Commercial Carrier Journal, February 2020 by Richard Street

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SPUDS vs. BUDS II

ast year I wrote an article about a driver who was arrested for transporting legal hemp through the state of Idaho, and the conflict between Idaho laws — which classified hemp as marijuana — and the Federal Farm Bill of 2018, which made the transportation of industrial hemp legal. It was a bit of a mess and I said something would need to be done to address this conflict. Well, that has happened. In October the Department of Agriculture handed down regulations making it clear that transporting hemp in interstate commerce is as legal as hauling potatoes. In response, the Governor of Idaho issued an executive order addressing the federal regulation and allowing for the transport of hemp through Idaho. Of course, nothing can ever be as simple as it seems. While the executive order is legal, it appears that the governor decided to make it as difficult as possible for carriers to comply. At least that is how it looks. To transport hemp through Idaho, there are numerous hoops that must be jumped through. First, the driver must declare the presence of hemp at the first port of entry. In addition, the driver must affirm that the load contains no illicit drugs and present a copy of the license from the hemp producer. The driver must also show a Drug Enforcement Administration lab report confirming the hemp is below the Federal requirements to qualify as “hemp.” The driver must also present a bill of lading listing the contents, origination, lot number and designation of the hemp, among other things. In addition to the above, all receptacles on the truck must be labeled with the name and address of the producer, the quantity of the hemp and lot number, which must correspond with all other documentation. All transporters of hemp must consent to inspection of the shipment including randomly selected sampling for testing by the Idaho State police to make sure it is in compliance with federal regulations. After inspection is completed at the port of entry, the driver will be given an inspection report which must be presented to enforcement officers if the driver is stopped. Moreover, while traveling through the state the driver must avoid any delays and travel on interstates and highways except as authorized by the Idaho Transportation Department. And to keep it interesting, failure to comply with the above may subject the transporter to the laws prohibiting marijuana. So, technically, you can now haul hemp through Idaho. But, you have to really want to do it and be willing to jump through hoops that may seem daunting.

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The Overdrive Small Fleet Champ competition is open to fleets that operated three to 30 Class 8 trucks during 2019.

Overdrive recognition program to highlight successful small fleets

o you own a thriving small fleet? CCJ’s sister magazine Overdrive, whose audience includes singleand multi-truck owners, is starting the Overdrive Small Fleet Champ award to recognize the skills and effort it takes to launch and grow a small fleet. The program’s championship belt and other prizes will go to a small fleet owner who has demonstrated the industry’s best practices and positioned the fleet for long-term financial stability and capacity for expansion. The competition is open to fleets that operated three to 30 Class 8 trucks during 2019 and meet other criteria detailed on the contest entry website, OverdriveOnline.com/Small-Fleet-Championship. May 10 is the entry deadline. Three finalists will be announced in June and profiled in Overdrive this summer. The finalists will receive free lodging and $1,000 toward expenses to attend the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas, Aug. 27-29. They will participate in small-fleet-focused panels at GATS, where one finalist will be crowned the Overdrive Small Fleet Champ. In addition to the prizes, the winner will be profiled in CCJ and in a cover story in Overdrive. The program is sponsored by Pilot Flying J’s new One9 Fuel Network, which is geared toward small fleets and owner-operators, offering credit and fuel stop options. – Max Heine

PRODUCT REVIEWS, OEM & SUPPLIER NEWS AND EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT TRENDS

Alt-power guidance Report addresses viability of hybrid, electric trucks

he North American Council for Freight Efficiency’s latest industry guidance report took a deep dive into the viability of electric, hybrid and alternativefueled powertrains for Class 7 and 8 tractors. In its executive summary of the 150-page report, NACFE said that due to ever-increasing competition and regulations, “fleets are beginning to consider alternative-fuel vehicles for their economic NACFE’s report found that each alternative fuel will play a part as vehicles become more and environmental benefits. specialized for their duty cycles. Innovation and significant investment have brought vi(FCEV), compressed natural gas (CNG), renewable natural able candidate technologies into the realm of production and gas (RNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), propane (LPG), hynear-production reality.” brid diesel-electric (HDE) and renewable diesel (RD). NACFE said that with growing levels of goods movement Ultimately, NACFE said it found no clear winners or losers and increased pressure for cleaner transport, trucking is facing in alternative fuels. Instead, each alternative will play a part as growing demand for near-zero- or zero-emissions solutions. vehicles become more specialized for their duty cycles. As a result, the list of alternative fuels and related powertrains is growing, and these technologies are beginning to reach the Decisions also will be influenced by factors that include regional or local energy availability and operational requirepoint of production-quality vehicles. In the past, natural gas ments such as day or night operations, dual-driver operations, powertrains led the way, but the bulk of the current investment is going into newer options such as fuel cells and battery- slip-seat driver operations and regional, local or long-haul routes. Class 7 and 8 tractors, however, have operational sweet electric vehicles. spots where certain alternative-fuel technologies make more NACFE said the most promising near-term options, all of which are addressed in its confidence report, include commer- sense. NACFE concludes its research for this report supports six cial battery-electric (CBEV), fuel-cell hybrid-electric vehicle findings: • North American freight movement is becoming more predictable, with dedicated routes enabled by e-comWANT MORE EQUIPMENT NEWS? merce and other technologies, offering better duty cycles Scan the barcode to receive the CCJ for alternative powertrains. Equipment Weekly or go to ccjdigital.com/ • Each alternative-fuel powertrain offers benefits in the news/subscribe-to-newsletters short term compared to diesel and may have enough 18

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duty-cycle scale to offer total cost of ownership (TCO) and emissions savings. • CBEVs and fuel-cell trucks will be capable of lower TCO in the 2030 timeframe. • Vehicle specifications will be more optimized for the duty cycle and technology of the first user, limiting the applicability of the equipment for second or third users. • A “messy middle” will exist until CBEVs and FCEVs alone power these trucks, because alternatives offer significant improvements over the diesel and gasoline baselines. • A future zero-emissions freight world will have only electric-based vehicles powered well-to-wheel from truly renewable sources such as hydro, solar and wind. NACFE concluded that in the long run, electric powertrains will dominate the marketplace due to the efficiency of batteryelectric powertrains for transporting freight when viewed from well to wheel. Through this transition, some technologies will emerge as “bridges” between the present and the future. “Fleets should not delay engaging with these new technologies,” said Mike Roeth, executive director for NACFE. “By exploring the use of these technologies and adopting where possible, they will help optimize these technologies for their own duty cycles and applications and take advantage of all the benefits of the various choices.” – Lucas Deal and Bill Grabarek

The average fleetwide fuel economy of the trucks in NACFE’s eighth annual Fleet Fuel Study was 7.27 mpg in 2018.

NACFE's 8th annual Fleet Fuel Study details mpg improvements

he North American Council for Freight Efficiency last month released its eighth annual Fleet Fuel Study featuring the results of a deep-dive investigation into the adoption of various products and practices for improving freight efficiency among 21 major North American fleets. Fleets providing data for the 2019 study included Bison Transport (CCJ Top 250, No. 56), C&S Wholesale Grocers, Cardinal Logistics (No. 40), CFI, C.R. England (No. 23), Crete Carrier (No. 29), Frito-Lay, Hirschbach Motor Lines (No. 65), Maverick Transportation (No. 75), Mesilla Valley Transportation (No. 77), NFI Industries (No. 28), Nussbaum Transportation (No. 216), Paper Transport (No. 121), Prime Inc. (No. 13), Schneider (No. 7), UPS (No. 1) and Werner Enterprises (No 11). Among the report’s findings, according to NACFE: • The 21 fleets are increasing their adoption rate of 85 fuel-saving technologies and practices. In 2003, the adoption rate was 17%; in 2018, it was 45%.

• The average fleetwide fuel economy of the trucks in the study was 7.27 mpg in 2018. • For the 16 years of the study, the average rate of mpg improvement is 2.0%. • The fleets in the study are saving $9,912 over the national average of 5.98 mpg. If fuel costs had been at the four-year average of $3.89 per gallon, the savings would have been $7,941 and $12,124, respectively. • The 21 fleets operating 73,844 trucks saved $895,318,953 in 2018 compared to the average trucks on the road. From the study, NACFE concluded that: • Multiple factors are influencing fleet adoption. • Fleets continue to adopt fuel-saving technologies. • Manufacturers accelerated delivery of technologies. • A significant gap to best-of-the-best still exists. The complete report can be found at https://nacfe.org/annual-fleet-fuel-studies. – CCJ Staff

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Kenworth, Peterbilt prep EV lineup for debut

accar companies Kenworth and Peterbilt used last month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas as a showcase for the companies’ budding electric capabilities. Kenworth’s K270E and Peterbilt’s Model 220EV batteryelectric vehicles (BEVs) both are equipped with a Dana-designed e-Powertrain system, and each are scheduled to kick off commercial production this year. Configured with a direct-drive system, both trucks use a Spicer Electrified e-propulsion system and a standard Dana drive axle and driveshaft. Dana also supplies an e-power system that generates, stores and manages the vehicle’s energy and consists of electrified auxiliary systems, an onboard charger and two battery packs. Dana-developed software and controls enable the diagnostics and telemetry of the complete system. Production versions of the electric powertrain will be available with range options between 100 and 200 miles, and the high-energy-density battery packs can be recharged in about an hour using the vehicle’s DC fast-charging system. Kevin Baney, Kenworth general manager and Paccar vice president, said the company plans to produce up to 100 medium-duty cabover electric trucks by yearend. At the end of last year, Peterbilt’s BEV fleet included Model 579EVs in drayage and regional-haul applications, as well as Model 520EVs in refuse applications. Scott Newhouse, Peterbilt chief engineer, said the Denton, Texas-based truck maker has logged nearly 40,000 real-world miles with its fleet of 16 battery-electric vehicles. “Mileage accumulation is an important component of the validation process leading up to our low-volume production starting in the fourth quarter of 2020,” Newhouse said.

The medium-duty Model 220EV is Peterbilt’s third electric vehicle model and is aimed at inner-city and local pickup-and-delivery applications.

The Model 520EV is powered by a Meritor/TransPower Energy Storage Subsystem with a total storage capacity of 308 kWh and is driven by a TransPower Mid-Ship Motor Drive Subsystem with up to 430 hp. It features a range of about 100 miles and a four-hour charge time. Demonstrator Model 520EVs have been operating on residential and commercial routes, working a full day on a single charge and charging overnight, said Jason Skoog, Peterbilt general manager and Paccar vice president. Peterbilt plans to put additional BEVs into service in the first half of 2020 in drayage, regional-haul and medium-duty pickup-and-delivery applications, including the deployment of the Model 220EV. Skoog said pricing and option availability for Peterbilt BEVs is on track to be available on the truck maker’s SmartSpec sales tool by June. Low-volume production will begin in late 2020 for the Model 220EV and Model 579EV, followed by the Model 520EV in 2021. – Jason Cannon

Judge OKs $135M settlement in MaxxForce engine case

federal judge has approved Navistar’s proposed $135 million settlement that will be paid out to owners of certain International trucks equipped with defective model-year 2011-14 MaxxForce 11- or 13-liter engines. Judge Joan Gottschall of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted the final approval Jan. 3. The judge concluded that the classaction settlement is a “fair, reasonable and adequate resolution” of the truck 20

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owners’ claims. The approval follows an objection filed in October by four large fleets. As part of the settlement, those who purchased or leased International trucks with the defective engines can choose from three forms of relief for each affected truck they owned or leased. They can choose to receive up to $2,500 in cash, up to a $10,000 rebate on a new Navistar truck with proof of ownership/lease or up to

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Kenworth’s K270E is equipped with a Danadesigned e-Powertrain system.

Those who purchased or leased International trucks with defective model-year 2011-14 MaxxForce 11- or 13-liter engines can choose from three forms of relief.

$15,000 in repayment for repair costs. The order states that Navistar will contribute $85 million to fund claims for the cash payout and repair repayment options. The remaining $50 million will be used for rebates. Owners and lessees of affected trucks have until May 11 to file their claims for any of the three options. – Matt Cole

INBRIEF • Daimler, Bosch and TomTom announced their joint work on Daimler’s Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC) advanced driver assistance system (ADAS). PPC actively controls the engine, brakes and automated transmission for enhanced safety and fuel economy and reduced emissions in response to data from Bosch’s Electronic Horizon, which integrates knowledge of the road ahead from TomTom’s ADAS Map that provides information such as topography, road curvature, speed limits and traffic signs. • Zonar made Cummins Connected Software Updates available through over-the-air programming for its fleet telematics platform through Zonar OTAir, a smartphone app. Fleet managers are notified through the Cummins portal of available updates for specific engines, allowing them to schedule updates, and drivers can approve updates on their smartphone or tablet. • Optronics International, a manufacturer and supplier of heavy-duty LED vehicle lighting, completed its acquisition of USA Harness, a provider of trailer harnesses and electronic control systems. Optronics said the acquisition, terms of which were not released, will allow it to provide both lighting and harness technologies, including integrated modular power delivery and lighting systems. • Volvo Financial Services invested in Rein, an Insurtech start-up company, to deploy its next generation of connected insurance services to the commercial transportation industry. • Truck-Lite Co., a provider of safety lighting, filtration systems and telematics services for commercial vehicles, received an investment from Genstar Capital; terms were not announced. Truck-Lite was owned by affiliates of BDT Capital Partners, Koch Equity Development and Penske Corp. As part of its investment, Genstar acquired BDT’s and Koch’s ownership interests. • FlowBelow, a supplier of proprietary wheel covers, drive wheel fairings and other aerodynamic technologies for Class 8 trucks, received an investment from Barton Creek Equity Partners; terms were not announced. FlowBelow said the investment alongside its founder and management team will facilitate growth of the business and provide for an exit by early-round investors.

commercial carrier journal

Ownership of UD Trucks, a $2.28 billion business, will be transferred from the Volvo Group to Isuzu Motors.

