ATRI to Test Rollover Notification System

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This Story Appears in Feb. 3 Edition of Transport Topics.

The American Transportation Research Institute said it will soon begin testing a system that warns truck drivers as they near a stretch of highway where significant numbers of rollovers have occurred.

ATRI and a group of telematics providers will begin testing in about two months, after recruiting carriers that frequently travel through some of the nation’s worst rollover sites, which have been identified in Iowa, Montana, Kansas and Georgia.”We want to find folks who are not random to the corridors,” said Daniel

The notification system employs geofencing — electronically establishing two points that intersect, one the moving truck, the other a fixed geographic locationWhen the truck enters the fixed danger zone, a warning will sound on the in-cab communications system, Murray said. The system also will be tested on smart phones.

For the test, the researchers and the telematics providers plan to have the warning sound at about 600 to 800 feet before a truck enters a highway spot where rollovers are frequent,

The warning system is the outgrowth of a study ATRI first published in 2012 after analyzing more than 50,000 police reports on rollover crashes in 31 states between 2001 and 2009.The ongoing study pinpoints the locations with frequent rollover crashes and produces state maps of where rollovers have occurred most often.

Rollovers are particularly deadly and costly for trucking. Fifty-two percent of all large-truck occupant fatalities in 2009 involved a rollover, ATRI said. When a rollover results only in property damage, the average cost is $197,000, and that figure increases to more than $1.1 million when there’s a fatality, ATRI said.

The Driving Force Behind Freight Classification Changes: Simply, Times are A Changing….

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A significant factor in freight classification is the change in material composition and packaging. Production and building materials are shifting from heavy metals to lightweight plastics and polymers. Yesterday’s cast iron lawn furniture, pipes, and fittings have been replaced with polycarbonate and polyvinylchloride versions. In electronics, the switch from CRTs to LCDs significantly reduces product weight while often increasing value liability.

The use of lightweight materials can reduce tonnage by more than half, which, in turn, reduces rates charged by shippers. But operating costs and truck space required remain the same or may increase, creating a business challenge for LTL carriers. To compensate for less weight, some carriers are looking for higher freight classifications to offset lower charges compared to their costs.

Speed, Seat Belt Violations Fall in CVSA’s Operation Safe Driver

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The percentage of truck and bus drivers cited or warned for speeding and seat belt use declined during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Operation Safe Driver, the group said.

Officers pulled over 29,048 commercial drivers during the one-week enforcement blitz in October, of which 7.3% were cited or warned for speeding and 2.9% for seat belt use. That compares with a 10.8% warning or citation rate for speeding in 2012 and 3.8% for seat belt use, CVSA said.

Speeding and seat belt enforcement also fell for passenger car drivers, though they were the top violations for both classes of drivers. Operation Safe Driver focuses on enforcing laws for trucks and buses as well as passenger cars that drive near them.

In total, officers pulled over 74,765 drivers as part of the operation, nearly three times the 2012 figure. While only 7.3% of commercial drivers were pulled over for speeding, 56% of passenger car drivers were warned or cited for speeding.

“Operation Safe Driver continues to increase its impact each year in targeting problem behaviors by all drivers, whether they drive a passenger car or a CMV, and by taking action on those who need it,” CVSA’s president, Sgt. Thomas Fuller from the New York State Police, said in a statement. “We will continue to grow our enforcement and outreach efforts until we can eliminate those driving behaviors that have been shown to cause or contribute to crashes involving large trucks and buses.”

By Transport Topics

Tips for Driving Safely in the Snow

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In eight years as a truck driver, Shawn Judge has driven 810,000 miles (accident-free) throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin for a beverage distributor. Here’s his advice on how to handle yourself when the snow starts falling:

Relax:

Breathe and stay calm. Panic causes people to overreact. You need to focus.

Slow Down:

Drive only as fast as your abilities and the capabilities of the vehicle permit for the road conditions. If you’re out of practice on snow and ice, slow down. If your tires are bad, slow down. If your car has a low ride height, it won’t handle accumulating snow well. Again, just slow down.

