CCJ0418 by dwatson

APRIL 2018

ELD BUYERS' GUIDE How to pick a unit for your operation

BUSINESS SOLUTIONS FOR TRUCKING PROFESSIONALS

SPECIAL REPORT: THE DRIVER DEFICIT

How are fleets filling seats?

page 68

GOING ELECTRIC E-trucks are coming, get ready to plug in page 85

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DELIVERING YOUR BUSINESS A FULL LINE OF LOW CAB FORWARD TRUCKS

• LCF MEDIUM DUTY TRUCK CLASSES 3 – 6 • CLASS LEADING FUEL ECONOMY • GVWR RATINGS 12,000 – 25,950 LBS.

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THE #1 SELLING LCF TRUCK IN AMERICA SINCE 1986 Go to WWW.ISUZUCV.COM or call 866-441-9638 for additional information. Vehicles shown with optional equipment; some equipment is dealer installed. N-Series and F-Series vehicles are assembled from component parts manufactured by Isuzu Motors Limited and by independent suppliers who manufacture such components to Isuzu’s exacting standards for quality, performance and safety. Please see your authorized Isuzu dealer for additional details. © 2018 ISUZU COMMERCIAL TRUCK OF AMERICA, INC.

APRIL 2018 | VOL 175 | NO. 4

COVER STORY:

JOURNAL

Werner Enterprises

LEADING NEWS, TRUCKING MARKET CONDITIONS AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR,

Commercial Carrier Journal names Werner Enterprises as the 2018 CCJ Innovator of the Year for its efforts to develop driver and diesel mechanic apprenticeship programs approved by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Department of Labor for military veterans to receive tax-free education benefits from post-9/11 GI Bills while also receiving on-the-job training.

Cover design by David Watson

FEATURES

Special Section: ELD Buyers’ Guide

Since FMCSA’s late 2015 release of its final rule for using electronic logging devices, there’s been a rising swell of ELD development. Customers can choose from hardware and software options offered by dozens of vendors, some of them new to the trucking industry. CCJ’s ELD Buyers’ Guide explains how they work, what they can do besides logs and how to evaluate them.

OOIDA asks House committee to hold hearing on ELD mandate … White House: Truckers don’t pay enough for highways

Special Report: The Driver Deficit Part II, Seeking Solutions

Fleets are implementing a variety of solutions in response to the driver shortage, including higher pay, innovative bonus packages, new recruiting and retention strategies, more home time and newer and more luxurious facilities.

… CARB to block DMV registration of pre2011 trucks starting in 2020 … OOIDA asks for court to rehear case over sleep apnea guidelines for truck drivers … Search re-

Scaling Without Assets

turns to certified medi-

Technology is fueling a growth in nonasset transportation and logistics by helping companies solve more complex problems for their customers and increasing the efficiency and speed of freight transactions. Whether or not a transportation company has its own fleet, it can expand its value to shippers and grow and increase margins more rapidly in today’s freight environment.

News

cal examiner website … Electrical contractors seek ELD exemption … Study used in glider emissions reversal under investigation … OOIDA seeks HOS

Charge It

A handful of players are working to identify the role of electric trucks in the long-haul segment, but final-mile applications already have proven to be a fertile ground for zero-emissions transportation. However, these alt-fuel rigs face a variety of considerations before widespread adoption is likely to happen.

pause, wants 30-minute rest break nixed

10 InBrief

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DEPARTMENTS

ccjdigital.com

technology

facebook.com/CCJMagazine @CCJnow linkedin.com/ccjmagazine

Editorial

Editor: Jeff Crissey Senior Editor: Aaron Huff Equipment Editor: Jason Cannon Managing Editor: Dean Smallwood News Editor: James Jaillet Associate Editor: Matt Cole Contributing Editor: Todd Dills editorial@ccjdigital.com

20 21 21

Starsky touts first driverless truck run with no one in cab Trailer lamps can be lower for aero devices Sears Seating, Mack team for truck seat

22 InBrief 24 24 25

34 35 36 36

Volvo introduces new VNX heavy-haul series

Omnitracs executives discuss freight matching, unified tech Customers expect service fleets to know what they’re doing Paragon routing software now supports sustainable vehicles CalAmp, Cargo Sense team up to give shipments a voice

36 InBrief

Workhorse, UPS collaborating on electric delivery truck DTNA bullish on 2018 truck market, outlines future technology initiatives

Verizon Connect creates Workforce

SmartDrive updates video system

40 InFocus:

Freight matching

Design & Production

Art Director: David Watson Graphic Designer: Kenneth Stubbs Quality Assurance: Timothy Smith Advertising Production Manager: Leah Boyd production@ccjdigital.com

Corporate

Chairman Emeritus: Mike Reilly President/CEO: Brent Reilly Chief Operating Officer: Shane Elmore Chief Financial Officer: Kim Fieldbinder Senior Vice President, Sales: Scott Miller Senior Vice President, Editorial and Research: Linda Longton Senior Vice President, Acquisitions & Business Development: Robert Lake Senior Vice President, Data: Prescott Shibles Vice President, Events: Stacy McCants Vice President, Digital Services: Nick Reid Vice President, Marketing: Julie Arsenault

28 Test Drive: Mack LR 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E. Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 800-633-5953 randallreilly.com

30 InFocus:

Fuel efficiency payback

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Upfront Editor Jeff Crissey’s column

93 4

Products

Trailer tire, hose end, rotor, more

commercial carrier journal

| april 2018

100

Preventable or Not?

Ad Index

John Doe backed his tractortrailer blindly to the left and into the restaurant parking lot, where he rear-ended a departing customer. Was this a preventable accident?

Commercial Carrier Journal (ISSN 1533-7502) is published monthly by Randall-Reilly Publishing Co. LLC, 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. Single copy price U.S., $6; Canada/ Mexico, $9; Foreign, $12. Subscription rates, payable in U.S. dollars, $48 per year (in Canada $78 U.S. currency). For subscription information/inquiries, please email commercialcarrierjournal@halldata.com. Periodicals Postage-Paid at Tuscaloosa, AL, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTERS: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 507.1.5.2); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to Commercial Carrier Journal, PO Box 2186, Skokie, IL 60076-9919. Unsolicited letters, manuscripts, stories, materials or photographs cannot be returned except where the sender provides a postage-paid, addressed, stamped envelope. Address all mail to Commercial Carrier Journal Editorial Dept., P.O. Box 3187, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403. All advertisers for Commercial Carrier Journal are accepted and published by Randall-Reilly Publishing Co. LLC on the representation that the advertiser and/ or advertising agency are authorized to publish the entire contents and subject matter thereof. The advertiser and/or advertising agency will defend, indemnify and hold Randall-Reilly Publishing Co. LLC harmless from and against any loss, expenses or other liability resulting from any claims or suits for libel violations of right of privacy or publicity, plagiarisms, copyright or trademark, infringement and any other claims or suits that may arise out of publication of such advertisement. Copyright © 2017, Randall-Reilly Publishing Co. LLC All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Commercial Carrier Journal. is a registered trademark of Randall-Reilly Publishing Co. LLC. Randall-Reilly Publishing Co. LLC neither endorses nor makes any representation or guarantee regarding the quality of goods and services advertised herein.

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LEADING NEWS, TRUCKING MARKET CONDITIONS AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

OOIDA asks House committee to hold hearing on ELD mandate

ontinuing its so-far-unfruitful appeal to lawmakers, courts and regulators to reevaluate the federal electronic logging device mandate, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association last month asked the leaders of the House’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to hold a hearing on its concerns surrounding ELD implementation. OOIDA says there are “mounting issues” with the mandate, pointing to malfunctioning devices, questions about FMCSA’s self-certified registry of ELD suppliers and the mandate’s impact on truck parking as reasons for Congress to hold an oversight hearing. Todd Spencer, who signed the letter requestOOIDA cites “mounting issues” with ing the hearing, says it would help members of the mandate, such as malfunctionCongress “understand the difficulties” of the ing devices, FMCSA’s self-certified mandate and what “administrative or legislative registry and truck parking. remedies may be needed.” “Exemption requests have even been filed by manufacturers of ELDs currently on the market – and still listed on the FMCSA website as available for purchase – who have discovered their devices are not fully compliant,” he writes. “These compliance issues came as no surprise to the truckers who have been forced to use ELDs. Since the mandate took effect, truckers have routinely shared with us substantial troubles they’ve experienced related to these devices, including several vendor-wide systems failures, faulty GPS tracking, inaccurate recording of duty statuses, engine disablements, abysmal customer service from manufacturers, a worsening truck parking crisis and many more.” Spencer also says in the letter that an oversight hearing would allow Congress to ensure accountability and transparency of how public dollars are being spent. “Among the fundamental responsibilities of Congress is to maintain vigorous oversight of the federal agencies it tasks with implementing new regulations, especially those that will have a significant impact on American businesses and the nation’s economy,” he says. OOIDA late last year filed a request with FMCSA asking for an exemption from the ELD mandate for small business truckers with clean safety records. The agency has not yet issued a verdict on the request. OOIDA also ardently fought the mandate in court, eventually appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal. However, the Supreme Court denied to hear the case, leaving in place a lower court ruling upholding the mandate. Several states also have introduced proposals to Scan the QR code with your smartphone or visit ccjdigital.com/news/subscribe-to-newsblock enforcement of the letters to sign up for the CCJ Daily Report, ELD mandate within their a daily e-mail newsletter filled with news, borders. analysis, blogs and market condition articles. – James Jaillet 8

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| april 2018

White House: Truckers don’t pay enough for highways

White House report reiterates the Trump administration’s

stance that tolling should be a primary mechanism for boosting highway funding. The report also says that the administration doesn’t think trucking pays enough in taxes to offset its impacts. The annual Economic Report of the President, written by the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, takes aim at gasoline and diesel taxes that are the primary funding source for the U.S. Highway Trust Fund. “Evidence suggests that heavy trucks in particular do not currently face taxes and charges that are aligned with the negative externalities they generate, which include pavement damage, traffic congestion, accident risk and emissions,” the report says. The administration's infrastructure plan calls for leaning on tolls and funding from states and localities – rather than federal spending – to bolster highway funding. President Trump’s plan also would repeal the current ban on interstate tolling.

– James Jaillet

Trucking groups have rebuked the president’s plan for an increase in tolling.

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JOURNAL NEWS

INBRIEF 4/18 • Raymond P. Martinez, the new administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, was officially sworn in Feb. 28 as head of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s trucking and bus regulatory agency. Martinez, who was selected last fall by President Trump, previously served as the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission’s chairman and chief administrator, where he advised the state’s governor and legislature on all areas of motor vehicle transportation and traffic safety and was responsible for developing the agency’s regulatory and legislative agendas.

ROTELLA ROUNDUP

The 411on10W-30 By Dan Arcy, Shell Lubricants

Many fleets are switching to 10W-30 engine oils from traditional 15W-40 oils.

• Truckers hauling agricultural products and livestock now have until June 18 to adopt an electronic logging device and can continue to run on paper logs while various issues are resolved, FMCSA announced last month. Those haulers already had secured a three-month extension beyond the mandate’s Dec. 18 compliance deadline, originally giving them until March 18 to comply.

The reason is fuel economy. Thinner viscosities mean the engine doesn’t have to work as hard and uses less fuel. Think of it like swimming through honey vs. water. Honey is thicker than water, so more energy is used to move through it. The same goes for an engine’s moving parts. A 15W-40 oil requires more energy to move through it whereas 10W-30 oil produces less drag on your engine.

• The Truck Renting and Leasing Association formally requested a waiver from the ELD mandate that would delay compliance for drivers of truck rentals of 30 days or less through the end of 2018. TRALA initially was granted a 90-day waiver through April 19 but says it needs more time to address issues that have arisen with short-term rentals when a fleet rents a truck with a different ELD platform than the one it uses.

But can a 10W-30 protect as well as a 15W- 40? You bet. It comes down to quality additives and composition of base oil. In fact, Shell ROTELLA® T5 10W-30 can protect as well or better than industry-standard 15W-40 oils. Give it a shot in your fleet.

• To help Puerto Rican citizens relocating to the United States in the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria, FMCSA issued a 90-day waiver from proof of U.S. citizenship or legal permanent residence and domicile requirements for these individuals to help them obtain commercial learner’s permits or commercial driver’s licenses. The Commercial Vehicle Training Association requested the waiver for Puerto Rican CLP and CDL applicants who cannot provide necessary documents to establish identity due to circumstances surrounding the storms.

To learn more go to ROTELLA.com/products

• Waymo, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet, was testing self-driving tractor-trailers in Atlanta last month. The trucks equipped with Waymo’s retrofit system hauled freight destined for Google’s data facilities. Drivers remained in the cab to assume control of the vehicles if necessary, but the trucks remained mostly under

Comments, questions or ideas? Email us at RotellaRoundup@JWT.com

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autonomous control. The tests“will let us further develop our technology and integrate it into the operations of shippers and carriers,”the company said. • Uber ATG, the branch of Uber dedicated to developing self-driving vehicles, said last month it is moving freight with an undisclosed carrier and shipper across Arizona in ongoing tests of its autonomous technology and a transfer-hub trailer-handoff system. • Hyliion’s Class 8 hybrid-electric tractor equipped with its 6x4HE electric axle is available for fleets to test in their own operations for up to a week at no charge. The 6x4HE, which replaces the rear axle in both 6×2 and 6×4 configurations, has a battery pack that stores 8 kilowatts of electrical power and mounts to the tractor’s frame rail. As the tractor approaches an incline, the system delivers electrical power to provide torque to the rear axle, and on a downgrade, it recharges through regenerative braking. Test trucks can be reserved at trialtruck@hyliion.com, Hyliion.com or 833-495-4466. • Peterbilt Motors Co. announced several cash rebates throughout 2018. Members of both Landstar and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association are eligible for a $1,500 rebate on Models 579, 567 and 389 when spec’d with a sleeper. National Ready Mixed Concrete Association members are eligible for a $2,000 rebate on Models 567 and 520 when spec’ed for mixer, pump and other industry equipment. Members of the American Logger Council are eligible for a $2,000 rebate on Model 567. • Ryder System opened a new logistics facility in Laredo, Texas, to support U.S.Mexico cross-border shipments for 19 of its customers within the automobile, industrial, retail and technology industries. The 109,000-square-foot facility has 51 dock doors, two ramps and 114 trailer spaces. • RoadOne IntermodaLogistics, a Randolph, Mass.-based provider of intermodal, distribution and logistics services, acquired Jarvis Trans Inc., an intermodal transportation company serving Boston and the greater New England region, with daily service from New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia to all Northeast points. RoadOne said the purchase, terms of which were not disclosed, allows it to increase capacity in the Northeast market.