Volvo to sell UD Trucks to Isuzu as part of global strategic alliance

he Volvo Group and Isuzu Motors in late December announced their intentions to form a strategic alliance charged with establishing a global technology partnership. Volvo Group and Isuzu Motors already have an existing relationship on medium-duty trucks in Japan, and Martin Lundsted, president and chief executive officer for Volvo Group, said his company sees potential to extend that “cooperation within technology, sales and service, as well as other areas going forward, for the benefit of our customers and business partners. Our UD Trucks colleagues have done a great job to improve performance in recent years, and the alliance opens up a great opportunity to continue the successful journey.” The genesis of the expanded partnership will continue to be in Japan, one of the most competitive truck markets in the world but mostly dominated by Toyota-owned Hino. The duo hopes the partnership will create a stronger heavyduty truck business for both Isuzu Motors and Volvo-owned UD Trucks. Ownership of UD Trucks, a $2.28 billion business, will be transferred from the Volvo Group to Isuzu Motors “in order to accelerate growth by leveraging greater volumes and complementary capabilities,” the companies announced in a joint release.

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“Isuzu Motors and the Volvo Group strongly believe in the business opportunities and synergy potential between the two Groups,” said Masanori Katayama, president and representative director for Isuzu Motors Ltd. “We intend to derive the full value from each other’s different specialties across product and geographical strongholds. Our collaboration will actively contribute to service improvements and strengthened customer satisfaction as well as prepare ourselves for the forthcoming logistics revolution.” The strategic alliance between the two truck makers will include the formation of a technology partnership, leveraging the parties’ complementary areas of expertise within both known and new technologies and creating a larger volume base to support necessary forthcoming technology investments; creation of long-term conditions for a stronger heavy-duty truck business for UD Trucks and Isuzu Motors in Japan and across international markets; and the exploration of opportunities for broader and deeper collaboration within the commercial vehicle business across geographical areas and product lines such as light- and medium-duty trucks. All technology cooperation between the Volvo Group and Isuzu Motors will be managed through individual contracts. – Jason Cannon

INBRIEF

Ryder planning EV charging infrastructure

yder announced plans to develop an electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure to service Ryder said its goal for developing an EV charging its customers that deploy battery-electric trucks. infrastructure is to provide In partnership with energy solutions provider Innationwide turnkey charging Charge Energy Inc. and electrification technology capabilities for its customers. developer ABB, Ryder said its goal is to provide nationwide turnkey charging capabilities. “Through this partnership, our customers will have greater access to electric vehicle strategic planning and energy cost savings related to engineering and implementing charging strategies,” said Rich Mohr, Ryder’s chief technology officer for Fleet Management Solutions. Mohr said the service is intended to allow Ryder customers to expand EV footprints safely and more predictably. Cameron Funk, chief executive officer for In-Charge, said his company will assist Ryder customers seeking to electrify their fleet by assessing power capabilities and their need to implement a charging infrastructure while also providing guidance toward entry into the EV market. ABB manufactures vehicle charging systems of up to 600kW in public, transit and scaled fleet segments, having deployed more than 12,000 connected DC fast- and – Jason Cannon high-power chargers in 76 countries in the last decade.

Design Interactive debuts remote video calling

Design Interactive’s Remote Collaboration Video Calling connects technicians with expert sources and access to procedures in real time.

esign Interactive Inc., a provider of augmented and virtual reality (AR/ VR) training products for fleet maintenance personnel, vendors and OEMs, released Remote Collaboration Video Calling (RCVC) to connect technicians using the company’s Augmentor AR/VR training product with expert sources and access to procedures in real time. “With our Remote Collaboration Video Calling, technicians now have the ability when they are working on a truck to contact other technicians or experts and simultaneously see the procedures they need to execute in real time,” said Matt Johnston, division head of Commercial Solutions for Design Interactive. “With this new capability, the Augmentor platform becomes a highly interactive device that speeds up the technician’s ability to solve a problem or complete a repair correctly.” With RCVC, technicians can be connected instantly to several sources, including other technicians, managers and training personnel, for access to instructions, OEMs and/or the manufacturer’s technical center, as well as procedures they need to execute repairs in real time. Suppliers no longer need to go to a facility to solve a problem, as Remote Collaboration Video Calling can provide training modules and advice, allowing for consistent training and shorter repair and diagnostics times. – Dean Smallwood

• Fontaine introduced a three-axle all-aluminum Revolution dropdeck platform trailer with air-lift center and rear axles. With the rear axle lifted, the front tandem configuration measures 40 feet from the kingpin to the rear axle, making the trailer California-legal. With the center axle lifted, a 10-foot 2-inch spread-axle configuration handles the trailer’s maximum legal load capacity. Dropping all three axles provides more capacity for heavier permitted loads. • Mahle Aftermarket launched sales of its branded thermal management offerings for trucks, passenger cars, agricultural vehicles and construction machines following the company’s acquisition of manufacturer Behr Hella Service. • Velociti Inc., a provider of technology design, deployment and support services, announced that Mesilla Valley Transportation (CCJ Top 250, No. 77) is using its VeloCare proactive technology monitoring and repair service. VeloCare will support 5,000 MVT trailers with GPS tracking and automatic tire inflation systems, as well as in-cab video systems, electronic logging devices and tablets on 1,300 tractors. • Eastern Truck & Trailer joined Power Heavy Duty’s distributor network. Eastern, based in Grove City, Ohio, provides heavy-duty truck parts, tools, equipment and shop supplies to fleets, owner-operators, municipalities, bus garages and independent service facilities and national fleets. The company also performs mobile service, critical parts delivery and truck and trailer repairs. • Enterprise Truck Rental opened two new West Virginia branches in Morgantown and Beckley due to regional growth and customer demand. The branches bring the total number of Enterprise locations in the state to four. • Vnomics Corp., a provider of onboard fuel optimization products, announced that Williamsport, Pa.-based Valley Farms, a provider of fresh milk to customers in Pennsylvania and New York, implemented its True Fuel technology to identify and quantify a driver’s impact on fuel savings and coach them to change behaviors that waste fuel, provide incentives to drivers based on fuel savings and foster competition to save fuel.

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in focus: ABSORBED GLASS MAT

Not your father’s truck battery Modern truck demands spark AGM’s growth BY JASON CANNON

asked with supporting everything from starting the engine to powering auxiliary devices, batteries are a critical and heavily stressed part of a truck. With more demands being placed on the electrical system through added sensors, cameras and collision mitigation radar, more companies are seeing the advantage of absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries and the overall trade-off with their price and longevity, said Jeff Barron, research lab manager for Interstate Batteries. “AGM batteries are more efficient than your typical flooded battery,” Barron said. “They have a lower internal resistance and will charge faster.” Vicki Hall, director of transportation technical solutions for EnerSys, said emissions systems and alternative fuels also have increased cranking power needs, while antiidle legislation laws have increased charge acceptance requirements. “Add on to that tighter restrictions on drive time and more electrical loads operating while the vehicle is off,” Hall said. “All of this means batteries have to perform better than ever through an increasing variety of conditions.” Bryce Gregory, transportation systems product manager for EnerSys, said many battery types may handle some of these challenges well, but none can support all these demands as well as AGM Thin Plate Pure Lead (TPPL) batteries. “They offer a true dual-purpose battery that has higher power for starting even at low states of charge, better cycling for long life and reliability, and better charge acceptance to handle the worst conditions,” Gregory said. Conventional flooded lead acid batteries feature positive and negative lead alloy plates distributed among delicate separators 24

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immersed in an electrolyte solution of dilute sulfuric acid. An AGM battery contains a fiberglass separator between each pure lead plate to absorb the electrolyte, making the battery leakproof and eliminating the need for additional fluid. “Pure lead batteries self-discharge at a much slower rate than batteries containing lead alloy, which means an AGM TPPL battery can have a shelf life of up to two years before it needs to be recharged when stored at room temperature,” Gregory said. An AGM battery also is less prone to sulfation and, since the plates and separators are compressed, offers better shock and vibration resistance. “The [AGM] batteries’ deep-cycle abilities also allow them to power accessories and systems when needed, such as winches, auxiliary lights, A/C compressors, navigation systems, as well as start/stop applications,” Hall said. Switching from flooded batteries to AGM, Gregory and Hall agreed, should be fairly straightforward. Both said all batteries in any series or parallel configuration should be changed together, adding to take note of any differences in terminal types or configurations, which can impact battery cable connections. “Be sure to purchase the same terminal type to facilitate an easy change,” Hall said. “Charging settings are also different between flooded and AGM batteries,” Gregory added. “Additionally, make sure you have chargers that support AGM charging.” Barron said that in cases where a change isn’t as straightforward, some original equipment vehicles require a change in the computer when going from one battery to the other due to computer-controlled alternators. “By plugging into your OBD-II and changing the battery type to the correct one, you can alleviate any issues,” he said.

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Interstate’s absorbed glass mat (AGM) battery line provides high cranking and extreme deep-cycle power for auxiliary power units (APUs) or other added amenities and withstands extreme temperatures.

EnerSys’ Odyssey Performance Series 4D-1300 and 8D1500 batteries feature Thin Plate Pure Lead (TPPL) technology and AGM separators that hold acid in place to prevent spills even when the batteries are installed on their sides.

East Penn’s Fahrenheit AGM battery technology is equipped with the company’s Thermal Shielding Technology to better handle cycle service, varying climates and intense vibration and to extend battery life to meet increasing key-off power demands.

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

technology Charging ahead New Geotab tool helps fleets accelerate EV uptake BY AARON HUFF

n March 2018, Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) approached Penske Logistics (CCJ Top 250, No. 20) with an exclusive opportunity to test new electric vehicle (EV) prototypes. DTNA asked Penske to test 10 straight trucks and 10 day cab prototypes in 500-, 600- and 700-kilowatt-hour battery configurations. Penske provided DTNA input and feedback as the prototypes were finalized for the turning radius, vehicle weights and other specifications. Penske then began testing two EVs last December in southern California. “This is new to all of us,” said Bill Combs, director of connected fleet for Bill Combs, director of connected fleet for Penske Logistics, speaks to attendees at last Penske, at last month’s Geotab Connect month’s Geotab Connect 2020 conference in San Diego. 2020 conference in San Diego. The company installed a charging position to help fleets accelerate the uptake of EVs, said Matt infrastructure and has been operating the two EVs to make Stevens, the company’s vice president of electric vehicles. between eight and 12 deliveries nightly in routes of 130 to 250 At the Geotab conference, a representative from the State miles. The prototypes now have surpassed 10,000 miles in of California explained why using telematics data from EVs real-world operations, he said. is critical for the state government to meet its goal. While testing the EVs, Penske uses a telematics sysWithin five years, the state wants 50% of its lighttem from Geotab. The EVs have Geotab’s Go device duty vehicle purchases for government fleets to be connected to their data ports to transmit telematics zero-emissions vehicles. data to the cloud-based fleet management system. “If we don’t have a tool that identifies opportuniCombs said that with the Geotab technology, ties to replace internal combustion engines with “2020 will be the year of insights from the deployzero-emissions vehicles, it won’t happen,” said Evan ments we are starting to make with these [electric] Speer, chief of the office of fleet and asset management for vehicles.” the California Department of General Services. Penske remotely monitors and analyzes the operating data of At present, Geotab has Go telematics devices installed in the EVs, such as their state of charge and battery health. Penske about 15,000 electric vehicles globally, which is less than 1% also has Geotab’s Go telematics devices installed on its fleet of of Geotab’s two million total vehicle subscriptions for light-, more than 40,000 gas and diesel rental and lease vehicles. medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. But having 15,000 conGeotab acquired expertise in EV telematics in June 2018 by purchasing FleetCarma. The acquisition put Geotab in a unique nected EVs makes Geotab the largest telematics provider in 26

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technology INTERESTED IN TRUCKING TECHNOLOGY? Go to ccjdigital.com/news/subscribe-to-newsletters to subscribe to the CCJ Technology Weekly e-mail newsletter.

this rapidly growing market segment, Stevens said. At the Connect 2020 conference, Geotab announced a new tool for fleets to have the data they will need to determine which gas- and dieselpowered vehicles they can convert to electric. Among the questions the tool will answer for fleets within a matter of minutes: How much will EVs cost? Will they leave drivers stranded? Will they save the fleet money? What will be the environmental impact of reducing tailpipe emissions? Free EV assessments With Geotab’s new Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment (EVSA) tool, fleets will be able to run an unlimited number of assessments that use telematics data from Geotab’s Go devices installed on their fuel-powered vehicles. The tool compares vehicle operating data to the universe of telematics data collected by Geotab from EVs with similar operating profiles. The assessment predicts the energy use, efficiency and range of EVs. If a fleet has vehicles that operate in temperatures of minus 15 degrees, the assessment will determine how EVs in their fleet would perform under the same conditions. The application gives an electrification recommendation for specific models of fully electric or hybrid light-duty vehicles that would be suitable for any fleet. EVSA is offered free to Geotab customers as an add-in on the Geotab Marketplace, which is a portfolio of mobile apps, software add-ins and hardware add-ons. To use the tool, fleets have to use Geotab devices on their vehicles and have a minimum of three weeks and a maximum of three months of telematics data. As for why Geotab would offer the service for free, Stevens said, “we want to make sure that fleets who are going electric know that Geotab is the right [telematics] solution for them.” At present, the assessment only considers operating profiles where EVs are being charged overnight, Stevens said. The assessment currently does not consider opportunities for drivers to recharge vehicles in their routes during work breaks. The EVSA tool is designed to assess EV replacement for passenger cars, SUVs and light-duty vans at the moment, but Stevens said Geotab has been getting a lot of requests to make the tool available to assess medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, which is more complicated because of the impact of payloads on vehicle ranges. While use of Geotab’s EVSA tool currently is limited to light-duty vehicles, Stevens said the company will work with specific customers and resellers to help with EV assessments that factor unique payload requirements.