Be Smooth:

Your actions need to be controlled and deliberate. Hard acceleration, hard braking, and sharp curves all decrease traction. Maintain a consistent speed, open up the distance between you and the car ahead, and be easy on the brakes. Steer gently, and remember that inertia will be a factor.

Let There Be Light:

In inclement weather, turn on your headlights. This is so other drivers can see you. Your taillights will be brighter too.

Use Your Signals:

Here’s a trucker’s rule of thumb for lane change: Dry or rainy (not freezing) weather: three blinks, then move over for three blinks. Winter weather: four or five blinks, then move over slowly. Signal for turns before you start slowing down.

If you’re going significantly slower than the traffic around you, turn on your four-way hazards, take the rightmost lane, and just let everyone pass you. The hazards let other drivers know you’re going slower than they are, and this can help prevent a pileup.

Observe Tire Spray:

Pay attention to the water coming off of other vehicles’ tires. If there’s a lot of spray, the roads are wet. If there’s less spray and the road’s wet, take extra caution; the roadway is starting to freeze. If the road looks wet with little or no spray, you’re on black ice. Be extremely cautious.

Watch the Truckers:

When the weather goes south, if the big trucks are slowing down, you should too. If they’re pulling off, perhaps you’d better take a break as well. By no means do I recommend keeping pace with them. (We’re kind of a crazy breed with the advantage of more weight, higher road clearance, more tires, and bigger tires.)

Do Not Stop:

If visibility is zero (i.e., you can’t see beyond your hood), do not stop where you are! You WILL be hit. Creep along until you can safely get your vehicle off and away from the road.

Waiting it Out:

Exit ramps are typically plowed after the main highways. Rest areas are cleared after that. If you need to get off the road, wait it out in the parking lot of a gas station, 24-hour restaurant, or hotel. You stand a better chance of not being snowed in.

Traction is Everything:

Loss of traction in snowy/icy conditions doesn’t happen because you’re on ice. It means you’re hydroplaning on an almost microscopic film of fluid water (in a transitional state) between the ice and the surface of your tires. The lack of cohesion in the fluid gravely reduces friction, which results in less traction.

Make sure you have snow tires or all-weather radials with wide and deep tread valleys. Siping (small cuts that look like squiggly lines) on the tread studs will help with grip on packed snow and ice.

When is Cold-Weather Driving Riskiest?

You face the greatest risk of losing traction on snowy, wet roads when temperatures are between 22 and 35 degrees Fahrenheit. At colder temperatures (10 to 20 degrees or less) snow-covered and icy roads afford more traction than at those warmer (22 to 35 degree) temperatures.

Don’t believe it? Try this: Take two ice cubes. Place one in a deep freezer for 30 minutes. Drop the other in a glass of water. Try picking it in up with your fingertips. Notice how slippery it is? After 30 minutes, get the other ice cube from the freezer. My bet is it practically sticks to your fingers for a bit.

The same principle applies to driving. The ice is almost sticky in more extreme cold. But during heavy and slower traffic, more heat is applied to its surface, and traction will be commensurately reduced.

Ultimately, you’re responsible for exercising your best judgment. If the weather is bad, stay put and let road crews do their jobs.

Be safe out there.

Natural Gas Conversion Bandwagon

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The adoption of natural gas as a transportation fuel continues to pick up speed, as the industry begins to consider transforming from diesel, a fuel we have used for decades to natural gas. I understand the challenges in making the decision to switch to natural gas.

The refuse industry has been the front runner in this race for several years and for good reason. Natural gas allows our truckers to operate cleaner , reducing smog-causing emissions by more than 80% and greenhouse gas by more than 20% over traditional diesel-powered vehicles. And lets not forget there are more than 12,000 transit buses across the United States running on natural gas, and fleets of medium-duty vehicle’s as well. Now is the perfect time to embrace a cleaner, cheaper American fuel–natural gas. I don’t mean to dismiss the challenges to convert to natural gas as being insignificant.

