10 years. The cost of operating the gantries will be $60 million over that same time frame. "There will be a concerted effort to go around those, there will be a concerted effort to go around the state to begin with," said Christopher Maxwell, who is the president of the Rhode Island Trucking Association. Alviti said the state’s revenue projections take into account a diversion factor, while Maxwell said the cost will be passed along to consumers when trucks do incur the tolls. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — The state of Rhode Island will begin collecting tolls from tractor trailer trucks starting June 11, which is Monday. The first two of 14 expected toll locations are up and ready to go online after some delays to make sure the system was working properly. "We knew we were getting close week and a half ago because the systems were getting stable, showing all green," said Peter Alviti, who is the director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation. The first two gantries are located on Interstate 95 between exits 2 and 5. Passing through both of those will cost truckers a total of $6.75. The first two gantries are expected to bring in $7 million annually, with all 14 expected to generate $450 million for the state over the next 10 years. The cost of operating the gantries will be $60 million over that same time frame. "There will be a concerted effort to go around those, there will be a concerted effort to go around the state to begin with," said Christopher Maxwell, who is the president of the Rhode Island Trucking Association. Alviti said the state’s revenue projections take into account a diversion factor, while Maxwell said the cost will be passed along to consumers when trucks do incur the tolls. The American Trucking Associations calls the truck only tolls predatory and an unconstitutional tax on the industry vowing a “fight by any and all means available,” including legal action, according to ATA spokesman Sean McNally. "If we prevail in our lawsuit against tolls, either the tolls are going to go away or they're going to pivot and go to cars, and that's the danger for Rhode Island," said Maxwell. "The fact is we are highly confident we are squarely in the middle of what the law and the constitution allows us to do," said Alviti. The current legislation does not allow the state to tax passenger vehicles and revenue generated from the tolls must go to bridge rehabilitation. "They are being approved by federal highway administration only to collect tolls from tractor trailers and only for the purpose of reconstructing the bridges on which they're being placed," said Alviti. “Heavy commercial vehicles, in particular tractor trailers, contribute more to the damage and destruction of infrastructure than any other kinds of vehicles." But Maxwell disagrees, calling the truck only tolls discriminatory and pointing out that smaller, but heavier dump trucks are exempt from the legislation. He argued an increase in the fuel tax and other vehicle related fees is a fairer way to fund road and bridge repair. "We're double dipping. We're getting our gas tax our diesel tax, but we're getting another layer of funding, which is tolls, what's next? How much money do you need?" Maxwell said. Alviti, who said relying on gas tax revenue long term is not a sustainable funding source, added that the remaining 12 gantries will be going up across Rhode Island over the next 18 months. While locations and amounts are still being finalized, it’s expected tolls will range from $2.00 to $9.50 each time a truck passes under a gantry depending on its location. Click here for more information about tolling locations. Source of article click here : Turn to 10
Daimler Aims for Level 4 Automated Trucks | |
At its Portland, Ore., headquarters Daimler laid out plans for Level 2 and Level 4 automated truck technology. PORTLAND, OREGON - Daimler Trucks says it’s targeting Level 4 automated driving technology – essentially skipping Level 3 because it believes it’s a safer way to go. During Daimler Trucks’ 2018 Capital Market & Technology Day here on June 6, Peter Vaughan Schmidt, head of Daimler Trucks strategy, said Level 2 automated technology is coming soon and will be launched globally. Level 2 automated technology may help with things like lane-keeping, active steering, keeping the proper distance from vehicles ahead — but the driver still takes an active role in controlling the truck. Next up for Daimler, however, is Level 4, Schmidt said. Level 4 automated technologies allow the truck to take total control of the vehicle, including acceleration and braking, steering, and the ability to pull the vehicle off the road and stop if needed, all without driver assistance — but only on certain stretches of road well-suited for safe automated operation. Schmidt said this differs from Level 5 autonomous vehicles, which would be “truly driverless,” and from Level 3, which allows the driver to remove his or her hands from the wheel but still requires him to be in the seat and monitor the situation so he can take control at a moment’s notice in case of a problem. “The value to our customer is much larger at Level 4,” Schmidt said, and even more important is the safety aspect. At Level 3, he said, the driver needs to take over within seconds, set aside his iPad, and make the fast mental switch. “So we aimed directly for Level 4.” Daimler, he said, thinks automation can help address the driver shortage by making the work less taxing and