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JOURNAL NEWS

CARB to block DMV registration of pre-2011 trucks starting in 2020

arriers domiciled in California with trucks older than modelyear 2011 or using engines manufactured before 2010 will need to meet the state Air Resources Board’s new Truck and Bus Regulation beginning in 2020, or their vehicles will be blocked from registration with the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. Beginning in 2020, DMV will begin using a new enforcement tool that automatically will block older trucks from registration. Older vehicles must be either replaced with a 2011 or newer vehicle or repowered with a 2010 or newer engine. Under these regulations, truckers must meet the following compliance schedule for vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds: 1 must 3/6/18 8:11 AM • 2000 VAD_7x4.5.pdf and older trucks comply

by Jan. 1, 2020 • 2001-05 must comply by Jan. 1, 2021 • 2006-07 must comply by Jan. 1, 2022 • 2008-10 must comply by Jan. 1, 2023 Vehicles weighing between 14,000 and 26,000 pounds also are subject to the regulations and must meet the following compliance schedule: • 2004 and older must comply by Jan. 1, 2020 • 2005-07 must comply by Jan. 1, 2021 • 2008-10 must comply by Jan. 1, 2023 Vehicles that have met all upgrade requirements or are exempt from the state’s heavy-duty diesel regulations will be allowed to register with DMV. VIN numbers may be required. Vehicles that are exempt from other California heavy-duty diesel regulations, such as cargo handling equipment, drayage vehicles and

CARB’s new Truck and Bus Regulation will block older trucks from DMV registrations unless they are replaced or repowered with a 2010 or newer engine.

solid waste collection vehicles, still may be subject to the Truck and Bus Regulation. Drayage and solid waste collection trucks with 2007-09 modelyear engines are required to meet the new regulation by Jan. 1, 2023. CARB said the Truck and Bus Regulation is already in effect and that it can place a DMV regulation block on vehicles now, before the final compliance dates, if they don’t meet current air quality regulations. – Matt Cole

CMY

Ancra_CCJ0418_PG.indd 1

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JOURNAL NEWS

SPONSORED INFORMATION

OOIDA asks for court to rehear case over sleep apnea guidelines for truck drivers

GUN RIGHTS vs. PROPERTY RIGHTS

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JIM ALLEN

onsidering recent events, the mere fact that the title of this article is likely to generate a multitude of comments. However, this is not about guns in cabs. It’s about how the right to bear arms affects an employer’s right to control whether firearms are brought onto their private property. Understand that while the right to keep and bear arms is confirmed in the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution the states determine the extent to which the right applies within that state. In the past, many employers prohibited the presence of guns on their property. To support this positon, they claimed such a policy would increase employee safety. In contrast, advocates of gun rights countered that the 2nd Amendment confirms the constitutional right to keep and bear arms and they should have the right to carry firearms for self-defense. During the past 20 years, numerous states have adopted “workplace protection” or “parking lot” laws which serve to limit an employer’s ability to prohibit firearms on their property. Generally, the statutes say than an employer may not restrict a person from transporting or storing a firearm in a locked vehicle in any parking lot, parking garage or other designated area unless the possession of such firearm is otherwise prohibited by state or federal law. What this means for the trucking industry is that employers who have a presence (such as terminals) in different states will likely be subject to very different laws regarding the right to prohibit firearms on their property. Thus, a company-wide policy prohibiting firearms will likely not work and could, in fact, be in violation of the law. If a carrier wishes to prohibit firearms, then they will need to work within the framework of the laws of each state in which they have a physical presence. Ultimately, there is no easy answer to this issue and the battle between gun rights and employer’s property rights will not end anytime soon. Visit www.DriversLegalPlan.com for a full report.

ollowing a court’s dismissal of the case in January, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association filed a motion for the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear its argument that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration illegally Decisions to refer drivers for altered sleep apnea screening in-lab sleep apnea testing curguidelines for truck drivers. rently are left to the discretion OOIDA and its legal team of medical examiners. claim FMCSA violated a congressional statute set in 2013 that blocked the agency from using guidance to regulate sleep apnea screening and treatment of truck operators. The 2013 law required FMCSA to use the formal rulemaking process, including a public notice and comment period, to make any changes to sleep apnea screening procedures. OOIDA says FMCSA violated that statute in 2015 when the agency tacked a sleep apnea-related provision onto a broader rule that changed the forms used by medical examiners conducting U.S. Department of Transportation physicals. The rule also required examiners to upload results of DOT physicals to FMCSA within 24 hours. FMCSA disagrees with OOIDA’s assertions, saying the sleep apnea provision within the rule did not “substantively change” the agency’s guidance to examiners regarding referrals for in-lab sleep apnea testing, said DOT attorney Sushma Soni during oral arguments last November before the Eighth Circuit court. A three-judge panel sided with FMCSA Jan. 5 and ruled to dismiss the case. OOIDA in late February filed a motion asking the court to rehear the case en banc, meaning all 12 judges on the Eighth Circuit bench would hear the case and issue a new decision. The court could reject OOIDA’s appeal, meaning it would not be reheard. The association then would be faced with the decision to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. FMCSA last year withdrew a rule that sought to set sleep apnea screening criteria for medical examiners and drivers. The rule intended to provide clarity to the industry about the apnea screening and treatment process. Absent such a rule, decisions to refer drivers for in-lab testing are left to the discretion of medical examiners. – James Jaillet

JOURNAL NEWS

5 Reasons You Fail at Recruiting Drivers

Search returns to certified medical examiner website

A 5-part series by Randall-Reilly In the coming weeks, our 5-part series will cover major stumbling blocks fleets face in the recruiting process. Our series begins with

Reason 1: You’re Not Working Your Leads Properly randallreilly.com Reason1

ruckers now can search the U.S. Department of Transportation’s online registry for certified examiners by ZIP code, but the full registry remains offline four months after a hack prompted its outage, said the The hack and outage has forced examiners to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. backlog exam results FMCSA has not offered a timeline for when the until the site enables National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners will them to upload the come back online or whether it has confirmed that results to FMCSA. drivers’ and examiners’ information was not exposed. FMCSA said that it didn’t appear that any information on drivers, examiners or carriers had been stolen. While the search function was disabled, users had to locate their own FMCSA-certified medical examiner. The hack and outage has forced examiners to backlog exam results until the site enables them to upload the results to FMCSA. Also, examiners fear the potential of fraudulent medical certificates to be created, should any information about examiners have been stolen in the hack. Collin Mooney, executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, said the outage haven’t caused issues with roadside inspectors checking drivers’ medical certificates. “The drivers are still required to take the medical [certificate] to the state, and the state updates the CDL. Medicals are still able to be verified at roadside through CDLIS, not the national registry.” – James Jaillet

Electrical contractors seek ELD exemption

trade group representing electrical contractors is seeking an exemption from the electronic logging device mandate for its members who occasionally exceed its NECA is seeking an exemption for minimum requirements. its line workers who do occasionally The National Electrical Contractors exceed the minimum requirements Association, which represents 4,000 mem- for the mandate. bers who install, repair and maintain the infrastructure of electrical utilities, says the drivers for its member companies use commercial utility vehicles as a secondary responsibility and spend most of their day doing other tasks related to their jobs. NECA states the operation of commercial vehicles by the line workers that would be covered under the exemption “is so limited that the ELD requirement is triggered infrequently” and that it would be “cumbersome” for its members to meet the mandate’s costs, according to the notice published last month in the Federal Register by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. NECA says that if granted the exemption, its commercial drivers would fully comply with hours-of-service requirements and keep paper logs when required. The group says that while it is unclear how many of its drivers would be covered under the exemption, one of its larger contractor members has nearly 14,000 commercial utility vehicles. – Matt Cole

Call 855.906.5858 for more information

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BY JASON CANNON

Seven important autonomous miles Starsky touts first driverless truck run with no one in cab

wo months ago, in the Middle-Of-Nowhere, Fla., a person placed a tractor in drive, brought it up to speed and centered the truck

in its lane. Big deal, right? That happens millions of times every day. But the driver of this truck was about 100 miles away from his tractor. The truck only traveled seven miles, and it didn’t have a trailer attached, but none of that is particularly important right now. When California-based trucking tech upstart Starsky Robotics ceded control of its truck to a combination of sensors, technology and luck, it became the first player in the space that we know of to oversee an autonomous drive on a public road without a person in the cab. Autonomous testing happens about every day, but there is almost always a person in the seat or bunk. That person is there to take over if anything goes awry, and they’re also required to be there, according to most state laws. Florida is one of the most autonomous-friendly states in the nation, having passed laws in late 2016 that allow for driverEVERYDAY OCCURRENCE: Most autonomous testing happens with a person in the seat or bunk. BACK-OFFICE DRIVER: Starsky Robotics’ system allows one driver to monitor several trucks.

REGULATORY ROADBLOCK : State legislation must loosen up to allow more autonomous testing.

commercial carrier journal

| april 2018

Starsky Robotics’ system addresses final-mile delivery by putting drivers in an office where they can operate trucks remotely from terminal to delivery.

less autonomous vehicles — the first such legislation of its kind. California followed suit and expects to begin issuing permits for person-less testing this month. Starsky’s system uses software and radar and camera systems for autonomous highway driving but solves the issue of final-mile delivery by removing drivers from the cab entirely and putting them in an office where they can operate trucks remotely from terminal to delivery. Such a platform doesn’t make a lot of sense if a person is required to be inside the truck. It essentially requires two people to do the job one person currently is doing. That’s in stark contrast with the company’s mission of allowing one person to do the job currently being done by multiple people.

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Starsky co-founder Stefan Seltz-Axmacher tells me his goal for the platform is to allow drivers located in a central office to bring multiple units up to highway speed before handing control over to the autonomous system. “The [remote driver] should be monitoring the truck at the beginning and end of the trip,” Seltz-Axmacher says. “Once the truck is in full autonomous mode, the guy in the office should be paying attention to a number of other trucks.” Think of it like a security guard in a control room. To monitor every room in an office complex manually, you would need multiple guards. If each room is equipped with a camera, one person can oversee multiple rooms. The company’s aftermarket retrofit kit robotically controls the throttle, steering and transmission, mirroring the driver’s input from the office. The remote driver uses information from the truck’s cameras and data feed to get a sense of the vehicle’s surroundings. Last year, Starsky began using self-driving trucks in yards and major freight lanes, hauling everything from 5,000 pounds of milk crates to 40,000 pounds of tile. In September, Starsky claimed the longest end-to-end autonomous trip at the time, hauling Hurricane Irma recovery aid, including water, 68 miles through Florida with a person in the cab but without their intervention. Two months ago, that person stepped out of the cab and let the technology do all the work. It was only seven miles, and it was a bobtail unit, but Starsky’s test demonstrates to the other 40-plus states with less-autonomous-friendly rules that the technology is ready to hit the road, and it shows that it can be demonstrated with some degree of reliability. Driverless driving never will make any sense if twothirds of the interstate system is blocked by legislation. We have a long way to go in making autonomous driving an everyday reality, but as of February 2018, we’re seven miles closer. JASON CANNON is Equipment Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail jcannon@randallreilly.com or call (205) 248-1175.

Trailer lamps can be lower for aero devices

temco received a five-year exemption that allows rear identification lights and rear clearance lamps to be mounted Stemco said its TrailerTail lower than currently devices should allowed by regulations be mounted flush in order for TrailerTail with the top of aerodynamic devices trailers for maximum aerodyto be mounted at the namic efficiency. top of trailers, which the company says makes the devices more efficient. The exemption went into effect Feb. 14 and is good through Feb. 14, 2023. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said that because all trailers are required to have red and white reflective sheeting or reflectors, the lights do not have to be positioned at the top. Stemco had been mounting its TrailerTail devices between 11/2 and 31/2 inches below the top. – Matt Cole

Sears Seating, Mack team for truck seat

roduct design teams from Sears Seating and Mack Trucks have co-developed an exclusive truck seat aimed at reducing driver fatigue. The new contemporary The new condesign includes longer temporary Sears seat cushions, taller seat Seating design is backrests and adjustunique to Mack’s Anthem and able bolsters. Granite models. “By working with our customer to produce seats that offer operators greater comfort, stability, rigidity and overall better ride performance, we help Mack put trucks in their customers’ fleets that drivers will want to drive and operate safely,” said Kent Wichelt, Sears Seating president. – Jason Cannon commercial carrier journal

april 2018

INBRIEF • Isuzu Commercial Truck of America is adding a Crew Cab model, featuring seating for up to seven people, to its Class 5 NRR lineup. The low-cab-forward truck features wheelbases of 109 to 212 inches with body lengths up to 24 feet and is powered by Isuzu’s 5.2-liter 4HK1-TC turbocharged intercooled four-cylinder diesel engine

generating 215 hp at 2,500 rpm and 452 lb.-ft. of torque at 1,850 rpm. The engine is matched to an Aisin A465 six-speed double-overdrive automatic transmission.

to workshop organization, designated uptime bays for repairs taking less than four hours and revised service workflows to speed repairs.

• Volvo Trucks North America’s dealer network now includes more than 100 Certified Uptime Centers. To qualify, a dealer location must be proficient in 28 categories related to efficient service and repair ranging from consistent use of diagnostics tools

• Continental added a Pre-Cured Tread manufacturing facility to its existing campus in Mount Vernon, Ill. The new plant began operations in January and is producing tread rubber for the company’s ContiTread premium retread line.

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• GCR Tires & Service, a commercial tire and service network operated by Bridgestone Americas Inc., launched its Commercial Truck Tire Finder, a digital tool designed to provide users with both product-specific and guided search options to help them identify the recommended tires for their applications. The tool is optimized for both desktop and mobile use and is available at GCRTires.com/Tire-Selector/ Truck-Bus-Radial. • SAF-Holland – a manufacturer of trailer suspension and axle systems, truck suspensions, fifth wheels, landing gear and coupling products – announced that it now has over 10,000 part numbers available with vehicle maintenance reporting standard codes for tracking equipment and maintenance information.

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• ConMet opened its second production facility in Monroe, N.C. The 253,000-squarefoot plant is dedicated to assembling wheel-end components and is designed for easy expansion if additional square footage is required in the future.

