The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is expecting major traffic delays when they close portions of I-70 in Kansas City for construction this weekend.

According to MoDOT, both directions of I-70 will be shut down in Kansas City as of 10 p.m. on Friday, February 21, until 5 a.m. on Monday, February 24.

MoDOT says that I-70 west will be closed between Route 291/I-470 and I-435 while eastbound I-70 will be closed at I-435.

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Michelin North America Inc. is raising prices on selected Michelin-, BFGoodrich- and Uniroyal-brand passenger and light truck tires by up to 7% in the U.S. and 5% in Canada, effective March 16.

The price changes may vary across specific products within each brand portfolio, Micheiln said, without elaborating on its reasons for raising prices.

Details will be presented directly to dealers, with additional questions addressed directly through account managers, the company said.

Markus Lienkamp is the chair of Automotive Engineering at the Technical University of Munich. It seems that would make him a full blown auto expert (hence the title). Lienkamp told Business Insider that, “The battery for a Tesla Semi must have a capacity of about 1,000 kWh per 100 kilometers, about 130 kWh.” He adds that “this is technically not easily feasible and it’s also pointless both economically and ecologically.” This was in response to a study conducted by Transport & Environment, which is a consortium of European environmental organizations. The study compared the energy consumption of classic diesel trucks with the energy consumption of electric trucks on long-haul journeys, as well as the technical, regulatory, and financial viability of battery-electric long-haul trucks.

Tesla, Daimler, Renault, and Volvo are all working on large electric trucks. Tesla aims to put its Semi into production this year, with Elon Musk recently noting on a shareholder conference call that a main holdup has simply been battery supply.

The longest-range Tesla Semi will go a distance of 800 kilometers (500 miles) on a single charge, and will be able to accelerate from 0 to 100 in just 20 seconds with 40 tons in tow. The battery can gain 640 kilometers (400 miles) of range in a 30 minute charge. A shorter-range Tesla Semi is expected to have a base price of $150,000, while a longer-range one is supposed to start at $180,000. The former is expected to have around 500 kilometers (300 miles) of range on a full charge.

The authors of the Transport & Environment study write that the success of battery-electric trucks in the EU is technically feasible. This is due to “improvements to battery density, the efficiency of electric power trains and improvements to aerodynamics and tire rolling resistance.”

Another expert from the Laboratory for Commercial Vehicle Technology at the Dresden University of Applied Sciences, Martin Wittmer, disagreed. He says, “Battery-powered trucks are realistic for distribution, the post office or refuse collection, but today’s lithium-ion batteries are too heavy and too expensive for transporting goods over long distances, and after just two to three years, their storage capacity will already be in significant decline.”

What isn’t noted in the article by Business Insider is that these experts did not mention Tesla’s leadership in lithium-ion batteries or the fact that Tesla is working on a million-mile battery. Tesla, along with physicists from Canada’s Dalhousie University, were recently granted a patent for new lithium-ion battery tech using advanced battery chemistry. The title of the patent refers to adjustments to the battery cell chemistry for Tesla products that will increase the battery’s performance and longevity while also saving costs.

Experts who are a bit pessimistic about electric trucks perhaps do not take into account the successes with battery technology Tesla has had. They seem to see Tesla as just another automaker. To them, the Tesla Semi could just be another flashy toy for a few companies to show off to customers. In reality, many trucking customers have indicated it could be a game changer for the trucking world.

Imagine what the success of Tesla Semi could mean not just for other automakers dabbling in EVs, but for the automotive industry as a whole. Perhaps rescue vehicles and buses could benefit with the type of battery tech Tesla is developing.

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When asked what types of changes the industry might expect in hours-of-service rules, Joe DeLorenzo demurred. “All I can say is, I can’t get into where we are with time frame.” DeLorenzo, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s acting associate administrator for enforcement, said the agency was working through the many comments it had received, which he described as “helpful.”

But he said as far as when such changes are actually put into place is unclear. “The way the rulemaking process works at this point, we plow through the comments and then make a determination of what changes there will be,” he explained. “The goal with this rule is to provide some flexibility. I think we are well on the way to doing that.” A panelist for a Feb. 17 session at the Omnitracs Outlook 2020 meeting in Las Vegas, DeLorenzo noted that he feels the process is moving rather quickly.

Mile Millian, president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, said that from the Canadian perspective, flexibility was a key, within limits. Also participating on the panel was Terry Wirachowsky, director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s roadside inspection program. She said she thought changes to the mandatory 30-minute rest period would be helpful and provide some flexibility. As is, the rule is “problematic,” she said, and difficult to enforce at roadside.

DeLorenzo added that he thought “a rule that makes everybody a little unhappy is probably the best,” and compared developing HOS to threading a needle. “Our goal is to provide flexibility while maintaining safety. But the agency has to understand that traffic and infrastructure are much different than they were when the rule was first developed.”