Orbcomm’s FleetManager now on Samsung tablets

rbcomm, a provider of Internet of Things products, announced the availability of an in-cab fleet Orbcomm’s truck management management offering that combines reporting product is available on and analytics from its Samsung’s Galaxy Tab FleetManager platform Active2 and A with Samsung tablets, 8.0 tablets. allowing fleets to connect their drivers, schedules, assets, back office and customers seamlessly through one incab screen. Orbcomm said the Samsung tablets help drivers track orders, capture signatures and take notes through fast data processing and high-resolution cameras for optimal efficiency. – Dean Smallwood

PrePass adds new locations in 9 states

rePass announced that its weigh station bypass services now are available at the following locations: • Illinois: Richmond U.S. 12 • Michigan: Grass Lake Interstate 94 • Montana: Clearwater Junction State Route 200 • New Jersey: Carney’s Point I-295, Greenwich I-78, Knowlton I-80 • North Carolina: Charlotte I-85, Gaston County I-85, Mt. Airy I-77 • North Dakota: Beach I-94, Bowman U.S. 12/U.S. 85, Joliette U.S. 81, West Fargo I-94 • Ohio: Van Wert U.S. 30 • Texas: Abernathy I-27, Childress U.S. 287, Mt. Pleasant I-30, Penwell I-20, Queen City U.S. 59, Refugio U.S. 77, San Marcos I-35, Three Rivers I-37 • Wisconsin: Sparta I-90 – Dean Smallwood

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technology

Geotab CEO: Telematics market ripe for disruption A

bout five years from now, the fleet telematics market will be disrupted by vehicle manufacturers installing their own devices at the factory, predicted Neil Cawse, chief executive officer for Geotab, at the company’s Connect 2020 conference last month in San Diego. OEMs already install their own devices in vehicles to collect operating data for product engineering and to provide their fleet customers with remote diagnostics services. Cawse expects to see fleets eventually opt-out of installing telematics devices, because tomorrow’s connected vehicles will come standard with a free basic management platform. Fleets will have the option to upgrade to a more full-featured telematics platform through a subscription. “I am convinced that this is the way it will ultimately be,” he said. Getting telematics for free will be no different than having Gmail and other basic software tools on a smartphone. If you decide to upgrade to use Google’s business tools, you pay a subscription that comes with “a whole other level of support,” said Cawse, who expects most fleets will upgrade to fullfeatured fleet management platforms that will be connected to the telematics data captured by OEM devices through integrated servers in the cloud. Fleets operating two or more vehicle brands will want to manage all their telematics data from their vehicles through a single platform that also is connected with various third-party applications they use, such as electronic logging devices and camera systems, he said. Geotab’s fleet management platform is used by thousands of fleets today to connect with more than two million vehicles. More than 500,000 of its vehicle subscriptions are Class 6-8 trucks, Cawse said. Fleets can either install Geotab’s low-cost Go device in their vehicles or use the integrations the company has with OEM telematics platforms. Light- and medium-duty vehicles from GM and Ford are connected to Geotab’s cloud-based platform, making it unnecessary for fleets to install additional hardware in the aftermarket. In the heavy-duty market, Geotab has similar telematics integrations with Volvo and Mack Trucks. Navistar exhibited at Connect 2020 and plans to announce an integration soon. The Geotab platform comes with applications for fleet productivity, ELD compliance and driver safety. Its open APIs 28

commercial carrier journal

| february 2020

Neil Cawse, CEO for Geotab, speaks at the company’s Connect 2020 conference last month in San Diego.

allow third-party software developers to integrate products with the platform to give fleets a single sign-on experience for all connected applications. With these integrations, Geotab has an extensive portfolio of mobile apps, software add-ins and hardware add-ons that can be activated through its Geotab Marketplace. The company has a large network of resellers that specialize in certain markets for its customers in transportation, construction, government and other industries. During Connect 2020, the company announced new products for the Geotab Marketplace: Eleos, an all-in-one driver workflow platform, is accessible through a preloaded enterprise-grade tablet. It also has a driver app with features that drivers can use outside the cab. Lytx, a video-based telematics platform for fleets, combines machine vision and artificial intelligence (MV+AI) with professional review and behavior tagging. Fleet managers using the Geotab platform can browse video and data from Lytx’s DriveCam event recorders to understand exactly what is happening at any moment. Trimble’s Video Intelligence platform includes a two-channel DVR and a forward-facing camera with the option for a secondary camera. The integration allows Trimble to expand its light- and medium-duty vehicle presence. Geotab has been privately owned since it was founded in 2000. Colin Sutherland, executive vice president of sales and marketing, said not having investment from private equity gives his company the “freedom to focus on research and development for our product.” Other telematics companies tend to focus on specific markets such as trucking or construction, but Sutherland said Geotab considers them to be potential customers rather than competitors, with Geotab positioned as a data company. “We don’t normally benchmark against other telematics companies,” he said. “We do more thinking about ‘How do we enable data to be consumed in the truck space?’” – Aaron Huff

technology

Betting on technology in 2020

Now that the ELD deadline has passed, motor carriers are looking to place safe technology bets in 2020 that will provide immediate cost savings.

Did ELD providers miss a profitable boat?

eladon was the largest fleet to go bankrupt in 2019, but hundreds of other carriers left the industry. Overall, the number of trucking bankruptcies increased by 300% from 2018, according to industry data tracked by Broughton Capital. Economic signs indicate the trend may continue through 2020. One of the best lines of defense against a freight recession in 2020 is to invest in technology that delivers immediate cost savings. Safety technology is attracting a lot of investment, especially with insurance costs this year expected to rise 25%. Motor carriers no longer need to invest in technology to meet the electronic logging device compliance deadline. However, technology suppliers that focused on meeting demand for ELD compliance in the last four years may have missed the boat regarding solutions that carriers will need now to survive and thrive, said Chris Wolfe, chief executive officer for PowerFleet. Beyond compliance ELDs will not help get drivers loaded or unloaded faster or prevent them from wasting time searching for a trailer on a yard or hooking up to the wrong one. ELDs do not prevent cargo claims, either. PowerFleet has products for ELD compliance, but Wolfe said the company’s main focus always has been to increase the velocity of freight transactions. Using technology to accelerate the movement of shipments “is the only way to squeeze out more cost,” he said. As a fleet management technology supplier, PowerFleet has industrial Internet of Things products for carriers and shippers that deliver freight visibility down to the pallet level and SKU. Freight sensors can detect temperature changes, vibration and shocks during transit to help prevent cargo claims. Freight cameras can detect the volume of shipments in a trailer to determine AARON HUFF is Senior Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail ahuff@ccjmagazine.com or call (385) 225-9472.

loaded or empty status. When drivers are dispatched to pick up a trailer, they can be assured it is ready while already knowing if any additional capacity is remaining. Looking ahead, freight transactions will be able to manage themselves by sharing data in a secure blockchain to hand off information automatically between parties, Wolfe said. More than more business The focus can’t just be on speeding freight movements, however. “We know that is going to cause problems with safety and security,” he said. The freight camera also can be used as a safety tool. Machine learning in the camera can be used to detect problems instantly with how the freight is loaded or to sense a shift in freight that creates an unsafe operating condition for the driver. By combining new technologies such as freight cameras with telemetry devices at the pallet level, it is possible to know the weight of a load, and how the weight is distributed on the tractor and trailer axle, before dispatching a driver to pick it up, Wolfe said. New safety systems on the horizon also will be able to predict when and where the next accident will occur by bringing together many sources of real-time data such as risky driver behaviors and weather and road conditions, he said. Motor carriers no longer have an ELD deadline, but investments in technology will continue to be focused in 2020 on increasing the safety and efficiency of drivers and assets to avoid becoming another statistic when the dust settles. commercial carrier journal

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technology

INBRIEF • Trimble Transportation, a provider of software products for private fleets and commercial carriers, acquired Kuebix, a provider of transportation management systems for shippers; terms were not announced. The companies plan to develop an integrated Software-as-a-Service platform for shippers, carriers and freight intermediaries to optimally plan, execute and match freight with capacity on demand and to cover the full lifecycle of orders through financial settlement. • Lytx Inc., a provider of cloud-based video safety technology, received a $1 billion investment from Permira, a London-based private equity firm. Permira will have a majority stake in Lytx, along with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and GIC Private Ltd. • Omnitracs released Strategic Planner, a cloud-based product designed to give its customers an alternative method to analyze, modify and optimize their fleet operations. • LoadDelivered, a third-party logistics firm specializing in food and beverage shipments, launched QuickPay+, a free one-day payment service available to its qualified carrier partners in exchange for consistent volume and visibility compliance. • Idelic, a provider of transportation safety offerings, announced a collaboration with Instructional Technologies Inc., an online driver training provider, to integrate ITI’s Pro-Tread driver training software into the Idelic Safety Suite. Pro-Tread training will update driver profiles in the Safety Suite, and Safety Suite training will populate ITI’s Sentix learning management system. • Otonomo and GreenRoad are collaborating to provide GreenRoad’s Driver Risk Profiling and other intelligence to fleets to engage drivers in improving behavior. GreenRoad said the Otonomo Platform is built to ingest automotive data from OEMs and fleet operators, then reshape and enriche the data for application and service providers to develop offerings. • J.B. Hunt Transport Services, the logistics arm of Lowell, Ark.-based J.B. Hunt (CCJ Top 250, No. 3), will integrate JDA’s Supply Chain Management Platform with its J.B. Hunt 360° digital freight matching platform to give customers greater pricing visibility and access to available capacity using JDA Transportation Management.

commercial carrier journal

Report: 25% of drivers aren’t learning what they expect in fleet orientation

very motor carrier must have an orientation training program to ensure that drivers comply with federal regulations and company-specific policies, but the impact goes far beyond compliance. Drivers begin entertaining thoughts of “Do I New technology, consistent messaging, personalized stay or do I go?” during training and putting the right people in front of drivers the first hours and days on produce better results in orientation. the job. A research report by Stay Metrics, a provider of driver retention tools, details a multifaceted approach for motor carriers to “turbocharge” their driver orientation and improve job satisfaction. The free report is available at StayMetrics.com. Recent results from driver surveys the company administers for clients during critical periods of early employment show that about 25% of drivers are not learning what they expected from their carriers during orientation. Analysis of recent survey data and interviews with carriers support the report’s thesis that new technology, consistent messaging, personalized training and putting the right people in front of drivers produce better results in orientation that contribute to higher job satisfaction. Technology: To maximize drivers’ attention and interest in orientation, the report recommends carriers use interactive learning technologies such as the Luma Drive First platform. Interviews with expedite hauler Premium Transportation Logistics found the platform increased driver engagement while compressing its orientation program from three days to one. Likewise, the interactive game-like learning platform helped flatbed carrier Fraley & Schilling reduce orientation by one full week and create individualized learning experiences for drivers. Consistent messaging: The report offers several recommendations for carriers to improve messaging to get drivers all the information in orientation they need to succeed. According to a recent run of surveys, a significant percentage of drivers said their early job experiences did not match the messaging they received in orientation. The areas with the most inconsistency were home time (29%), pay/ settlement (36.3%) and runs/routes (38.2%). Personalized training: One of the quickest ways to lower a person’s engagement in orientation is to cover something they already understand as if it is new to them. In the report, Matthew Kowalczyk, supervisor of safety and training for Load One, shares how he tailors his orientation to drivers based on their past safety records. The report also details strategies for carriers to accommodate the unique learning needs and preferences of drivers. Putting the right people in front: The report shares strategies for building personal connections in orientation. At a minimum, drivers should be meeting with someone from senior leadership and from the payroll, operations and safety departments. – Aaron Huff

| february 2020

technology

INBRIEF

McLeod Software creates new customer service dashboard

cLeod Software has released a new Version 20.1 of its transportation management software (TMS) systems used by motor carriers and logistics providers. Central to the latest version is a new Customer Service Management screen for McLeod Software’s new update has a dashboard for customer service representatives. the operations role of customer service representatives (CSRs) that “puts everything they need in one place,” the company said. The new dashboard has access to market rates and dispatch information to make faster decisions with a complete view of company McLeod’s business intelligence platform now is requirements, McLeod said. offered as a hosted service in the cloud. Profiles can be created to filter information for more specific views based on customers, regions, order status, order types and inbound and outbound destinations. The new environment also displays the individual movements for each order to provide the CSR with a complete view of their workload with order and movement status information. Also announced by McLeod is a hosted cloud-based version of its business intelligence platform with visual analysis and drill-down capabilities. Companies that use Microsoft’s Power BI, Excel or Reporting Services can access the Cloud IQ model. A new app is available for freight brokers to cover loads. The McLeod Carrier App has digital freight matching features, such as the ability to offer and cover loads through a secure connection to the PowerBroker TMS system. The app allows the driver or carrier office staff to view offered loads and has load search capabilities. Brokers can send order offers directly to carriers or drivers from PowerBroker to accept, counter or decline through the app. Brokers can connect to carrier drivers with a text message, indicating a load has been assigned. A link in the text can be used to install the app if needed for trackand-trace information. McLeod said carriers that are PowerBroker users can monitor load tracking information and detention events by using its Detention Management module to track more accurately, warn shippers of detention and bill detention charges. With the app, a built-in document capture lets the driver capture trip documents, index them and capture signatures electronically for proof of delivery. The latest version of PowerBroker also offers a new integration with TriumphPay’s carrier payment platform for carriers to receive settlement payments faster. – Aaron Huff