• Diesel Laptops launched a free truck fault codes app for iOS and Android designed to provide access to over 40,000 diagnostics trouble codes found on commercial trucks. Go to DieselLaptops.com. • Truck-Lite Co., a provider of heavy-duty lighting, mirrors, telematics and visibility systems, announced that Crane Freight & Cartage, a provider of ground and logistics services, selected its Road Ready telematics system for its fleet of 900 trailers. The Road Ready system is designed to provide fleets with an overview of an untethered trailer’s environment, both inside and out, using customizable wireless sensors, long-life batteries and a solar-powered master control unit.

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Workhorse, UPS collaborating on electric delivery truck

U The new Volvo VNX series includes a daycab and two sleeper configurations. Production is expected to begin in May.

Volvo introduces new VNX heavy-haul series

olvo Trucks North America completed the overhaul of its heavy-duty truck lineup as it introduced its VNX series tractors for the heavy-haul market. The new three-model VNX family replaces the previous four-model VNX tractor lineup that VTNA stopped producing in conjunction with the D16 engine in early 2017, citing adverse market conditions. The new series is available in three configurations — VNX 300 daycab, VNX 400 42-inch sleeper and VNX 740 70-inch sleeper. Engine choices include the Volvo D13 and Cummins X15 Performance Series. The VNX rebirth follows VTNA’s launch of its new VNL longhaul and VNR regional-haul tractors in 2017. This third phase completes the company’s “Shape of Trucks to Come” initiative. The timing couldn’t be better for VTNA to regain its footing in the heavy-haul segment, as the manufacturing, construction and housing markets continue strong growth and create increased demand for heavy-haul and severe-service tractors. While the new VNX shares many of the aggressive design cues and premium interiors as its VNL and VNR siblings, it is much more than a repurposed heavy-haul model. VTNA applied the lessons learned from its previous VNX tractor by offering a host of axle configurations, longer fifth-wheel slides, two engine choices, a 45-degree wheel cut, optional crawler gears and gross combination weight ratings from 125,000 to 225,000 pounds. Axle options include front axles with 16,000- or 20,000-pound ratings and 6×4 tandem, 8×4 tandem and 8×6 tridem rear axles with ratings from 46,000 to 55,000 pounds. “Customers wanted a little more rugged truck,” said Magnus Koeck, VTNA’s vice president of marketing and brand management. “The previous generation was too similar to the VNL series at the time. We had the appropriate engine with the D16, but we didn’t have the appropriate chassis and truck. The new VNX is much more purpose-built.” – Jeff Crissey 24

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PS announced it will deploy 50 plug-in electric delivery trucks and collaborate with Workhorse Group to design the vehicles from scratch. UPS and Workhorse said that following real-world test deployments on urban routes in Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles, they expect to fine-tune the design in time to deploy a larger fleet next year. Carlton Rose, UPS president of global fleet maintenance and engineering, said he expects the electric vehicles to be priced competitively with conventional-fueled trucks without subsidies. Rose said the all-electric trucks will deliver by day and recharge overnight. “With our scale and real-world duty cycles, these new electric trucks will be a quantum leap forward for the purpose-built UPS delivery fleet,” Rose said. The goal is to make the new electric vehicles a standard UPS selection, where appropriate, in its fleet of the future, he said. Steve Burns, Workhorse Group’s chief executive officer, said the Class 5 vehicles will feature a range of about 100 miles between charges and provide a nearly 400 percent fuel-efficiency improvement. “This innovation is the result of Workhorse working closely with UPS over the last four years refining our electric vehicles with hard-fought lessons from millions of road miles and thousands of packages delivered,” Burns said. “Our goal is to make it easy for UPS and others to go electric by removing prior roadblocks to largescale acceptance, such as cost.” – Jason Cannon

This artistic rendering of a plug-in electric delivery truck shows what the newest UPS delivery vehicle could look like.

DTNA bullish on 2018 truck market, outlines future technology initiatives

n the heels of one of the best years in Daimler Trucks North America’s history, the company plans to continue efforts to diversify its North American parts distribution network and leverage global Daimler resources to develop and introduce new technologies related to connectivity, electrified powertrains and automated driving. Driven largely by 46,000 orders for the new Cascadia in 2017, DTNA achieved a record 39.8 percent NAFTA Class 6-8 market share last year with 151,000 trucks, chassis and buses, including 127,000 total units in the United States. The company is off to a fast start in 2018, with January NAFTA Class 6-8 market share at 42.3 percent and February numbers projected to be “if not a record, then close to a record,” said Roger Nielsen, DTNA president and chief executive officer, during a press teleconference. Nielsen predicts those early 2018 figures to continue well into the year. “In 2018, we expect the market to be in the range of what we experienced in 2015 when the NAFTA Class 6-8 market was 420,000 units across all the competition, but it could be higher if the market dynamic continues on and is sustainable for the months ahead.” Nielsen said most truck sales to DTNA customers are attributable to equipment refreshment rather than fleet expansion. “It’s a mixed bag right now, but for the most part, it has been replacement,” he said. “In 2018, we are getting back to trade cycles from the peak years in 2014 and 2015 when volumes were high, but there are a few fleets that are actually adding capacity and have been successful in finding drivers.” Exploring new technologies In its efforts to be a leader in the develop-

Daimler Trucks North America continues to invest in developing future vehicle technologies, including connectivity, electrification and autonomous driving.

ment of future technologies, Daimler announced it will spend $620 billion in the next two years to develop new solutions for customers around the globe. In North America, “We want to put future technology out there that makes sense for our customers,” said Nielsen. “Fleets and truck drivers don’t want new technology for the sake of it — they want new technology because they believe it can give them a competitive advantage in the marketplace and reduce their real cost of ownership.” As part of its North American strategy, DTNA has created new departments for connectivity and electric mobility, led respectively by Sanjiv Khurana, formerly president of Detroit Diesel Remanufacturing, and Andreas Juretzka, formerly Detroit’s director of mechanical engineering. DTNA’s connectivity program began seven years ago with the launch of its Virtual Technician remote diagnostics system, and in the last three years it has developed new connectivity solutions as part of the Detroit Connect platform.

DTNA’s current focus is to streamline how customers access and use the data coming from their trucks to improve business and reduce cost of ownership. Recognizing that many DTNA fleet customers use third-party telematics providers, the company soon will be announcing partnerships with those companies to offer their services through the Detroit Connect platform with the goal of reducing the number of onboard devices that require separate SIM cards and cellular accounts. “Our customers want flexibility in interacting with the data being captured from their fleet,” said Nielsen. “They have proprietary analysis they would like to perform, and we are developing a mechanism to have the data pipelined directly into their back-office systems the way they want it to.” With last year’s launch of the Jouley Saf-T-Liner C2 electric school bus by DTNA’s Thomas Built Buses division, electrification now is a “near-term project” for commercial trucking, said Nielsen, citing the eCanter from Mitsubishi

commercial carrier journal

april 2018

and trailers to haul real freight for real Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. and the Mercedes-Benz eActros battery-electric shippers,” said Nielsen. trucks as recent examples. Growing PDC network Nielsen said the timeline for batAfter opening a parts and distribution tery-electric vehicle configurations center in Indianapolis in 2017, DTNA for the North American heavy-duty recently opened its ninth PDC in Des truck market are in-step with DaimMoines, Iowa, and plans to open a ler’s global efforts, but he cautioned 10th in the Western U.S. region in the the road to widespread adoption of near future. electric powertrains is still a long way More than 80 percent of DTNA’s from reality. dealers now are within 350 miles of “When we introduced the origia PDC and can place parts orders at nal Cascadia 10 years ago, we put 24 4 p.m. and receive the parts from the million miles on the road before we PDC by 7 a.m. the following morning. introduced it,” he said. “We will not “Those dealers that do anything different are closer are able with electric vehicles. now to get same-day It’s critical that from delivery,” said Nielthe very beginning sen. “Our goal is once that the new techwe get a truck into nology positively the service bay to not contributes to cusmove it out until it is tomers’ real cost of completely repaired.” ownership.” Nielsen said DTNA’s On autonomous Alliance Truck Parts vehicles, Nielsen division has increased said DTNA’s efforts Roger Nielsen, DTNA president and CEO, said widespread its parts product lines to make automated adoption of battery-electric by more than 50 perdriving a reality are vehicles for the North American cent and that the comin-step with developheavy-duty truck market will happen only when they posipany will be opening ment of the compatively contribute to customers’ Alliance Truck Parts ny’s advanced driver real cost of ownership. retail stores throughassistance systems, out the country. “It is a many of which are key element to expanding the availability part of the Detroit Assurance safety of our parts in the aftermarket,” he said. system. In 2017, 66 percent of new DTNA also is extending its e-comCascadias were delivered with Detroit merce parts and distribution network Assurance, and Nielsen said future into further segments with its Pinnacle improvements to the camera and Truck Parts website. “We understand radar systems will enable enhanced e-commerce also is an important part adaptive cruise control and lane-keep of our parts and distribution capaassist features. bilities,” said Nielsen. “Working with DTNA is leveraging ADAS techour physical parts and distribution nologies to develop its platooning network as well as our dealer locations solution, currently undergoing exand distributors in combination with tensive safety testing. The company is e-commerce gives us ample opportufinalizing details with a fleet customer nities to give our customers choices as to begin testing of platooning-enabled they procure parts.” Freightliner trucks in real-world – Jeff Crissey applications, “using the fleet’s drivers 26

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TEST DRIVE: MACK LR

Flashy trash hauler Mack’s LR sets the bar for refuse comfort, safety BY JASON CANNON

hen your job is to grind out a trash route day-in and day-out, the little things can go a long way. Trash collection is one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The fatal injury rate for trash collectors is 33 per 100,000 incidents, putting trash collection ahead of law enforcement, construction work and mining on the danger scale. Mack’s LR refuse model, launched in 2015 as a replacement for the company’s TerraPro LEU, features several new driver safety feature and comfort updates. A new drip rail above the door keeps the rain out of the cab when the door is opened upward of 1,000 times a day, and an improved HVAC system offers better temperature control and improved defrosting. A tilt and telescoping steering column comes standard and features column-mounted gauge pods for both the right-hand and left-hand driving positions. With the cluster mounted to the wheel, the driver is presented with excellent visibility regardless of the wheel’s position. I was able to position the wheel to allow my elbows to rest on the door and the console, which should make eight to 10 hours on a trash route feel less taxing on a driver’s arms. A massive front windshield and giant side windows provide ample visibility, which improves safety for a truck that operates so close to the curb and within close proximity to people. B-pillar windows offer the convenience of over-the-shoulder glances when working the truck through traffic. The LR features a 45-degree wheel cut, allowing it to navigate a cul-de-sac without having to back up. With reduced visibility at the rear, backing up is when most injuries and accidents happen. The LR gets an LED makeover inside and out. The only lights on the truck that aren’t LEDs are the headlamps, and an LED option for those is available. Power windows and locks come standard, and the truck’s side mirrors can store two positions electronically — a handy feature for trucks configured for both leftand right-side driving. The driver simply can flip a switch, and the mirrors 28

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Mack’s LR refuse model was launched in 2015 as a replacement for the company’s TerraPro LEU.

A tilt and telescoping steering column comes standard and features column-mounted gauge pods.

will readjust themselves to a preprogrammed position. Dual-side-drive units feature a steering wheel, gauge cluster and pedals on each side, and the driver can switch between them via a toggle switch when the truck’s parking brake is activated. Curtis Dorwart, Mack’s refuse product marketing manager, said demand for trucks equipped with righthand-drive capabilities is increasing because it allows one operator to drive and collect and dump cans from the

same side, which can turn a two-man job into a single-man crew. In a right-hand-standup configuration, an operator can be in and out of the truck several hundred times a day, so Mack shorted ground-tofloor height to 16 inches. Mack doesn’t offer its mDrive transmission on the LR, relying on the vocational prowess of an Allison 4500 RDS six-speed. “With the torque converter in front of it, you’ve got that little bit of extra torque at launch,” Dorwart said. The LR comes standard with Mack’s MP7 engine with up to 355 hp and 1,280 lb.-ft. torque. The Cummins Westport ISL G natural gas engine is optional. Mack also is making its GuardDog Connect telematics platform standard for LR customers with two years of complementary coverage. “It may save the day as far as the route is concerned,” Dorwart said. “If you get a dash light, the telematics can tell you what the problem is. Maybe it’s not severe enough to warrant pulling the truck off the route immediately.” With so many body builders in the refuse segment – upward of a dozen – Mack has simplified much of the upfitting process. The LR is equipped with many wiring channels and an additional one through the split in the windshield for installing a camera system. Fuses are accessed through the top of the dash. The LR initially was available only as a 6×4, but last year the company introduced a 4×2 configuration with a shorter wheelbase and improved maneuverability. Mack’s LR is a no-frills upgrade in the refuse segment, a market in which the company currently owns about half. The LR offers increased levels of comfort, convenience and safety to a job that often is thankless, and I think drivers will appreciate that.

