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Search begins for 2019’s Trucking’s Top Rookie |  | 
Nominations are now open for the 2019 Mike O’Connell Trucking’s Top Rookie Award contest presented by Truckers News. We’re looking for the best driver who has been behind the wheel for no more than a year. The winner receives $10,000 and a package of prizes. Nine other finalists will each receive $1,000 and prizes packages as well. The winner will be announced Friday, Aug. 23 at The Great American Trucking Show at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas. Nominate a driver for the 2019 Mike O’Connell Trucking’s Top Rookie Award. Partnering with Truckers News in the search for Trucking’s Top Rookie are the three national organizations overseeing truck driver training:
Recognizing the top rookie driver was the idea of the late Mike O’Connell, who was formerly the executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Training Association. He believed that honoring a top rookie driver helped show new drivers they are appreciated by the trucking industry. Last year’s top rookie was Mordaunt “Platt” Brabner, a 58-year-old Texan who drives for TMC Transportation. Nominate a top rookie driver here. See complete contest rules and eligibility here. Source of article and more great articles click here
California Assembly votes to tighten rules on contractors | |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California residents working for companies like Lyft and Uber would get the rights of employees entitled to a minimum wage and workers compensation under a law the state Assembly passed on Wednesday. The sweeping bill, which now goes to the Senate, carries new standards defining whether workers are employees or independent contractors, upending how workers are treated in industries from trucking to the burgeoning gig economy. Under those standards, for example, workers could only be classified as independent contractors if they are free from the control or direction of an employer and they do work outside a company’s usual course of business. The measure, Assembly Bill 5, includes exemptions for some sectors, such as physicians and insurance agents. Democrats and major labour unions backing the bill contend it will protect workers’ rights. “Big businesses shouldn’t be able to pass their costs onto taxpayers while depriving workers of the labour law protections they are rightfully entitled to,” said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, a Democrat from San Diego who authored the bill. Many industries have raised concerns, however, arguing that hiring independent contractors provides flexibility for companies as well as workers. The ridesharing company Lyft issued a statement shortly after the bill passed, emphasizing its opposition and contending that the legislation would force many of its drivers to become employees. “Lyft drivers overwhelmingly prefer the freedom of working where, when and how much they want,” the company said. One sector after another has sought exemptions to the proposed law. The California News Publishers Association has sought an exemption to cover freelance journalists and newspaper carriers. Companies are responsible for covering Social Security and Medicare taxes, unemployment insurance as well as workers compensation for employees. Gonzalez said the bill is a work in progress and can change. Still, Gonzalez said setting clear standards in law for labeling workers as independent contractors would give certainty to businesses following a California Supreme Court ruling last year on the issue. California is home to many of the companies that gave rise to the gig economy. Silicon Valley is a political force in California’s capital but so, too, is labour. The bill comes as companies like Uber and Lyft are facing mounting pressure. Drivers for the companies went on strike and staged protests in major cities earlier this month to draw attention to precarious working conditions as well as the financial pressures of gig work. Source of article and more great articles click here
RIDOT to start collecting truck tolls at 3rd location on July 31 | |
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The R.I. Department of Transportation plans to start collecting truck tolls at a third location in July, kicking off the rollout of a new gantry almost every month until a dozen are in operation by next spring, according to a draft schedule obtained by Target 12. The schedule created by the contractor operating the new toll system, Kapsch TrafficCom, calls for the third location — at the Woonasquatucket River Bridge on Route 6 — to go live July 31. Installation of the gantry is slated to take place in mid-June. Kapsch expects to launch the fourth toll location — at the Louisquisset Pike Bridge, which carries Route 146 over Route 116 — on Aug. 14. A fifth location located nearby, for two bridges on I-295 in Cumberland, is supposed to go live Sept. 25. Truckers would have to start paying tolls at seven more spots between Oct. 30 and April 13, at which point 12 of the original 14 proposed toll locations will be in operation. Levying tolls on large commercial trucks is a key component of Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo’s RhodeWorks initiative, a 10-year plan to spend nearly $5 billion repairing and upgrading Rhode Island’s decaying infrastructure. The trucking industry has fought the program fiercely — including in the courts, where the legal battle remains unresolved — but has not been able to stop the rollout of the gantries. The first two tolling locations went live on Interstate 95 in southern Rhode Island last June, months later than initially planned. The first toll is $3.25 to fund the Wood River Valley Bridge about a mile north of Exit 2 in Hopkinton and Richmond, while the second toll is $3.50 to fund the Tefft Hill Trail and Baker Pines bridges about three miles