• SAP, a supply chain software company, plans to offer shipment connectivity and tracking via project44. Visibility data from project44 will be added to the SAP Logistics Business Network. • SmartDrive Systems, a provider of video-based driver safety products, announced that Averitt Express (CCJ Top 250, No. 27), a Cookeville, Tenn.-based less-than-truckload provider, renewed its contract and upgraded to the SmartDrive Transportation Intelligence Platform with SR4 onboard hardware. • DAT Solutions announced that Phoenix-based Knight-Swift Transportation (CCJ Top 250, No. 4) is using its new rate forecasting tool as part of a pilot program that will run through the first quarter of 2020. The tool is designed to provide actionable short-term and long-term insights into transportation markets and is based on the DAT RateView database of more than $68 billion in annual freight transactions. • Eleos Technologies announced a collaboration with Claremont, N.C.-based Cargo Transporters (CCJ Top 250, No. 182) to add more features to the carrier’s driver app, including scanning tools that allow drivers to use smart devices to transmit high-quality bills of lading; email to reach operations, safety and human resources; and driver referrals to send prospective drivers’ names and contact information and to receive referral bonuses. • ITS Logistics, a third-party logistics fleet based in Reno, Nev., signed on for a full-fleet deployment of Lytx’s Driver Safety program and DriveCam Event Recorders. ITS has over 200 trucks, 550 trailers and 350 drivers and serves clients across the western United States with dedicated fleet and asset-light transportation services. • Carrier Logistics Inc., a provider of transportation software, announced that its Facts transportation and freight management system was selected by Elk Grove, Ill.-based Moran Transportation Corp., a 225-truck regional less-than-truckload and less-thancontainer-load fleet. • Descartes Systems Group, a provider of Software-as-a-Service products for transportation companies, announced that Automated Logistics Systems, a Jackson, Mich.-based freight brokerage and third-party logistics provider, selected its MacroPoint offering for real-time shipment visibility.

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TRIMAC TRANSPORTATION Calgary, Alberta

SEE ME, ‘FEEL’ ME Trimac Transportation uses virtual reality to train drivers about real-world dangers BY JASON CANNON

he difficulty in learning how to deal with dangerous situations is fairly clear. It’s hard to get hands-on real-world experience without exposing your mortality. That’s why in 2018, Calgary, Alberta-based Trimac Transportation (CCJ Top 250, No. 66), a bulk carrier operating throughout the United States and Canada, left the real world for the virtual world in an effort to train its drivers on real problems without the threat of real ramifications. “If you make a mistake, either in a regular product handling or if we expose you to an emergency situation such as a sudden hose rupture under pressure, there are no real-life consequences in VR,” said Marcel Pouliot, vice president of industry and regulatory affairs. “You get to learn that way. You get to develop the muscle reaction, the instincts that ‘if this occurs, I do that.’ ” Real hazards, real dangers Pouliot recalled an incident in 2017 when one of Trimac’s most senior and experienced drivers found himself in an emergency situation while offloading sulfuric acid. The customer’s frozen pipes at the driver’s stop forced him to start and stop the offload multiple times, and Pouliot said the driver, on the last pause and attempt to disassemble his equipment, “opens the cam lock ears on the fitting on a 2-inch hose, and of course, now the acid is gushing out at 25 psi of pressure.” Fortunately, the driver was wearing protective equipment and escaped largely unscathed, “but you can imagine the level of adrenaline this guy has,” Pouliot said, noting the driver ran to the trailer’s rear to shut the valves off manually despite having an emergency shutoff at the trailer’s nose.

“If something goes wrong, you run away, you activate [the emergency shutoff valve], and then you run into the shower,” he said. “He stared manually closing the valves the way he would during his normal course of business.” Pouliot said he looked closely at Trimac’s training regimen to understand why a driver with so much experience would miss such a crucial and seemingly easy step. “I realized that in our company, a 20-year driver – someone that would do this job for 20 years – has less than a 1% chance of ever activating that valve in their career,” he said. “So there’s no muscle memory there. The training we do is, we talk about it, explain it, we show them where it is, but they never actually do it.” Since the company’s existing training program couldn’t simulate actual emergency incidents, drivers struggled to develop the kind of instincts necessary to ingrain those split-second potentially lifesaving decisions, Pouliot said. “All we could do is tell the drivers that if this occurs, get out of the flow of the product, use the remote emergency valves to shut it off, and those types of things,” he said. Trimac delivers about 3,000 loads per day, and about 30% of its drivers’ workday involves handling product. “Product handling for us is extremely important, because we handle hazardous materials, and it’s very important for the product not to get released during product handling for any dozens of reasons,”

The Canadian bulk carrier uses virtual reality to teach drivers how to deal with tanker spills and emergencies.

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INNOVATORS Pouliot said. “For us, product handling is as important as driving skills.” Out of the training manual but out of harm’s way Trimac’s product handling training program includes traditional curriculum such as classroom time, manuals, written aids and hands-on learning. But inspired by that 2017 incident, the company partnered with Calgary-based AR/ VR production studio Mammoth XR to develop a virtual reality elearning platform that takes training beyond the classroom without actually leaving it. “You can really replicate the product handling that you do in real life in a completely safe and secure digital environment,” Pouliot said. “You can learn the basic skills and the complex skills, but [with VR] we can also recreate dangerous situations – an unforeseen hose rupture, the fitting falls off the receiving pipe at the customer, things of that nature – that we can’t do hands-on in real life.” Trimac secured a 3D AutoCAD drawing of its trailers and provided it to Mammoth XR, which was charged with bringing the draft to life by importing the engineering drawing into the VR architecture and activating all the componentry on the tank trailer. “The trailer that our people use, it’s not a rendering,” Pouliot said. “It’s actually the trailer, precise to every bolt and bracket that’s on there that you’d have in real life.” But simply handing over the trailer specifications to Mammoth XR wasn’t enough for Pouliot, so his team trained the developers on how to operate a tank trailer safely “so that they understood what happens in real life, and they’re able to represent that better when they’re actually coding to the VR to do that activity,” he said. While the Mammoth XR 34

commercial carrier journal

better now than they were just a year, year-and-a-half ago,” Pouliot said. Over the course of 2019, VR technologies improved exponentially, while the cost of the units crashed. This year, Trimac plans a full rollout of its VR training platform and should be able to deploy the technologies for significantly fewer dollars than would have been possible just 18 months ago, Pouliot said. “Today, you can go out, and for During the less than $1,000, you can put on training, the an Oculus headset that is totally user wears standalone and Wi-Fi-connected,” a headset (above) he said. “You download the proand holds a gram into it, and the people just controller in play.” each hand, allowing Having this virtual world at a them to use trainee’s fingertips can separate their hands the drivers who have a sound in the virtual fundamental understanding of the environment (below). fleet’s safety measures from those who are simply good guessers on multiple-choice written tests. An expensive proof of concept “You can’t cheat VR,” Pouliot said. “If Trimac initiated a small test in early you go in and you do it and you pass, it’s 2018. During the training, the user because you know how to do it as opwears a headset and holds a controller in each hand, allowing them to use their posed to just picking A, B, C or D. It’s as accurate as having a trainer stand next hands in the virtual environment. to you and observe the whole process.” Feedback from drivers who went Pouliot said his goal is for VR to lead through the course was positive. But by Trimac to its goal of zero incidents, but the end of 2018, despite the trial’s suche also sees an opportunity to promote cess, the costs of technology and development made a rollout to the company’s the platform as part of a certification program for product handling — a stan94 facilities unfeasible, and the idea was dard that currently doesn’t exist. placed on pause, Pouliot said. “To be able to come up with a non“When we purchased the equipment regulatory training certificate saying [a high-powered computer, headset and ‘This person has completed this course, hand controllers] just for the demo, just has displayed a high level of comprehenthat one set cost like $8,000,” he said. sion and is able to perform this task,’ ” But cost wasn’t the only factor in the he said, adding that such a designation decision to shelve the program tempowould facilitate onboarding as certified rarily, as concerns mounted over how quickly technology in this space evolves. drivers move between tanker fleets. “I didn’t want to spend a million CCJ INNOVATORS profiles carriers and fleets bucks on something that would be obthat have found innovative ways to overcome solete right now, because the standards trucking’s challenges. If you know a carrier that of how they design these things, the has displayed innovation, contact Jason Cannon gaming engines they use, are so much at jasoncannon@randallreilly.com. development team worked on the technology, Trimac developed the actual training course content relative to the steps trainees should follow to complete assigned tasks successfully. “That’s why it was important for us to show [the developers] what a trailer is, and get them to lift a hose and do those types of things, so they could simulate that in VR as real as if you were standing outside,” Pouliot said.

| february 2020

BUSINESS | CYBERSECURITY

UNDER ATTACK

Fleets a growing target for hackers

BY JASON CANNON ohn Wilson, vice president of administration, safety and human resources for B-H Transfer Co., gets dozens of emails every

day. But an email he received in late 2017 was a little different. Crudely written, the email demanded $5,000 in cryptocurrency in exchange for access to the company’s own files. The Macon, Ga.-based carrier was locked out of its main transportation management software system, and the 36

commercial carrier journal

keys to get back in were going to cost some serious Bitcoin. “It was an old user account that I had kind of abandoned but never disabled completely,” Wilson said. “It had a weak password on it, and it was sitting on one of my servers.” The ransomware attack found its way into the company’s database using that inactive account. Once the account was compromised, anything the database had access to was encrypted by the attacker across multiple servers — locking

| february 2020

the company from accessing its own system. The attacker wasn’t able to encrypt the database, only the application files, which had to be wiped in order to be restored. With the assistance of McLeod Software, Wilson was able to get everything back online after about six hours using backed-up versions. “Fortunately, we had good backups, and other than losing about half a day, we were very lucky that we restored it very quickly,” he said. “We just chose to see if

BUSINESS | CYBERSECURITY

“It was an old user account that I had kind of abandoned but never disabled completely. It had a weak password on it.” – John Wilson, vice president of administration, safety and human resources, B-H Transfer Co.

Trucking companies house little data that can be used for other nefarious purposes, but the volume of information available to would-be hackers shouldn’t be taken for granted.

we could get it restored before we even considered paying [the ransom]. We were lucky. I’m telling you we were lucky.” B-H Transfer, who also came under a phishing attack about six months later, isn’t alone in being targeted by cyber thieves. Earlier this year, a ransomware attack grounded computers at Birmingham, Ala.-based J&M Tank Lines (CCJ Top 250, No. 225) for four days — four days that Harold Sumerford, chief executive officer, said the company couldn’t bill customers and only could pay drivers based on what they’d earned in weeks prior. Even larger fleets that may have more

sophisticated technology aren’t immune. In its public earnings report from this year’s third quarter, Roadrunner Transportation (No. 31) reported that it had fallen victim to a malware attack on its systems in September, costing the fleet nearly $8 million in lost production and server downtime. “Sometimes now, a lot of people hack in just for disruption,” said Chris Wolfe, CEO for logistics company PowerFleet. “They’re doing it just to cause problems. It’s almost like, ‘Hey, I’m going to bring your system down and hold you for ransom.’ If I take your mobile units out of operation, that can cripple a large trucking company.” B-H Transfer, J&M Tank Lines and Roadrunner all managed to dodge being crippled but certainly walked away maimed. After B-H Transfer’s two brushes with cyberattacks, Wilson opted to have as much data as possible hosted offsite “and be out of that business completely,” he said. “We’re big enough to run it ourselves, but we can avoid a lot of other problems by not.” Cloud-based software, Wolfe said, generally offers better protection than hosting locally, and Wilson said he is “a huge believer in offsite backups [and] cloud backups. It works, no doubt. That

was the savior on that one.” B-H Transfer also installed antivirus that targets ransomware attacks. “I don’t rely on that as much as I’m more into making sure we’re practicing good sound password management, account management and being really careful about email,” Wilson said. Local malware protection isn’t a setit-and-forget-it solution. Wolfe said that while it has to be active and updated to the most recent versions, any form of malware protection should be considered “Level One protection.” “The minimum would be [to] make sure all your devices that are smart, that connect to your intranet, all have malware detection on them,” he said. Trucking as a target Trucking companies in most cases would be targeted by ransomware because attackers understand that without the ability to move freight, the company can’t make money, and the person who controls the carrier’s ability to restart operations has immense leverage. “The thing about trucking is that it’s real-time,” Wolfe said. “It’s not like we can just put things on the desk and deal with it tomorrow. The loads are moving today. Drivers are moving today. You go a couple of days without visibility and