“With the torque converter in front of it, you’ve got that little bit of extra torque at launch.” – Curtis Dorwart, Mack’s refuse product marketing manager

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29 2/27/18 9:43 AM

in focus: FUEL EFFICIENCY PAYBACK

Less risk may be more rewarding when chasing after diesel savings BY JASON CANNON

inding further fuel efficiency gains on today’s trucks and trailers isn’t easy. With so many options on the market, the math is complex on payback calculations, and the risk can be high for investing in solutions that won’t offer a return through their lifecycles if placed in the wrong applications. When considering the array of products available, fleets shouldn’t take a big gamble and chase major savings that may never materialize, says Mike Roeth, executive director of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency. Instead, they should look for solutions that allow them to wade into the water slowly and settle for smaller dividends. “It’s admittedly harder to test for a 1 or 2 percent improvement,” Roeth says. “Bigger plays with automated transmissions, 6x2 axles and other bigger aerodynamic things — those are ones where a lot more due diligence is required, as some kind of adverse consequences can kill you financially.” On-highway trucks come standard with improved aerodynamics, and Roeth says wheel covers would be a logical add-on for fleets looking to maximize airflow. “We’ve seen that wheel covers and the devices between the tires do deliver fuel savings,” he says. “Some people worry about their durability and serviceability, but those problems seem to be getting smaller.” Rolling along A tire’s rolling resistance accounts for nearly 25 percent of the truck’s fuel consumption. Mike Manges, manager 30

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of commercial tire communications for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., says about one-third of a standard longhaul tractor-trailer’s drag force is due to tire rolling resistance. While that’s led to the prevalence of low-rolling-resistance tires, rubber technology now is being pushed beyond current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards, Manges says. “While SmartWay verification will remain part of the long-haul truck tire landscape, greenhouse gas Phase 2 rolling-resistance requirements will drive demand for tires that even exceed SmartWay thresholds,” Manges says. “We call these products ‘super-fuel’ tires, and we believe that fleets will ask for more of them.” Tire selection – and keeping those tires inflated – is critical, as for every 10 psi that a tire is underinflated, a truck loses up to 1 percent in fuel efficiency, says James Sharkey, PSI’s senior director of global sales and marketing. An automatic tire inflation system is one way to mitigate underinflation, Sharkey says. “Have you ever pulled a kid’s wagon or been on a bike with underinflated tires?” he asks. “If your tires aren’t properly inflated, it’s really difficult.” A high-mileage van fleet with trucks running upward of 80,000 miles annually can expect to save $600 or more per truck at current fuel prices by simply keeping trailer tires inflated, Sharkey says. “That will almost pay for your ATIS just in year one.” Aero add-ons Efficiency isn’t a lot of fun until your fuel bill comes. But not every gain has

| april 2018

Lower fuel bills can make fuel efficiency more profitable.

to be science-based and go unnoticed. Rob Stock, general manager of Hendrickson Bumper and Trim, says the company’s AeroClad bumpers offer weight savings of up to 55 percent over a seven-gauge steel bumper while also offering a pop of flash and added durability for fleets that generally spec plastic bumpers to save weight. Hendrickson contracted a study to test the fuel consumption of identical trucks, one equipped with plastic bumpers and the other with AeroClad replacements. “The conclusion was virtually no difference in fuel consumption between OE plastic and the AeroClad bumper,” Stock says. The combination of more traditional front and rear aerodynamic fairings for trailers can improve fuel economy from about 1 to 5 percent each, says Jon Morrison, Wabco’s president of the Americas. “Collectively, they can improve fuel economy by more than 9 percent,” Morrison says. Meanwhile, trailer gap treatments are showing fuel efficiency returns of about 2 to 3 percent in limited on-highway testing. “That seems to be an area of opportunity,” Roeth says. “I thought that was worth maybe 1.5 [percent fuel economy improvement], but we’re seeing testing out there of 2.5, 3.5, 4 [percent improvement] in the real world.”

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technology MAKING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS WORK FOR YOUR FLEET BY AARON HUFF

‘The Holy Grail’ of trucking

Omnitracs executives discuss freight matching, unified tech

hree weeks into his new job as chief executive of Omnitracs, Ray Greer sat for lunch in late February with trucking media and analysts during the company’s Outlook user conference in Nashville, Tenn. Before joining the mobile fleet management technology provider, Greer was president of third-party logistics company BNSF Logistics, which recently certified 40,000 carriers in its network for electronic logging device compliance. Most BNSF carriers are using ELD products from Omnitracs. At BNSF, Greer saw the opportunity to leverage data from ELD applications to gain visibility of shipment status and to locate load capacity more quickly and efficiently. During the Nashville meeting, Greer expressed interest in Omnitracs offering new freight-matching technologies for 3PLs, freight brokers and carriers. To do this, the company wants to accumulate more data and plans to acquire companies as needed. “The Holy Grail of trucking is matchELD LEVERAGE: Data can provide visibility of shipment status and load capacity quickly and efficiently.

FREIGHT MATCHING: Omnitracs is interested in new technologies for 3PLs, freight brokers and carriers.

FIRST, MIDDLE AND FINAL MILE: Work has focused on converging technologies for all types of operations.

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april 2018

Navigation and other cloudbased applications in the new Omnitracs One platform are device-agnostic.

ing carriers with shippers,” he said. “It is going to be fun, and I’m excited about how we are going to tap that market.” Thirty years ago, Qualcomm pioneered satellite tracking and mobile communications in the trucking industry. In 2013, the company now known as OmKevin Haugh, Omnitracs’ chief product and strategy officer, discusses the applications in nitracs – a name given to Qualthe new Omnitracs One platform. comm’s growing fleet management technology subsidiary – was purchased from Qualcomm by private equity firm Vista. Carriers that use Omnitracs’ mobile hardware and software systems, which include the XRS and MCP platforms, can satisfy the load-tracking requirements of their shipper, 3PL and freight broker customers by sharing information through Virtual Load View. The application secures carrier location information and relays any shipment details that carriers agree to share with trusted customers. Omnitracs plans to bring new capabilities to market by leveraging its route planning and optimization applications with Virtual Load View and other technologies. If a driver in Texas is empty with six hours remaining on his hours-of-service duty status, “we need to present loads (to the driver) that he can do in six hours,” Greer said. The loads would be coming from the carrier’s transportation management software system or from a shipper, 3PL or freight broker using Omnitracs’ technology “in the middle” of the freight-matching process. “We will change the way carriers think about getting their next load.” The same routing optimization technologies are being applied to identify platoon-

INTERESTED IN TRUCKING TECHNOLOGY? Scan the barcode or go to www.goo.gl/Ph9JK to subscribe to the CCJ Technology Weekly e-mail newsletter.

ing opportunities for carriers. Omnitracs has a partnership with Peloton Technologies, which is developing a platform that enables two trucks to platoon and maintain highway speeds in close proximity by automating their throttle and braking. The lead tractor in a platoon will save 4.5 percent in fuel and the rear vehicle 10 percent. During the Outlook user conference, Kevin Haugh, Omnitracs’ chief product and strategy officer, explained the depth and breadth of the company’s fleet management technology that it has acquired and is developing under Vista’s ownership. Recent work has focused on converging technologies in the “first, middle and final mile” of transportation and distribution. The company has developed applications for carriers with all types of operations, and at the conference, it announced a new unified stack of technology solutions called Omnitracs One. The integrated Software-as-a-Service applications unite features and functionalities from the Omnitracs portfolio of routing, dispatch, compliance, navigation, safety and more products in a single-source user experience that covers everything from fleet operations management to mobile driver interfaces, data analytics, data discovery and reporting. For the data analytics and discovery components, Omnitracs has created new user experiences that provide a comprehensive view of fleet operations with key indicators for vehicle and driver status. Drill-down features allow users to find and take action on real-time information and predict problems ahead of time. Omnitracs One is designed to be deOmnitracs will release an Android version of its in-cab IVG platform vice-agnostic to give fleets a broader array later this year. of options based on their needs, with an “open and secure” architecture for instant access to a network of technology partners and system integrations. As part of the Omnitracs One platform, the company will release an Android version of its in-cab IVG platform later this year. “We want to make it easy for drivers to do what they do,” Haugh said. “We are able to bring everything together seamlessly for the driver so they can manage their workday better.” AARON HUFF is Senior Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail ahuff@ccjmagazine.com or call (801) 754-4296.

Customers expect service fleets to know what they’re doing

f a home service professional isn’t technologically savvy, two out of three consumers won’t use him again, according to a survey of 1,026 U.S. consumers. The survey by KRC Research, in a partnership with Verizon Telematics, had the following results for service professionals across five industries: trucking/delivery; construction; landscaping; plumbing; and heating, ventilation and air conditioning: • 78 percent who use mobile technology, which includes work applicaAccording to the tions or software survey, 61 percent of available on a truck drivers believe tablet or laptop, that connected reported an invehicles provide an crease in custom- immediate return on investment. er satisfaction; • 70 percent recognize that technology adoption needs to be a top priority to ensure future business success; • 69 percent said that sales have grown as a result of mobile technology use; and • 61 percent of truck drivers believe that connected vehicles provide an immediate return on investment. Some of the most common issues consumers encounter when working with service professionals include unexpected costs (34 percent), projects taking longer than planned (31 percent), quality of work (26 percent) and late arrivals or missed appointments (25 percent). – Aaron Huff commercial carrier journal

april 2018

technology

INBRIEF • GoShip.com, an online shipping platform, announced its self-service website now can connect less-than-truckload shippers with carriers by inputting shipment details and comparing rates from thousands of LTL carriers nationwide, saving users time and money. The online shipping marketplace specializes in working with small- to mid-sized businesses and individuals shipping larger-than-parcel items. • Verizon Telematics has rebranded as Verizon Connect, completing the integration of its connected vehicle division with two recently acquired fleet and mobile workforce management software companies. Former brands within Verizon’s connected vehicle portfolio – including Verizon Telematics, Fleetmatics and Telogis – all have been rebranded as Verizon Connect. • DTN, an information services company, announced that is leveraging its expertise in the downstream oil and gas market to assist large consumers of fuel such as trucking fleets, mass transit, rail and waste. DTN said it can help organizations address industry challenges by offering real-time allocation updates, normalized data and cost savings for in-house fuel desks. • Instructional Technologies Inc., which provides the Pro-Tread library of training courses for the transportation industry, is offering the Certified TAT Training Program from Truckers Against Trafficking as part of its unlimited client subscription service. After finishing, drivers are issued a certificate demonstrating their knowledge of the issue and course completion. • AT&T integrated Geotab’s fleet tracking platform with its Internet of Things fleet management portfolio to launch AT&T Fleet Management for Enterprise and AT&T Fleet Management for Government to help customers look holistically at vehicles, assets and mobile workers from a single analytics-based platform to track and reduce idling time, optimize routing, improve mileage and save fuel. • Trimble Co. announced that Crestwood Transportation, a Houston-based tanker hauler, will install PeopleNet’s Mobile Gateway paired with PeopleNet’s ConnectedTablets and in-cab ticket printing capabilities throughout its fleet. Trimble said Crestwood chose the PeopleNet products to improve the in-cab experience for drivers and create back-office efficiencies through an integration with the fleet’s existing software from PeopleNet’s sister company, TMW Systems.

commercial carrier journal

april 2018

Paragon routing, scheduling software now supports sustainable vehicles

aragon Software Systems announced enhancements to its routing and scheduling software to address the potential challenges of planning routes for sustainable vehicles. More logistics operations are committed to low-emissions Paragon said the latest expansion of fuel-efficient technology, which often its software’s capabilities will enable transport planners to better plan around comes at the cost of limited range. limitations for sustainable vehicles. “Green fleets are on the radar of many logistics operations as they look to minimize their environmental impact by moving away from vehicles powered by petroleum and diesel while also contending with emissions-based restrictions in many urban areas,” said William Salter, Paragon’s chief executive officer. Paragon said transport planners now will be able to define the actual range of a sustainable truck or van because its routing and scheduling software restricts the distance of any trip to the vehicle’s maximum range. If any subsequent manual adjustments result in extra mileage beyond the vehicle’s range, a warning will alert the planner to the potential issue. “With a growing number of low-emissions zones in towns and cities, companies that handle urban deliveries will face added sustainability challenges,” said Phil Ingham, Paragon’s support director. – Aaron Huff

CalAmp, CargoSense team up to give shipments a voice

elematics provider CalAmp announced a partnership with CargoSense to deliver telematics information on high-value sensitive air cargo. CargoSense, a Software-as-a-Service company The CargoSense that provides logistics oversight for supply chain platform is enginetworks, said the CalAmp partnership will provide neered to ingest pre-, post- and in-flight airline companies with real-time data and analytdata collected from ics through reports on valuable shipments such as CalAmp’s telematics gateways and smart pharmaceuticals, wine, electronics, live freight and sensor tags. perishables that require specific environmental monitoring during transport. CalAmp’s telematics gateway and iOn Tag smart sensors also can be used in trailers to monitor the condition of cargo during transit down to the pallet level. The devices are built to communicate with a trailer-tracking system to report incursions, temperature aberrations and cargo handling, giving shippers and logistics organizations the ability to determine how haulers handle freight and select carriers that meet specific criteria. “Being able to provide peace of mind and ensuring trust is imperative for customers shipping valuable goods,” said Richard Kilmer, chief executive officer of CargoSense. – Aaron Huff

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technology

INBRIEF • Help Inc. announced a partnership with the Washington State Department of Transportation that allows PrePass customers to bypass weigh stations that are part of WSDOT’s Norpass system. The extended service adds 23 locations within Washington, Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, New York and South Dakota. • Lytx announced that its video telematics and safety systems were selected by Walmart for its private fleet; and Chattanooga, Tenn.-based truckload carrier U.S. Xpress Enterprises (CCJ Top 250, No. 16). • EFS, a provider of fleet payment solutions, announced that Frozen Food Express and its parent company, Richland, Miss.-based KLLM Transport Services (CCJ Top 250, No. 35), selected its business payments systems. KLLM/ FFE is using EFS’ fuel card and SmartFunds payroll technology and its EFS Mastercard for drivers needing to fuel within the EFS truck stop network or use the Mastercard network for nonfuel purchases. • TCG, a provider of cost and profitability management systems, announced that Greeneville, Tenn.-based Forward Air (CCJ Top 250, No. 36) selected its LTL Cost Information System (LTL/CIS) to evaluate profit, lanes and customers in its expedited less-than-truckload division, which operates from over 90 facilities located at or near major U.S. and Canadian airports, 12 regional sort centers and over 300 other locations. • Aperia Technologies announced that Cleveland, Ga.-based Tribe Transportation is installing the Halo Tire Inflation System across its fleet to help reduce downtime, maximize tire life and reduce fuel consumption through automatic tire pressure management. • 3Gtms, a provider of transportation management software, announced that Bonded Logistics, a Charlotte, N.C.-based third-party logistics provider, selected its 3G-TM TMS to further integrate its warehousing, contract packaging and transportation services and enhance its single-source supply chain offering. • Descartes Systems Group, a provider of technologies designed to unite logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, announced that MedSpeed, a provider of healthcare intra-company logistics, selected its technology platform to help manage and enhance its customer service levels. MedSpeed’s national logistics network includes more than 100 distribution points in 29 states and more than 1,000 logistics service representatives.

commercial carrier journal

april 2018

Verizon Connect creates Workforce

erizon Connect introduced Workforce, which the company described as a “one-stop” system for operations and fleet managers to Verizon Connect’s Workforce is designed for managers to capture data from the plan, monitor, dispatch and capture field and communicate with customers. data from the field and communicate with customers. “Operations and fleet managers want one place where they can find everything they need to be able to monitor and adjust work plans throughout the day without compromising productivity,” said Mark Wallin, vice president of product management for Verizon Connect. “Workforce provides a simplified approach to mobile workforce management that gives customers easy access to the actionable data that can help drive operational efficiencies and cost savings.” Workforce is available in three plans: Essential, Enhanced and Ultimate. The Workforce Essential plan allows customers to assign and dispatch work, capture field data via digital forms and monitor productivity through planned vs. actual (PVA) reporting. The Enhanced and Ultimate plans have enhancements for intelligent dispatch, which allows customers to dispatch work more easily while considering necessary business constraints, licensing requirements and commercial navigation; estimated times of arrival that enable businesses to provide up-to-the-minute driver ETAs to their customers; and strategic planning to help businesses make the best use of their vehicles and field workers. – Aaron Huff