south of Exit 5 in Exeter. RIDOT Director Peter Alviti has said the first two locations are beating expectations. Agency data shows they took in over $5.9 million in billable revenue from 1.8 million transactions during their first 10 months in operation, suggesting they are on track to hit the agency’s goal of about $7 million by the end of the fiscal year June 30. The toll rates for the next 10 locations vary from $2 at the Woonasquatucket River Bridge to as high as $9.50 at the Washington Bridge that carries I-195 over the Seekonk River between Providence and East Providence. The latter gantry is slated to be the last one to go into operation as part of the next group, beginning collections April 13. There is still no timeline for when the final two of the 14 planned toll locations will be put in place. Governor Raimondo’s latest budget proposal, which is currently being reviewed by lawmakers, estimates tolls will bring in $25 million in the 2019-20 budget year that starts July 1. Even that amount is still well short of the program’s original goal of $45 million annually, which the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council has said could eventually make tolls a cash cow for RIDOT. The trucking industry suffered a setback in its battle against the toll program in March, when a federal judge in Providence dismissed a lawsuit over the issue because he believed the matter should be litigated in state court. The industry has challenged that decision in the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has scheduled oral arguments on the case for September. Rhode Island’s latest moves come as elected leaders next door in Connecticut are debating whether to expand tolling in that state to deal with large budget deficits and a backlog of infrastructure needs. Lawmakers and Gov. Ned Lamont have signaled they may not reach an agreement before the legislative session there ends June 5, but could continue the discussion into the summer. USPS tries out robot trucks to replace team truckers | |
 The United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced that they are testing out driverless truck technology for hauling mail on a more than 20 hour route usually reserved for team truck drivers. On Tuesday, May 21, driverless truck startup TuSimple revealed that they have been awarded a contract to haul mail for USPS during five round trips between distribution centers in Phoenix, Arizona and Dallas, Texas. The contract is part of a two week pilot program that starts on Tuesday. TuSimple says via press release that they plan to run a series of self-driving trucks for 22 hours each, including overnight driving, along the I-10, I-20 and I-30 corridors through Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, during the pilot program. A truck driver and safety engineer will remain on board the truck during the two week trial, TuSimple says. The human truck driver will be responsible for driving the truck on surface streets but will leave the interstate driving to the self-driving truck technology. TuSimple says that the 22 hour trip is ideal for their driverless truck technology because the route would normally be driven by team truckers, who they say are “challenging to recruit due to overnight driving requirements, the need to share close quarters with another person and a significant truck driver shortage.” The company says that they hope to free truckers from the burden of long haul trucking so that they can focus their efforts on “the shorter, more dynamic and closer to home routes.” Following the conclusion of the pilot, USPS will consider whether it wants to continue testing self-driving trucks for hauling mail.Bloomberg reports that USPS spends more than $4 billion per year on trucking costs and that these costs are increasing because of a shortage of truck drivers (note that trucking groups like OOIDA argue that the truck driver shortage is really a driver pay and turnover problem). You can take a look at the TuSimple driverless truck technology in action during a rainstorm in Arizona last fall. The company boasts that the truck travelled hub to hub with zero disengagements. America’s Road Team Captains Project Safety Image at Trucking Championships | |
 Steve Brand of FedEx Freight checks his park job after stopping at the final problem with the Sleeper Berth truck on the driving course at the Ohio Truck Driving Championships May 17.
SANDUSKY, Ohio — Truck driving championships bring out the best of the best in the industry. Whether it is lifetime competitors, former champions or Road Team captains, Ohio has them all. America’s Road Team captains Steve Brand of FedEx Freight and Russell Simpson of Holland have seen it all. The two competitors gave it their all at the Ohio Truck Driving Championships May 17-18. America’s Road Team is a program operated by American Trucking Associations.
Brand Every driver is tested on his knowledge through a written exam, pre-trip inspection and a driving course. Decked out in kneepads, a flashlight and hammer, Brand was ready for pre-trip. Many of the competitors bring mallets to check for flat tires and flashlights to complete inspections under the tractor and trailer. “A normal day takes 15 to 20 minutes to do a pre-trip, here we get nine minutes,” Brand said. This year, he competed in the Sleeper Berth division. “I am blessed that God has given me the ability to do what I do,” he said. Brand has accumulated more than 4 million safe driving miles in the past 30 years. The passion for driving came from his father, who was a driver, and culminated into a stable career that has allowed him to provide for his family and share his infectious smile.”I love driving and being out,” Brand said. “I now have friends all over the country.” He was named an America’s Road Team captain in 2017 and continues to stay active in the trucking community, participating in his 16th state championship.
