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Winter truckload increases will end and spring load restrictions will begin Friday, March 13, at 12:01 a.m. on unrestricted state highways in the north and north-central frost zones, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The frost zones and restricted routes can be found on the MnDOT load limits map.

Spring load restrictions have already begun in the other frost zones. Start and end dates and other load limit information are shown at mndot.gov/loadlimits. Overweight permits for more than 80,000-pounds gross vehicle weight will continue and new permits will be issued if all axle and group weights are legal (axle weight limits).

Full-summer overweight permits can be issued, during the spring load restriction period, for travel on the interstate system only.

Middle-range overweight permits become available within each frost zone when spring load restrictions are lifted. Full-summer overweight permits become available two to three weeks after spring load restrictions are lifted.

Ending dates for spring load restrictions are variable and based on how the weather is affecting roadway strength.  For questions about over legal weight/size “heavy haul” trucking, call MnDOT’s Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations – Oversize/Weight Permits, 651-296-6000 or email: [email protected].

For questions about enforcement call the Minnesota Department of Public Safety – State Patrol – Commercial Vehicle Enforcement; 651-350-2000.

The start and end dates for spring load increases are based on how the weather is affecting roadway strength. These dates are established by monitoring roadway strength as weather conditions change. The end date for spring load increases is variable and drivers should check for updates throughout the year. All changes are made with minimum three-day notice.

For the most current information, go to MnDOT’s automated 24-hour message center at 800-723-6543 for the U.S. and Canada, or 651-366-5400 for the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. This information is also published on the MnDOT seasonal load limits website at mndot.gov/loadlimits.

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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said the drug and alcohol clearinghouse had detected and identified nearly 8,000 positive substance abuse tests of commercial drivers since Jan. 6.

Four calves died and more than a hundred others were placed in a temporary corral after a truck carrying livestock crashed on an off-ramp near Irwin, according to Pennsylvania Turnpike officials.

The driver of the truck was not injured after crashing around 5:30 a.m., turnpike officials said.

The truck hit the median and jackknifed as it was exiting the turnpike. It was carrying 135 calves.

Part of the double-decker trailer’s second level collapsed, injuring animals on the bottom level, said Lori Mozina, chief coordinator of the Westmoreland/Fayette/Allegheny County Animal Response Team.

First responders set up a corral to hold the cows until the trucking company, which could not be identified, sent another truck to pick up the 127 uninjured calves and take them to their destination in Ohio, Mozina said.

Three Allegheny Equine Associates veterinarians checked the animals one by one, she said.

Four calves were injured and taken to Allegheny Equine for further treatment.

The ramp was briefly closed, but reopened before 6 a.m. All calves were out of the corral shortly after 9 a.m.

Crashes like this are rare, but not unheard of, Mozina said. Many trucks carrying livestock travel through this area.

“It can happen, especially in bad weather,” she said.

There are many ways in which this incident could have been more difficult to deal with, Mozina said.

“We were lucky these were little, easy-to-manage calves, not big black Angus cows,” she said.

Responders also were fortunate the crash happened on an exit ramp, with the wreckage quickly towed off the road. If it had happened on the main turnpike, it might have caused much more serious traffic delays, Mozina said.

She thanked turnpike workers who corralled the cows before animal response volunteers arrived. Some of the turnpike workers are farmers, she said. “They knew how to handle the animals already.”

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A fragmented trucking landscape, driver shortages and rising insurance rates are just a few of the pressures of the industry

The third-party logistics business is about a $200 billion industry, noted Robert Voltmann, president and CEO of Transportation Intermediaries Association, during Tuesday morning’s session on “Hot Topics in Meat Retail” at the Annual Meat Conference. He added that 99% of trucking companies have 50 or fewer trucks; 89% have one to five trucks. The challenge for meat buyers and sellers is navigating that fragmented truck industry.

In addition, talk of a driver shortage is not just talk. “You’ve heard over the years that there’s a driver shortage, and there is,” said Voltmann. “Drivers are older than the general population, and wages have not kept up with the general population. I guarantee if we were paying drivers $100,000 a year, there would never be talk of a driver shortage.”

Insurance rates are also going up. “In some instances, truckers are facing greater than 100% increases,” Voltmann said. “And so they buy the insurance they can afford.” This can be a problem for companies that demand truckers have high liability insurance; they are in essence fishing from a smaller pool.

Competition for truck drivers from the oil industry and Amazon and other delivery companies is also cutting into the available driver pool. There is less rail movement, and more truck demand.

And if you’re counting on driverless trucks to save the day, Voltmann offered a reality check. “Driverless trucks are not going to be here any time soon,” he warned the audience. Since most accidents involving trucks are with four-wheel vehicles whose drivers are responsible, “until we automate automobiles, we won’t have driverless trucks on our highways.”

Voltmann did offer some advice for easing transportation pain. “The most important part of trucking, the whole supply chain, is that driver’s hours,” he said. “If you waste that driver’s time, you’re going to pay for it. So, as we learned when we were little kids, the golden rule: Do unto others as they would do unto you. The trucking companies and drivers have a choice as to who they service. I would greet every truck with a cold glass of milk and a tray of warm cookies. Because you want that driver to like you. You want that trucking company to want to come to your facility. You want that trucking company to remember that they were treated right when they came to your facility. If you treat them poorly, they have a choice and they may not come back.

“The driver is the most important part of your supply chain,” Voltmann reiterated. “Treat them right.

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"Billy Never Idles", but does that mean you shouldn't be able to?

Last week, New York City officials pushed a program that rewards locals with cash for reporting on idling trucks — here’s what you need to know.

This week, the folks at DST UNK break down New York mayor Bill De Blasio’s major campaign against idling vehicles that allows residents to collect cash by filming idling trucks and buses and submitting video online.

New York even enlisted rocker Billy Idol to act as the face of the anti-idle movement, using his face in promotional materials with the slogan “Billy Never Idles.”

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