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BUSINESS | CYBERSECURITY

without access, and you just can’t catch up.” Trucking companies house little data that can be used for other nefarious purposes, such as Social Security information used in identify theft. But the volume of information available to would-be hackers shouldn’t be taken for granted based on the fact that it doesn’t appear valuable to anyone other than the fleet manager and driver, Wolfe said. “You can gather a lot of information on drivers that you can use if you had other sources of data to verify it,” he said. “Like if you wanted to get his credit card from some other source, but you needed his street address, or you needed how much money he makes. If they’re going to steal your identity, they have to build a skeletal profile of you so they can apply for the next credit card or something like that. All information is valuable if combined with others. “A lot of the transactions are happening in the telemetry space,” Wolfe added. “You have a lot of driver authentication, the actual unit itself, the freight … those can actually be penetrated at the firmware level, at the hardware level.” And while it may sound more like a plot from an action movie, Wolfe said having access to a fleet’s route planning is striking gold for sophisticated cargo thieves. “If I know that pharmaceuticals

The person who controls the carrier’s ability to restart operations has immense leverage.

always leave here on Tuesday and they always go here on Wednesday, if you’re going to hijack a truck … that information would be invaluable for your planning if you’re a thief,” he said. “They would love to know the traffic patterns.” Wolfe said many companies think that security starts when you just can’t get into the facility, or you just can’t get beyond the firewall, and that’s not necessarily true. “If I hack your cellphone, basically, I have all your information,” he said, “I can use your cellphone to access your

Trucking companies in most cases would be targeted by ransomware because attackers understand without the ability to move freight, the company can’t make money.

commercial carrier journal

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apps that can also access what is behind their firewall.” Drivers using a mobile device-based electronic logging device (ELD) to watch movies or check personal emails are vulnerable to phishing attacks in that if they click on a link that exposes the device to malware, that virus has access to everything on the device. Wolfe said the next layer of cybersecurity would be connecting with a consulting agency that can conduct an annual audit of a fleet’s best practices and find weakness before hackers use them as an access point. “It’s not that expensive,” he said. “Consulting groups are worth it, and a security audit is worth the value you get. You can’t do a self-audit if you don’t have the skills to do it.” A disaster recovery plan, which Wolfe said should be developed as part of a security audit, should include operating protocols if fleets lose control of their systems. Otherwise they are at the mercy of the ransom. “A security breach is a disaster,” he said. “At least it’s a business continuity issue.”

BUSINESS | DRUG AND ALCOHOL CLEARINGHOUSE

CLEARINGHOUSE

CONFUSION Kinks, lack of awareness remain issues in online system for driver hiring

BY JAMES JAILLET

he U.S. Department of Transportation’s CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse rule is in effect, but the transition to the online system fleets and drivers now must use may not have been as smooth as had been hoped, which could create headaches and delays for fleets in the hiring process while the Clearinghouse system gets ironed out in the first part of 2020. Website connectivity issues snared the Clearinghouse on the first day of the rule’s effective date, Jan. 6. An FMCSA official said the agency worked quickly to restore full service. “The challenge is going to be — not enough drivers are registered,” said Jeremy Reymer of job applicant tracking firm DriverReach, which works with 40

commercial carrier journal

carriers of all sizes. “Every time a driver applies for a job, they’re going to be stuck.” Lukas Kibby of drug consortium CleanFleet anticipated delays in the hiring process as the system gets up and running and as fleets and drivers learn what they need to do in the driver hiring process and for reporting drug testing results. Many drivers may remain unaware of the requirement that they now must register within the Clearinghouse should they wish to change jobs, Kibby said. “There’s still a huge learning curve right now,” he said, in terms of knowing that registration is a requirement for driver job seekers and how to register within the system. However, despite lagging driver

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registration numbers, the onus of the new Clearinghouse regulations falls mostly to fleets. The Clearinghouse rule institutes new protocol for how fleets must perform background checks on prospective employee drivers and leased owner-operators. The rule establishes a database of drivers who’ve failed or refused a drug test, and fleets of all sizes are required to query the database for all new driver hires and yearly for existing drivers. Fleets pay $1.25 per query, and queries can be bought in bulk. Fleets also are required to upload results of failed drug tests to the Clearinghouse. Also included in the database is information on drivers who’ve been cited for violating alcohol laws specific to trucking. There also is information

BUSINESS | DRUG AND ALCOHOL CLEARINGHOUSE

The Clearinghouse rule establishes a database of drivers who’ve failed or refused a drug test, and fleets of all sizes are required to query the database for all new driver hires and yearly for existing drivers.

The Clearinghouse rule institutes new protocol for how fleets must perform background checks on prospective employee drivers and leased owner-operators.

on whether a driver has completed the return-to-duty process after a positive drug test or an alcohol violation. Fleets previously were required by law to call prospective drivers’ prior employers to perform background checks regarding failed drug tests, but Have you taken steps to get ready for the drug/alcohol clearinghouse? What’s the drug/alcohol clearinghouse? 29% No 43%

YES 26% Independents/small fleets 11% Leased owner-ops/company drivers 8% I started but didn’t finish the registration/account set-up process 7% Other 2%

Source: OverdriveOnline.com poll, as of late Monday, December 9

An online poll conducted in December 2019 by CCJ sister publication Overdrive indicated that small fleets and owneroperators alike still hadn’t registered in the Clearinghouse or were unaware of its existence.

that system had gaping holes. For one, fleets could skip making that call and likely not be found out. Likewise, a prior employer might not have provided accurate information regarding the driver. Lastly, a driver applicant rejected after testing positive for drug use could abstain from drug use long enough to pass a test and be hired. “The real impact initially will be the administrative burden it puts on all parties,” Reymer said. “It’s a necessary burden,” he said, noting the need for greater insight into a driver’s drug test history. “This is long overdue. But it’s still a burden.” The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in December delayed a portion of the rule – the requirement that states query the database when issuing new or renewed CDLs – until 2023. The agency said the extension will allow more time to develop the information technology platform states will use to request and receive Clearinghouse information. But the bulk of the rule now is in effect. An FMCSA spokesperson told CCJ that the agency “has been working to implement the congressionally mandated Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse as efficiently and effectively as possible” and that it has “been encouraged … by the feedback it has received so far.” The spokesperson also noted that registering in the Clearinghouse technically

wasn’t a requirement for fleets or drivers starting Jan. 6. It’s only required for when a driver wishes to change jobs and when a fleet first hires a driver after the rule becomes effective. Though technically true, fleets were advised not to wait to prepare, said Kathy Close of fleet compliance firm J.J. Keller. “Customers have been asking us ‘Do I have to register right now?’ Well, it’s to your benefit,” Close said. “You don’t want to have to scramble at the last minute in the event you have something to report or have a candidate applying for a job. You don’t want to have to figure it out then.” Kibby advised fleets to register for their employer account as soon as possible, if they haven’t already, and to buy a query bundle based on the number of drivers they employ and the number of drivers they expect to hire in the coming years. Kibby and Close both recommended that fleets update their employment contracts with new language to state that they will be querying the database and that they’ll upload information required by the rule, such as failed drug tests. “It’s important to know the regulations and to understand what is [required] on the motor carrier side,” Close said. The Clearinghouse “hinges on accurate data going in to make sure that you have qualified drivers behind the wheel.”

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EQUIPMENT: SMALLER ENGINES Ford was the first truck manufacturer to offer a gas powertrain on medium-duty trucks when it introduced one for its F-650 and F-750 in 2012. It’s the only manufacturer offering a choice of gas or diesel powertrains on conventional Class 6 and 7 trucks.

MIDDLE-GROUND

POWER

Engine options chipping away at big-diesel lead BY JASON CANNON

ith engineers squeezing more power from a tighter engine footprint, smaller-displacement engines have found favor with owners looking to shed a few hundred pounds while picking up a few extra miles per gallon. But they still lag far 42

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behind their large-bore counterparts. Engines greater than 10 liters will account for more than 85% of Class 8 production between 2020 and 2024, predicts the “N.A. Commercial Vehicle On-Highway Engine Outlook,” published by ACT Research and Rhein Associates. At the same time, a trend

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toward smaller-displacement engines is expected to continue. “Helped by strong tractor demand, engines over [14 liters] constitute the largest market segment in 2019, with 49% share of the over-10-liter engine market,” said Tom Rhein, president for Rhein Associates.

EQUIPMENT: SMALLER ENGINES

More than half of on-highway Peterbilts spec’d in 2019 had a Paccar MX-13 or MX-11 engine, leaving the others to Cummins’ larger X15. In Classes 5-7, more customers are showing interest in gasoline power.

About 30% of all Mack’s on-highway trucks were spec’d with the company’s 11-liter MP7 engine last year. The remaining 70% were equipped with the 13-liter MP8, the largest engine available since Mack killed its MP10 16-liter engine three years ago.

of all its on-highway trucks spec’d with a Paccar MX-13 or MX-11 engine, leaving the other 40% to Cummins’ X15 – the only other engine option available for Model 579 and Model 389. Smaller diesels aren’t the only engines gaining shares of the road. Rhein noted gasoline penetration increasing in Classes 5-7 and a rise in alternative power, notably electric and hydrogen. “Diesel power is under attack longterm for use in on-highway commercial vehicles,” said Kenny Vieth, president for ACT Research. “While total cost of ownership calculations will ultimately determine the market for alternatively powered vehicles, it is important for decision makers to understand upfront

The Freightliner Cascadia is available with a wide range of powertrain choices from Detroit or Cummins, but the company said it isn’t seeing a notable trend toward smaller-displacement engines and that Cascadias ordered with sleeper cabs for OTR use are spec’d mainly with DD15 engines.

activities, like Department of Energy About 30% of all Mack’s on-highway spending on research into advanced vetrucks were spec’d with the company’s hicle technologies, repercussions for vio11-liter MP7 engine last year. The lations of the Clean Air Act, and notices remaining 70% were equipped with the and hearings for proposed regulations, 13-liter MP8, the largest engine availlike those designed to accelerate the use able since Mack killed its MP10 16-liter of zero-emissions vehicles.” engine three years ago. Ford was the first truck manufacturer The rise of engines with displaceto offer a gas powertrain on mediumment under 14 liters makes sense, as duty trucks when it introduced one for Cummins and Detroit are the only two its F-650 and F-750 in 2012. It’s the only manufacturers of on-highway power of manufacturer offering a choice of gas at least 15 liters. or diesel powertrains on conventional Although the Freightliner CascaClass 6 and 7 trucks. dia is available with a wide range of Isuzu has been selling gas-powered powertrain choices from Detroit or low-cab-forward trucks in the United Cummins, the company isn’t seeing a notable trend toward smallerStates since 1994. Brian Tabel, marketdisplacement engines, said ing director, said some customers have Kelly Gedert of Freightswitched from diesel to gas in recent liner Trucks and Detroit years. Components. Ford Motor Co. also has noted an “Cascadias ordered increase in gas selection over diesel in Classes 5-7, driven by multiple with sleeper cabs for OTR factors. “Initial purchase use are mainly spec’d with cost, gas is lower; mainteDD15 engines,” Gedert said. “Feedback from our nance over standard duty customers shows strong cycle time, gas is lower. appreciation for the However, not in all vocational applications,” said performance, efficiency spokeswoman Elizabeth and the durability of the Kraft. “Gas is less costly DD15.” Isuzu has been selling gas-powered low-cab-forward trucks in the United States since 1994. The company said some customers have to repair in some cases … Peterbilt expected to switched from diesel to gas in recent years. and fuel costs.” close 2019 with nearly 60% commercial carrier journal

| february 2020 43

DRIVER TRAINING

AT SCALE Technologies help fleets efficiently individualize orientation BY AARON HUFF

river turnover not only keeps recruiters busy, it also creates an immense workload for personnel in safety, operations, maintenance and other departments for training new drivers on company policies and processes. Training has unique challenges in transportation, especially during orientation with the amount of content that 44

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motor carriers try to cover in a short time period. Orientation training is four days or less, and drivers have different skill levels, knowledge and experience. Research by Stay Metrics, a provider of driver survey products for motor carriers, found that nearly 25% of drivers say they are not learning what they expected from carriers during orientation. Most of this frustration is centered

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on the accuracy of the carriersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; pay and settlement information communicated to them. A number of fleets have been finding success with technology that individualizes the learning experience for drivers. Technology helps identify specific knowledge gaps and training needs of drivers, as well as provide media that caters to individual learning preferences.

TECHNOLOGY: DRIVER TRAINING

Rich Buchanan drove 16 years for Smith Transport before he became lead driver trainer. He speaks to drivers daily about behaviors caught by the SmartDrive system.

Driver training has unique challenges, especially during orientation, given the amount of content that motor carriers try to cover in a short time period.

Technology also can give fleet managers accurate and timely assessments of driver risk and, through integration, push training content to drivers, on demand, in their mobile work environment.