Russ Simpson of Holland walks away after completing the course in the Flatbed division. (Marissa Gamache/Transport Topics) “Doing these competitions made me a better driver,” he said. “We have to remember that the most important trip is the trip home.” Fellow captain Simpson received his jacket and served from 2015-16. This year, he competed in the Flatbed division and finished second. In previous years, he has clinched two titles in 5-Axle, two in Tank Truck and one in Flatbed. Competing offers drivers many benefits. “Programs like this help so much,” Simpson said. “We all get together and practice.” As an America’s Road Team captain, Simpson has been able to travel, educate people on truck safety and meet those from all walks of life.
Simpson “It has allowed me to meet a lot of people, including the movers and shakers of the industry,” Simpson said. At 19, Simpson earned his CDL. He has accumulated more than 2.3 million safe-driving miles in the past 23 years. Though Brand and Simpson have been to nationals, neither was able to punch his ticket to Pittsburgh. But the experience and camaraderie is what it is all about. Simpson is always excited when competition season rolls around. “TDC is what I look forward to in the summer,” he said. Teamsters slam plan for 18-20-year-old drivers | |
As the federal government seeks comments on a proposal to create a pilot program to allow 18 to 20-year-olds to drive interstate, trucking’s major union has come out strongly against it. In July 2018, the DOT announced details of the Commercial Driver Pilot Program required under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which allows certain 18- to 20-year-olds with military training to operate CMVs in interstate commerce. The new pilot program suggested by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is open to all 18-20-year-olds. At present, drivers ages 18-20 currently may only operate CMVs in intrastate commerce. FMCSA requests comments on the training, qualifications, driving limitations, and vehicle safety systems the agency should consider in developing options or approaches for a second pilot program for younger drivers. Meanwhile, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said the proposal is a “grave concern” to other drivers. “The decision by the [FMCSA] to propose a pilot program that would lower the commercial driver’s license restriction from 21 to 18 is of grave concern to those who use the roadways as their workplace every day,” said Hoffa in a statement from the Teamsters Monday, May 20. Hoffa’sstatement continues: “During the last highway bill, the FAST Act, Congress dictated how FMCSA could approach this topic. FMCSA was told it could do so in a highly controlled manner using only veterans and other members of the military who had experience driving during their time in the service. That safeguard was an important step towards counter-acting the enormous safety risks inherent with having teenagers running tractor trailers across long distances. Ignoring that decision and unilaterally deciding to explore a much broader pilot program represents a dismissive wave of the hand to the will of Congress. “This program is also being discussed under the auspices of easing a driver shortage that mainly plagues one subset of the trucking industry. Instead of discussing the rampant turnover that part of industry faces, or the low pay and tough working conditions those drivers endure, we are disappointed to see the agency only focus on how they can get more drivers into these jobs with no suggestions of how to improve the quality of the work while they are there. Younger drivers should not be expected to tolerate substandard working conditions any more than their older counterparts. Asking them to do so while also potentially jeopardizing the safety of all road users only makes this decision more troubling.” The Owner-Operators Independent Drivers Association has spoken out in opposition to the proposed pilot program. The American Trucking Associations favors it. Alabama recently passed legislation to allow 18 to 20-year-olds to apply for commercial drivers licenses but only to drive within the state. |
Trucker fined for trying to smuggle cheese into Canada | |
A trucker must pay a fine of C$30,000 for attempting to smuggle nearly 8,800 pounds of cheese from the U.S. into Canada. Haissam Azaar was fined the equivalent of $22,000 on May 9 after pleading guilty to the thwarted attempt to bring the eight skids of undeclared cheese through the Landsdowne, Ontario crossing, near northern New York. Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers found the cheese during a secondary inspection and subsequently arrested Azaar. The CBSA announced the case on May 27, highlighting Canada’s long-standing issue with lower-price cheese being smuggled into the country. “Seizures like this serve as a reminder of the vital role CBSA officers play in preventing risks to Canada’s food safety as well as contributing to Canada’s economic security,” said Darren Frank, director of the CBSA’s St. Lawrence district. Cheese prices can be dramatically higher in Canada than the U.S. The tightly regulated dairy market operates under a supply management system, which keeps prices inflated by limiting production and imposing limits on imports. Cheese above annual quotas is subject to 270 percent tariffs.
