Overdrive

16 | Overdrive | June 2017 Logbook The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hinted in a court document filed in late April that it may alter or delay fast-approaching emissions regulations scheduled to apply to model-year 2018 trailers. The so-called Phase 2 emissions regulations, published last year, call on truck, engine and trailer makers to make significant gains in boosting the fuel economy of tractor-trailers as a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. EPA, facing a lawsuit from the Truck and Trailer Manufacturers Association over the trailer-specific portion of the Phase 2 rule, filed a court motion in late April to have the lawsuit stalled for 90 days. The motion argued the agency "could decide to conduct further rulemak- ing or undertake other actions that could obviate the need for judicial resolution of some or all of the issues raised by" TTMA's lawsuit. EPA did not respond to a request for the agency to clarify its inten- tions for the trailer-specific emis- sions regulationsMove. Under President Trump, EPA already has announced plans to revise fuel economy standards and emissions regulations relating to light-duty and passenger vehicles, as well as rollbacks to emissions regulations for power plants enact- ed by the Obama administration. The Trump administration has announced no plans to review or alter heavy-duty vehicle emissions standards. A three-judge panel overseeing TTMA's lawsuit on May 8 granted EPA's request for a 90-day stay of the litigation. Proceedings in the lawsuit are set to resume July 20, barring changes by EPA to the trailer emissions component of the Phase 2 rule. – James Jaillet Trailer emissions order in question CAROLYN MOON, who along with her hus- band Bill co-founded Iowa 80 Truckstop in Walcott, Iowa, died May 4. In 1965, Carolyn and Bill leased the truck stop from Stan- dard Oil. In 1984, the couple purchased the facility and built it into what they billed as the world's largest truck stop. It hosts the annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree. CALIFORNIA-BASED trucker Erick Omar Rios, 37, of San Ysidro, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for hauling cocaine. The Kansas Highway Patrol found more than 44 pounds of cocaine on his truck. J&L TRUCKING, a Beatrice, Alabama- based owner-operator business run by Jeffery Finklea, was shut down following a fatal traffic accident in March when one of the company's two trucks crossed the center line of State Route 13 and collided head-on with a passenger car, killing both of its occupants. The truck's driver admitted to falling asleep. He did not have logs for the previous seven days or a valid medical certificate. Uber's autonomous truck unit in San Francisco will be inspected by California regulators over concerns that the company may have been breaking the law by testing its autonomous trucks on public highways. The Department of Mo- tor Vehicles and California Highway Patrol will be tak- ing a closer look at Uber's self-driving technology and meet with company officials to determine if its trucks have been used in autonomous mode on public roads. According to Forbes, the inspection was prompted by the publication of an internal Otto document in which the company refers to testing its self-driving trucks on a daily basis around San Francisco, which contradicts what Uber told California offi- cials in February. Otto was acquired by Uber last year. Other Otto information made public includes test- ing procedures on autono- mous driving prepared for officials in Colorado. This information also varies from what Uber presented to California officials. "Based on DMV's meeting with the company earlier this year, they con- veyed that the technology operating on California roads is not autonomous," DMV spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez told Forbes. "This meeting will be a follow-up to that." Trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds cannot operate autonomously on public roads in California. A request for com- ment from Uber was not returned. – Tom Quimby Self-driving truck may have violated law Otto, acquired by Uber last year, may have violated California state law by testing its vehicles on public highways. Otto performed two legal tests last year in Colorado and Ohio.

• Cover
• CAT ON A GREASY FIFTH WHEEL Wendy Parker’s pet feline snaps and nearly ruins her new couches.
• BUSINESS: Uber enters freight-matching market “Uber for trucking,” a descriptor long touted by app-based load-matching services, has taken a literal form now that the ride-sharing giant last month unveiled its Uber Freight app. It’s aimed at the owner-op
• COVER STORY: Path to prosperity Overdrive’s Most Beautiful winner Stephanie Klang spreads the word of how trucking served as her ticket to the good life.
• Where the rubber meets the road A tire might look like a simple component – a round piece of rubber with a tread design – though it’s anything but.
• The crazy quilt of intrastate logging States failing to adopt an e-logging mandate. State hours of service differing from the federal rule. ELDs missing state-specific features. For the intrastate driver required to use e-logs, the change could get compl
• Diversions Re-creation of “Bandit” bridge jump set; Trucker Talent Search winner teams with fellow finalists; a new book from one of Overdrive’s own.
• The safety flaw of 14 straight hours.
• Pulse: Uber’s load plan.
• Bringing apnea experts into the truck.
• Indie truck stops remain popular.
• TSA warns of truck- ramming terrorism.
• Wireless roadside inspections hit brakes.
• Trailer emissions order in question.
• Florida, Texas rank highest for congestion costs.
• Car haulers’ touching tribute to police.
• Rethwisch wins Shell Rotella’s SuperRigs.
• Proffitt racks up Bandit Series wins.
• Custom KW’s interior gets a facelift.
• Reader Rigs: ’07 W900L a desert runner; ’05 9400i flying like an Eagle; ’15 389 has Pride and Class; ’09 389 a quad-axle Pete; ’14 389 has northern exposure; ’16 389 steps across borders.