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Trucker News

Truckers Experience Problems Tracking Information through GPS in Illinois

Illinois- Around the state of Illinois Truckers are facing problem to get correct and real time truck routing information. They are not able to get access to the GPS system whenever they require it. This error was reported by the task force given the task to examine the GPS responsible to provide routing information related to truck driver jobs.

The report submitted by the task force to the General Assembly and the State Governor consists of eight recommendations to improve the technology in the state.

The major cause of concern as highlighted in the report is submitted by the task force to the government official is, the State’s current database which holds the crucial data for truck routing is difficult to access by the commercial driver. This cirtical truck specific data is of high importance as it helps the trucker to keep their vehicles on the approved road networks and avoids the common causes of hazard. These GPS works majorly to provide easy access to safety measures for public.

Michael Zalewski Chairman Task Force said that they want the truck specific data to be available and more accessible. The regular updating in connection with the regulatory compliances will reduce major accidents, congestions and repair expenses. This will surely work for the benefit of Illinois citizens and trucking companies.

The main problem cause is there are many database storing the required information. This makes the task cumbersome and access difficult for the drivers. The problem will be resolved if all the information is collected in one universal database.

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The GPS task force recommendations are as follows:
• Merge different databases together to form one complete universal database.
• Local jurisdiction should devise easy reporting system which reports the designated networks for trucks.
• The database is to be made more accessible for the purpose of trucking companies.
• Providing GPS usage training to truck driver so they can derive only the information relevant for them.

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A new scope for Canadian-American Border

Leaders of the two nations, the US President Mr. Barack Obama and the Canadian Prime Minister Mr. Stephen Harper conducted a meeting last week. The main issue was the long-term co-operation relating to the borders. The negotiations lead to signing a pact Friday calling dealing with the increased trade and security tie ups between the U.S. and Canada. This will facilitate quicker and hassle free transport between the countries and a good source of business generation for the trucking companies of both the countries.
The cross-border relations regarding the trade between the two nations were in turmoil since the 9/11 terrorists attack in the U.S. The meeting was focused to “intend to pursue a perimeter approach to security”. The loads available and people should be allowed to travel with more flexibility making the transport much easier for them.

The joint declaration stated that they will work to develop an integrated security policy which will ensure that the cargo and other goods undergo compatible screening tests, before they move out of the Canadian and U.S. ports. This will enhance the quick crossings at either port enabling the subsequent crossings much more fast.

Check out some of the latest industry news and happenings on our truck load board blog page.

The leaders directed to create a Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) between the United States and Canada which will be formed by combining the foreign affairs officials and senior trade regulatory from both the countries.

The other aspect they looked towards jointly is an approach to increase and modify the available infrastructure at major public ports at the point of entry. The target is 10 major public ports.
The pact is welcomed by the Canadian Trucking Alliance. CTA expressed, this will help recreate the cross border relations which were much strained in the last decade after the terrorists attack. There is at least one truck crossing the U.S. – Canada border in every three seconds. Thus the pact will have a direct impact on truck driver employment.

We were looking towards this border agreement to be initiated by the government of both the countries from a long time. David Bradley CTA president said this agreement is the start point to achieve a more stable trade and security measures. This will help achieve more reliable risk-management and yield profits in trading programs between the countries.

It might take some time to finalize the things and start the real action; however a work group will be formed to work across the borders and look after the proceedings in this matter. The same will be reported to Obama and Harper by this work group.

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Business Trucker News

Idle Air

Convoy Solutions, LLC is the current owner of the idleAir idle-reduction system and began re-opening sites in the summer of 2010.

The idleAir system, previously named IdleAire, was invented about 10 years ago as the outgrowth of a challenge originally issued to A.C. Wilson, a Tellico Plains, Tennessee, contractor, by his brother-in-law, a long haul truck driver fresh off a New Jersey run.

How could a driver park, shut off the engine (along with its noise, fumes and vibration) and still stay warm or cool while having access to the comforts of home?

It so happened that the challenge came during a vacation stay at an RV park. During the night, A.C. tackled the challenge, sketching the first design for an independent, external system that would deliver to a truck cab the same sorts of services inherent in an RV.

The next morning he presented his sketches to his brother-in-law. A.C. and his partners located an experienced management team who could form a company and take his idea to market.

For the past ten years, IdleAir has further refined Wilson’s original design and made significant strides with truck fleets and travel plazas, as well as the federal and state environmental and highway safety entities.

IdleAir offers long-haul truck drivers an alternative to idling their engines and APU’s during rest periods. IdleAir reopened in Spring 2010 under new management, and currently operates 21 sites in 9 states (see www.idleair.com/locations.asp).