Prosecutions for cheese-smuggling are relatively rare, though not unheard of. A Canadian police officer in Niagara Falls received a four-month jail sentence for his role in a large-scale smuggling ring that brought low-cost cheese from the U.S. across the border to be resold locally – especially at pizzerias. The U.S. has long bemoaned the supply management system, which also covers poultry, saying it unfairly denies its producers access to the Canadian market. NAFTA’s successor, United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, foresees allowing more imports of U.S. and Mexican dairy products into Canada. Canada’s powerful dairy industry has long resisted efforts to open up the market, arguing that domestic producers could be undercut by foreign competition, particularly the U.S.Ozark passes new semi-trailer truck parking ordinance | |
OZARK, Mo. -- The Board of Aldermen in Ozark approved new language for City Code Chapter 385 on May 6, 2019, to regulate semi-trailer truck parking in the City of Ozark. The ordinance prohibits semi-trailer truck parking on any public street or public right-of-way within the City of Ozark as follows:
There is an exception for when a semi-trailer truck is actively being loaded or unloaded. Semi-Trailer Truck means a motor vehicle commonly designed to draw a semitrailer and its cargo over the public highways. To provide semi-trailer trucks an opportunity to research and secure alternate parking locations, the Board passed the SmartHop is automating load-booking process for owner operators and small fleets | |
For owner-operators and small fleets working in the spot market, the fragmentation within the trucking industry means many load details coming in from different load boards – data that is often outdated or redundant. Truckers have a difficult time segregating such information, and this takes a toll on their operational efficiency. It also often means their trucks run hundreds of deadhead miles due to lack of visibility into available volumes. SmartHop, a Florida-based freight matching startup, has built a technology platform that helps truckers plan, search and book their loads in a fraction of the time it takes to sift through traditional load boards. Guillermo Garcia, the CEO and co-founder of SmartHop, hails from Venezuela, where he founded a trucking company that grew to employ nearly 500 people. He later moved to the U.S., where he built a local asset-based traditional trucking company in Florida, which was when he witnessed the hassles that small trucking companies go through to find loads. This led him, along with fellow Venezuelan immigrants Joaquin Brillembourg and Miguel Sucre, to build a startup that would develop decision-making tools to help truckers get loads faster and more accurately. “Between our artificial intelligence tools and load sources, I think we are a perfect blend of technology. The real difference is that we’re not a broker and we don’t get in the middle of a trucker and a broker or shipper. We only help them decide what’s best for them,” said Garcia. “We are also different from load boards, as we understand the context of each trucker so we guide them automatically towards the best load.” Brillembourg spoke about how SmartHop intended to help small truckers be more profitable and stay clear of being bruised in volatile and rough market conditions. “SmartHop goes deeply into the needs of how to better run a trucking business or what loads would be a perfect match their operations. A lot of people try and grab the best-paying load or make decisions on what they’re seeing in the market at the moment, without understanding market trends,” said Brillembourg. “We try to digest marketing information, work on market analysis and predictions with our technology tools, and end up translating data in plain English for the small fleets to drive better results.” While building SmartHop, the founders spoke extensively with truckers and carriers to understand all the issues they faced. During this period of market validation, the startup realized that many of the people were Hispanics, who also had the added issue of language barriers. This led the startup to initially focus on Hispanic-speaking truckers in the U.S., as their reality reflected the team’s early struggles in the ecosystem. “We launched our closed beta this February, and have been working with around 30 truckers, receiving their feedback on how they like it and tailoring it to what they want to see in the solution. One of the main responses we’ve heard is that they see the benefit in us aggregating multiple load sources. This is important as the industry works in silos, and brokers aren’t connected to the rest, forcing them to go into different sites. The other benefit is that they are getting loads faster with our suggestions,” said Garcia. “This is because we not only present the loads but also aggregate them and suggest what they should do to get the loads quicker.” SmartHop is launching this week, and it has 250 signups participating once the platform goes live. Garcia mentioned that he does not see problems with gaining traction, but said the startup is conscious of making sure its market trend predictions are on point – an exercise that might be harder than it looks. The startup has partnered with major brewer Anheuser-Busch; its loads will be matched through SmartHop’s platform. Garcia explained that this serves as a validation for their technology’s potential and that this can help kick-off similar pilots with bigger players in the market. “We have also partnered with trucking minority associations. Though we want to help everyone in the industry, we are really focused on empowering minorities, to help them scale-up to become successful entrepreneurs,” he said. Lytx teams up with the Trucking Alliance in effort to make roads safer | |