While natural-gas vehicles do require a higher initial investment today of $35,000 to $40,00 for heavy-duty truck equipped with the 12 liter engine. Your investment can quickly be recouped when you consider that cost of natural gas. The saving on average is approximately one-third less than conventional diesel at the pump, depending on the market, the saving can be $1.50 per gallon, meaning you can recoup upfront costs in little more than a year. In addition, natural-gas trucks don’t require DPF’s(diesel particulate filters) or SCR(selective catalytic reduction) making the cost advantage that much clearer.

Truckers are now able to travel coast to coast and border to border on natural gas, thanks to a robust and growing network of fueling stations. By recognizing the potential of natural gas, carriers can benefit from lower overhead, and make for a cleaner, energy-independent future.

Micheal Judge

micheal@cassidytransport.com

BASED ON A ARTICLE FROM TRANSPORT TOPICS

Spending on Logistics Services on the Rise

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Today, Its not uncommon for a small or midsize shipper go to third party logistics company to get access to all there services in one place. Third party logistics providers bring flexibility to the market by allowing shippers the oppturnity to access a full range of capabilities, from fleets of all sizes. 3PLs have made the market more efficient. For example, shippers may only have a few dozen trucks in there data base, but there is about 250,000 truckload carriers running the United States. Let Cassidy’s Transport show you a new approach to carrier selection. We are logistics specialists, with over 28 years of freight shipping experience. Here at Cassidy’s Transport our customer service is here for you 24hr. a day, 7 days a week. We take pride in our team being able to provide you with prompt, reliable service at a good rate, without service failure. Give us a try, let us be your freight shipping partners.

Thank You

Micheal Judge

micheal@cassidytransport.com

info@cassidytransport.com

352-503-2017

Great News Florida Carriers

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Recently Gov. Rick Scott toured the $220 million dredging operation that will enable Miami’s cargo port to accommodate much bigger vessels. It is expected to be completed in spring of 2015. This will allow the port of Miami to handle so-called Panamax vessels, the ability, to port and unload cargo. With the increase of cargo landing in Southern Florida it is going to increase the need for more carriers to haul cargo out of Florida. That’s great news for the future, of Florida transportation.

” Cassidy’s Transport is Always Here to Service Your Shipping Needs.”

Micheal Judge

micheal@cassidytransport.com

Influx of Cash Aids Logistics Firms – Based on a article in Transport Topics

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Competition between asset-based freight carriers and non-asset based logistics companies is giving way to cooperation as shippers increasingly turn over freight management to outside firms, according to industry analysts. We have seen an emergence of companies that have access to full range of platforms needed to service your shipping needs, of all sizes. It’s not uncommon for a small or mid-size shipper to go to a third party logistics company to get access to all those services in one. Logistics service providers bring flexibility to the market by affording shippers the oppturnity to take in a mode neutral approach to carrier selection. 3PL’S have made the market more efficient. A shipper may have a few dozen carriers in it’s data base, there’s about 250,000 truckload carriers in the US. and 97% of them have less than 20 trucks. 3PL’s are the best way for shippers to access smaller fleets and are essentially an outsourced sales force for carriers, working to cut costs and eliminate empty miles. By letting 3PL’s take care of your logistics needs, it allows you to focus on where it counts, operational efficiency, making sure your shipments are picked up and delivered when needed.

Micheal Judge

micheal@cassidytransport.com

info@cassidytransport.com

Is There a Truck Shortage?

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Is there really a truck shortage? That depends on whom you ask. Hours of Service regulations have reduced running miles in most small fleets. CSA 2010 monitoring makes running a truck over allowable hours very risky for drivers and fleets alike. Carriers have to charge more to make up for this reduction in annual miles and shippers aren’t buying price increases. Railroads, too, have taken price increases because trucker did.

When I look at safety ratings, however, on thing speaks out to me. I watch the maintenance violations, hours of service can be fixed, an old truck only has so many miles in it and bringing it up to passing specs for an inspection is expensive with a lot of down time. New tractors can cost in the $125,000 range and they get 8 mpg vs 6mpg for old tractors. For a large fleet that is a big advantage. Their money is cheap.