“WHAT DO I GET?” IdleAir service is $1.99/hour and includes powerful HVAC, standard AC electric inside and outside the cab, 60+ channels of Satellite TV (including Fox News and The Weather Channel), and basic internet.

“THERE’S MONEY ON MY OLD CARD.” Customers who had money on old IdleAire cards still have their balances available, even if they tossed the card. Just call IdleAir Customer Support at (877) 738-7024 to get set up.

SPECIAL PROMOTIONS: Idling uses 1 gallon of diesel per hour, and with diesel costing over $3.30/gallon, drivers can use IdleAir and save $1.30/hr — while you’re sleeping! There are 9 IdleAir sites that have a special $1.25/hr rate through 3/30/11, and registered fleets get a special discounted rate of $1.50/hr at ALL locations through 4/30/11.

For Drivers:

DRIVERS GET HVAC. IdleAir gives you a powerful heating and cooling air system, just like at home. Now you can shut off your engine and sleep better without
the noise, vibration, and stack gases from idling.

DRIVERS GET ELECTRICITY. IdleAir gives you standard AC electric service both inside and outside your cab. You can plug in block heaters, phone and laptop chargers, and any other accessories.

DRIVERS GET SATELLITE TV. IdleAir gives you satellite TV and free basic internet. Stay connected with friends and family, and enjoy your favorite sports, news, and Weather Channel programs.

BUY AMERICAN: ENGINE OFF, IDLEAIR ON. IdleAir is good for America. The energy that IdleAir uses comes from American resources, like coal, gas, wind, and more. You can help Buy American with IdleAir, and avoid idling engines and APU’s that burn foreign oil.

LOCATIONS: IdleAir operates 21 locations nationwide. See the complete list at http://www.idleaire.com/Locations.asp
GOT QUESTIONS? Call IdleAir Customer Support at (877) 738-7024
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/idleaire

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Trucker News

Latest Industry News:

Flatbed Loads Rises whereas Reefers and Dry Van remains same reported by TransCore
With the week that ended on Jan 29, the nationwide flatbed freight loads showed an increase as per the loadboards of Transcore DAT network. The freight loads for reefer and dry van remained the same with the same number of loads as previous week.
The capacity to take the loads and the loads available for flatbed trucks have made up for the total number of load postings done for loads and truck available. This is the third week that both the volume and capacity is showing a weekly increase. This week thought the increase in demand for the loads available did not match the equipment capacity. The individual flatbed capacity stayed same and there was a 2.3 percent growth in van and reefer capacity.
The weekly newsletter issued by TransCore called Transcore Trendlines suggested that the there was in increase in the truck loads by 3.1 percent and the postings fir trucks rose by 2.4 percent. This rising trend as per the market indicators can be seen week over week. The main business indicator if the trucking industry id Load-to-Truck ratio, it remained stable and stated that there were approximately 4.9 loads available for each empty truck. Thus, the industry is seen giving lucrative offers to the truck driving jobs especially the flatbed drivers. This ratio is calculated by covering the data available nationwide.
The week showed an increase in the ratio for flatbed trucks to 6.7 percent and a decrease in the load to truck ratios for vans and refrigerated trucks. These key indicators suggest increased activity in the trucking industry as the US and worldwide economy revives.

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Trucker News

Department of Transportation Works to Re-establish Bonds between Mexican and U.S. Trucking Industry