SmartDrive updates video safety system

martDrive Systems, a provider of videobased safety technology, launched its next-generation SmartDrive Transportation Intelligence Platform and SR4 hardware. The company said the latest iteration delivers new driving performance insights SmartDrive’s SR4 hardware is built and analytics intelligence by fusing data to deliver the computing power required for multiple systems in a from all systems, all sensors and the smaller footprint. operating environment. Unlike other camera systems that are increasing in size as computer vision capabilities are added, the SR4 hardware is built to deliver the computing power required for computer vision, advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous driving applications in a smaller and more flexible footprint. Steve Mitgang, chief executive of SmartDrive, said that with the release of SR4, his company is leading a technology convergence of vehicle telematics and OEM and third-party ADAS technologies and mobile fleet management systems. Mitgang said fleets can reduce costs and get a “single source of truth” for all their driver and vehicle performance information. – Aaron Huff

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technology

in focus: FREIGHT MATCHING

Who needs an app? New tech automates freight transactions without smartphone apps BY AARON HUFF

n early 2018, the pressures on truck capacity have picked up where they left off last year. Spot market rates climbed to record levels in December 2017, according to the DAT Freight Index. DAT Solutions also reported nine loads were available for every truck in its network — its highest monthly average in history. With shippers and third-party logistics providers scrambling to find capacity and lock it down, 2018 could be a breakthrough year for new freight-matching technology. Over the past few years, a number of technology startups have set out to solve a persistent challenge in freight transportation — matching trucks with loads in an automated fashion. That’s why 3PLs have many new options, and competitors, in the race to streamline these processes for procuring capacity. AFN Logistics specializes in transporting retail goods to fulfill supply chains, many connected to e-commerce and final-mile deliveries. In this fast-growing sector, “the demands on shippers are as high as they’ve ever been,” said Rob Levy, chief financial officer and chief information officer of the Niles, Ill.-based 3PL. In response to rising transportation costs, tighter delivery windows and capacity constraints, “we are really driving a greater level of technology to make our operations more efficient and drive value to the customer,” Niles said. Building automated processes with software is a top priority to transfer

commercial carrier journal

april 2018

Because of ELDs, more technology companies will create freight-matching platforms that use locations and hours-of-service data to give carriers load offers.

AFN’s employees away from more repetitive tasks and toward more “solution-oriented conversations” with customers by using data to make the best possible decisions, he said. The AFN Engine is an internal automation tool the 3PL designed for its operational needs, such as capacity procurement. The AFN Engine uses track-and-trace information from FourKites to manage shipments and provide visibility to customers. The company also built internal systems to increase the efficiency of matching available trucks from its dedicated carriers to available loads. “We are very relationship-oriented and focused on the people we are working with,” Levy said. Personalized freight matching As the pace of technology development accelerates, 3PLs will be looking

for more ways to keep the personal touch with carrier relationships while making behind-the-scenes transactions more efficient. In 2013, chemical engineer Paramvir Sandhu was working on new formulations for the Armor All/ STP Products Co. when an “entrepreneurial itch” led him to the trucking industry. Sandhu started a trucking company, WF Logistics, with his cousin who had attended the same master’s program at Colorado State University. Sandhu said that by 2016, their company was generating “a couple million” in revenue, but he could see the prospects for growth were dimming due to the difficulty of scaling an asset-heavy business. That’s when Sandhu met Apple employee Luxmi Dutt during an entrepreneurial event in Silicon Val-

technology ley. Their discussion led to a to obtain their location data. new startup business, Loadtap, For additional privacy, Loadwhich received funding from tap also is developing integraSilicon Valley investors and tions with electronic logging helped Dutt, chief technoldevice providers to suspend ogy officer, and Sandhu, chief all driver communications and executive, accelerate develtracking during their off-duty opment of their predictive periods. freight-matching platform. Once a match is found and The first item of business the carrier is dispatched on was to offer an “app-less” shipa load, the system can determent track-and-trace system mine where and when the for 3PLs and freight brokers. carrier will become available Small and mid-size trucking 3PLs might compete with larger competitors by purchasing and exchanging future capacity Loadtap captures locations, to begin searching for the next with their peers. with a driver’s permission, load. Matching results and based on cell tower signals. capacity predictions improve During the past eight months, Loadtap uses transportation manover time as more data is added from Loadtap has been working closely agement software system integrations carriers in a 3PL’s network. with carrier and 3PL advisers to deto capture service requirements and The interface’s simplicity masks velop the predictive freight-matching other load details to share automatithe complex algorithms behind the platform that will give 3PLs and cally with carriers. scenes. freight brokers visibility to capacity As part of the freight-matching “We are focused on solving probdays in advance of it becoming availprocess, Loadtap sends a text message lems and do not need to make sexy able in their networks. to the driver/carrier to get permission interfaces,” Sandhu said.

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ince the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s late 2015 release of its final rule for using electronic logging devices, there’s been a rising swell of ELD development. Customers can choose from hardware and software options offered by dozens of vendors, many of them new to the trucking industry. This also means serious preparation on the enforcement side. FMCSA has had reported delays implementing its roadside data-transfer system by which officers will interface electronically with any of these systems. Nevertheless, the agency expected to have it in place prior to April 1, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s scheduled enforcement date for using electronic logs. Fleet-focused onboard devices offer a lot of bells and whistles, but independent owner-operators are likely to gravitate to a baseline-compliance

DO YOU USE ANY FORM OF AN ELECTRONIC LOGBOOK IN YOUR OPERATION? Yes, a smartphone app untethered to the engine 7% Yes, an engineconnected e-log platform 11%

No 82%

An Overdrive survey from a year ago showed minimal e-logging by owner-operators. After that, many larger fleets added ELD systems to get a jump on compliance before Dec. 18, 2017, but some independent owner-operators have yet to install an ELD.

device. They can benefit from additional functions such as IFTA data collection, making mileage tracking automatic and easily reportable. As you’re making your decision, consider these issues: Support. The final rule specifies an eight-day timeframe for repairing/replacing a malfunctioning ELD. Does the provider stock the kind of hardware inventory to meet such a quick turnaround? How are replacements/repairs handled? For carriers needing more than eight days to replace any ELD, the rule also spelled out a process for requesting more time. It involves contacting your state’s FMCSA division office and making your case. FMCSA registry and compliance. Technically, compliant ELDs must be on FMCSA’s registry of devices. The agency’s vetting process does not entail testing for compliance, relying largely on manufacturers to self-certify that they meet the rule specs. That’s prompted worry among motor carriers about what happens if their device is later found to be noncompliant. FMCSA’s website addresses that scenario: “FMCSA will work with affected motor carriers to establish a reasonable timeframe for replacing noncompliant devices.” At this stage, part of the complexity involving the registry is that automatic onboard recording devices meeting fairly minimal requirements compared to ELD specs are essentially grandfathered through Dec. 16, 2019. The rule notes that any carrier installing an AOBRD prior to last year’s ELD enforcement date can use

EXEMPTIONS: FEW BEYOND OLDER ENGINES Perhaps the biggest exemption to FMCSA’s ELD requirement is the exclusion of trucks with 1999 and older model-year engines from complying. Narrower exemptions exist for the following applications: • Drivers in drive-away/tow-away operations, where the vehicle being driven is the commodity being delivered. • Drivers operating under the timecard exception to the hours-recording rules – the 100- and 150-air-mile radius short-haul exceptions – exclusively. • Drivers who occasionally keep a logbook but do not do so for more than eight days in any 30-day period. • Agriculture and livestock haulers have until June 18 to adopt ELDs.

that device until the 2019 date. Practically, what that means is that enforcing the requirement to use a registry-listed device is unlikely before that time, particularly for carriers who complied with the ELD rule and installed an engine-connected e-log prior to Dec. 18, 2017. So the registry’s importance for carriers choosing ELDs at this stage is minimal. Some established ELD vendors remain off the registry. Those providers consulted for stories in this buyer’s guide, if not already on the registry, expressed plans for eventual ELD compliance for their products through firmware/software updates as the enforcement rollout progresses. Nonetheless, for any product not listed on the registry, ask the vendor about its plans for registering its device and whether it has a plan for success and support for its product beyond 2019. april 2018 | eld buyers’ guide

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DRIVING

How the two basic types of ELDs operate A BY TODD DILLS

ll compliant electronic logging devices will share a common bond: They can record data coming in from the system that controls the truck’s engine and component parts. The final rule from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was specific in requiring synchronization with the electronic control module. That’s one of the reasons the agency didn’t require ELDs in trucks with model-year 1999 or older engines. The rule requires ELDs to automatically record date, time, location information, engine hours, vehicle miles and identification information for the driver, carrier and vehicle itself. Unless the driver is enabled for use of the vehicle in a “personal conveyance” mode outside of work hours, ELDs are required to record all of those elements “when the driver indicates a change of duty status or a change to a special driving category” such as a yard move, the rule states. When in motion, ELDs are required to record all of the information on an hourly basis at a minimum. Many ELDs are offered as part of systems built for detailed tracking purposes, useful to fleets and owner-operators for purposes such as automatic notification of arrival times. Those systems are capable of recording in a much more refined manner, and some may default to that. Providers may or may not have the ability to adjust the refinement. Though there are plenty of variations, two types of ELDs have emerged: In dedicated unit configurations, the device is supplied by the provider and is likely to remain in the truck. BYOD (“bring your own device”) systems allow buyers to purchase their own hardware for the driver interface, such as an owner-operator using an app on a personal Android- or iOS-powered smartphone. A carrier may seek out a deal on tablets to dedicate to its power units and drivers. Dedicated units Most older forms of electronic logging devices, known as electronic onboard recorders (EOBRs) or automatic onboard recording devices (AOBRDs), have been the dedicated-unit type. Two examples that have been available for years are Omnitracs’ MCP series and PeopleNet’s current products used by many drivers employed by or leased to larger carriers.

Many of these units provide ELD functionality in a single device package tied directly to the ECM by a cable and plug. Like mobile phones, such units use connections to the cellular network and GPS functionality to deliver on the ELD rule’s requirements for recording location, mileage and engine hours. Data storage occurs using a combination of the internet cloud, back-office servers and the device itself. A notable exception among devices available for years now exists in the base model of the Continental VDO RoadLog, which is limited to hours-of-service recording and inspection-report functionality. With no connection to the cellular network with the device, fleets and owner-operators manage data storage via a USB-connected drive to transfer records to a laptop or other computer. Other dedicated devices may pair two pieces of hardware, bridging the gap between the traditional single-unit EOBR and the two-piece BYOD systems readily available today. In most cases, those devices are in evidence when a BYOD and a dedicated version exist from one manufacturer. While the J.J. Keller Encompass and Rand McNally HD100 systems

ISE Fleet Services’ eFleetSuite baseline compliance device is a dedicated unit with its own cellular data connection but without a lot of extra functionality beyond logs. april 2018 | eld buyers’ guide

PA R T N ER S O LU T I O N S / C O R E T E X

Why putting all your eggs in one basket makes perfect sense.

ELDs are here, they’re real and they’re now. But not all ELD solutions are created equal, so what are the right questions to ask before deciding on an ELD provider? The first question is usually a financial one. Do you want to comply for the least possible cost, or do you see the Electronic Logging Device mandate as an opportunity to solve a series of other compliance issues at the same time? If you run a mixed fleet of trucks, trailers, reefers and straight trucks, then this is arguably the perfect opportunity to make your operation a whole lot smarter and more efficient.

By looking at an ELD as a feature within a suite, rather than a standalone system, operators can use the compulsory investment in ELDs to address other compliance challenges, such as the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), Driver-Vehicle Inspection Report (DVIR) and International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA). This saves money because it displaces the technical solution ordinarily required for each mandate and also

allows operators to introduce eﬃciency and safety features, that will more than oﬀset any additional cost.

other features that help operators run safer and more eﬃcient operations.

The usual argument is that features included as part of a suite, are never as good as a dedicated system. If you’re buying a stereo that’s probably right, but if you’re buying an ELD solution then it’s wrong. ELDs that are integrated into a suite are better, because they can drive other tasks and business processes, like DVIR and job dispatch.

Integrated features include:

The best ELDs are:

• Trip replay and black box reporting

• Easy for drivers and back office staff to learn and use • Able to support a range of different rule sets and driver types • Easily portable between vehicles • Integrated into a broader system • Rock solid and reliable For operators that haul reefers, FSMA is about to become a big deal, with some serious consequences for operators caught asleep at the wheel. The right fleet management solution, will give operators all the two-way remote control tools necessary, to meet their FSMA obligations and become a preferred carrier. And, in the case of straight trucks, it should achieve this using a single piece of invehicle hardware. Beyond FSMA, ELD, DVIR and IFTA, the right fleet management system should incorporate a host of

• High Deﬁnition vehicle tracking • Multi-channel video cameras with live streaming • ABS / Remote tire inﬂation monitoring • Driver behavior monitoring with camera monitoring as an option • Engine management data reporting • Service manager

In the same way that not all ELDs are equal, not all fleet management solutions are equal. The best systems: • Allow operators to see their fleets in High Definition from the same platform • Are active, rather than passive, allowing operators to manage by exception • Are tightly integrated into all of the major Transportation Management Systems (TMS) So, if you’re a fleet operator and you see ELDs as an opportunity to change your business, then you should look for an integrated fleet management solution, like Coretex 360, that offers ELDs as part of a powerful suite of fleet management features.

