Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/555101
JACK ROBERTS is Executive Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail jroberts@ccjmagazine.com or call (205) 248-1358. This isn't a problem that the trucking industry can solve all by itself. It's some- thing that will require the attention of our country as a whole. While autonomous vehicles eventually may play a role in helping to solve these problems, we're still several years away from seeing that solution enter the marketplace. We need short-term fixes now that will enable trucking to keep up with skyrocketing freight demand and keep the economy moving forward. That brings me back to CTP's call for another look at size and weight restric- tions. My argument here is simple: We're told repeatedly that safety mandates combined with upcoming levels of vehicle automation soon will deliver the safest commercial vehicles in the history of motorized transport. These new vehicles – along with a new breed of self-driving cars – are so revolutionary, we're told, that soon traffic accidents will be a thing of the past and insurance companies will be worried about how they'll make money. So why can't these amazingly safer trucks be bigger and carry more payload in order to maximize the productivity of the highly trained but highly limited numbers of drivers available to take them down the road? CTP's proposals are modest enough that the average four-wheel driver never would notice them on the highway: the addition of a sixth axle and a GVWR increase up to 97,000 pounds. Such a move would give both the industry and the nation immediate and far-reaching benefits, including reduced vehicle miles traveled, lowered total national logistics costs, reduced fuel con- sumption and fewer emissions. CTP also argues the concept also would cut road and bridge upkeep costs. Trucking as an industry has played ball with the government on a host of regulatory issues, from hours of service to Compliance Safety Accountabil- ity, safety mandates, emissions, sleep apnea, anti-idling, driver health – the list goes on. In return for working to meet all these new standards and rules, this industry has asked for virtually nothing in return from the federal government. That needs to change. It's time for our elected officials, safety advocates and regulatory agencies to put their money where their collective mouths are: If all these new rules, regulations and mandated technologies truly are making trucks exponentially safer, there's no reason not to give trucking something of use in return for adopting them. I'd say modest size and weight increases are an excellent place to start. COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | AUGUST 2015 25 WANT MORE EQUIPMENT NEWS? Scan the barcode to sign up for the CCJ Equipment Weekly e-mail newsletter or go to www.goo.gl/Ph9JK. Modest size and weight increases are an excellent place to start. G eneral Motors exited its 2009 bank- ruptcy without a medium-duty com- mercial truck segment, but all indications are the Detroit behemoth is set to come roaring back. In June, the company an- nounced an agreement with Isuzu under which GM will rebrand Isuzu's N-Series trucks and sell them at Chevrolet dealer- ships nationwide. Early last month, unnamed sources in- dicated in various media outlets that GM was poised to reach a similar agreement with Navistar International, which would manufacture Class 4-6 trucks for GM. A partnership with Navistar would al- low GM to re-enter the segment just as the first generation of Ford-built F-650/750s are hitting the market, while also unlock- ing GM's commercial truck dealership network to Navistar. – Jason Cannon C ummins Inc. announced an Android version of its free QuickServe Online mobile app designed to provide access to part options, parts catalogs and engine dataplate information for 15 million Cum- mins Engine serial numbers. The app includes a fault code analyzer for Cummins electronic engines, providing details and analysis such as an explanation of current fault codes, which fault codes are dependent on other codes, and which fault code to fix first. The Android ver- sion is available in the Google Play store; search for "Cummins QuickServeMobile." – Jack Roberts Sources indicate GM, Navistar nearing partnership Android version of Cummins QuickServe app now available