There has been a conflict for quite some time between the two countries regarding the transportation issue. Since there has been a release of new proposal under the current administration which has lead to the new start and a series of negotiations involving the use of U.S. roads by Mexican trucking companies.
The US Department of Transportation has laid down the guidelines for Mexican long-haul carriers and truck drivers to abide by the US transportation rules and regulations. These include vehicle emissions standards, drivers portfolio and safety compliance. These checks will be conducted and the carriers will be permitted only after the complete satisfaction of the authorities.
There will be a selective quota and time for the number of trucks that will be permitted to drive on the U.S. roads from Mexico. The work on calculating and negotiating on these terms will start soon. Earlier the Mexican truck driver were opposed by the US truck drivers on the ground that the Mexican carrier companies and truck driver don’t have set standards of safety and fleet operations as they have, they follow the US truck drivers regulations. These way Mexican truck drivers enjoy flexible rules and make more profit.
This proposal is also taken negatively by some trucking associations. They are saying when the unemployment within the country is already so high then Why DOT is making this proposal to endanger the existing trucking jobs in the country. This way the good truck driving jobs will become harder to find. Also taking into account the cross border violence this proposal seems simply out of question.
Check our loadboard blog page for more interesting trucker news and topics.
On the other hand Mexico is protesting to get free access in the U.S, as per the North American Free Trade Agreement signed between the two countries in 1994. In 2009, when the program to allow limited number of Mexican carrier companies to indulge in transportation beyond the U.S. commercial zone failed, Mexico increased the tariff charges on the U.S. products. This move adversely affected people connected with the produce of fresh fruits and vegetables.
This way the pressure mounted on the administrative authorities to implement new methods and release new proposals so that Mexico changes the barriers it has imposed on the U.S. agricultural products. Therefore this truck industry proposal got an overwhelming response from various other U.S. industries whose business largely depended on the exports made to Mexico.
U.S. truck drivers feel that this proposal will be an unfair deal for them as with the drug violence running in Mexico they will not be allowed to cross the Southern border. Thus Mexican driver will have the access in the U.S. but not vice versa. The president of Owner-Operator Independent Truck Drivers Association expressed his worries that the Mexican truck driver will have the economic benefit as they will not have to follow the stringent rules to run their trucks for loads available on the US lanes as their U.S. counterpart will have to.

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Trucker News

Congestion Increases as Economy Revives

With the two years of economic slump and increased fuel prices, the traffic running on the road reduced considerably leading to less congestion and easy commuting. Now with the improvement in the US and the world economy, the traffic problem has again started to rise. The least congestion was seen in the year 2008 and it started to increase back from 2009. This has made great impact on the truck driver jobs.

The Urban mobility report of 2010 produced by Texas Transportation Institute cover the congestion reports of 439 US areas which fall under urban areas. INRIX data also throws light on the traffic which covers every city and gives the descriptive information of the commuting problems faced by the people living in the urban areas. Traffic speed data of INRIX has been combined with state’s traffic volume data to give a broader increased traffic view.

Due to congestion on the road there are different problems arising: the main one being the cost associated with the increased traffic. The main reason of increased cost is the fuel burnt in traffic congestion and the delay in commuting because of which the commuters face pay cuts.

Below are some of the facts and figures which appear form the findings indicating the traffic problems nationwide:
The cost associated with the congestion is showing a continuous rise. It was $115 billion in 2009. In 2009 the fuel wasted due to traffic problems amounted to 3.9 billion gallons making it a big problem for trucking companies whose hundreds of trucks are on the road each day. This increased fuel consumption did cost $808 to an average commuter. The delay that the traveler faced in one year of 2009 was 34 hours, which laid adverse impact on his performance in the company.

The data collected is based on using the latest technologies available thus experts have a big reason to believe the data and plan their next course of action. There is a vast difference in accuracy of the data since the Urban Mobility report was first generated in 1982. The report generated this year is the most advanced in its type which reports the delay and congestion of each day of the year. It took into account the congestion due to any accidents, weather changes, holidays and national events.

Check our load board blogs for more trucker news.

The researchers have come up with some of the methods to help reducing the traffic problems. The first way is to use of the public transport system for commuting as much possible. The second way is the addition of new network of roads and means of communication in the areas where the congestion is the most. Car sharing and pool cars can be another alternative which will save money for the commuters as well as decrease vehicles on the road. The company should make available flexible shifts so as to avoid rush hours. Telecommuting is another way out in which both the employee and the employer are benefited. There are many jobs which does not require physical presence, thus the employees should be given an alternative to work as a telecommuter.

The state and national government should take measures to provide alternative routes and introduce toll routes for fast and efficient available loads delivery by the owner operators and carrier companies. The solution to the traffic congestion is not the responsibility of just the officials or the commuters. The businesses, organizations, travelers all have to work towards getting the things right.

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Business Trucker News

TruckerToTrucker.com

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We have established ourselves as a leading low cost “high return” sales tool for selling trucking equipment. We’ve made online equipment advertising simple and inexpensive! Truckers across the country are achieving higher returns marketing equipment through our network, using our powerful, simple to use website. Bottom line…higher returns from your trucks, trailers, parts, and equipment.

We have gone to great lengths to ensure our ads are both visually attractive and sales oriented. We offer multiple equipment photos with all listings at no extra charge. Detailed descriptions help buyers find exactly what they’re searching for. That’s why calls generated from TruckerToTrucker.com convert into sales faster than all equivalent paper sources in the industry today. Listings created on TruckerToTrucker.com are viewable immediately upon posting. It has become common to receive calls from TruckerToTrucker.com customers before traditional ads are even published.

