Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/71813
logbook SHELL NAMES CALENDAR TRUCKS John O'Keefe's Peterbilt 379 won Best of Show at the 2012 Shell Rotella SuperRigs competition in Joplin, Mo. Driver John O'Keefe of Portland, Conn., won Best of Show at the 2012 Shell Rotella SuperRigs competition, May 17-19 at the Joplin Speedco in Joplin, Mo., with his 2007 Peterbilt 379 Legacy. The truck, called Low Life, also captured first place in the Best Interior, Best Theme, Best Chrome, Best Lights and Best Engine categories. Paul Rissler of California, Mo., won Best of Show, first runner-up and $4,000 with his 1996 Peterbilt 379. Shell awarded the truck's owner, Todd Roccapriore, with $10,000, which he donated immediately to All Roads Lead to Joplin, a group developed to help raise funds to benefit the YMCA of Joplin's community disaster recovery efforts following a devastating tornado in May 2011. The event helped raise $100,000 for the relief fund. In addition to O'Keefe, 11 other trucks were selected for the 2013 Shell Rotella SuperRigs calendar: • Larry Pruitt; St. Clair, Mo.; 2007 Mack CHN-613 • Ron Saris; Leamington, Ontario; 2000 Kenworth W900 • Chad Blackwell; Greenville, Va.; 2007 Peterbilt 379 • Dan Look; Appleton, Wis.; 2004 Peterbilt 379 • Josh Ihlenfeld; Owatonna, Minn.; 2005 Kenworth W900 • Jeremiah Wolfe; Roanoke, Va.; 1998 Kenworth W900L • Don Wood; Denmark, Wis.; 2003 Peterbilt 379 • Caleb Eilers; Odessa, Texas; 2000 Peterbilt 379 • Larry Bontrager; Kolona, Iowa; 2007 Peterbilt 379 • Albert Tocci; Inola, Okla.; 1955 Mack LTL • Travis Buhr; Adams, Neb.; 2001 Peterbilt — Staff reports SHORT HAULS Rule reduces paperwork on intermodal equipment Truckers operating intermodal equipment no longer are required to submit inspection reports if they have not found nor been made aware of defects in the IME. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's final rule eliminates the requirement that drivers submit no-defect Driver-Vehicle Inspection Reports after their inspection indicated no issues with the equipment nor were any problems brought to their attention. Agency officials estimated the final rule, effective June 12, will represent an annual costs savings of 1.6 million hours and $54 million dollars. The new rule lifts only the mandate that drivers file no-defect DVIRs when 24 OVERDRIVE JULY 2012 the chassis is not owned or leased by the motor carrier, such as if the IME is the property of a port facility operator. It also does not change a driver's obligation to assess the condition of IME for deficiencies. The FMCSA published the final rule in response to a joint petition for rulemaking from the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association and the Institute of International Container Lessors. Agency representatives estimated the DVIRs take drivers a little more than 2.5 minutes to complete and about 95 percent of DVIRs indicate no defects found. — Jill Dunn DIESEL PARTICULATE pollution is down 50 percent in the last 20 years, according to presentations to the California Air Resources Board in May. The experts also challenged CARB to tackle short- lived climate pollutants, which have an atmospheric lifetime of a few days to a few decades, unlike carbon dioxide, which stays in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. CONGRESS HAS been urged by the American Trucking Associations to address several trucking issues while working on the multi- year highway bill, including adoption of an electronic onboard recorder mandate, re-examination of the hours-of-service rules and prevention of a new carrier safety fitness rule before addressing "serious flaws" in the Compliance, Safety and Accountability program.