Catering to drivers Week after week, motor carriers use the same content for driver orientation training, but that doesn’t mean that drivers have to get through it at the same pace. “If somebody already knows the content, the question we ask in adult learning theory is ‘Do you have to be

forced to go through it?’ The answer is no,” said Gina Anderson, chief executive for Luma Brighter Learning, an instructional design and learning company. Anderson said driver training is most effective by first assessing knowledge and then delivering content in short bursts using media that covers all learning modalities — text, images, audio, simulations and video. Giving drivers the option to consume media in their native languages also is important. “Giving the adult learner a variety of mediums is the best way for learning,” she said. Mark Murrell, president for online training provider CarriersEdge, said that in addition to using technology to curate the learning experience for drivers, drivers should know from the start why they should care about any particular training topic. Knowing the “why” is the necessary first step for learners to commit information to memory and change behaviors, Murrell said.

Going online with orientation A growing number of fleets are using technology to engage drivers in orientation training before they arrive to their offices to complete the classroom

portion. With online learning management systems and training content, some training can be moved outside the classroom to allow drivers to learn at their own pace. Certified Freight Logistics (CFL) brings new drivers to its office for three days of orientation training. Prior to March 2019, its training experience was not enjoyable for drivers who had to watch outdated videos and sit through instructor-led PowerPoint presentations with printed handouts. The training also was inefficient for office staff. With headquarters in Santa Maria, Calif., CFL operates a temperature-controlled fleet with more than 135 tractors that deliver fresh foods to customers in the western United States. In March 2019, Tracey Smith, driver recruiting manager for CFL, discovered Luma’s Drive First online learning management system and training collection. The collection has more than 350 individual learning modules called Luma eNuggets that cover relevant safety, compliance, orientation and health and wellness topics. The average maximum time it takes for drivers to complete an eNugget module is 9.43 minutes. “What stood out to me was how interactive the training content is,” Smith

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TECHNOLOGY: DRIVER TRAINING said. “Drivers can begin by testing their knowledge with assessment questions and then use a variety of media options to individualize their learning experience. The training also keeps drivers engaged with a game-like environment.” CFL assigns training to new drivers before they arrive at the office. Drivers complete modules using their mobile devices when traveling by bus or train. They also login to Drive First from their hotel rooms during their off hours. The company is able to spread out content so that drivers aren’t overwhelmed, Smith said. By moving some training outside the classroom, instructors are focusing on the most important topics in person to “make certain that drivers understand how we operate,” he said. Since implementing Drive First, Smith has noticed that drivers are coming to class better prepared and retaining more information. CFL has compressed its orientation period by one-half day (from three to 2.5 days), and feedback from drivers has been all positive.

Focusing on the individual Boyle Transportation uses a methodical hiring and training approach that focuses on the learning needs of the individual driver. In 2017 the Billerica, Mass.-based

Every quarter, Boyle Transportation assigns online training courses from CarriersEdge to all drivers. Topics are chosen to align with company or industry trends as well as changes to regulations.

company received the grand prize in the Truckload Carriers Association’s (TCA) Fleet Safety Awards. In 2019, it was named a finalist in TCA’s Best Fleets to Drive For program for the fifth consecutive year. Boyle specializes in high-value and high-security freight markets with customers in defense, life sciences and radioactive materials industries. “We try to hire the best of the best,” said Michael Lasko, manager of safety and quality for Boyle. All driver hires, regardless of previous work experience, go through a comprehensive five-day orientation training program. “We really invest in the people we’ve hired,” he said. “Our focus is making sure drivers are

Instructional Technologies’ “Intermodal Equipment Inspections” training course shows the viewer the details needed from a close-up perspective to perform a thorough and effective inspection to ensure safety during transit.

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equipped with all the tools they need to succeed.” As part of orientation training, drivers complete online courses assigned to them from Boyle’s learning management system from CarriersEdge. However, drivers are not assigned courses before they arrive for orientation. “We never ask anyone to do something they are not being compensated for,” Lasko said. During orientation training, drivers get hands-on instructions for specialized equipment, regulations, hours of service and fatigue management, company policies and defensive driving using the Smith System. After orientation, drivers are paired with mentors who are tenured drivers they can contact any time they need help with policies or procedures. Drivers are provided a reference manual of company policies and customer-specific instructions. The manual also has an online version that drivers access through Boyle’s proprietary company app. For ongoing driver training, Boyle identifies specific needs based on the feedback of driver mentors, from fleet personnel in operations and safety and from a video-based safety system. The training assigned to each driver could be hands-on from CarriersEdge or simply a conversation. “It’s all about

TECHNOLOGY: DRIVER TRAINING equipping drivers with the tools and skills they need to succeed,” Lasko said. “Everybody has different learning styles. We take that into consideration. Some respond well to online training, some not so much.” Every quarter, Boyle assigns CarriersEdge training courses to all drivers. Topics are chosen to align with company or industry trends as well as changes to regulations. Drivers have incentives to stay current with the training. A quarterly training bonus and a yearend bonus both are tied to completing training. The yearend bonus also is tied to other safety and performance metrics. “We incentivize our drivers to be safe and professional and deliver world-class customer service,” Lasko said.

A proactive approach Motor carriers that use advanced safety technology, particularly video-based telematics systems, have to manage a constant flow of information to address risky driving behaviors proactively. Smith Transport (CCJ Top 250, No. 123) is rolling out the SmartDrive System across its 900-truck fleet. With the new system, trainers have a dashboard that “really tells the story” about drivers and critical safety events to manage accident risk proactively, said Eric Nelson, vice president of safety and recruiting for the Roaring Spring, Pa.-based company. The SmartDrive system calculates Certified Freight Logistics uses the Drive First collection and learning management system from Luma Brighter Learning, which has more than 350 individual learning modules that cover relevant safety, compliance, orientation and health and wellness topics.

Stay Metrics’ Driver Rewards platform gives carriers the option to use any or all modules in the vendor’s Drive Safe and Drive Fit collections for ongoing training needs.

safety scores that represent the observed rate of risk for every driver based on numerous behaviors such as speeding, following distance and aggressive maneuvers. The scores are normalized by hours and miles driven. The higher the scores, the higher the collision risk. “What we are trying to do is coach the driver, mitigate risk and change behaviors before it becomes a collision and a terminating offense,” Nelson said. Rich Buchanan, lead driver trainer for Smith Transport, uses the SmartDrive web portal to review events in his coaching queue. For each event, the SmartDrive dashboard gives a synopsis

of what skills the driver should improve to lower accident risk. Buchanan coaches drivers over the phone or in person depending on the severity of the event, and when drivers make improvements and take actions to prevent accidents, he makes sure to praise them. “You do not just talk to those who did bad,” he said. “It is not just used as a disciplinary tool.” To contact a driver for a coaching session, Buchanan accesses the fleet’s AS400-based dispatch system to view the driver’s location and other job status information to “be mindful of guys while they are on a 10-hour break.” Buchanan catches most drivers for coaching sessions when they start their workdays, typically between 7 and 8 a.m. “That’s when I like to call and say, ‘I’ve got to talk to you for a second.’ ”

On-demand training With many fleets now using technologies that identify risky behaviors and patterns of drivers, the next step could be to assign computerized training to drivers automatically based on the areas they need to improve. Instructional Technologies Inc., which offers Pro-Tread training courses, has integrated its Sentix learning management system with Idelic’s safety and predictive risk management system. Idelic customers who use its Safety Suite can assign courses automatically from ITI based on Safety Suite’s datadriven risk analysis. Hayden Cardiff, chief executive for Idelic, said the integration with Sentix covers the lifecycle of driver risk management, from understanding the risk to identifying training needs and deploying the content that improves behavior directly. With technology, driver training has become more efficient, and fleet managers have the information they need to focus their time and resources to address needs in safety and performance proactively.

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SPECIAL REPORT | DRIVER COERCION When a dispatcher or other supply chain representative “threatens to withhold work from” or punishes “a driver for refusing to operate in violation” of safety regulations, it can constitute coercion, according to law.

BLOWING THE WHISTLE ON COERCION In the four years since FMCSA’s driver protection rule took effect, results have been indirect at best, minimal at worst, when drivers report they’ve been pressured to violate regulations BY TODD DILLS

here have been 2,636 driver complaints alleging coercion or harassment to ignore trucking regulations in the almost four years since a coercion rule went into effect, yet only four cases citing the coercion statute have been closed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. “It’s like they passed a law, but nobody does anything to enforce it,” says Lewie Pugh, executive vice president for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers 48

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Association. The four cases cited 49 CFR 390.6 in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, which prohibits coercion. That’s defined elsewhere as having occurred when the entity “threatens to withhold work from, take employment action against, or punish a driver for refusing to operate in violation.” The definition also says: “Coercion may be found to have taken place even if a violation has not occurred.” No closed cases since 2016 showed

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violations of 49 CFR 390.36, which prohibits harassment. FMCSA says there’s a good reason for the absence of coercion citations in closed cases. If a carrier, shipper/ receiver, broker or freight forwarder is audited after a coercion complaint, it usually doesn’t result in a violation of the coercion rule itself, partly because it’s often difficult to provide adequate evidence of intent. However, “If we couldn’t prove coercion or harassment, we could prove

SPECIAL REPORT | DRIVER COERCION

underlying violations,” says FMCSA Enforcement Division Chief Bill Mahorney. Overdrive reviewed the more than 18,000 overall cases closed by FMCSA since the coercion rule went into place in January 2016. Of those, the agency says approximately 150 enforcement cases – meaning fines were levied for violations – resulted from coercion or harassment complaints. Those include the four that actually charge a coercion violation. Of the approximately 2,636 driver complaints the agency has collected alleging coercion or harassment, since about 150 concluded with some kind of enforcement, the remaining 2,500 complaints were found lacking sufficient evidence or were not pursued to an enforcement result for other reasons. Violation of the coercion and harassment rules, and many other regulations, is punishable by a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per incident – a decent-sized stick to the smallest carriers, but mere pennies for the largest of fleets unless there are dozens of violations. Nonetheless, it’s the principal means by which FMCSA and states can punish a company for coercing or harassing drivers. Two of the four closed cases citing coercion were during fiscal year 2017 (October 2016 through September 2017), two during fiscal 2018. Two cases were against the same carrier, found to have reincarnated under a different name. None were found in the fiscal year that ended last September. Even with FMCSA’s defense that coercion complaints yield other violations, critics of the rule still see shortcomings. One is that blowing the whistle, even when action is taken against a carrier or other business, doesn’t benefit a driver other than the hope that a penalty, or at least an intrusive investigation, will discourage further coercion. That’s little compensation for giving time to the process and risking career disruption. “The rule’s a joke,” says attorney Paul Taylor, whose Truckers Justice Center

represents truckers. Most whistleblowers are likely to “continue to get coerced,” he believes, unless financial penalties for underlying violations found are such that they truly do move a business toward better behavior. Though the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assocation offers members assistance in filing a coercion complaint, Pugh says, “We’ve never seen any of our members’ complaints be acted upon” in a meaningful way. The four enforcement cases that cited the coercion rule also included other violations. Civil penalty totals ranged from almost $6,000 charged to a 14-truck fleet to more than $80,000 to a

fleet of 40 trucks that was shut down as an imminent hazard after reincarnating under a different name. Another shortcoming seen by some in the rule is that it doesn’t ensure there will be no retribution against the complainant. Instead, drivers are left with the option of seeking protections offered under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, in place since 1982. It protects drivers from retribution for refusal to violate a regulation. Such wrongful-termination cases can result in reinstatement of employment or reversal of the punitive action if affirmed by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. Also, they can

THE IRONY OF E-LOGGING AND COERCION Coercion complaints filed with FMCSA have gone up every year since the rule prohibiting coercion took effect in January 2016, more than doubling by the third year. That’s in spite of another rule taking effect in that third year, 2018, that seemingly would have put the brakes on coercion and greatly reduced driver complaints about it. 2018 was the first full year where most of the industry operated under the ELD mandate that went into effect Dec. 18, 2017. The new technology presumably eliminated traditional opportunities to cheat on logs by doctoring paper log books, whether coerced by a dispatcher or initiated by a driver eager for more miles and pay. Yet as the chart shows, complaints rose considerably in 2018 and were on track to top 1,000 in 2019. One explanation for the trend could be growing driver awareness and use of the coercion rule. The increase in complaints from 2016 to 2017, with virtually no impact from the ELD mandate, would support that rationale.

Another explanation, at least for 2018 and 2019, could be that the new logging rigor imposed by ELD use prompted many carriers to coerce hours of service cheating in new ways, such as turning off the ELD or improper logging of on-duty driving as personal conveyance. FMCSA declined to speculate on causes for the steady, sizeable increases in coercion complaints.

Coercion complaints 1200

1,026*

1000 800

826

812

2018

2019

600

595

400 200

403

2016

2017

* 2019 complaints totaled 812 through mid-October. At that rate, the year’s total would be 1,026.

