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TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2023.06.17

TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2023.06.17 is the trucking commentary on news affecting professional truck drivers for the week ending June 17, 2023, written by Vicki Simons.

We welcome your comments, thoughts and feedback on the items of your choice below.

TDMST Weekly Round-Up

1. Regarding collapse and inspections:

Collapse

Please note that the vast majority — but not all — of the articles linked below in this section are specific to the collapse of a section of I-95.

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According to this article, “Authorities believe that [tanker driver Nathaniel] Moody lost control of the vehicle while taking the off-ramp, causing the truck to overturn and rupturing the tank.”

Furthermore, “The crash occurred at 6:20 a.m. on Sunday as a tanker truck loaded with 8,500 gallons of gasoline crashed while using an I-95 ramp and caught fire, causing severe structural damage to I-95.”

We express our deepest sympathy and offer condolences to Mr. Moody’s family.

According to a June 12, 2023, article, “Officials in Pennsylvania now say the rebuilding of an Interstate 95 bridge in Philadelphia will take months and not weeks as originally projected, causing significant disruption for freight carriers and local commuters.”

If you’re driving in or through the Philadelphia area on I-95, please be aware of the need:

  • to take a detour;
  • for more time to circumnavigate the area; and
  • “cool heads” so as not to get frazzled by road rage.

Just a personal remembrance: Many years ago when Mike and I were team driving, there was an earthquake on the west coast of California that caused a section of an I-5 bridge to collapse, which was repaired in something like a record 3 weeks.

While the bridges in different parts of the country may be constructed differently, I’m not sure why — with the proper motivation, supplies, and tools — the damaged area of the I-95 cannot be repaired in weeks.

Just saying.

Here are many articles on collapsed roads over the last week or so:

Inspections

If you keep yourself and your rig in perpetual readiness for an inspection, you’ll never be caught off-guard.

2. Regarding future, fuel, fuel card, fuel efficient, fuel fraud, fuel technology, fuel treatment, and hydrogen:

Future

The article linked just above is divided into two lists:

  • 6 Things Trucking Needs From Outside the Industry; and
  • 6 Things the Trucking Industry Must Do.

Number 5 under the first list is:

Understand that — like it or not — we have no choice but to continue burning diesel fuel in diesel engines for years to come.

Just be aware that some places around the USA will be more “friendly” toward diesel-powered trucks than other places.

Fuel

Fuel card

Please do your due diligence on any offer of a fuel discount.

Fuel efficient

Please do your due diligence on any offer of a fuel efficient truck.

Fuel fraud

Fuel technology

Fuel treatment

Hydrogen

3. Regarding companies, economy, pay, rates, and tolls:

Companies

I generally do not link to articles in these commentaries that are trucking company-specific, but these articles show that even a couple of the “big boys” in the trucking industry are struggling right now.

Economy

Pay

We do not endorse any trucking companies linked in this section.

Rates

Tolls

4. Regarding autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, and EPA:

Autonomous vehicles

I absolutely oppose the operation of self-driving, autonomous, or driverless commercial motor vehicles on the same roads as the motoring public, but share these articles to help you stay current on the subject.

Electric vehicles

If you are looking to buy a new truck, please do your due diligence before buying an electric one.

EPA

Please bear in mind that according to The Constitution of the United States:

  • No power was granted to Congress (U.S. House and U.S. Senate together) to create the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA);
  • Environmental standards are in the realm of the individual states (See Amendment X); and
  • The President of the United States has limited powers, which do not extend to vetoing the EPA’s truck emissions standards.

Please see these articles:

5. Regarding crashes, drugs, fatalities, FMCSA, securement, and snow and ice removal:

Crashes

Please review these articles so that you may learn what led up to the crashes, so that you can avoid being in a similar set-up yourself.

Drugs

Never ever haul illegal drugs, no matter how large of an incentive you’re offered.

Fatalities

We extend our deepest sympathy and offer condolences to families of those who passed away in these crashes.

FMCSA

According to the last article in the section just above:

Federal regulators should change how they record accidents involving trucks so that they don’t unfairly target drivers and carriers, according to comments submitted in response to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s plans to alter and expand categories of crash types available to the industry for reporting accidents.

I agree that truckers and carriers must not be unfairly targeted in accident records.

Back in 2013, I wrote a guest post in which I stated:

First, in February 2013, TheTrucker.com reported(*) that the American Trucking Associations (ATA) “released results from several studies that found car drivers to be far more at fault in causing crashes than truckers.” Among them was a University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute study in which “car drivers were assigned factors in 81 percent of crashes compared with 27 percent of truckers. Those totals were greater than 100 percent, the study noted, because 10 percent of crashes assigned blame to both car and truck drivers.”

* link no longer online.

Have the statistics changed much since then?

Securement

Please be sure that you use at least the minimum number of load securement devices (preferably more) — and install them correctly — so that you never lose part of any of your loads.

Snow and ice removal

6. Regarding delivery, HOS, maintenance, recalls, and strike:

Delivery

HOS

Maintenance

Recalls

Strike

7. Regarding air conditioning, border, broker, and parking:

Air conditioning

Have UPS truck drivers not had air conditioning in their trucks all these years?

I don’t see how UPS truckers without A/C have survived the long, hot southern summers!

Border

Broker

Parking

8. Regarding politics, ports, and staged:

Politics

Ports

Staged

9. Regarding supply chain and technology:

Supply chain

Technology

10. Regarding business, classification, underride, and utilization:

Business

Classification

Underride

Utilization

11. Regarding violations, violence, and wildfires:

Violations

Violence

Wildfires

12. Regarding awards and recognition:

Awards

We extend our heartiest congratulations to truckers who won their competitions or earned an achievement award of any kind.

Recognition

We recognize truckers — and others around truckers — who helped their fellow human beings in a time of need.

My husband Mike and I wish you — and all professional truck drivers — safe travels and lots of money saving opportunities on the road.






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