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ELD BUYERS’ GUIDE both are BYOD-capable, they also are offered with companybranded Android tablets that come preloaded with software: the Compliance Tablet from J.J. Keller and the TND from Rand McNally. Any fleet or owner-operator willing to make the investment in dedicated tablets can turn a BYOD system into a dedicated one. Jack Schwalbach, who manages the private fleet of Reinders, a Wisconsin-based turf and irrigation products company, moved all of his trucks’ tablets to ELD functionality by signing on with Geotab’s program for leasing engineconnection hardware to pair to tablets. “We have dedicated tablets,” Schwalbach says. “The tablets are used just for logging – the data plan, we have locked down. Everybody’s got their smartphone on their own, so they use that” for anything else. Bring your own device The “bring your own device” phrase and its BYOD acronym came into use with the profusion of smartphones over the past decade. In trucking, it’s a common term to describe a

major part of today’s ELD market. Dozens of providers offer their own BYOD systems. A BYOD-configured ELD consists of a “dongle” that connects to the ECM via the cab’s onboard diagnostics port. The dongle typically pairs via a Bluetooth connection with a smartphone or tablet to transmit data. Software from the ELD vendor on your smartphone or tablet enables you to change duty status manually when you stop. When your vehicle goes into motion, the ELD automatically will shift to the drive line in the logbook. Variations exist. The engine-connection dongle may or may not have a cellular connection. In the case of the KeepTruckin ELD, the ECM-connected device maintains a GPS connection but no cellular connectivity itself. For that, the system relies on the connected smartphone or tablet and its data plan. Meanwhile, Geotab’s Go — also a BYOD solution (and marketed as the Transflo ELD T7 by Pegasus TransTech) — maintains its own cellular connection and is capable of being updated and troubleshot over the air if software/firmware updates are needed.

How devices and drivers track duty status changes

Previous versions of rules that would have mandated electronic logs for some carriers would have required the devices to notify drivers regarding their hours status when they were approaching a limit. That feature is not a part of the device specs for the new rule, but many e-log providers offer quick-glance views, such as the one shown from ERoad, that amount to quick-compliance dashboards, showing time remaining in the daily and cumulative hours limits.

eld buyers’ guide

| april 2018

BY TODD DILLS

hile electronic logs generally automate parts of logkeeping and in some ways simplify the rest, they still require direct driver involvement in most duty status changes. As any driver will know, too, turning the entire process over to a device and its interaction with the truck just isn’t possible. As with paper logs, drivers using electronic logs are in control of all duty status inputs. The exception is the drive line, which functions automatically as specified by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s final rule. It’s also the only status the driver will be unable to edit directly through his driver login. To minimize the need for annotations required with any edit, the long-in-practice habit of “catching up the logbook” by drivers is mostly falling by the wayside. With no pencil to be pushed across paper, as long as the device is operational and open, duty-status changes happen with the simple push of a button in real time.

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ELD BUYERS’ GUIDE

Courtesy of Mobile Warrior

to 0 miles per hour and stays at 0 miles Edits made by the driver are possible per hour for 3 consecutive seconds,” for every line but the drive line, which after which manual duty status changes is locked down since drive time is are possible. based on vehicle movement. The drive FMCSA noted it would expect that line can be edited from the administrain most cases drivers would make a tor’s account to classify an unassigned duty status change in such an event driving event or drive time as personal before shutting the vehicle down. conveyance or a yard move. The ELD will record all engine on/ Any edits made from the adminisoff activity. trator account in the back-office login 3) The default duty status for any must be certified as accurate by the ELD is on-duty not-driving. Absent a driver. This occurs through the driver’s driver’s direct change, after the vehicle user interface of the ELD when the edit has been in motion, the ELD automatiis made. cally should transfer the driver to Line An independent owner-operator 4 after the vehicle has been stationary may have two separate logins for the for five minutes. system: one as a driver, the other as the 4) Yard moves functionality was administrator. An independent lacking specified in the ELD final rule as two email addresses may need to get a way for carriers to move vehicles a second one. Some systems require around company terminals without unique addresses to associate with the automatically triggering an on-duty logins as administrator and driver-user. driving status. When it comes to the look and feel Yard-moves mode for particular of the user interface that e-log provider drivers will be enabled from the admincompanies are required to produce, the istrator account and then selected by ELD final rule leaves plenty of room for Ray Cox, Mobile Warrior sales director, says his company’s iDDL device has a “touchthe driver when making a yard move. variation. It did, however, make these free ELD gauge.” The screen, locked while The default status for a yard move is requirements of all ELDs: the truck is in motion, “shows the driver Line 4, on-duty not-driving. 1) A graph grid of any driver user’s everything going on from a compliance perspective. Our gauge will show how many 5) Personal conveyance uses of the hours analogous to that used in paper hours and minutes are left before the driver truck while off-duty also are enabled logs, showing the various off-duty, must take a 30-minute break or how long from the administrator account for sleeper berth, driving and on-duty they have left for driving, and if they have drivers. The personal conveyance mode not-driving lines. The grid display – or any violations that need to be addressed.” then can be selected by the driver using as an alternative, a printout, being used the truck for personal reasons during off-duty periods. by Continental’s VDO RoadLog device and its built-in printer Once selected, the default duty status is off-duty for the – is intended for quick interpretation by law enforcement. This ELD for as long as it’s selected, including when in motion. serves as a backup to other required methods of data transfer. GPS refinement is reduced during personal conveyance mode Most providers integrate the grid into the driver’s basic selection from a 1-mile radius to 10 miles. log view on the interface. Many reproduce it with further 6) Various hours exemptions and special rule variants information in a special inspection screen for display to law such as those pertaining to the 30-minute break and rules for enforcement, similar to what officers are used to seeing on oilfield operations can be handled as they have been, FMCSA’s paper today. rule states, via notes sections to the logs. 2) On-duty driving status is required to be triggered With the exception of yard moves and personal conveyance, automatically when the speed hits 5 mph. If the driver is not logged into the system prior to that change in status, an “unas- “all other special driving categories, such as adverse driving conditions … or oilfield operations … would be annotated by signed driving event” is recorded by the system and can be the driver, similar to the way they are now.” reconciled only from the administrator account, not via the However, numerous ELD providers support special oilfield driver interface. rule sets, including Apollo, E-Log Plus, Hutch, Omnitracs’ According to the rule, after a driving status is triggered, the XRS device, PeopleNet and others. vehicle is considered in motion by the ELD until “speed falls 8

eld buyers’ guide

| april 2018

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Factory-fit telematics work with ELD partners BY AARON HUFF

unit in Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks with Paccar MX-13 engines at the factory. To run PeopleNet’s eDriver Logs application, truck owners would need to purchase or lease one of the vendor’s driver displays, but they would gain additional value beyond compliance. “The customer gets access to Paccar’s detailed and advanced maintenance services preloaded on the device, along with PeopleNet’s fleet management capabilities,” says Eric Witty, vice president of product for PeopleNet. Daimler Trucks North America installs Zonar’s telematics unit, the V3, in Freightliner and Western Star trucks at

the factory. DTNA uses V3 to power its Virtual Technician remote diagnostics service, allowing Zonar’s Connect and 2020 tablets to run the ELD application. The Freightliner Cascadia has a platform with the capability to integrate with other third-party ELD applications, says Greg Treinen, sales and marketing manager of connectivity for DTNA. Navistar last year expanded its OnCommand Connection diagnostics platform. The company rolled out OnCommand Connection Telematics and OnCommand Connection Marketplace, which features an integrated ELD app.

ELD BUYERS’ GUIDE Visit CCJ Digital.com/DownloadELDGuide to download CCJ ’s ELD Buyers’ Guide. This updated compilation of ELD mandate coverage includes the stories in this issue as well as the variety of devices that exist for satisfying the electronic recordkeeping requirement.

Courtesy of Mack Trucks

n a perfect world, any ELD software developer could leverage the mileage and engine data from telematics devices that truck makers install at the factory. The data could be accessed by a mobile app through a local Bluetooth connection or be fed to apps installed on a truck’s touchscreen infotainment system. Absent a printer as a backup, the ELD rule requires that logs be viewable by law enforcement officers in a display. For this reason, it might not make sense for truck makers to install a computing device with a non-mobile display, says Wes Mays, director of OEM solutions for Omnitracs. While truck makers are not in the ELD business — at least not yet — their investments in remote diagnostics and telematics can pay dividends for thirdparty ELD providers. Paccar installs a PeopleNet telematics

Mack Trucks and Telogis were offering a free 30-day trial of Mack Fleet Management Services with Telogis Fleet. As with Volvo, Telogis has a connectivity agreement with Mack, allowing the telematics service provider to use data from Mack’s factory-installed telematics device to deliver on a variety of management applications, including electronic logs.

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You wouldn’t trust your security with a newcomer. Why risk your entire fleet with one? Experience matters. Since the ELD Mandate was finalized, a lot of inexperienced, untrained operations have popped up, promising quick fixes. But choosing the wrong ELD provider can turn around and bite you in the, er, assets. You could end up with a non-compliant device, lousy ongoing support and significant fines. With decades of experience and a proven track record, Zonar® is a smart call. Custom solutions for your company. Whatever your ELD strategy is, we can tailor a plan to fit your needs and timeline. Our transportation technology pros and compliance experts will be with you every step of the way, and our live support team is here for you 24/7/365.

A bigger return on your investment. Zonar can do a lot more for your business than meet the mandate’s requirements. Our suite of solutions will help you enhance driver performance, decrease downtime, lower fuel costs and improve the overall efficiency of your operation. You might say Zonar ® is a fleet’s best friend.

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Product Roundup CORETEX DRIVE

EROAD

The FMCSA-registered Coretex Drive electronic logging device is a purpose-built tablet-based in-cab system that links drivers to vehicles and vehicles to dispatchers. Working in harmony with Coretex 360, Drive gives drivers the information they need to do their jobs efficiently and safely. Built around a modular app framework, Coretex Drive also offers single-pane-of-glass access to turn-by-turn trucking navigation, messaging, jobs, DVIRs, checklists, fatigue information, real-time driver feedback, IFTA data collection, vehicle service management, tracking, replay and a choice of custom applications. Drive is optimized to run on Coretex-supplied Samsung and TomTom Bridge tablets, and the system also makes it easy to roll out Android-based mobile apps to drivers quickly and securely.The cost is $350 (8-inch tablet and mounting kit) plus $46/month (ELD and data) for 36 months. Coretex, Coretex.com

At ERoad, the minimum has never been good enough, which is why we had our ELD independently verified by PIT Group, so you can be sure you’re compliant and operationally safe, now and into the future. We built our ELD from the ground up on the same advanced technology platform as our electronic tax, safety and fleet management services. Designed with the driver in mind, our highly intuitive ELD synchronizes with the engine to automatically record HOS. Its simple touchscreen lets drivers view, edit and add notes to their logs, and easily present their record of duty status during roadside inspection. It’s tethered in the cab, accurately recording distance and location at a tax-audit level and providing reliable data you can depend on. There’s no risk of a dropping Bluetooth connection and no additional data costs. We back up our proven platform with 17 years’ transportation industry experience and U.S.-based customer support. ERoad, ERoad.com

EZLOGZ Ezlogz’ all-in-one logistics platform was created by truckers for truckers. We know the last thing you need is another headache, so that’s why we made our ELD easy. But we didn’t stop with easy. Drawing on our own years of experience in the logistics industry, we built a solution that not only complies with ELD guidelines but also includes state-of-the-art services that no other ELD provider can match. Points-of-interest mapping technology provides up-to-the-minute information on any roadside service you may need. Our one-of-a-kind social network keeps you connected with friends, family and the logistics industry while you’re away from home. Stay organized by simply taking a picture of a document, then attaching it to the appropriate files or status. Finally, and most importantly, Ezlogz is the only ELD built on game-changing blockchain technology, so your data is tamperproof and trustworthy. Just $29.99/month gets you started, with no annual contract and our smart ELD device included. Ezlogz’ smart ELD: Why make it hard? Ezlogz, Ezlogz.com 12

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FLEETWORTHY SOLUTIONS Formerly ITS Compliance, Fleetworthy Solutions Inc. provides owners and operators of truck fleets with outsourced compliance services and technology solutions that take them “Beyond Compliant.” Fleetworthy Solutions combines exceptional client service, advanced technologies and more than 30 years of transportation industry expertise to make sure that drivers and assets are “fleet worthy.” The company helps commercial motor carriers of all sizes surpass compliance of federal, state and local regulations while streamlining processes to reduce costs and mitigate risks. Fleetworthy Solutions pulls data from ELDs and other telematics providers, in addition to paper logs, and analyzes that data, consolidates it and displays it in an online dashboard — granting a “single version of the truth” of a fleet’s driver and asset data. Fleet managers can be made aware of falsifications, omissions and violations in near-real time. While awarding a higher level of confidence if audited, this quick and easy access to actionable insights allows for faster corrective action to be taken — improving safety for drivers, fleets and the motoring public. Fleetworthy Solutions, Fleetworthy.com

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FMCSA certified DIRECTOR® ELD is a fully integrated fleet management system, delivering true ROI to your business. Fleet businesses of all sizes can leverage our robust full-service GPS fleet management platform that includes ELD and is designed to increase their fleet’s efficiency. The adaptive capabilities of DIRECTOR allows it to easily grow with any business – all while maintaining compliance. Features & Benefits: • Improved CSA scores

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HOS view for drivers and managers

ELD BUYERS’ GUIDE PEDIGREE TECHNOLOGIES CAB-MATE ONE Pedigree Technologies recently launched Cab-Mate One as the most affordable and easiest electronic logging plug-andplay device to install (five minutes). The Cab-Mate One is the third addition to the company’s FMCSA-certified ELD Chrome offering, built on the award-winning, intuitive and reliable OneView platform. Not only are packages based on a customer’s specific needs and budget, the offerings also are developed using customer feedback and real-life applications. This means Android-ready ELD Chrome offers FMCSA compliance with options for expandability into a full suite of comprehensive business management tools, from basic ELD to trailer, equipment and asset tracking and tire pressure, tank level and temperature monitoring. ELD Chrome was designed to enable consistent real-time visibility and actionable information with reliable connectivity and a fleet manager-approved interface. Monthly fees are as low as $22/month depending on expanded applications and quantity pricing. The Cab-Mate One runs as low at $399 each when purchasing 100 or more units; $0 with lease. Pedigree Technologies, PedigreeTechnologies.com

FLEETLOCATE COMPLIANCE BY SPIREON Introducing a new and improved FleetLocate that manages any combination of drivers, vehicles and assets – and ensures compliance with federal regulations such as hours of service and driver vehicle inspection reporting – all within the same friendly easy-to-use application fleets love. FleetLocate Compliance is the electronic logging device solution that’s the right fit for your fleet. Fleet operators can manage trucks that need ELD compliance, fleet cars and vans that don’t, vehicles equipped with onboard telematics such as GM OnStar, trailers, assets and more — all within the single easy-to-use FleetLocate dashboard. The FleetLocate Shift companion mobile application makes HOS and DVIR reporting effortless via smartphone, tablet or rugged handheld device. Nearly a “set it and forget it” experience, FleetLocate Shift frees drivers to focus their energy on driving, not on maintaining logs. Even when you drive outside cellular coverage or tag-team with a co-driver, our app has you covered. Spireon, Spireon.com/Fleet-Management