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Source: FMCSA

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SPECIAL REPORT | DRIVER COERCION

be taken to court if denied for potential monetary damages related to a firing or other action. Ideally, “If you air the dirty laundry, somebody should clean it” in-house, says independent owner-operator Vince Crisanti. But too often, pointing to problems inside a company simply isn’t enough to improve a driver’s situation. “Say you live in rural Alabama, and there’s a carrier there with a contract to ship from the local place making furniture,” Crisanti says. “Are you going to turn them in [if] they’re the only employer in your area?” Given the real risk of retaliation by an employer or lessor, the coercion rule is “something of a joke,” he says. “The turnover rate is so high for drivers in the trucking industry – you know there’s another person right behind you.” Yet another of the rule’s shortcomings, as seen by some, is that there is

Via OverdriveOnline.com/OverdriveRadio, hear audio from FMCSA’s listening session at the Great American Trucking Show last August. OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh (pictured) urged FMCSA at GATS to follow up on drivers’ coercion complaints to help counter a widespread objection to the hours of service proposal. That’s the common driver worry that if the proposed off-duty pause of up to three hours is put in place, “you’re setting yourself up” for a logistics chain party to force a driver off-duty at the docks when he might not truly be, Pugh said in a later interview.

no provision for monetary award to a whistleblower in a successful filing without taking an STAA case to court. Success there requires strong evidence of punitive retaliatory action. “I get coercion calls every day,” says Taylor, whose law practice is built largely on such cases. One common problem is “drivers getting coerced to go 300 to 400 miles on personal conveyance.” That abuses the intended purpose of PC to allow short moves – such as to find parking after running out of hours at a

CONCENTRATION OF COERCION COMPLAINTS Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . .1 .6 Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 .4 Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . .1 .2 California . . . . . . . . . . . .1 .7 Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . .4 .6 Connecticut . . . . . . . . .3 .8 Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . .5 .6 Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 .4 Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 .4 Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 .9 Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 .6 Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 .4 Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 .6 Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 .7 Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . .2 .3 Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . .2 .2

Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 .6 Maryland . . . . . . . . . . .2 .9 Massachusetts . . . . . . .3 .3 Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . .2 .6 Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . .1 .5 Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . .2 .0 Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 .1 Montana . . . . . . . . . . . .3 .8 Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . .3 .0 Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 .9 New Hampshire . . . . .0 .0 New Jersey . . . . . . . . . .2 .6 New Mexico . . . . . . . . .2 .9 New York . . . . . . . . . . . .5 .6 North Carolina . . . . . .3 .4 North Dakota . . . . . . . .4 .0

Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 .6 Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . .2 .3 Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 .5 Pennsylvania . . . . . . . .2 .6 Rhode Island . . . . . . . .2 .9 South Carolina . . . . . . .3 .0 South Dakota . . . . . . . .0 .3 Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . .1 .8 Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 .4 Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 .2 Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 .6 Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 .4 Washington . . . . . . . . .2 .5 West Virginia . . . . . . . .4 .1 Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . .1 .6 Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . .10 .6

These are the number of complaints per 1,000 Class 8 power units domiciled with for-hire freight carriers in each state . They range from 0 in New Hampshire, where no coercion or harassment-related complaints have been made, to 10 .6 in Wyoming, where relatively few Class 8 trucks are registered and operating . Complaint numbers – FMCSA; Class 8 estimated truck counts – RigDig Business Intelligence, RigDig .com/bi .

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receiver – to occur off-duty. Other cases involve “drivers coerced to go on paper” logs while turning off an electronic logging device. Among those inquiries, Taylor says, “there are potential cases, when some sort of discipline is imposed” for the driver’s refusal to be coerced. STAA protections include clear remedies: reversal of the discipline imposed, and the option for administrative court review with potential damages. In addition to hours- and fatiguerelated violations, other regulations also can be tied to coercion, says Joe DeLorenzo, director of FMCSA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance. Those include “not possessing required operating authority, and vehicle maintenance issues. These cases all fall into the agency’s normal investigation and enforcement procedures, perhaps leading to a civil penalty case made against the motor carrier.” Further coercion and harassment measures were codified with the ELD mandate. Introduced in tandem with the coercion rule, the mandate prohibits ELD-technology-related harassment of drivers by their carriers or lessors. The concern is use of information through the ELD “that the motor carrier knew, or should have known, would result in the driver violating” either the 49 CFR 392.3 prohibition on driving while ill or fatigued or a portion of the hours rule. A common example is using in-cab communications tied into an ELD to disturb a resting driver with a dispatch during a 10-hour off-duty period.

SPECIAL REPORT | DRIVER COERCION

DRIVERS CITING COERCION FACE AN UPHILL BATTLE A team driver told her carrier of an illness that would prevent her safe operation of the truck. Her codriver was out of hours, so she felt the pair had no choice other than to wait it out. She informed the carrier that driving in her condition would violate 392.3, which prohibits driving while ill or fatigued. She was fired. This case was under consideration this fall by Minnesota-based Truckers Justice Center attorney Paul Taylor. He’s often involved in cases that result from wrongful-termination complaints to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, which protects drivers against being fired for refusal to violate a safety regulation. Many of those complaints also end up getting filed with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as acts of coercion. While such filings might be straightforward, resolving them is anything but. Evidence is often inconclusive, the process can drag for months, and protection for complainants is impossible if the specific coercive act is what’s ultimately investigated. Add to that list the absence of monetary award to the aggrieved driver, at least under the coercion rule, and possible work disruption for drivers still employed, and there is no shortage of disincentives for blowing the whistle. In creating the rule, FMCSA addressed the identity issue: “Because prosecution of coercion in violation of 390.6 of this subchapter will require disclosure of the driver’s identity, the

Agency shall take every practical means within its authority to ensure that the driver is not subject to harassment, intimidation, disciplinary action, discrimination, or financial loss as a result of such disclosure,” the rule states. Part of those “practical means” FMCSA can employ includes emphasis to any investigated carrier of the protections granted under STAA against retaliatory action. In conducting investigations in response to complaints, too, FMCSA can withhold the complainants’ identity by focusing not on coercion itself but on the underlying violations. Whistleblower complaints about carrier safety or retaliatory action made to OSHA, too, come with a measure of identity protection by law not found when it comes to coercion complaints. In the team drivers’ case Taylor outlined, the coercive act is clear not only because the retaliatory threat was acted upon, but also because the driver clearly informed the carrier that her driving would violate the regulations. The women in that case told Taylor their coercion

complaint, filed weeks earlier, “hasn’t had a result,” he says. Full investigations of such cases can take months. Another case was aired during a conference call last September in which Bill Mahorney, FMCSA’s Enforcement Division chief, and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Chris Turner (formerly of the Kansas Highway Patrol) heard testimony from drivers and safety personnel at a fleet with about 150 drivers. The call was organized by Vince Crisanti of the Trucking Solutions Group, a group of owner-operators who meet regularly to share business ideas. A young driver, going by “Charlie Brown” on the call, recalled starting one day with a brief run to return to the company’s terminal. “They told me I was due out on a run that night 10 hours later,” meaning it was unlikely he’d get the necessary rest midday to make the overnight run safely. When Brown later told management he was too fatigued to handle the run, rather than being sent home, the company invoked a policy in which a driver

Have you ever filed a coercion complaint with FMCSA? No I didn’t know I could No, but I’ve filed a safety or other complaint with OSHA No, but I certainly could have once or more than once Yes, a carrier Yes, a shipper/receiver Yes, a broker Other

42% 30% 2% 16% 3% 3% 2% 2%

8% of Overdrive readers say they have used the complaint process put in place by the coercion rule, since 2016.

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SPECIAL REPORT | DRIVER COERCION

too ill or fatigued to drive is required to report to the yard for an eight-hour onsite shift at the time of the dispatch. Management found him catnapping in a parked truck during the late-night shift and he was sent home. After receiving no dispatch for the next two weeks, he resigned. He learned a month later that, in the company’s view, he had been terminated, further compounding the ramifications for him. Mahorney, pointing to 49 CFR 392.3, which covers ill and fatigued drivers, said Brown followed the proper procedure by telling the carrier he was too fatigued to operate safely. “If the company doesn’t accept that, that could be a coercion complaint,” Mahorney says. While CVSA’s Turner expressed skepticism that this incident constituted coercion, an STAA case could be made, he said, given the punitive actions taken. “Use the other remedies that are available to you.”

commercial carrier journal

At once, if FMCSA doesn’t hear about such instances of punitive policies, they can do little to correct them, Mahorney and others on the call stressed. Turner and Mahorney also emphasized roles for state enforcement, including roadside inspectors, to act upon such apparent problems. Turner said when he was the lead highway patrol contact in Kansas for the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) lead agency, a driver in a coerced circumstance would occasionally call in a violation from the road. To protect the driver from retaliation, Turner said, “We’d perform stops on this driver, and we’d put it on our inspection report as a random stop, and the carrier would never know it was going on.” Such tactics by drivers could have double-edged consequences. The carrier cited for an underlying violation would get dinged, but so would the driver, with the violation carrying through to his/her

| february 2020

Pre-Employment Screening Program record for three years. Yet the violation could bolster the driver’s case in working behind the scenes with law enforcement to encourage better behavior at the fleet. Also, Turner noted, if you’ve taken your complaint to a state division of the highway patrol or an individual patrolman or inspector and it seems like nothing is happening, appeal to the lead agency for MCSAP in the state, Turner says. “Be sure to talk to your MCSAP commander or someone in charge of the commercial vehicle enforcement unit.” (Find a list of MCSAP leads in every state via CVSA.org/contactpage/ contacts. Click “Law Enforcement Lead Agency Contacts.”) The picture presented of the fleet on the conference call was one summed up well by owner-operator Crisanti: “Coercion is not necessarily a two-byfour in the face. Rather, it’s many, many splinters.”

SPECIAL REPORT | DRIVER COERCION

PARTIES OTHER THAN CARRIERS NOW SUBJECT TO ENFORCEMENT

ne standout aspect of the coercion rule is that it marked the first time the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration gained some authority to investigate and fine shippers and receivers not already under the purview of its regulation. The rule also broadened agency authorities over brokers. It now has the ability to hold all these parties accountable for forcing drivers to violate hours of service and other regulations. Ray Martinez, making his first public tour through the world of truckers since being named FMCSA administrator, heard at least one anecdote of such driver abuse at the March 2018 MidAmerica Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky. During an agency listening session, a small-fleet owner told how one of his drivers, nearly out of hours, was detained at a facility for six hours. This happened after carrier personnel talked with the facility and the broker on the load to “make sure that if the driver sat for more than two hours, he’d have a safe place to park,” the fleet owner said. That “safe place” to park and regain hours never materialized. “Shippers need to be held to the fire and not pay just $25 an hour for detention” and think the problem goes away, the fleet owner said. FMCSA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Director Joe DeLorenzo responded that the coercion rule “for the first time gave us enforcement authority over a shipper [or receiver] that causes a violation of the regs” by a driver. Inability to address such problems “within the existing regulations,”

Shippers and receivers can be found guilty of driver coercion in certain circumstances of excessive detention or pressuring a driver to log personal conveyance.

DeLorenzo said, led to development of the coercion rule. Now, when such problems come to light, “we can go after them investigatively and fine them for that.” With the electronic logging device mandate and yard moves functionality, FMCSA addressed sticky situations of short truck moves around shippers/ receivers, truck stops and similar situations. Two months after the discussion at MATS, the agency also changed its guidance regarding the off-duty driving status of personal conveyance, too. FMCSA allowed PC use to move to the nearest safe parking location from a shipper or receiver after load/unload exhausts hours availability. Yet this shipper/receiver scenario isn’t the only coercive practice by entities

other than carriers, in the view of owner-operators. For instance: withholding payment or threatening to do so if a trucker refuses to violate regulations for the sake of delivering on time. One operator commenting under an Overdrive story prior to the change in the PC guidance recalled being escorted by police out of a shipper facility when he refused to violate hours after a lengthy delay. The shipper then “banned me and is refusing to pay for the four pallets that they took seven hours to unload.” If a shipper, receiver or broker retaliates in such fashion after knowing its demands will put you in violation, under the coercion rule their action merits a formal complaint as much as a

commercial carrier journal

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SPECIAL REPORT | DRIVER COERCION

carrier’s action would. Virtually all coercion complaints the agency has received have been about carriers, DeLorenzo says. A look at the 18,000-plus enforcement cases closed since the beginning of 2016, most not related to coercion, shows 10 cases having been concluded with a fine issued to

commercial carrier journal

one or another non-hazmat shipper entity by the agency, and no cases against brokers concluded. In all the closed cases against shippers, violations involved resembled those in cases closed against carriers; the investigated shipper entities clearly also own trucks and employ drivers.

| february 2020

All those shippers also had U.S. Department of Transportation numbers, though DeLorenzo emphasizes that coercion enforcement is not contingent on a business “possessing a USDOT number or FMCSA operating authority.” Lewie Pugh, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, questions the validity of FMCSA’s authority to investigate such entities other than those previously under agency purview. “FMCSA has no real direct oversight of shippers and receivers,” he says. Pugh suggests a public list of shippers and receivers that have violated the rule or been investigated would be helpful. “If you’re a carrier and you have a shipper/receiver who’s jacking with your drivers,” Pugh adds, “you need to charge that shipper [detention] and pay it direct to the driver. If a shipper or receiver tells your driver to take his break” while in readiness to unload or load, “they can’t do that. Drivers should take that to the carrier.” Pugh and some others believe that if enough people engage FMCSA over such problems, shippers and receivers with the biggest problems might feel more impetus to fix their dockside problems. “If FMCSA mailboxes get filled up with Walmarts and Piggly Wigglys, somebody in the government might do something,” Pugh says. Another approach is to turn the tables on applying force, as driver Bob Stanton has it: “I have a very simple technique on the very rare occasions I get pressure” to violate regs, he says. “I simply ask, ‘How do you spell your last name? I want to get it right in the National Consumer Complaint Database complaint to FMCSA, and the email to our director of safety.” Only once, he said, did the conversation progress to him saying: “Do you think you’ll be fired before or after the FMCSA starts the investigation of the complaint?”

