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TRUCKS SAFETY * USA & Canada - Want to cut emissions quickly? Use the right tires
Stockholm,Sweden -Fleet Owners, by Brian Straight -September 29th, 2010: -- A new study conducted by Volvo Trucks and Michelin over in Europe claims that using the wrong tires and having improper wheel alignment can increase carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 14.5%... The study was conducted using two Volvo FH 4×2 trucks, each equipped with a 500 hp., 13-litre Euro 5 engine, and hauling a fully loaded trailer. The rigs each weighed 40 tons. One rig was driven with a variety of incorrect wheel alignment settings while the other used optimally aligned wheels and with standard tractor and trailer tires supplied by Michelin... The test truck was also run with various tyres and various tyre pressures. The testing was reviewed by Mats Lidbeck from the Technical Research Institute of Sweden, who served as an independent auditor of the testing... The companies found several interesting facts, not the least of which is that using the correct tire can cut fuel consumption 11% with correct tire inflation reducing it another 1%... The study also revealed that another 2.5% of fuel can be eliminated by properly aligning the wheels... The keys to cutting carbon emissions when it comes to tires are simple: Low-rolling resistance tires, maintaining proper inflation, and keeping vehicles aligned. Managers spend plenty of time spec’ing the right equipment for their application. It’s also important to spec the right tires and then properly maintain them once the vehicle hits the road... (Photo from o.aolcdn: Penny tire thread check)* DC,USA - Senators push for EOBRs in all trucks
Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Jami Jones -Sept. 29, 2010: -- If Senators Mark Pryor and Lamar Alexander get their way, all trucks will have electronic on-board recorders installed... They introduced Senate Bill today that if passed into law would mandate that 100 percent of all “commercial motor vehicles involved in interstate commerce and subject to hours of service be equipped with EOBRs” ... Spencer also points out that EOBRs of any kind will require input from the drivers. That interaction alone is enough to show that the black boxes cannot be any more reliable in documenting true HOS compliance than paper logs... The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration adopted a regulation that will mandate the use of the devices for motor carriers with a record of chronic noncompliance with the HOS regs... The regulation mandates EOBRs for motor carriers with a 10 percent or greater violation rate of the hours-of-service regulations. The EOBR rule officially went into effect June 4. The compliance deadline for the regulation is June 4, 2012... (Photo from mobiletechnology)* DC, USA - Five major U.S. trucking companies endorse EOBRs for all commercial trucks
Washington,DC,USA -Logistic Management, by John D. Schulz -September 29, 2010: -- Five leading U.S. trucking companies are calling for federal regulations that would require all interstate trucking companies to install electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) on all their trucks to verify legal duty status of their drivers... The companies endorsing the bill are five giants in the truckload sector—Schneider National (second-largest TL carrier by revenue), U.S. Xpress (fourth largest), J.B. Hunt Transportation Services (fifth largest), Knight Transportation (10th largest), and Maverick USA, a major flatbed carrier with more than $300 million in revenue... (Image from lm.ehpub: EOBR story)* USA - OOIDA blasts proposal to require EOBRs in all trucks. "There is no data to show that EOBRs will increase highway safety", says OOIDA official Todd Spencer
Grain Valley,MO,USA -The Trucker -30 Sept 2010: -- The proposed Senate bill to require all commercial trucks to operate with electronic on-board recorders drew fire Thursday from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association... OOIDA officials said while the proposal might sound good on paper, EOBRs are no better than paper logbooks for tracking truckers’ hours of service, despite claims by some entities “that will cash in on a government mandate... OOIDA noted that in June the organization filed a legal challenge of an EOBR regulation by FMCSA that will mandate the use of the devices for motor carriers with a record of chronic non-compliance with hours of service regulations... * Canada - RCMP officials alarmed about the safety of certain lift axle semi-trailers. Road tests raising alarm
Edmonton,ALB,CAN -The Vancouver Sun/Edmonton Journal, by Darcy Henton -September 29, 2010: -- RCMP officials are alarmed about the safety of certain lift axle semi-trailers in the wake of two fatalities in Alberta... Tests conducted two weeks ago showed trucks pulling trailers with some designs of lift axles — which can be raised from the pavement to minimize wear and tear when the truck is unloaded — take nearly twice as long to stop under some conditions and the weight on their axles reached levels that could overstress both axles and tires... RCMP Cpl. Barry Red Iron, the RCMP's forensic collision reconstructionist for southern Alberta, said he began looking into lift axle truck safety after a May 25 crash near Granum, Alta., about 150 kilometres south of Calgary, in which one man was killed and another seriously injured when a motorcycle collided with a semi-trailer truck... He said the lift axle system likely was not a factor in that crash because the trailer was empty, but the Granum fatality and a second one in Calgary raised enough concern to prompt tests at Edmonton Garrison in May and at a testing facility on Sept. 14... The test results shocked truckers and owners of trucking firms. Some said the units that failed the test should be recalled and manufacturers should be advised of the issue and required to address it...
Labels: drivers safety, safety
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