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ELECTRONIC LOGGING FROM QUARTIX Vehicle tracking specialists Quartix’s Electronic Logging product puts its current and future customers into compliance with FMCSA’s mandate. It can be installed on its own or partnered with the company’s comprehensive vehicle tracking services. Available on the Google Play Store and compatible with Android tablet devices, Quartix’s Electronic Logging uses simple menu screens and input fields that allow drivers to log and change their duty status with minimal effort. “Having been in the vehicle telematics industry for over 15 years providing fleet owners with management reports extending from real-time GPS tracking to IFTA filing figures, we are delighted to be able to further support our growing long-haul trucking customer base with our FMCSA-compliant solution,” says Ed Ralph, Quartix chief operating officer. Starting at just $14.99, Quartix’s Electronic Logging is affordable for any budget. Quartix, Quartix.com

TELETRAC NAVMAN DIRECTOR ELD Teletrac Navman DIRECTOR® fleet management platform tracks assets and collects data for business insights. In addition to reducing the paperwork necessary for tracking HOS, it provides second-by-second information to help carriers reduce operational expenses, identify trends, improve business processes and build a more efficient, safe and connected fleet. In addition to ensuring ongoing ELD mandate compliance as specifications are updated, Teletrac Navman DIRECTOR ELD customers receive updated ELD mandate compliance specifications and free system installation and training. The solution also offers sophisticated truck-guide navigation and dispatch capabilities. The initial cost is $0 to lease, with an ongoing monthly fee of $51 (or higher, with add-on options) for the ELD edition. Teletrac Navman, TeletracNavman.com

VERIFIED

IAL SPEC ER

OFF

ELD BUYERS’ GUIDE VERIZON CONNECT Verizon Connect compliance management software keeps pace with changing government regulations and gives you peace of mind that your fleet is operating safely and lawfully. It makes monitoring your drivers and vehicles easier, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business. Meet your DOT compliance obligations, automate data collection, and help your drivers stay legal with an easy-to-use mobile solution that covers a range of mandates, including ELD/HOS, DVIRs and IFTA. Reduce the paperwork burden for your drivers, speed up roadside inspections, and keep central databases accurate and up-to-date. Streamline and simplify the DVIR process for drivers – they can sign off on a full inspection, include detailed photos, and synchronize instantly with a central database, all from a mobile phone or tablet. Using smart detection software, our DVIR technology makes sure drivers have physically checked the vehicle, taking enough time to do a full inspection. DVIR compliance forms can be signed, stored and customized to include additional maintenance information for specific assets. Completed forms are stored securely to meet FMCSA data requirements. Verizon Connect, VerizonConnect.com

ZONAR CONNECT Zonar Connect is a dedicated tablet equipped with Zonar Logs, one of the only ELD solutions on the market to complete FMCSA end-to-end testing and be independently third-party validated and FMCSA self-certified. Connect also offers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for dispatch, management and operational functions, as well as a camera, navigation, Android compatibility and over-the-air updates. Connect is connected even when outside of the cab, allowing the driver to submit completed documents and electronic DVIRs to dispatch without returning to the truck. The tablet recharges in its in-cab cradle and integrates with the company’s Ground Traffic Control to help provide fleets with better visibility of assets on the road. Pricing for the unit and ongoing service varies according to fleet size, service plan and options chosen. Zonar, ZonarSystems.com

CELLULAR SERVICE CAN ADD MONTHLY FEES TO ELD Most any BYOD-type ELD with dedicated tablets will come with monthly costs for a data plan. In the case of Utah-based Wade Spencer’s four-truck fleet, running the BIT ELD from Blue Ink Technology, the ECM plug-in devices are paired with dedicated $10 LG tablets. These come with their own fees for cellular service, necessary for the ELD to work properly. In Spencer’s case, that amounts to about $20 a month per tablet on his unlimited data plan. If he tried, he says, he could negotiate that cost down, given the BIT ELD uses only about 200 megabytes per month. If you’re pairing BIT or another BYOD with a smartphone or tablet you already have with a service plan, such cost wouldn’t necessarily figure into your back-of-the-envelope return-on-investment calculation. Also keep that 200-MB data figure in mind when considering lumping ELD service into a pre-existing data plan. It’s probably a good estimate, unless perhaps the device is collecting/communicating position data more frequently for IFTA purposes. Spencer says BIT estimates a 700-MB monthly figure per ELD with its add-on IFTA featured enabled. Other companies have estimated a good deal less than both figures. Cellular services can be limited to particular functions with most cellular providers. As other fleets have done, Spen-

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cer locks down the LG tablets to just a few functions (BIT, the company website and email, CoPilot truck navigation). For functions such as Netflix viewing during downtime, drivers can use a WiFi connection.

The web-based administration back end of Blue Ink Technology’s ELD system is small-fleet owner Wade Spencer’s portal into his company’s hoursof-service records. Blue Ink provides the portal free for all buyers of its BIT ELD and offers IFTA recording and other features for a price.

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Electric trucks face variety of considerations before widespread adoption

handful of players are working to identify the role of electric trucks in the long-haul segment, but final-mile applications already have proven to be a fertile ground for zeroemissions transportation. Bryan Hansel, chief executive officer of Chanje – which last year introduced a Class 5 electric van – says his company is focused on the final-mile segment, where maximum payload isn’t as critical and routes generally are less than a more manageable 70 miles. Still, there are weight limitations. Chanje’s Class 5 electric van weighs over a ton more than the largest Ford Transit model while offering only about an additional 38 cubic feet of cargo space. While passenger cars have helped push and clear many of the regulatory hurdles for electric trucks, they don’t face the same kind of curb weight challenges as their Class 8 counterparts. “The [added] weight of batteries has to be considered, as some applications are more sensitive to weight than others,” says Kary Schaefer, general manager of product marketing and strategy for Daimler Trucks North America. Manufacturers need additional battery packs to extend a truck’s range – which can fluctuate based on load, speed and temperature – but extending range by heaping on more battery packs hurts payload capacity. Schaefer says battery technology has improved, which has helped to drive down both weight and cost, but “the

BY JASON CANNON

This rendering from Thor shows an example of what a charging station could look like, taking cues from a truck stop’s parking and fuel island.

business case for [long-haul] trucks is not a slam-dunk.” A few conditions Electric vehicles simplify a fuel-fired engine’s inefficient process of climbing through gears to reach its most efficient cruising speed. Chris Nordh, director of advanced vehicle technology for Ryder System, says electric trucks make the most sense in applications where operating conditions won’t allow gasoline and diesel units to reach optimized levels for extended periods. “Where the internal combustion engine doesn’t like being is in stop-and-go traffic and in scenarios where you’re going up steep hills and down steep grades constantly,” he says. “[An electric motor prefers] the types of applications where it can take advantage of brake regeneration on a constant basis.” In cities such as New York and San Francisco, electric vehicles already make more sense to operate than gasoline or diesel trucks, Nordh says. “That’s specifically because of the technology and what

it [the truck] likes to see,” he says. Otto Schmid, Fuso’s director of product management, says his company soon will deliver its first crop of Class 4 eCanter electric trucks to customers in New York and California. Those customers will help the Daimler subsidiary compile data on truck usage, driver feedback and recharging cycles. Bill Lyons, Fuso Trucks of America’s vice president of sales, says he expects the data and general advancements in battery technology to snowball once fleet trials get underway, adding that in two more model years, eCanters “will be even better.” Even transitioning up in GVWR, the business case for the powertrain’s capability doesn’t change, Nordh says. Marc Llistosella, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp., says a potential application for his company’s Vision One heavyduty truck would be regional intracity distribution, even though he says the truck could be at least four years from making its market debut. Similarly, Srikanth Padmanabhan,

EDITOR’S NOTE: THE FOLLOWING STORY IS PART 1 OF A THREE-PART SERIES ON “MEDIUM-DUTY TRUCKS.” MAY’S INSTALLMENT WILL ADDRESS REGIONALIZATION TRENDS. JUNE’S STORY WILL FOCUS ON THE LATEST MEDIUM-DUTY MODELS. commercial carrier journal

| april 2018 85

EQUIPMENT: ELECTRIFICATION

Tesla last November presented a completely reimagined truck interior for its Semi that includes a center-mounted seat, more in the style of a cockpit. On each side of the driver will be large touchscreen displays to house various applications and displays.

Cummins Engine Business president, says he thinks electric-battery vehicles will be most viable in passenger-bus and urbandelivery segments. Last year, Cummins debuted its Aeos Class 7 electric vehicle concept, specifically targeting urban markets with operating ranges of up to 300 miles. The bottom line Preferred operating conditions aren’t the only use-case where traditional and electric powertrains vary wildly. In gas and diesel operations, the larger you scale the equipment, the less expensive it generally becomes to operate because you can buy in volume. For electric vehicles, the opposite is true, Nordh says. “Your building has the capacity to have a single charger, no problem,” he says. “It probably costs you a couple thousand dollars [at most] to install a decently fast charger. However, if you want to put 30 vehicles on that same site, now you’re facing an issue with building infrastructure.” Nordh says it would be uncommon for a single facility to have the electrical capacity to charge 30 vehicles. “Potentially even the utility company doesn’t have enough power going to your building, so they’re going to start upgrading things,” he says. “Suddenly, you’re talking about mul86

commercial carrier journal

tiples of hundreds of thousands of dollars just to be able to charge these vehicles.” Maintenance matters Zero tailpipe emissions aside, one of the attractions of electric powertrains is a perceived reduced maintenance cost. The expectation is that these trucks will require less maintenance since they feature fewer moving parts and require fewer fluid changes. Clarity on just how much savings an electric truck can provide isn’t quite as clear since there are so few of them on the road in a commercial setting, Nordh

says. An inability to sell the maintenance benefits with hard data likely will slow adoption until those figures begin to firm up, he says. “I don’t think that it’s going to be the availability of the product and the technology, because I think that’s coming along fairly quickly,” Nordh says. “I think it’s going to be the proving-out of the maintenance costs. There’s a lot of predictions being made about the reduction of costs, but nobody has the data yet.” Even though electric trucks likely will reduce costs by a measureable degree, they still will require an occasional repair, and that will be a sophisticated process. “Maintenance on the electric vehicle requires a higher-skilled labor but a lower number of hours needed to maintain the vehicle,” Nordh says. “When there is something that goes wrong with an electric vehicle, you have a very significant diagnosing exercise, and you need experienced technicians to do those diagnostics.” Regardless of how often an electric vehicle is serviced, parts must be available on demand, and not every corner parts store has electric components sitting on the shelf. “They’re not going to have inverters,” Nordh says. “They’re not going to have spare batteries when those fail.”

This rendering shows the interior of the Nikola One tractor. A large touchscreen tablet will display information such as battery level, range and mapping, as well as cabin controls. Screens are mounted on each side to display feeds from cameras.

| april 2018

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EQUIPMENT: ELECTRIFICATION Upon inking a sales and service agreement with Chanje last year, Ryder imported “several container loads of spare parts” for the vans, he says. “We now have those sitting in our distribution centers. We have overnight capabilities for all the parts that could be needed for those vehicles.”

Toning torque Maintenance savings are bankable only if you’re not blowing through your tire budget because of the high torque provided by electric trucks. Elon Musk himself describes the performance of his electric Semi tractor in 0-to-60 mph times and lauds its racecar-like handling.

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88 Untitled-70 1

commercial carrier journal

However, Nordh says torque will be software-limited in almost all commercial applications, saving tire wear. “The idea that a commercial vehicle needs to be able to overtake vehicles from 0 to 60 is really a consumer concept,” he says. “The commercial vehicles we’re dealing with have been tuned down to such a degree that it becomes a very capable vehicle from an acceleration perspective, but not something that is going to increase the wear of the tires. We see an equivalent amount of tire wear in the commercial sector going forward.” Torque availability can be dialed up through software tuning, but Nordh says the emphasis to-date has been on extending range rather than boosting output. “If you allow them to drive like a sports car, you’re going to reduce that range capability, which is not the goal,” he says. While long-haul carriers may not necessarily have to make a business case for electric trucks in the near term, Nordh says it’s crucial to research the technology and understand how viable it is across all applications. However, uncontrollable and unpredictable outside factors – such as the future cost of diesel – can make such research tricky. “In the Class 5 and up market, just the commercial space in general in North America, the financial equation must make sense for adoption to accelerate,” he says. Nordh suggests looking at historic diesel costs and a given truck’s mpg performance, and then consider the additional onsite infrastructure costs, including the charger and power bills. “Then it’s looking at how many kilowatt-hours am I going to need,” he says. “In my opinion, based on the speed of which battery packs are becoming cheaper, and the speed at which diesel fuel and diesel vehicles continue to become more expensive, it’s just a question of ‘when’ as opposed to ‘if.’ ”

| april 2018 2/14/17 1:50 PM

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JOURNAL NEWS

Study used in glider emissions reversal under investigation

ennessee Technological University, which performed a study for Fitzgerald Glider Kits to measure glider kit emissions, told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to disregard the study until the university can “assure its validity.” EPA referenced the report’s conclusions last year when it proposed rescinding emissions regulations placed on glider kit makers by the Obama-era EPA in 2016. That proposal has not reached a final rule stage. The existing regulations are slated to take effect this year and would, if upheld, require glider makers such as Fitzgerald to retool the older engines used in gliders to meet the new restrictions. Fitzgerald and others say the regulations would effectively kill the glider industry. TTU’s study concluded that gliders do not produce greater emissions of nitrogen oxide and greenhouse gases than new trucks, contradicting EPA’s own studies. EPA cited TTU’s conclusions several times in its 2017 proposal to roll back the Obama-era regulations, though recently EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said the agency did not rely on the study to make that decision. In a letter to Pruitt, TTU President Philip B. Oldham

EPA issued a proposal last year to roll back Obama-era emissions regulations placed on glider kit makers. The agency has not finalized the repeal.