Lytx has joined the Trucking Alliance, an industry organization dedicated to reducing large truck fatalities. The new membership is indicative of the company’s commitment to making the roads safer with its products. Lytx provides video telematics, analytics, and safety and productivity solutions for commercial and public sector fleets. The 20-year-old company started as DriveCam, then evolved to offer its full suite of services as the industry changed. The company’s various programs, ranging from the DriveCam® Event Recorder to artificial intelligence technology, are intended to reduce risk on the roadways, leading to fewer fatalities. Lytx has recorded data from over 100 million miles of driving and 100,000 risky driving events, according to a media release from the Trucking Alliance. “Lytx clients experienced approximately 625,000 fewer instances of risky driving in 2018 compared to 2017,” the release states. “The company’s Driver Safety Program has been associated with up to a 50 percent reduction in collisions and up to 80 percent reduction in collision-related costs.” Lytx now has over 520,000 connected devices globally. “Lytx offers technologies that can improve the safety and security of our commercial drivers and that fits the mission of the Trucking Alliance,” said Steve Williams, chairman and CEO of Maverick USA. “We’re excited that Lytx accepted our invitation to join the Trucking Alliance. Safety technologies help save lives and the Alliance is committed to advancing technologies and collision mitigation systems to become standard on all commercial trucks.” Williams is a co-founder and president of the Trucking Alliance The Trucking Alliance’s mission lines up well with Lytx’s values, according to Brandon Nixon, Lytx chairman and CEO. “Lytx applauds the Trucking Alliance’s advocacy of progressive safety initiatives,” Nixon said. “Lytx’s technology empowers fleets to save lives by proactively identifying risky drivers and behaviors to help prevent future crashes. We are honored to be a part of the Alliance and to support the important work they are doing for safety in the trucking industry.” Lytx vice president and commercial leader for enterprise trucking, Rob Abbott, will serve on the Trucking Alliance Advisory Group. The group is made up of carriers and business executives who offer the Alliance technological perspectives and policy recommendations. Alabama passes bill to let 18 to 20-year-olds drive intrastate | |
A bill to lower the minimum required age from 21 to 18 to obtain a commercial driver’s license for intrastate driving has passed the Alabama legislature and awaits Gov. Kay Ivey’s signature. The bill will go into effect Feb. 7, 2020 following Gov. Ivey’s approval. The bill passed the Senate May 15 with a vote of 24-0 after previously passing in the House by a vote of 96-1. It reached Ivey’s desk May 16. “This legislation is a win-win for motor carriers, shippers and consumers,” said Alabama Trucking Association President and CEO Frank Filgo in a statement. “The ongoing truck driver shortage is a burden to the economy. With the passage of this bill, additional drivers will help advance long-term, sustainable profitability for Alabama motor carriers and suppliers.” Currently, the state bars anyone under the age of 21 from operating a commercial motor vehicle. Drivers who are at least 18 but under 21 years old will still not be able to transport hazardous materials, oversized loads, or loads that require permits from the Alabama Department of Transportation. The goal of the bill is to expand the pool of available drivers to meet a growing need for more drivers in the state. Before passing the bill, Alabama was one of only two states (the other being Hawaii) to require drivers to be 21 to obtain a CDL to drive intrastate. The bill received praise from the Business Council of Alabama, Alabama Beverage Association, Alabama Farmers Federation, Alabama Retail Association, Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives, Alabama Trucking Association, Alabama’s chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business, and Manufacture Alabama. Source of article and more great articles click here
Parking brake issue prompts Kenworth recall | |
A parking brake issue has prompted Paccar to recall more than 1,800 Kenworth tractors, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents. Paccar is recalling about 1,837 model year 2018-2020 Kenworth T680 and T880 tandem axle trucks equipped with parking brakes on a single axle and certain models of automated manual transmissions. The company says that during cold temperatures, the signal from the park brake pressure switch to the transmission controller may be delayed, possibly resulting in the vehicle moving unexpectedly. Paccar is still in the process of developing a remedy for the issue. Owners of affected trucks can contact Paccar customer service at 1-918-259-3258 with recall number 19KWB. NHTSA’s recall number is 19V-275. |
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