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TRUCKS STOPS * USA - Putting Trucking on a Diet
San Francisco,CAL,USA -The New York Times, by ERICA GIES -May 18, 2009: -- The backbone of U.S. commerce, given America’s vast distances and reliance upon highway transportation, is the combined fleet of 500,000 U.S. long-haul trucks. And to many Americans, the macho trucking life holds a certain romance. It has, to be sure, its drawbacks, not least the pollution from all those rumbling diesels. But new technologies are emerging that should at least mitigate some of that... A U.S. safety law requires truckers to rest for 10 hours after 11 of work, and most sleep in their cabs rather than paying for a motel. Traditionally truckers have idled their rigs while sleeping, keeping the engine going to provide heating or climate control and other creature comforts. This practice, along with workday idling, uses more than two billion gallons, or 7.6 billion liters, of diesel fuel a year, according to research at the Argonne National Laboratory, part of the U.S. Department of Energy... Idling diesel engines are noisy and emit nitrogen oxide, volatile organic compounds, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide... As a response to increasing fuel prices and anti-idling regulations introduced by some cities and states, the industry has been exploring various alternatives. These include electrified parking spaces; auxiliary power units, or A.P.U.’s, for trucks, and detached heater or air-conditioner units... Electrified parking spaces, with plug-in electrical hookups for truckers, have increased in number over the past couple of years, sometimes with support from the sale of carbon offsets or government initiatives. They can provide truckers with heat, air-conditioning, electricity, even access to the Internet and satellite TV... In fact, there are not enough regular parking spaces at truck stops for the number of truckers on the road, let alone electrified ones, says Lamont Byrd, director for safety and health for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a union that represents truckers. The result is that truckers frequently just pull off by the side of the road to rest... (IdleAire: Instead of idling their engines while taking breaks from driving, truck drivers are now plugging-in at "electrified" parking spaces)* Truckers Welcome Again In Mesquite
Mesquite,NV,USA -The Mesquite Local News, by Morris Workman -18 May 2009: ... Mesquite is once again welcoming truckers back to the city they helped create... The move is the brainchild of Gary, Jim, and Mike Black, who previously owned the convenience store and parking lot with their brother, local casino impresario Randy Black... The brothers recently bought out their sibling’s share in the property... Now, the parking lot is open and truckers are once again welcome... With that one bold move, Mesquite’s economy will get a shot in the arm just as the recession nears the bottom of the trough... (Photo courtesy Jeff Christensen - Workers sweep and repair the truck parking lot behind the Virgin Valley convenience store after the concrete barricades were removed late last month. The parking lot along Mesa Blvd. was recently reopened to trucks, providing the only place on the east side of Mesquite where truckers can leave their loads while grabbing a nap or a bite to eat)* After 54 years, Michigan truck stop closes shop
Dimondale,MICH,USA -The Lansing State Journal, by BARBARA WIELAND -May 18, 2009: -- Over its 54 years in business, Don's Windmill Truck Stop has seen a lot of changes... The roots of the landmark location in Dimondale stretch back to 1955. From that vantage point, the Millisor family that owns the truck stop watched as Interstate 96 was built nearby in 1962 and as Interstate 69 lengthened to meet it in 1992... More recently, the Millisors watched as fuel prices began a steady uptick, peaking at more than $4.50 a gallon last summer... And the family looked on as nationwide chain truck stops opened locations dangerously close to home... But no more... Its restaurant and diesel fuel island closed first, to be followed by the convenience store and gas station... (Photo by midmichigandining)
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