more enjoyable, but it doesn’t believe it can solve the issue or even result in a surplus of drivers put out of work by autonomous vehicles. “Building a real autonomous trucking product is a tough game and there’s no cutting corners. It needs to be a 100% reliable solution, not 99.5%.” It needs to work in the demanding real world of trucking, including in bad weather. The technology needs to meet customers’ needs, not just technology for the sake of “disruption,” he said. “You want flexibility as a fleet,” he said. "You want to run all highways, not just 400 miles in the desert.” And there’s the need to work with society for the legal framework for operational and liability issues. Many of these challenges are similar for other levels of automation. And even lower-level automated truck operation will likely be first seen in gated areas and on rural highways, rather than in more complex city operations. “It is a long way from a demo to a customer-viable product,” Schmidt said. Doing a demo, as some other autonomous truck companies have done, and as Daimler Trucks has done both in Europe and North America, is one thing, he said. “It’s just a demo. It’s not super difficult. “In the end, to reach the overarching goal of improving safety, being better than a human driver, it means you need to master all situations, including fielding the unknown,” he continued. “It’s a really tough game to come from a scientific thing to make it work in a trucking world.” Stay tuned for more reports from HDT Editor in Chief Deborah Lockridge, who is in Portland covering this special event. Source of article click here : Truckinginfo
Women on the rise in trucking and the supply chain | |
Last month, FreightWaves interviewed Ellen Voie, president and founder of Women in Trucking (WIT), on the What the Truck?!? podcast. After years of advocacy in the industry, it seems the cultural shift may have finally reached a tipping point. WIT is an organization that was created to encourage women into taking up employment in the trucking industry, and minimize the resistance women experience from breaking into the industry. In association with the National Transportation Institute (NTI), WIT developed the WIT Index that monitors the percentage of female drivers and leaders within the industry to understand gender inequality better. The NTI conducts surveys with hundreds of trucking companies and compiles data about driver wages, benefits, and retirement plans. It analyzes the data to understand the ecosystem and also shares it with carriers for benchmarking and forecasting. In recent findings, the percentage of female drivers has increased only marginally from 7.13% in 2016 to 7.89% by the end of 2017. The representation of women in management-related desk jobs increased from 23% in 2016 to 23.75% percent by December 2017. The biggest surprise has been the increase in fleet companies, which have seen a 19% growth this year. This could mean a lot more fleets are serious about understanding the gender divide, which could pave the way for them creating initiatives to improve the gender ratio. According to WIT’s Redefining the Road Magazine, women-owned businesses grow 47% faster than others, and more than 200,000 women drivers now make up 6% of the trucking industry. That number is actively growing, especially with the strong economy and supply chain constraint. Another dimension adding to the significant shifts we’re seeing is technology. The days where the industry was characterized as blue collar and heavily reliant on manual labor are fading. A new generation is emerging. The demand for new workers is rapidly growing, and universities are also increasing the amount of supply chain management programs. According to Gartner research, full time student enrollment in the top 25 supply chain programs rose 43%, from 8,500 to 12,200, in just two years from 2014 to 2016. It’s a particularly open time for women to consider a career path in the field. Currently, it probably comes as no surprise that women in supply chain careers earn less than men, and, according to the Wall Street Journal, the disparity grows wider as they advance in their careers. Overall, their studies found that men earn 29% more on average than women in 2017, and that gap rose to 48% among purchasing and supply-chain professionals with 15 to 19 years of experience. Those numbers tend to reflect most industries, however. The factors are complex, and the bottom line is things do seem to be changing. With the widespread rise of conversation on workplace equality, the supply chain and manufacturing industries have the responsibility to be more inclusive to women and act as a model for how other industries can attract talent at every level. It would seem the needle is finally moving. Recall aimed at International & Freightliner trucks | |
Two recalls announced last month affect more than 18,500 International trucks, and about 1,200 Freightliner Cascadia tractors according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents. Navistar announced a recall recently that includes about 18,665 vehicles. However, the company estimates that only 1 percent of the recalled trucks are affected by the recall. Navistar says in the affected vehicles, the driver and passenger seat belt anchor D-ring bolts could break in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury. International models affected by the recall include:
NHTSA documents state Navistar began notifying owners on May 23. Dealers will replace the D-ring bolt depending on the information found on the seat belt label, free of charge. Affected truck owners can contact Navistar customer service at 1-800-448-7825 with recall number 18505. NHTSA’s recall number is 18V-293. Additionally, Daimler Trucks North America has recalled about 1,219 model year 2018-2019 Freightliner Cascadia tractors. In the affected trucks, DTNA says the fasteners that secure the driver’s air bag within the steering wheel may not have been installed properly. According to NHTSA documents, DTNA will begin notifying affected truck owners on July 6, and dealers will inspect the air bag fasteners and tighten them to the proper specification for free. Owners can contact DTNA customer service at 1-800-547-0712 with recall number FL-771. NHTSA’s recall number is 18V-300. Truck carrying millions of bees overturns | |
PARIS, Tex. (KXII) -- It happened just after ten Monday morning.  A semi carrying up to 30 million bees overturned on southeast Loop 286 near the Old Clarksville Road intersection. The driver was not injured. Multiple agencies came out to help redirect traffic from the area and clear the road of the bee boxes that fell from the truck. Local bee keepers were called in to help move the bees to a safer location and try to redirect the bees back into their hives. US Faces Shortage Of 50,000 Truck Drivers | |
 The American Trucking Associations (ATA) said that the U.S. is facing a shortage of 50,000 truck drivers, impacting both retailers and consumers. The U.S. will need 898,000 additional drivers over the next 10 years to meet future demand, CNBC reported. The industry faces some challenges: The trucking lifestyle can be challenging, with drivers working long hours away from home for long periods of time. In addition, electronic logging devices (ELDs) limit the number of hours a driver can work. And, even though Goldman Sachs projects that autonomous cars could take 25,000 jobs per month, self-driving trucks might not solve the truck driver shortage in the near future. Bob Costello, chief economist at ATA, told CNBC, “Driverless trucks are decades away. That is not the solution.” A boom in eCommerce shipping, along with electronic driver monitoring devices, has made the already tight truck driver market worse, CNBC previously reported. Truck drivers haul almost 71 percent — or 10.6 billion tons — of the tonnage shipped annually in the U.S., according to ATA data. Among the reasons for the shortfall is an aging workforce that isn’t being replaced by younger workers, who see poor compensation for being away from home for long stretches of time, according to the report. There’s also another culprit: Amazon. Steve Viscelli, a sociology professor at the University of Pennsylvania who studies labor markets and automation, told CNBC that, overall, eCommerce has had a “huge effect.” In 2012, trucks moved a total of 10.2 billion tons, a level that’s projected to rise to 14.9 billion in 2045, according to Bureau of Transportation Statistics data. An earlier CNBC report said that, including all sales from eCommerce and brick-and-mortar stores, Amazon sold 4 percent of all retail goods in the U.S. last year. Amazon recently increased the cost of its Prime membership from $99 a year to $119 per year. The eCommerce retailer attributed the increase to the service’s rising costs, although it didn’t reveal how much the service costs to run. |
White House Reduces Trucking Rules, but Doesn't Ease Enforcement, Attorneys Say | |
 Sgt. Steve Vilbert of the Virginia State Police inspects a truck on Interstate 95 for electronic logging device compliance. (Eric Miller/Transport Topics)
INDIANAPOLIS — The deregulatory nature of the Trump administration threatens delay or elimination of several Obama-era trucking-related regulations, but those that remain on the books will continue to be aggressively enforced, panelists said at a law seminar here. “That’s what I’m seeing in representing carriers all across the country in dealing with DOT audits,” Tim Wiseman, an attorney with law firm Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary, told nearly 600 attendees at a regulatory update session at the 2018 Scopelitis Transportation Law Seminar on June 4.
Wiseman Wiseman said he believes there are indications that federal regulators are still “coming down hard” on motor carriers, truck drivers and executives of companies. “I think that’s a good thing if they’re truly targeting unsafe motor carriers,” Wiseman said. “Unfortunately, for a dozen different reasons, trying to replace the current paperwork-driven audit system with Compliance, Safety, Accountability program data just doesn’t work the way the Safety Management System and CSA is currently structured.” The 2016 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Safety Fitness Determination proposal — which has since been withdrawn — likely will not resurface any time soon, he said. “So we’re left with the antiquated paper-driven audit process that we’ve had for decades,” Wiseman added. “Because it relies so heavily on carrier safety scores to initiate audits, when auditors arrive they’re looking to find the paperwork to support what the SMS is telling them. So there’s a little bit of bias now in the audit process.” “We’re supposed to be talking about what’s going on at FMCSA,” Richard Pianka, deputy general counsel for American Trucking Associations, told attendees. “But as several other speakers have alluded to, it’s almost easier to talk about what’s not going on at FMCSA.
