Trucking Industry

Trucks Coming to B.C. Will Be Able to Get Permits Online

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onroutebc
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24/7 online permit for trucks entering British Columbia

“We know that the current system of obtaining a truck permit takes time. With the introduction of a new automated online permitting system, commercial operators will now have the ability to obtain permits 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with no wait times,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Todd Stone announced today.

“This system will help the commercial vehicle industry get goods to market faster, by automatically approving permits and showing drivers detailed information on the approved route to follow.”

The new system is called onRouteBC, and it’s the first of it’s kind in Canada. It will replace B.C.’s current Transport Permit System (TPS).

onRouteBC will debut this month with pilot partners only. All commercial vehicles will have access to onRouteBC on October 3. The old TPS system will be available for a while, too — it’s won’t just disappear — until the rollout of the new onRouteBC system is complete.

“The trucking industry will benefit greatly from onRouteBC’s streamlined permit process and enhanced functionality,” said Louise Yako of the BC Trucking Association. “Importantly, onRouteBC will also free resources currently dedicated to routine permit applications, allowing ministry staff to focus its expertise on applications that require more in-depth review and planning because of the size of the load or challenges on the route. These improvements should result in a more efficient and timely permitting process. I’m sure trucking companies look forward to using onRouteBC.”

Should Heavy Duty Trucks Have Speed Limiters? There’s a New Law Being Passed to Do This

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65 miles per hour is the max heavy trucks will be allowed to go under a new law expected to be published in a matter of weeks, if the DOT has accepted the ATA’s recommendations, but details of the bill have not yet been made public.

The American Trucking Associations asked that a 65 mile limit apply to all trucks weighing over 26,000 pounds.

The requirement has been in the works since 2014, when it was proposed by the ATA and Roadsafe America, and will be implemented by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Not much is known about exactly what the new law will contain, such as time frames and speed limits.

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Trucker found love by texting number scrawled on toilet wall offering a ‘good sh-g’

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Now, Donna Roberts usually tells friends her husband originally texted her by mistake, but the parents of two kids actually met when Mark Ellis found Donna’s phone number on the wall of a toilet at his local pub.

Ellis decided to text the number, which was part of a message that read, “If you want a good sh-g call Donna on …” The message was written by Donna’s ex.

“Hi. What are you up to?” Ellis texted her. He later said he did it partly to see if it was a real number.

Donna, who is a legal secretary, didn’t know how Ellis got her number, but the two people texted back and forth and met a couple of days later.

Now, they have two kids aged 8 and 9, but the kids don’t know the story of their meeting yet.

US Investigating First Auto-Pilot Car Crash Death

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A collision in Florida in which a self-driving vehicle hit a tractor trailer making a turn at a highway intersection is being investigated by the U.S. government. The crash is the first in which a self-driving car has caused death.

The government is currently investigating Tesla’s auto-pilot system.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Tesla hit the semi truck when the truck was making a left turn on a divided highway intersection.

The Tesla was destroyed as everything below its windshield passed under the tractor, coming to a stop hundreds of feet further on.

The Tesla driver died of injuries from the crash, which happened May 7 in Williston, a city southwest of Gainesville, Florida.

According to Tesla, the car’s system did not notice the white side of the tractor-trailer against the sky. The driver didn’t notice, either, Tesla’s representatives said, and no one hit the brakes.

“The high ride height of the trailer combined with its positioning across the road and the extremely rare circumstances of the impact caused the Model S to pass under the trailer,” said Tesla.

Currently, the NHTSA is undertaking the process of easing self-driving vehicles onto U.S. roads, and Tesla has become famous as a front-runner in the production of popular self-driving vehicles.

Will This 2,000 HP Electric Semi-Truck “Level the Playing Field” Between Owner Operators and Large Fleets?

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2,000 HP Electric Semi-Truck
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According to the Nikola Motor Company, this 2,000 horsepower electric semi tractor will “even the playing field” between owner operators and large fleets.

Explaining the project, NMC founder Trevor Milton said that he wanted to try to help trucking owner-operators. His plans focus around building the Nikola Ona, a 2,000 horsepower, 3,700-plus ft. lbs. torque tractor that can travel around 1,200 miles (1,931 km) on a charge.

The 6X6 truck is capable of pulling a total gross of 80,000 pounds (36,287 kg) with its 335 horsepower motor and dual gear reduction at every wheel, according to NMC. The foot torque is around 86,000 after gear reduction.

“Torque is instant with an electric motor,” commented Milton. “There is a short window of RPM that you can get good torque from a diesel engine. The electric motor is basically providing 100 percent torque all the time.”

The truck is also lighter — around 2,000 pounds lighter — than regular diesels, according to Milton. This is because the batteries in the electric truck weight less than a diesel engine, and, of course, the truck doesn’t have a diesel engine, or transmission (there’s just an electric and a brake pedal), drive-train, and related weight.

The electric power system provides benefits to the environment, but it also means the designers can enlarge the cab and adjust its shape — in this case, making it more aerodynamic, which can translate into a quieter, more comfortable driving experience.

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It will also have the first-ever independent suspension in the industry, thanks to a partnership with Meritor.

“By working together with some of the top engineering firms in America, we were able to design vehicles that have previously been thought impossible to design,” said Milton. “We want to even the playing field and income inequalities seen between owner operators and fleets for the first time in recent trucking history.

“This is just the beginning of what’s ahead for America, our company and the electric vehicle market.”

The cost of purchasing a Nikola One: $350,000 – $415,000. The cost of operating one: 20 – 30 cents per mile.

The company is taking pre-orders for a fully-refundable down payment of $1,500. The first 5,000 orders will also come with a “free fuel program,” in which drivers will get an “allowance of 100,000 gallons of compressed natural gas.”

Fuel Prices Expected To Swing Up And Down $20 A Barrel This Year

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The average price of retail diesel has dropped to a record low — under $2 a gallon for the first time in 12 years, and gas is currently around $1.72 a gallon.

The prices are tied to a huge supply of diesel and a warmer winter, according to the Energy Information Administration analysit Sean Hill.

The near future of the oil market is expected to involve a return to stability after a period of wide fluctuation, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

They are calling the near future of oil “trendless.” Prices will swing up and down between $20 a barrel and $40, possibly dipping down into the teens, until a price is found at which supply and demand are brought back into balance.

The “trendless” period is expected to last 6-9 months, according to the experts.

By Andy Stern
Sources: TTNews, Bloomberg

Seven Trucks Shot In Past Two Nights On Highway 75

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Wal-Mart officials have said that three trucks were shot Sunday night and three more were shot on Monday night while travelling along a stretch of highway in Oklahoma.

In addition, one other commercial vehicle — reported to have been a Swift truck — and one personal vehicle were hit over the last two nights.

The shooter is suspected to have been firing from the west side of the U.S. 75 highway between 106th Street North and 156th Street North, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, which is assisting in the investigation led by the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office.

The trucker drivers involved reported hearing loud noises at that point along the highway between the hours of 8:30 and 11:30 p.m., which they thought was something hitting their vehicle or a noise from the truck, but did not realize it was gunshots until they found the bullet holes later on.

The trucks were travelling between Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s distribution center near Ochelata and other destinations when they were struck.

UPDATE: Two 14-year-old boys have been arrested in connection with the truck shootings, Oklahoma’s News On 6 has reported, who, according to the organization’s sources, admitted to doing “target practice.”

By Andy Stern
For ongoing coverage, refer to Tulsa World