Looking at the publicly help transport companies, recent quarters show drops in productivity and lower margins. Watch this season’s earnings reports and pay attention to revenue per truck or in the biggest brokerages, margins. This is withering down margins to the brokers.

It doesn’t help that for the past year we’ve had government game playing from uncertainty as to who would be POTUS to the 11th hour tax bill in January, sequester in the spring on then the debt ceiling issues, government worker furloughs combined with the upcoming expense of the Affordable Healthcare Act.

There is plenty of capacity in the market if you pay the price for it. Some large brokers will make up a lot of the difference by reducing personnel expenses by lowering commissions and bonuses. They have to cope somehow.

The biggest drags will be in commodity type freight hauling, as they are very sensitive to freight price increases. To gain revenue market share large enterprises have to accept lower margins, they need the clients that give them millions of revenue each year. Boutique brokers probably aren’t seeing much erosion of margins because their clients need their specialized services.

By Tim Taylor

Internet Truckstop

Chaining-Device Options Can Help Truckers Save Time, Decrease Risk, Providers Say

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By Steve Sturgess, Special to Transport Topics

This story appears in the Dec. 9 print edition of Transport Topics.

“Slapping that iron,” a trucker’s term for adding snow chains to vehicles during winter months, is one task that drivers generally dislike. However, there are several alternatives to traditional chains that take at least some of the hard work, mess and cold out of the unwanted but necessary — and sometimes dangerous — task, according to producers of these devices.

They also said they expect to see more of their products on over-the-road trucks in the future.

One such alternative is an automatic chain system offered by suppliers such as Onspot of North America Inc., Insta-Chain and Rud Chain Inc.

John Atkinson Jr., president of Insta-Chain, based in Springville, Utah, said that, while trucking has not been an early adopter of automatic systems, over-the-road fleets have shown more interest in the devices in the past few years.

And Patrick Freyer, president of Onspot, based in Stratford, Conn., said that there are four prime markets for automatic chains — fire trucks, ambulances, school buses and municipal snow-removal operators.

“We refer to them as municipal, since it is all tax money [that pays for the devices],” Freyer said. “But the biggest potential is what I call the commercial market.”

He added, “It’s also the hardest sell.”

However, at least one device maker is dubious about capturing many fleet customers. Teague Rakoz, general manager at Laclede Chain Manufacturing Co. in Vancouver, Wash., which is a member of the National Association of Chain Manufacturers in Tucson, Ariz., said in an e-mail, “We do not expect the use of currently available alternatives to see a net sales increase in the trucking sector. The alternative traction devices all come with a trade-off, or usually multiple trade-offs, which can include price, traction/safety, durability, ease of installation and [Department of Transportation] approval.”

But Freyer offered another reason for devices such as Onspot’s gaining acceptance among truckers: The devices contribute to driver safety by eliminating the need to add or remove chains at the side of the road.

“Not having to risk being run over at the side of the road is a big plus,” he said, “and drivers today expect more consideration from the fleets.”

The Onspot device is a rubber, disk-shaped chain wheel with lengths of chains attached. The device is mounted to an arm that is attached to the truck’s drive axle. When needed, air pressure in the device’s chamber rotates the arm downward and sets the chain wheel next to the inside sidewall of the inside tire in a dual-tire set.

The subsequent rotation of the chain wheel flings the attached chains out into a circle that passes under the truck wheel, providing the necessary traction to keep the vehicle moving in ice and snow.

The device might appeal to drivers, Freyer, acknowledged, but it could be too expensive — $2,500 per truck — for some trucking companies.

“For them, it’s all ROI, ROI, ROI,” Freyer said, adding, “For a regional company, the economies of not having to stop and chain offers a quick [return on investment].

“Consider the haul from Sacramento, Calif., to Reno, Nev.,” Freyer said. “That’s a California chain-control route and, if chaining is required, a driver is going to have to stop on the way up the Donner Pass and then again on the return trip. If he has to chain and unchain one more time [beyond that], he’ll never make the round trip in the hours he has available, and he’ll never finish the loop.”

Both Insta-Chain and German company Rud have similar products at prices competitive with Onspot’s. In fact, both companies once were distributors of the Onspot traction device, which is a Swedish product.