Pianka “This administration, it’s no secret, is committed to reducing the regulatory burden on industry,” Pianka said. So far, the Trump administration has put the brakes on the safety fitness determination rule and speed limiter rule, but also has been working to study requested exemptions for the electronic logging device rule that went into full effect April 1, Pianka said. “A lot of the hostility toward ELDs really is about the hours of service,” Pianka said. “As a result of all the hostility, there is some appetite in Congress and the FMCSA to take some of the pressure off by adding some additional flexibility to hours-of-service rules.” Pianka said he sees a few possible changes on the horizon. For example, relief on supporting documents, bringing the 100-air-mile CDL driver exemption into line with the 150-air-mile non-CDL exemption, and getting FMCSA’s split sleeper berth pilot program off the ground. Jennifer Hall, ATA’s general counsel, said that the Department of Health and Human Services has been slow to respond to a congressional mandate to set a standard for hair-based drug testing of truck drivers. She added that Congress in recent weeks has been encouraging HHS to complete the mandate.
Hall Hall said FMCSA has rescinded plans for adopting a plan for obstructive sleep apnea guidelines, and has been moving slowly on a rule to make it easier for diabetic drivers to get behind the wheel. David Osiecki, president of Scopelitis Transportation Consulting, said one thing that has not changed with the new administration is the number of audits, adding that violations of carriers has remained about the same. But even though the number of audits aren’t increasing, the number of closed enforcement cases being generated is on the rise, he said. “What’s not clear is why is this happening,” Osiecki said. Scopelitis attorney Annette Sandberg, a former FMCSA administrator, said the ELD rule has gotten off to a “rocky start.” “There’s been a real lack of training on behalf of drivers and on behalf of the enforcement officers out there,” Sandberg said. “Since January of this year, we’ve had over 35,000 violations cited on drivers for not having a device that’s registered. “The reality of it is, drivers are getting cited for having an automatic on-board recording device, the old system. Those are not required to be registered, and enforcement doesn’t understand that.” Sandberg said two regulations that have not been nixed by the Trump administration include the Entry Level Driver Training rule and the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse rule, both set to go into effect in 2020. As directed by the 2015 FAST Act, CSA scores for property carriers have been kept out of public view since late 2015, Sandberg said, and they haven’t gone back up. FMCSA officials currently are studying several recommendations of a special academic panel but have yet to announce any changes to CSA methodology. Uber Freight’s New Fleet Mode Tool Targets Small Trucking Companies | |
Uber Freight added a new feature to its smartphone app Monday, targeting small trucking fleets. The company’s digital load board also matches independent truckers with shippers. The “fleet mode” tool of the Uber Freight app is aimed at fleets with 10 or fewer trucks. It allows dispatchers to find and assign loads based on multiple drivers’ availability without leaving the Uber Freight app, said Eric Berdinis, senior product manager at Uber. “After launching Uber Freight, we had a lot of small fleets wanting to work with us but couldn’t because the app was designed for owners with one truck,” he told Trucks.com. The ride-hailing company sees freight hauling as an attractive area for expansion. The business is splintered, providing hundreds of thousands of truckers and thousands of motor carriers as potential clients. Nearly 90 percent of all motor carriers operating in the U.S. have six or few trucks, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which regulates the trucking industry. It’s also big. Trucking hauls nearly 71 percent of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation. The industry accounts for about $676.2 billion in freight business, or 79.8 percent of total revenue earned by all transport modes, according to the American Trucking Associations. There’s more as truck capacity remains tight and there is more freight than available trucks to haul it. That’s pushed business to Uber Freight as shippers plug into its network of drivers for help, Berdinis said. There are about 6.6 loads for every available truck trailer, according to DAT Solutions, which tracks freight and rates. A year ago, there were 3.5 loads per every van. Uber Freight has tested the app with a handful of small business truckers such as Phil DeKnight, owner of DeKnight Enterprises of Marshalls Creek, Penn. His company has just three drivers. “So far, it’s been helpful for me to communicate with my drivers before booking loads,” DeKnight told Trucks.com. The goal of fleet mode is to improve communication between dispatchers and drivers who can connect via the app, said Xinfeng Le, an Uber product manager. “This allows dispatchers to log in and view the list of available freight loads and see their drivers’ availability,” Le told Trucks.com. Once the dispatcher assigns a load to a driver, they will receive a notification and can respond back if they’re available to haul it, she said. “We hope to get rid of some of the inefficiency that exists today with a lot of back-and-forth communication with dispatchers and drivers,” Le told Trucks.com. Uber launched its load-matching app in Texas in