Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/535950
Logbook 14 | Overdrive | July 2015 The U.S. Department of Transpor- tation and the U.S. Environmen- tal Protection Agency last month announced plans for Phase 2 of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Stan- dards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles. Phase 2 would "significantly re- duce carbon emissions and improve fuel efficiency of heavy-duty vehi- cles," EPA said. The proposed standards will begin in model year 2018 for trailers and 2021 for tractors and culminate in vehicle-wide – engine, truck and trailer – standards for model-year 2027 vehicles. EPA said the plan would cut GHG emissions by about 1 billion metric tons and conserve about 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of the vehicles sold during the program. The more stringent standards would result in a $10,000 to $12,000 increase in the cost of a new truck, said Mark Rosekind, administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. However, buyers of trucks in long-haul opera- tions in 2027 would recoup the extra cost of the technology within two years through fuel savings. Phase 2 would save U.S. vehicle owners collectively about $170 bil- lion in fuel costs over the lifetime of the vehicles sold between 2021 and 2027, according to the agencies. The American Trucking Associ- ations supported the direction the standards are going. "Fuel is an enormous expense for our indus- try, and carbon emissions carry an enormous cost for our planet," said Bill Graves, ATA president and chief executive officer. The Owner-Operator Indepen- dent Drivers Association, however, questioned the rule. "We do have concerns that the rule will push truckers to purchase technology that is not fully tested and may lead to costs such as increased maintenance and downtime that will eclipse the potential savings estimated in the proposal," said the group. ATA also voiced concern that cer- tain technologies could be deployed on trucks before they could be fully tested. "This unreliability could slow not only adoption of these technologies, but the environmental benefits they aim to create," said Glen Kedzie, ATA vice president and energy and environ- mental counsel. "To prevent this, truck and engine manufacturers will need adequate time to develop solutions to meet these new standards." President Obama requested the standards be finalized by March. Once posted on the Federal Register, the standards will be open for com- ment for 60 days. After the comment period, the agencies will work to finalize the standards. – Matt Cole Mixed response to new emissions standards The proposed standards would add $10,000 to $12,000 to the cost of a new truck, but that cost would be recouped within two years, according to government estimates. FEDEX GROUND agreed to pay $228 million to settle a lawsuit brought by truck operators claiming the company misclassified them as independent contractors and not company employ- ees, thereby denying them certain state-required benefits. FedEx said the settlement in Alexander vs. FedEx covers roughly 2,300 drivers that worked at the company between 2000 and 2007 and concerns a model FedEx Ground no longer operates. SINGLE-UNIT TRUCKS would be required to have underride guards to mitigate rear-end crashes, according to the National Highway Traf- fic Safety Administration's Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The Truck Safety Coalition's petition says the guards would protect car occupants from death and injury in rear-impact crashes. BONNIE WARREN, owner of Oasis Capital Inc. of Fullerton, Calif., pleaded guilty to wire fraud in U.S. District Court of Los Angeles following an investigation that found that Oasis accepted money from property brokers for motor carrier trust funds but actually used the money for other purposes.