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TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2024.08.31

TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2024.08.31 is the trucking commentary on news affecting professional truck drivers for the week ending August 31, 2024, written by Vicki Simons.

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

TDMST Weekly Round-Up

1. Regarding battery fires, fatalities – ELDs / HOS, pay, and statistics:

Battery fires

Some people may be starting to rethink electric vehicles — and electric commercial motor vehicles — because of not only a connection with battery fires, but the consequences from those fires.

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Farther down in this trucking commentary, I have listed an article in which there have been direct financial penalties associated with a detour.

I would not be surprised if sometime down the road, someone files a lawsuit against a trucking company whose electric CMV caught fire and caused either a detour and/or a time-sensitive load to be late.

Fatalities – ELDs / HOS

Rewind to 2017 and the big push for Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs).

Here is a short list of articles about ELDs on this site:

Now it seems that because of the actions of one fatal crash, the NTSB is looking to make a further crackdown.

Yes, the fatality matters, but isn’t this industry-wide limitation overdoing things when what may need to be done is cracking down on the offending trucking company?

Please share your thoughts through the form below.

Pay

Driver pay is a direct result of goods being shipped.

If the demand for goods has fallen, naturally, there are going to be fewer loads.

The question is: Why has the demand for goods fallen?

One potential answer is that inflation is causing the price of many products and services to go up.

According to one teaching on The Constitution of the United States, “inflation” is both an increase in the amount of currency, resulting in rising prices, and theft.

Take a look at the M1 money supply — and what happened in early 2020 — and you’ll realize immediately what has happened to prices in the USA over the last 4+ years..

Statistics

The article in this section has a statement with which I disagree:

The majority of trucks run on fossil fuel.

According to this resource:

Every time you hear the term ‘fossil fuel’ on the TV, radio, news etc, you’re being lied to.

In 1892, at the Geneva Convention, the smartest man in the oil industry J.D. Rockefeller paid scientists to call oil a ‘fossil fuel’ to induce the idea of scarcity, in order to set a ‘world price for oil’. The truth is that oil is [actually] the second-most prevalent liquid on earth next to water, and regenerates within the earth faster than it can ever be deleted.

Here’s the article:

2. Regarding AB5, legal, regulations, training, and white paper:

AB5

As I’ve mentioned before, I personally believe that AB5 should never have been passed into law in the first place.

California legislators should rescind this law, in my opinion.

Legal

Regulations

Training

It is interesting to me that so many articles having to do with truck driver training are popping up now, when the availability of freight right now is lower.

White paper

3. Regarding alcohol, clearinghouse, crashes, crashes – blowout, crashes – low clearance, and crashes – malfunction:

Alcohol

Never ever consume alcohol prior to driving a vehicle of any kind.

Clearinghouse

According to the article in this section:

In November 2021, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published a final rule that would require state driver licensing agencies to “remove the CLP or CDL privilege from the driver’s license of an individual” carrying a prohibited status due to one or more drug and alcohol program violations.

Crashes

Please look through these articles to see if there is anything you can learn to help you prevent being involved in a similar crash.

Crashes – blowout

There is no mention in the article about what caused the steer tire to blow out.

Please be sure to do proper pre-trip inspections on all of your truck’s tires (tractor and trailer).

I offer a Pre-Trip Inspection Combo on my Free Downloads page.

Crashes – low clearance

The article in this section does not say what the height of the bridge was, but it is a well-known fact that many overpasses in Chicago are not meant for 13’6″ Commercial Motor Vehicles to pass under.

Please make sure that you route yourself according to a truckers atlas.

Crashes – malfunction

This is the first article I’ve seen (possibly ever) where it was admitted that a malfunctioning traffic signal was responsible for a truck crash.

4. Regarding economy, load board, predictions, rates, taxes, and tolls:

Economy

Load board

Predictions

Rates

Taxes

Tolls

5. Regarding autonomous vehicles, autonomous vehicles – Project 2025, electric vehicles, emissions, fuel, and hydrogen:

Autonomous vehicles

I am most definitely opposed to the operation of driverless, self-driving, of autonomous commercial motor vehicles on the same roads as the motoring public — but I share articles on this topic with our readers to help us stay current on the topic.

Autonomous vehicles – Project 2025

While I’m glad that the “timeline” for “electric vehicles (EVs) has been “slowed,” frankly, I am surprised that The Heritage Foundation has developed a “policy playbook, which would reward autonomous trucking”.