Finally, TruckerToTrucker.com comes with extra tools that make buying and selling equipment easier. We offer a Translation tool opening your equipment to the large multilingual market. You also have access to place ‘Want to Buy‘ notices for equipment not currently listed on TruckerToTrucker.com. Your ads are also listed on Google Base and Oodle at no extra charge. At TruckerToTrucker we think it’s time “The Truckers” get a deal.

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Trucking Speed Limits proposal by NHTSA under Consideration

Keeping in mind the trucker safety and there requests National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has said it will work towards the rule proposal through which the truck manufacturer companies will have to install a mechanism or device which will limit the driving speed of the heavy trucks to 68 mph. This will be brought to effect by 2012.
American Trucking Association and Road Safe America has made a petition to give this rule a way so that the truck accidents which are caused by the speeding factors could be limited and the truck drivers job could be made more safe. These petitions were granted by NHTSA in the Federal Register posting which was conducted last week. Though the NHTSA has granted ATA and Road Safe America petitions that does not mean the final rule regarding the speed limit is issued. NHTSA further laid emphasis on two studies conducted which suggests that these speed limiting device has the potential to decrease the severity of crash.
Bill Graves, ATA president said they are happy that there petition will be soon considered and a rule will be implemented. The petition was first filed by ATA to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in October 2006. The safety on the road can be increased when the traffic on the road is slowed down the ATA president said we tried to do this on our part for the sake of the trucking industry.
Check our load board blog page for more articles on FMCSA and ATA.
Now everybody knows that with the restrictions on the trucking speed limit the number of speed related crash will be reduced. However the rule is not implemented yet as the FMCSA is conducting studies on the economic effects of the introduction of this speed limiting rule. The reports from this study will be open to public in 90 days.
The fuel efficiency will surely be affected when the truck speed is less than 68mph. But one can obviously compromise on fuel efficiency where the truck driver life and safety is concerned. Many other industrialized countries have already implemented this rule and there can be noticed a drastic reduction in the accidents caused due to speeding. From the Schneider carrier company’s internal crash reports it is evident that the trucks with no speed limiters accounts for 40% of the total serious collisions. So there is a great need of this rule to be implemented in United States also.
Where this proposal is welcomed by many, there are some trucking companies and owner operators who say such decision is more likely to increase the risk as all the vehicles on the highway should run on the same speed and the varied speed causes more accidents. Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association says setting the speed limit will not reduce the number of accidents on the highways. Other aspect against the speed limiters is that with slow moving trucks there will be increased congestion on the US highways thus affecting the overall productivity of the trucking companies. This will in turn delay the dispatch service of the available loads.
With the mixed views and suggestions NHTSA is strong in making way to the proposal to set speed limiters for trucks.

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Business Trucker News

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Speeding a Major Safety Compliance Issue for Truck Drivers

Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has taken up the operation under Safe Driver Campaign. The report has been recently released by CVSA which points out on three major safety concerns. The warnings as per the citations were issued to the vehicle drivers and trucking companies for both commercial and non-commercial drivers. The three safety violations were speeding, traffic signal disobeying and not using the seat belts.
If we consider the percentages than speeding was the number one. The 2009 figures for commercial drivers suggests there were 20.3 % cases of over-speeding reported whereas for traffic signal violations and seat belt violations were 4.2 percent and 2.6 percent respectively. Similar violations were tracked for car drivers and the percentage violation for car drivers was found to be even higher.

According to 2010 commercial driver’s safety alliance report, the reported cases followed the similar trend with maximum number of safety issues were for speeding. There were 13.7 percentage of speeding related safety concerns. For traffic signal disobeying and failing to use seat belt while driving the car were 4.6 and 10 percent respectively. However 2010, witnessed more cases of non usage of the seat belts while driving.

Since 2007 a program has been launched Operation Safe Driver. This was brought up by CVSA and Federal Carrier Safety Administration to look on the issues to create more awareness and improve the driving pattern of the drivers. The measures are taken to educate and enforce safe driving strategies especially on the drivers whose truck driving job has been found more risky. On 17th to 23 rd October 2010 the fourth annual Operation Safe Driver was conducted in which 53,000 commercial vehicle driver were brought forward.

Check our loadboard blogs for more articles on FMCSA regulations

The executive director Stephen Keppler addressed that this drive is proving really beneficial and they will continue to focus on the driver behavior that become the main cause of road accidents and in worse cases the cause of life losses.

Many other steps have been taken by several official bodies. One such step that everybody is looking forward is the rule making by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for speed limiters. Though there has been a heated debate on this rule making but the NHTSA is clearing its path for it and intend to lay down its proposal in this line by 2012.