said the study’s research was under investigation after questions were raised by faculty members about its “methodology and accuracy,” as well as a claim of “research misconduct related to the study.” A Fitzgerald spokesman said the company “has every confidence in the integrity of the Tennessee Tech study and the personnel who conducted it. The results were not predetermined. Fitzgerald Glider Kits employees had no involvement in the monitoring or testing performed in connection with the study.” TTU officials have declined to discuss the matter further. – James Jaillet

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JOURNAL NEWS

OOIDA seeks HOS pause, wants 30-minute rest break nixed

he Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association filed a petition with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration asking the agency to allow drivers to pause their 14-hour daily clock for up to three straight hours and to nix the 30-min-

ute rest break required by current hours-of-service regulations. “The current regulations are overly complex, provide no flexibility and in no way reflect the physical capabilities or limitations of individual drivers,” the association writes in its petition. “They

with Available ly Fees th n o M No

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force drivers to be on the road when they are tired or fatigued, during busy travel times and adverse weather and road conditions.” The HOS rule requires drivers to take a 30-minute break within their first eight hours on duty each day and does not allow their 14-hour clock to stop. Under OOIDA’s proposal, drivers would not be required to take the 30-minute break and would be allowed to take a rest break of up to three consecutive hours and “effectively stop the 14-hour clock.” Drivers still would be required to take 10 consecutive off-duty hours before starting their next shift under OOIDA’s petition. “Current HOS regulations force truckers to comply with a regulatory framework that jeopardizes their safety and the safety of the traveling public,” states the petition signed by acting OOIDA president Todd Spencer. “The federal HOS should foster safe driving habits, not prevent them.” FMCSA is working to study the feasibility of reintroducing flexibility to HOS regulations by allowing drivers to split their duty time into splitsleeper segments. OOIDA’s request for an HOS overhaul comes just shy of a year after the industry scored a win in overturning portions of the 2013-instituted HOS reforms that required drivers’ 34-hour restarts to include two 1-5 a.m. periods and limited the restart’s use to once per week. – James Jaillet

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The current HOS rule requires drivers to take a 30-minute break within their first eight hours on duty each day and does not allow their 14hour clock to stop. commercial carrier journal

| april 2018

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L-shaped hose end

EZ Oil Drain Valve’s L-Shaped Hose End has a ¾-inch outer diameter and is engineered for larger hose connections to prevent kinking. The nickel-plated brass device has an O-ring seal and fits the company’s medium and large oil drain valves. It is designed to be secured with a built-in lock nut and to be removable, interchangeable and adjustable in any direction. EZ Oil Drain Valve, www.ezoildrainvalve.com, 425-999-1200

Anti-corrosion spray, gel, enamel

Severe trailer tire

TBC’s Sailun S668 regional all-position tire for multiaxle and spread-axle severe trailers is engineered with contoured shoulders to help withstand lateral scrubbing and is built with a rubber compound designed for highscrub applications. The tire is available in sizes 11R22.5, 11R24.5, 295/75R22.5 and 255/70R22.5. TBC Brands, www.tbcbrands.com, 800-238-6469

Caliper parts

DuraBrake now offers a line of caliper parts as part of its air disc brake component offerings for Bendix’s ADB22X and Wabco’s Pan 17, 19, and 22 systems. The lineup includes boots, tappets, guide bolts, seals, bushings and wear sensors. The company also can custom-make kits based on customer needs. DuraBrake, www.durabrake.com, 408-748-0400

Truck-Lite’s Nano family of dielectric anti-corrosion products is engineered to adhere to microscopic imperfections on any surface to inhibit corrosion and provide enhanced barriers to moisture. The series includes NanoSeal, available in spray and gel applications for use in lighting, battery and engine assemblies; and NanoShell, a paint-on enamel suited for protecting battery terminals and other contact points. Both are formulated for enhanced hydrophobic properties, an operating temperature of -40 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and added protection from breakdown caused by high temperatures and voltage. NanoSeal is available in 8- and 32-ounce cans; 1-, 2- and 5-ounce tubes; a 14-ounce cartridge; a 14-ounce spray bottle; and a 64-ounce spray refill. NanoShell is available in a 12-ounce can with a brush applicator. Truck-Lite Co., www.truck-lite.com, 800-562-5012

Cross-link wire

Del City’s Cross-Link Wire is suited for engine compartments and is manufactured with a chemically cross-linked polyethylene insulation for added protection. The wire is available in three insulation sizes: The SXL wire has the thickest insulation to help withstand prolonged extreme temperatures; the GXL has a medium-thickness insulation designed to resist fusing and melting; and the TXL has the thinnest insulation to facilitate minimal diameter and weight. The SXL is available in 18-10 gauge options, the GXL in 20-8 gauge options and the TXL in 22-8 gauge options. All are available in a variety of bright colors. Del City, www.delcity.net, 800-654-4757 commercial carrier journal | april 2018

PRODUCTS

Aerosol seal

Penray’s fast-drying aerosol Connector Seal is designed for spraying onto assembled electrical connectors to form a flexible yet durable weatherproof protective seal that keeps out water, road salt and other debris while protecting the electrical connectors. The coating is formulated to conform to any shape or size of connection and, being clear, does not obstruct the ability to view color-coded electrical wires. It is formulated to resist temperatures and environments up to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing it to withstand the heat generated by electrical connections with high current draw. The coating is available in 10-ounce aerosol cans. Penray, www.penray.com, 800-323-6329

Brake rotors

Abex’s premium brake rotors are designed to work with the company’s air disc brakes and feature the company’s proprietary E-Shield protective coating technology that facilitates easy removal due to less corrosion and rusting on the attaching surface. The rotors contain a directionally smooth finish and precision mill-balance technology to help prevent pedal pulsation and brake noise. The micro-finish also aids in proper seating of the friction material. Federal-Mogul Motorparts, www.fmmotorparts.com, 248-354-7700

Nosebox line

Purkeys’ Direct Nosebox line provides the functionality of both the nosebox and liftgate charging system in one replaceable receptacle, freeing up space on the front of the trailer. All three models – Direct Plus, Direct Flex and Direct Max – are designed to continue charging for a short period after the tractor is turned off. An interior light timer control and easy-to-read LED indicators allow the driver to select whether the trailer’s lights remain on for 30, 60 or 90 minutes. The noseboxes are engineered for easy installation, inspection and troubleshooting. Purkeys, www.purkeys.net, 800-219-1269

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commercial carrier journal | april 2018

Trailer seal guard lock

Transport Security’s Enforcer Seal Guard Lock is a hasp and trailer seal protector designed to prevent unauthorized seal removal and tampering while in transit. The self-contained lock is engineered to be mounted onto existing trailer latches and to accommodate cable, plastic, metal and bolt seals, as well as the company’s Enforcer Abloy padlock. It is made from hardened steel and has a corrosion-resistant stainless-steel surface. Transport Security, www.transportsecurity.com, 952-442-5625

PRODUCTS

Oil filter wrenches

Lumax’s swivel-handle oil filter wrenches are constructed from high-quality components for lasting use and durability. The ergonomically-designed wrenches feature cushion-grip handles and slim, adjustable designs. The yoke and link assembly are engineered to allow for a strong grip without damaging the filter. Lumax, www.lumax.com, 704-940-6988

Manual transmission fluid Petro-Canada’s Traxon Synthetic MTF 75W-80 manual transmission fluid is recommended for extended drain service of up to 250,000 miles in heavy-duty Class 6-8 trucks. The all-weather fluid is formulated to help limit drag losses, reduce fuel consumption and deliver added oxidation stability to resist deposits and sludge formation. It is approved by Volvo and Mack for use in their respective I-Shift and mDrive synchronized automated manual transmission applications. Petro-Canada Lubricants, lubricants.petro-canada.com/en-us, 866-335-3369

Heavy machinery lubricant Schaeffer’s 219 SynForce Green synthetic lubricant is a multipurpose extreme-pressure bearing and chassis grease suited for heavy-duty machinery used in severe operating conditions. The lubricant is formulated to reduce friction, alleviate wear, reduce contact area temperature and provide extended lubrication cycles. Schaeffer’s Specialized Lubricants, www.schaefferoil.com, 800-325-9962

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PRODUCTS

Powered running boards Aries’ ActionTrac Powered Running Boards feature the company’s “stepwithin-a-step” design, integrated smart sensors and no-drill installation. The sensors deploy the power step 8 inches when the door opens, and the main housing offers an additional nonskid stepping

surface on top, facilitating easy entry and exit. When the door closes, the power step is retracted and concealed within the housing for a sleek, contoured look, and the sensors also detect any obstructions to avoid damage and pinch hazards. The running boards mount using pre-existing factory holes and are constructed from durable, lightweight and corrosion-resistant powdercoated 6061-T6 aluminum. The housing helps keep the power step dry in wet, muddy conditions and seals the internal components away from water, dirt and debris; the motors within the steps and the wiring harnesses also are water-resistant. Aries Automotive, www.ariesautomotive.com, 877-287-8634

Protective side guards Durex’s Dur-A-Guard protective side guards are designed to fill the exposed space between the front and rear wheels on trucks with high ground clearances, helping to prevent pedestrians and bicyclists from falling under the truck and into the path of the rear wheels. The guards are made from high-strength lightweight aluminum and are powdercoated for added weather protection, and a removable access rail helps provide accessibility to truck components. The system can be custom-fitted onto existing trucks or incorporated into new vehicles and can fit all makes and models, including vehicles integrated with existing toolboxes, sidewalls and bodywork. Durex Inc., www.dur-a-guard.com, 908-688-0800

commercial carrier journal | april 2018

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PNEUMATIC HYDRAULIC OIL TANK SWEEPER® #9046H

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april 2018

9/15/17 9:24 AM

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ETCOM’s “No Grease”

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AD INDEX Ancra International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ancracargo .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Imperial Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .imperialsupplies .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94

Bestpass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .getbestpass .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-33

Innovative Products of America . . . . . .ipatools .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97

Bridgestone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ecopiatrucktires .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 B

Instructional Technologies . . . . . . . . . . .instructiontech .net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Castrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .castrol .com/vectonusa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IBC

International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .internationaltrucks .com/fuelsavings . . . . . . . 12-13

CCJ Innovators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ccjinnovators .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

Isuzu Commercial Truck of America . . .isuzucv .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

CCJ Innovators Congratulations . . . . . .ccjinnovators .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76

J .J . Keller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .jjkeller .com/placards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

CCJ Symposium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ccjsymposium .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63, 84

Minimizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .minimizer .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79

Coretex Partner Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . .coretex .com/eld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ELD 46-47

No Spill Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .nospillsystems .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

CVG Refuse Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .nationalseating .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Northern Tool and Equipment . . . . . . .800-969-7073 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

Dana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .spicerparts .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Reilly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .firstcallonline .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Direct Equipment Supply Co . . . . . . . . . .800-992-1478 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

Overdriveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pride and Polish . . . . . . . . . .prideandpolish .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90

Driver Recruiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .randallreilly .com/reason1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 75

Pedigree Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .onevieweld .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ELD IBC

Drivers Legal Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .driverslegalplan .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 17

Peterbilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .peterbilt .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BC

Eaton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .roadranger .com/clutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Prestolite Electric Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .prestolite .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Eaton Partner Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . .eatoncumminsjv .com/endurant . . . . . . . . . . . 82-83

ProMiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .800-324-8588 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96

Eberspacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .eberspaecher-na .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Quartix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .quartix .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ELD IFC

Equify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .healthybusinesschecklist .com/undrepared . . . . .91

Renewable Energy Group . . . . . . . . . . .regi .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

ERoad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .eroad .com/maketheswitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ELD 57

Rig Dig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .randallreilly .com/amslideshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

Etcom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .etcominc .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .rotella .com/t6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10,11

EZ Logz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ezlogz .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ELD 44

Spireon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .spireon .com/fleet-management . . . . . . . . . ELD 51

EZ Oil Drain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ezoildrain .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95

Teletrac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .teletracnavman .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ELD 55

Federal-Mogul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .fmheavydutyparts .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

The Great American Trucking Show . .gatsonline .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26, 27

Firestone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .commercial .firestone .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 A

Total Specialties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .totalspecialties .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87

Fitzgerald USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .fitzgeraldusa .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

VDO RoadLog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vdoroadlog .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92

Fleet Pride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .fleetpride .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

VeeBoards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .veeboards .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

Fleetworthy Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .fleetworthy .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49, 81

Verizon Connect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .verizonconnect .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ELD BC

Fumoto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .fumotousa .com/ccj . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97

Verizon Connect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .verizonconnect .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC-1

GoNMF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .844-763-7250 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

Vipar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vipar .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88

Great Dane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .greatdane .com/microban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Xtra Lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xtralease .com/25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Hankook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .hankooktire .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Zonar Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .zonarsystems .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ELD 53

Howes Lubricator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .howeslube .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

commercial carrier journal | april 2018

PREVENTABLE or NOT? Doe deals with snack attack

oothed by Willie Nelson’s gravel-voiced rendition of “On The Road Again” booming from his satellite radio, trucker John Doe proceeded down Route 99 toward his next delivery stop at Perky’s Pancake House. It was dawn, with the sun rising slowly in a cloudless sky, and Doe’s tractor-trailer was just about the only vehicle on the road. After arriving at Perky’s, Doe saw the restaurant was not yet open for the day’s business, with its parking lot empty … except for a small pink Toyota. Doe ﬁgured it probably was the manager’s car until he spied a would-be patron peering hungrily through the restaurant’s front window. Indeed, the car belonged to ravenous Rachael Rathbone, who’d arrived 30 minutes too early for John Doe backed his Perky’s famous Strawberry Delight Hottractor-trailer blindly to cakes and coffee. Doe returned to the task the left and into the restaurant parking lot, at hand and began backing blindly to the where he rear-ended a left and into Perky’s parking lot. departing customer. Was At the same time, the frustrated Raththis a preventable accident? bone, suffering from hunger and caffeine withdrawal, decided to abandon Perky’s and drive up Route 99 to the always-open International House of Wafﬂes. Preoccupied with gaining access to nutrition, Rathbone began to blindly back out of her parking space … WHAMMO!!! … and directly into the path of Doe’s trailer, damaging her trunk. Doe later contested the preventable-accident warning letter he received from his safety director, saying Rathbone had backed into him. Asked to settle the dispute, the National Safety Council’s Accident Review Committee upheld the preventable decision, noting that Doe knew the store was closed and should have anticipated Rathbone’s possible departure. Doe should have sounded his horn to alert Rathbone before backing into the parking area, NSC ruled. 100

commercial carrier journal | april 2018

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