According to the article linked just below:

Those objectives are outlined in the U.S. Department of Transportation chapter of the 900-page presidential transition “Mandate for Leadership” road map known as Project 2025, published by the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Electric vehicles

In this section, I wish to draw special attention to this article:

J.D. Power Cuts 2024 EV Sales Forecast in US by More Than 3%

I personally think that many consumers are rejecting electric vehicles because of the problems associated with their use.

Emissions

Fuel

Hydrogen

6. Regarding bridges, collapse, ports, roads, and weather:

Bridges

It is a preventable shame that some commercial motor vehicles are using bridges that are not rated for their height or weight or both — and that the bridges are collapsing under their weight.

Always route yourself and your rig according to a truckers atlas.

Collapse

The subtitle of the first article in this section reads:

Company’s freight costs up 30% due to rerouting after Francis Scott Key Bridge collision

This is the first time I have ever read of:

  • A company putting an actual figure on the cost of a detour; and
  • A company filing a lawsuit as a result of the increase in operational costs associated with that detour.

I will be very interested to see the results of this lawsuit — and whether or not other trucking companies join together to form a class action lawsuit as a result.

Ports

Roads

Weather

The article in this section states:

Port Houston’s container volume dipped 5% year over year in July to 325,277 twenty-foot equivalent units compared to the same month last year.

Port officials said part of the drop during the month was related to the impact of Hurricane Beryl and a global systems outage that briefly disrupted operations.

This is the first time — at least in recent memory — when I have see hard numbers associated with loss of business due to a weather system.

7. Regarding concerns, hijacking, and inspections:

Concerns

Hijacking

You may wish to consult your trucking company’s safety director for guidance about what to do in a potential hijacking situation.

Inspections

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

8. Regarding drugs, fatalities, fraud, smuggling, and theft:

Drugs

Never ever haul or take illegal drugs.

Fatalities

I express my deep sympathy — and offer my condolences — to the families of those whose loved ones died in these crashes.

Can you learn anything from the articles below that would help prevent being involved in a fatal large truck crash?

Fraud

Never attempt to deceive, misrepresent something, intentionally pervert the truth, or pretend to be someone else for the purpose of trying to get something valuable.

Smuggling

Never ever transport people made in the image of God as if they were cattle or cargo — no matter how large of an incentive you’ve been offered.

Theft

Never take something that doesn’t belong to you, unless you have permission.

In our day, there are many types of surveillance cameras, so be on guard!

9. Regarding grille guards, maintenance, tires, and underride:

Grille guards

The article in this section states:

There is no shortage of hazards on today’s roads. Litter, trees, animals, parking lot collisions and unsecured loads damage thousands of vehicles every day in the U.S. and Canada.

Roorda also noted that major Ex-Guard fleets have shared how Ex-Guard has helped reduce all types of towable accidents by 80%.

I have personally seen a vehicle disabled by a collision with a large animal, perhaps a moose.

So this kind of investment makes perfect sense to me!

Maintenance

Tires

Underride

Why are some folks pushing so hard for underride guards?

I speculate that smaller vehicles are colliding with large trucks in increasing numbers due to distracted driving.

10. Regarding technology, technology – AI, technology – cameras, technology – cybersecurity, technology – electronics, technology – telematics, and technology – trailers:

Because of the large number of articles about technology this week, I have broken them down into sub-sections.

Technology

Technology – AI

Technology – cameras

Technology – cybersecurity

Technology – electronics

Technology – telematics

Technology – trailers

11. Regarding operations, retention, towing, and truckers:

Operations

Retention

Towing

Truckers

12. Regarding appreciation, awards, awards – championship, and awards – Haul of Fame:

Appreciation

While there is an emphasis for one week out of the year in which to appreciate professional truck drivers, I appreciate truckers all year long!

That being said, look to see if there are any reductions in price or freebies that you can gratefully accept at this time.

At least one company is extending appreciation discounts or freebies all month long — and there may be others.

Awards

I congratulate every professional truck driver who has:

  • achieved a level of proficiency and skill on the job,
  • achieved a milestone, and
  • done things to be recognized and/or rewarded!

Look to see what you might be able to emulate.

Awards – championship

Congratulations to every professional truck driver who is nominated for, competes in, and wins a truck driving skills championship.

Awards – Haul of Fame

Congratulations to “Haul of Fame” honorees!

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






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