SPECIAL REPORT | DRIVER COERCION

RIGHTEOUS WHISTLEBLOWER OR ‘DISGRUNTLED EMPLOYEE’?

evin Hosea, an Iowa-based 30-plus-year CDL driver, was fired from his stint at Warm Trucking, a small dry van hauler in the same state. He subsequently reported the firing and events leading up to it as coercive acts. According to Hosea, he was coerced to violate the hours of service rule, sometimes with back-office log edits to attempt to hide the truth. Owner Mark Warm flatly denies any wrongdoing toward Hosea or others at the company. Hosea says the problem is larger than the one incident. “My safety manager/ dispatcher highly encouraged and at times demanded that I run illegal,” he says. Over his nearly two years with the fleet, he complied more than once, though he’s naturally risk-averse. “I’m a very nervous Nellie driving by a scale with my log off or over my hours – if I knew the weigh station was closed, it’d still about burn a hole in my stomach.” He began to push back. The final straw came last May when a dispatcher put Hosea on a run that likely would force him to exceed legal hours and possibly make him miss a medical appointment he’d notified his fleet about days in advance. He refused the dispatch, headed home and soon was fired. Months later, he found work elsewhere. Hosea filed a coercion complaint after his firing, with some evidence, he says. He enlisted attorney Paul Taylor to help with a separate Occupational Safety and Health Administration complaint. “FMCSA is just sitting on this,” Hosea told Overdrive last July. This was after

A dispute between Kevin Hosea (pictured) and the small-fleet employer who fired him shows the complexity of coercion-related cases. Fleet owner Mark Warm denies allegations of coercion.

an initial call with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Ohio division office last May, a week after his firing: “The guy was overly nice and full of questions. ‘We’ll go in and do an audit,’ he said. ‘[The carrier] will get slapped with some fines, and we’ll give him a chance to straighten out.’ ” When Hosea checked months later, an FMCSA Iowa division representative was singing a different tune. “DOT told me I looked like a disgruntled employee,” he says. That’s just what owner Warm, who’s been in the trucking business for more than 25 years, calls Hosea. Warm denies that anyone with the fleet ever coerced any driver to do anything illegal. Hosea is “trying to smear my name.” What precipitated Hosea’s firing, in Warm’s view, was his rash decision to head home before even trying to work through dispatch to solve his scheduling problem. Furthermore, Hosea has “tried to pull a power trip,” says Warm, by filing complaints everywhere he can. “He went through Iowa Workforce Development for his unemployment” and was denied. Unemployment claims in Iowa are successful only if the loss of work was through no fault of the employee. Hosea says Warm’s depiction of his firing as causal – for “insubordination” – had the desired result. When Hosea checked in with state and federal enforcement personnel in Iowa last September, he was assured that roadside checks on the carrier’s rigs were beginning and that FMCSA was still investigating Hosea’s allegations of hours violations.

As of last November, Warm Trucking trucks had been inspected 11 times since Hosea’s firing. Three inspections occurred in Iowa, one noting a highseverity false-log violation. FMCSA’s own off-site audit, a non-ratable review – meaning an investigation of the carrier that would not result in a safety rating change – was conducted in the Sept. 17 audit. The case is not closed. As in other such cases, the carrier has an opportunity to correct problems noted and some due process on violations alleged. According to a copy of the off-site investigator’s report obtained by Overdrive through the Freedom of Information Act, alleged violations included 11 instances of a single driver operating beyond the limits of the 14-hour on-duty clock and 11 instances of violating the 11-hour daily maximum drive limit, among seven drivers’ logs examined. The company employed 24 drivers at the time. Three of the drive-time violations alleged are deemed “egregious” in the report, and it recommended fines. Coercion itself was not listed among alleged violations, and Warm continued to deny any coercion. He would not comment on other violations. Most of the violations noted were found in just one of the sample drivers’ logs, excepting false-log allegations in all seven of those sampled. False-log examples cited include alleged improper use of personal conveyance and fuel transactions conducted while logged off duty. Hosea’s OSHA case, meanwhile, is still in progress.

commercial carrier journal

| february 2020 55

Dual-sided flex light

Snap-on’s Dual Sided Flex Light includes a 270-degree folding design with magnets on the bottom and back for added visibility in any space. It includes a 300-lumen spotlight, 600 lumens on each side and 800 lumens when both are activated. The main light includes a dimmable memory function switch that activates with the press of a button. The light is built to resist water and dust infiltration and has an onboard battery fuel gauge. Snap-on, www.snapon.com, 877-762-7664

Digital control for air compressor

VMAC’s Underhood and Direct-Transmission Mounted Air Compressor Systems now feature a Digital Throttle Control that connects to a vehicle’s OBD2 CAN data bus connector and is designed to zero in on rpm setpoints faster and more efficiently with minimal revving. Once the throttle control is plugged in, adjustments to base and maximum air idle typically aren’t needed, as the system is engineered to automatically find the right settings for the air compressor’s CFM output. Troubleshooting codes and a diagnostics panel help provide explanations of any issues. VMAC Global Technology Inc., www.vmacair.com, 888-514-6656

All-position regional tire

Bridgestone’s M704 all-position tire is designed for regional service and is suited for the steer and drive axle positions in high-scrub and wet-weather environments. The tread pattern’s edge design promotes wet traction, while a 20/32nds tread depth promotes long wear life. Wide flow-through grooves are engineered to expel water, and block sipes in the tread pattern help slice through water and improve road contact. The tire is available in size 225/70R19.5 with an N speed rating. Bridgestone Americas, https://commercial.bridgestone.com/en-us/index, 844-858-4737

commercial carrier journal

| february 2020

50-inch toolbox

Minimizer’s 50-inch toolbox is designed to provide additional space for more and larger tools and is made from a proprietary material that resists rust, corrosion, cracking and paint decay. The toolbox comes in six standard colors – black, red, white, silver, yellow and granite – and is available in chest and underbody styles. Minimizer, www.minimizer.com, 800-248-3855

PRODUCTS

Vehicle escape tool

Dashboard tablet

Rand McNally’s TND Tablet 85 dashboard tablet uses the company’s latest Rand Navigation 2.0 that features technologically sophisticated truck routing, a modern clean interface, crowdsourced reviews and updated visuals such as threedimensional cities and landmarks to help improve usability, traffic avoidance and weather overlays. The tablet’s hardware includes a hexacore processor and a customized operating system for faster functionality, smooth graphics and robust turn-by-turn directions available through the device’s speaker. A directional dashcam with loop recording and an integrated G sensor allow the user to situate the angled lens to face them, with the offset lens providing an optimal camera view through the windshield. Driver support tools include mileage and fuel logs and the ability to create breadcrumb routes and an at-a-glance trip computer. The device has enhanced thermal resistance up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Rand McNally, www.randmcnally.com, 877-446-4863

commercial carrier journal

| february 2020

General Tools’ Owl Escape Tool is designed for escaping a vehicle following an accident. The credit cardsized tool is engineered to be more powerful than spring-loaded devices and more reliable than a hammer that can be ineffective and difficult to swing if a person’s mobility is compromised. Once inserted between the door and the window channel, the card only needs to be pulled back less than 2 inches to break tempered side-window glass in an emergency, and the user only needs to use two fingers to do so, according to the company. A recessed seatbelt cutter uses a safety blade to protect the user. The tool can fit on a car visor or in a person’s pocket to facilitate quick, easy access. General Tools, www.generaltools.com, 800-697-8665

PRODUCTS

Dashboard display

Ametek VIS’ 10GX-100 custom dashboard instrument display is part of the company’s C-COM line. The unit has a 10.1-inch touchscreen display designed for multiple camera views from analog or ethernet inputs at a 1280-by800 resolution, providing an HMI to monitor and control multiple aspects. The compact rugged design is built for heavy-duty applications with a touchscreen capable for use with gloves in highmoisture environments. Events can be recorded from a camera stream with a real-time clock and stored on a MicroSD card. The optically bonded high-resolution touchscreen display helps enhance readability, while the anti-glare surface helps reduce sunlight reflection for an easy-to-read interface. It also can switch quickly between portrait and landscape views as well as brighten or darken backlight intensity depending on weather conditions and the time of day. Ametek Vehicular Instrumentation Systems, www.ametekvis.com, 800-205-7710

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PRODUCTS

Parts cleaner, degreaser

Permatex’s Spray Nine Grez-Off Parts Cleaner and Degreaser incorporates the company’s proprietary Carbon-Cutting Technology that removes carbon, oil and grease without using petroleum solvents, abrasives or acids. It features a proprietary corrosion-inhibiting formula that helps prevent flash rusting and is formulated to be nonflammable and to not generate fumes. Applications include engines, transmissions, rear differentials, the undercarriage, machinery, tools, workbenches, garage floors/walls, asphalt, stainless steel, chrome and exhaust hoods. It is available in a 32-ounce spray bottle, 1-gallon jug, 5-gallon pail and 55-gallon drum. Permatex, www.permatex.com, 877-376-2839

Cold-weather additive

Howes Diesel Lifeline is formulated to reliquefy gelled fuel and de-ice frozen fuel filters in temperatures as low as -35 degrees Fahrenheit. The petroleum-based additive contains no alcohol of harmful solvents and doesn’t require mixing or a fuel-filter change. Howes Lube, www.howeslube.com, 800-438-4693

commercial carrier journal

| february 2020

PRODUCTS

Cable clamp

Battery chargers EnerSys’ Odyssey Battery Chargers are available in a range of 12-volt units rated at 35, 70 or 105 amps and are designed to fully and safely charge absorbed glass mat (AGM) and traditional flooded lead acid batteries. They are built to be either transported for ease and flexibility or wall-mounted for permanent operation. Each charger contains a 6-foot cable connected to the unit and a 4-foot removable cable with clamps. The 70- and 105-amp units also feature a programmable dashboard on a 4.3-inch color screen that displays charging status.

Phillips’ multifunctional Qwik-Clamp is designed for securing hoses or cables to any support system between a tractor and a trailer. It converts from a 1-, 2- or 3-hose holder to a cable clamp for the company’s 3-In1 device by removing an insert. The clamp’s secure draw latch is engineered to create a positive lock, keeping up to three cables or a 3-In-1 in place, staying connected at over 100 pounds of pull force. With the insert installed, the Qwik-Clamp supports straight ABS electrical cables and 3/8-inch rubber air hoses or coiled ABS electrical cables and nylon air lines with long leads. Without the insert, it is built to support all the company’s 3-In-1 assemblies and other applications approximately 1.6-inch in diameter. The stainless-steel carbineer helps facilitate faster attachment of the clamp to a tender spring or pogo stick. The clamp body and insert are made of noncorrosive and UV-resistant durable nylon for added performance in extreme weather conditions with a working temperature of -40 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Phillips Industries, www.phillipsind.com, 800-423-4512

EnerSys, www.enersys.com, 610-208-1991

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4G dashcam

NexTraq’s Dashcam is a high-definition vehicle camera system designed to provide HD-video coverage with a wide-angle lens of the moments before, during and after an incident. The system is available with an optional second camera for an in-cab view, nine infrared LEDs for nighttime recording, real-time incident alerts with video and GPS location via email, and downloadable incident videos transmitted via 4G LTE connectivity. NexTraq, www.nextraq.com, 844-974-0563

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commercial carrier journal

| february 2020 63

LEADERSHIP IS THE JOB,

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IS THE TOOL. GREAT LEADERS EQUIP THEIR TEAMS WITH TOOLS FOR SUCCESS.

PREVENTABLE or NOT? Doe’s no-pass plan leads to teen sass

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commercial carrier journal

| february 2020

till burping with satisfaction from a vegetable-laden Diet Pizza lunch, trucker John Doe was piloting his tractor-trailer down four-lane Dixie Memorial Highway while viewing the reckless full-throttle fish-tailing approach of a sweet-looking Porsche 911 in his West Coast mirror. “Nifty car,” Doe mused. At that moment, Doe was straddling the center line, preventing traffic from passing him, in anticipation of making a wide left turn onto two-lane Route 442 at the intersection a city block ahead. In retrospect, Doe had plenty of time to slow down and pull over and allow Bucky Strawhorn’s Porsche to rocket past him before playing road hog again. But alas, he opted against it. By now, the 911 was only inches from Doe’s ICC bar, with its engine revving high in frustration. Bucky, who also wanted to turn left, was not happy about his path being blocked. He’d just turned 16, after all, and had places to be and things to do with his new driver’s license, his newfound freedom and the new car his parents just bought him! As Doe began his turn – initially cutting into the left lane Tractor-trailer driver John Doe of Route 442, en route to the was straddling the center line and making a wide left turn when right lane – Bucky totally lost his an impatient Porsche 911 driver teenage head and, using all the unsuccessfully tried to pass to horsepower at his command, the right. Was this a preventable tried to pass to the right of the accident? big rig while making his own left turn. CRUNCHOO!!! Egad! The trailer’s right-side tandem had struck and seriously crumpled the car’s lovingly-lacquered fender! Since Doe contested the preventable-accident warning letter from his safety director, claiming that young Bucky’s stupidity caused the incident, the National Safety Council’s Accident Review Committee was asked to resolve the dispute. To Doe’s dismay, NSC upheld the “preventable” ruling, noting that he should have let the speed-crazy teen pass his rig. Instead, Doe had goaded Bucky into a suicidal maneuver by blocking both lanes.

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