May 2017. It has since expanded its services nationwide. The use of mobile trucking apps is on the rise and has the potential to become a $35.4-billion market by 2025 in North America, according to a report by Frost & Sullivan. For now, the app only offers a flat rate for truckers hauling its loads — there’s no negotiating. Another freight app called Convoy allows truckers to “bid up” or negotiate a higher rate if they judge the rate is too low to make money hauling the load. In the months that DeKnight has been using the Uber Freight app, the rates for loads “have been competitive.” The app also includes details about the loads, including pickup and delivery times, which other load boards don’t include, he said. “Before, I would spend a lot of time on the phone finding out more information about a load, then have to check with my drivers to see if they have enough hours to haul it, only to find out that the load’s gone,” DeKnight said. “I don’t have to do that now.” The federal hours-of-service rule for truckers limits them to driving no more than 11 hours a day within a 14-hour workday. Drivers must then be off duty for 10 consecutive hours. Uber Freight pays drivers within a week once they receive confirmation that the load has been delivered, Berdinis said. “A lot of small carriers spend a lot of time chasing down receivables after 30, 60 or 120 days — we eliminate that problem for them,” he said. Trucking companies getting creative to attract drivers to prepare for driver shortage | |
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- By the end of this year, the country is expected to be short more than 63,000 truck drivers and the shortage could get worse, according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA). "Trucks move America," Lisa Buhrow, truck-driver, said. "Pretty much everything you have has been on a truck at some point." By 2026, they expect that number to rise to more than 174,000 drivers. A driver shortage could mean empty store shelves, delayed deliveries, and increased prices. "You might go to that grocery store and not have milk because it's sitting on a trailer waiting for that driver to come pick it up and make that delivery," Daniel Zdrojewski, MATC Truck Driving Instructor, said. The ATA says aging truck drivers are contributing to the shortage. "I think a lot of the drivers are retiring," Buhrow said. "They've been out here a long time." The average truck driver is 49-years-old, so now companies are hoping to hire younger drivers. "In order to cross state lines you have to be 21 years old so it's not easy for us for us to get into high schools and recruit for this occupation," Zdrojewski said. Milwaukee Area Technical College's Truck Driving Program is feeling the effects of the shortage first-hand. "In the fall we really took a hit," Zdrojewski said. "Our class was nowhere near full. We had to cancel a class because we couldn't get students into it." He hopes breaking the truck-driver stereotype will help attract more drivers. "The truck driver image has been a huge issue since the '80s and '90s," Zdrojewski said. The ATA says in 2016 just 6% of truck drivers were women. Buhrow is one of them. "Being only 5'2 they can't believe that someone this small can drive a truck," she said. The truck-driver lifestyle also keeps some drivers at bay. Drivers can be on the road days, weeks, even months at a time. "With being away from family and friends it's a huge responsibility, but it's also a very huge commitment," Buhrow said. Flying J damaged by fire will be rebuilt, says company | |
The Flying J in Matthews, Missouri burned on Jun 3. The Missouri Flying J travel center that was heavily damaged by fire Sunday, June 3 will be rebuilt, according to the company. Fire officials in Matthews, Missouri continue to investigate the cause of the fire, which occurred Sunday afternoon. A statement from the Matthews Volunteer Fire Department said damages from the blaze amounted to “a little over $4 million.” No injuries were reported. Eight departments responded to the blaze. A statement from Pilot Flying J said: The Flying J Travel Center, store #671, located at 703 State (Highway), Matthews, Missouri, caught fire this weekend, causing extensive damage to the property. No one was injured during the incident, and the cause of the fire is currently being investigated by the local fire department. The location will be rebuilt and will remain closed during reconstruction. “Our team members will be placed in other nearby stores to ensure continued employment,” said store Division Director Frank McClure, “and we are offering counseling benefits from our Employee Assists Program for those who need it.” This was the second major fire at a truck stop in the past week. On Thursday, May 31, fire destroyed the Irish Bayou truck stop in New Orleans. This San Antonio Driver Seriously Packed an Entire House on Their Truck | |
We've seen some insanely packed trucks around San Antonio, but this one takes the cake. Unbelievable..
We're not sure how this is even possible, but we're assuming this driver made it to their destination with their entire house (or furniture store?) still set in place. Thousands of chickens on truck when it overturns in Alexander County | |
ALEXANDER COUNTY, NC - A truck carrying 5,600 chickens overturned along Highway 16 north of Taylorsville Tuesday morning. Investigators said the driver lost control on the soft shoulder due to all the rain. The truck rolled down an embankment and took down a utility pole. The driver's injuries were not life-threatening. |
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