Insta-Chain’s Atkinson said that, although “an installed system may cost about $2,000, there’s a growing realization that the speed of deployment — within a second or so — makes for far greater safety on black ice.”

He added, “There’s also time saved with drivers not having to get out and chain and unchain, losing as much as four or five hours in a day, which adds up fast at $60 an hour, as estimated by the fleets.”

Atkinson also said his company’s device has grease fittings on both the swinging arm and the chain wheel that allow for the purging of old lubrication and the road grime and salt in which these chaining devices work.

Rud’s Rotogrip CS is available to U.S. truckers through its American subsidiary, Rud Chain Inc. of Hiawatha, Iowa.

This device offers more chains under the tires because of the many strands at each of the spinner attachments.

Jim Saunders, Rud’s director of RotoGrip operations, said the device provides a “chain carpet” to ensure traction stability whether going forward or in reverse.

“The speed can be as low as 5 mph for the chains to flair out and under the wheels,” Saunders said. “The system also allows higher speeds without excessive vibration.”

A benefit of all these wheel-driven chain systems is that if a chain breaks, it is left on the ground. With traditional chains, a breakage often will wreak havoc with the truck fenders, wheels, flaps and anything else in the trajectory of the broken chain. In part, this is how the suppliers justify the significantly higher price of these fully automatic chain systems.

Another alternative-traction device is GoClaws. Flex-Trax Advanced Traction Systems, based in Cleveland, Tenn., markets the polyurethane product for “large commercial vehicles,” according to its website.

Beth Bright, vice president of sales and marketing at Flex-Trax, said the device has been available for 15 years.

“GoClaws’ most attractive feature is that it can be fitted to the vehicle with the minimum of fuss, without having to move the vehicle,” she said. “It takes only about five minutes at each wheel to attach and less time to remove. All you need is the pry-tool that is included in the nylon-bagged kit, along with the instructions. We also have videos at our website to show how easy it is to install the device.”

GoClaws are suitable for heavy trucks and are approved for use in California and Colorado, Bright said.

She said the device sells for a top price of $279.95, but a volume discount is available.

The company justifies the price by the long life of the devices, Bright said, noting that she has customers who have used them for as long as 10 years

A textile-traction device also is being marketed for vehicle combinations weighing more than 10,000 pounds with a maximum of five axles, according to the website www.autosock.us, run by AutoSock AS, the Oslo, Norway-based company that makes the product.

“The AutoSock is manufactured from a high-tech textile that has been purpose-formulated for this application,” said Chuck McGee, president of Denver-based McGee Co., an equipment supplier for tire service shops that sells the product. “It provides enhanced traction on snow and ice.”

McGee said AutoSock already has been approved for use on heavy trucks in Washington state and California, and AutoSock AS said in a Nov. 26 press release that its product has been approved in 45 states.

The device is easy to place over wheels, McGee said, adding that there’s even a size to fit over single wide-base tires.

In slippery conditions, the sock is eased over the top of the tire and around the sides and centered as much as possible. The truck then is driven forward a yard or two so the driver can pull the elasticized rim of the sock over the wheel. The sock centers itself as the truck is driven.

McGee said AutoSocks cost significantly more than traditional chains, but their ease of handling, light weight and good performance make then very popular with drivers.

Despite their traction prowess, however, they have to be removed immediately when not driving on snow or ice to prevent damage from the pavement.

For fleets with lighter vehicles, a make-it-yourself tire-traction assembly kit is offered by Italian company Mita Chains, which has given exclusive North American distribution rights to Chainco Inc., which is located in Edmonton, Alberta.

The Mita Anti-Skid Device includes sections of triangle-shaped metallic plates and interlocking hooks that are attached to the grooves in the tire tread.

“Not only do Mita Snow Chains add to the safety of winter driving by improving traction and grip on snow and ice, but consumers can be confident that the product will not damage a vehicle’s expensive alloys or wheel arches, which is common when using traditional snow chains,” Chainco vice president Cory Charles said in a press release.

www.ttnews.com