As what the agency has seen since the ELD mandate, DeLorenzo said that when the rule went into effect, HOS daily and weekly limit violations went down. But after dipping at the same time, false log violations have ticked back up, primarily he thinks because roadside inspectors are learning what to watch for.

He said it would probably be another year before the roadside inspectors in each state are really up to speed with ELD reporting and what kinds of things to look for. “When it comes to data transfer, the best way is through the web service, DeLorenzo added. “Not sure why they did the email transfer the way they did it.”

In Canada, the ELD mandate doesn’t take effect for another 16 months, but unlike as there was in the U.S., there will no grandfathered period for truckers currently using automatic onboard recorder data recorders.

That’s not a bad thing, Wirachowsky said. The two-year grandfathering period in the U.S. created problems for roadside inspectors because often neither the inspector nor the driver was sure which type of device was in the truck. In addition, in Canada AOBDRs are not as widely used.

The panel also discussed the impact of the federal drug and alcohol clearinghouse rule and the impact of legalized marijuana on the industry in terms of driver retention and the driver shortage. DeLorenzo said that while states may legalize marijuana use, the FMCSA and the federal government as a whole still consider a positive test for marijuana to be a disqualification. In Canada, marijuana is legal throughout the country, but still prohibited for drivers. Millian noted that there is no mandatory drug testing in Canada, but that his association supports testing.

As for what might be on the regulatory horizon, DeLorenzo said, “You’ve seen over the last few years is that things are changing quickly, and I don’t think that will change.” And the speed of technological change will also have an impact of future rulemaking. He added that he didn’t think the agency had “come to grips” with distracted driving, but that could change as a new transportation authorization bill makes its way through congress. “That’s when many changes come about,” he said, with the authorization bills often including congressional mandates for FMCSA to create rules to address certain issues.

As Wirachowsky noted, the industry itself often comes up with technologies that eventually find their way into the rule books. She cited AOBDRs as an example, with many fleets deploying those technologies well before rules were created around them. “It’s easier for governments to make rules when 60% to 70% of the industry is already doing it,” she said.

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The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) International Roadcheck 2020 will take place May 5-7.

International Roadcheck is a three-day enforcement initiative, over a 72-hour period, in which commercial motor vehicle inspectors in jurisdictions throughout North America will conduct inspections on commercial motor vehicles and drivers.

Each year, International Roadcheck places special emphasis on a category of violations. This year’s focus is on the driver requirements category of a roadside inspection.

“With last year’s federal electronic logging device (ELD)  full-compliance mandate in the U.S., the Alliance decided that this year’s International Roadcheck would be the perfect opportunity to revisit all aspects of roadside inspection driver requirements,” said CVSA President Sgt. John Samis with the Delaware State Police.

During International Roadcheck, CVSA-certified inspectors primarily conduct the North American Standard Level 1 Inspection, a 37-step procedure that includes two main inspection categories: an examination of driver operating requirements and vehicle mechanical fitness. A third category, hazardous materials/dangerous goods, may also be part of a Level I Inspection. Depending on weather conditions, available resources or other factors, inspectors may opt to conduct the Level II Walk-Around Driver/Vehicle Inspection, Level III Driver/Credential/Administrative Inspection or Level V Vehicle-Only Inspection.

The vehicle inspection includes checking critical vehicle inspection items such as: brake systems, cargo securement, coupling devices, driveline/driveshaft components, driver’s seat (missing), exhaust systems, frames, fuel systems, lighting devices, steering mechanisms, suspensions, tires, van and open-top trailer bodies, wheels, rims and hubs, and windshield wipers.

If no critical vehicle inspection item violations are found during a Level I or Level V Inspection, a CVSA decal will be applied to the vehicle, indicating that the vehicle successfully passed a decal-eligible inspection conducted by a CVSA-certified inspector. However, if a required rear impact guard is inspected during a Level I or Level V Inspection and violations are present, a CVSA decal will not be issued.

If an inspector does identify critical vehicle inspection item violations, he or she may render the vehicle out of service if the condition meets the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria. This means the vehicle cannot be operated until the vehicle violation(s) are corrected. A driver can also be placed out of service for driver credential-related issues or driver conditions, such as fatigue or impairment.

In the past, International Roadcheck usually took place during the first week of June. However, this year, International Roadcheck was moved up by one month, from June to May, when the weather may be more favorable for many jurisdictions.

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KITCHENER, Ont. — Altruck International Truck Centres has won the International Truck Presidential Award.

The award, introduced in 2018, honors the top International dealerships that achieve the highest level of performance in a number of benchmarks, including customer satisfaction.

“This award is the highest honor an International dealer principal can achieve from the company,” said Mark Belisle, senior vice-president of distribution at Navistar.

He said Altruck is one of only 14 dealerships in the U.S. and Canada, which has earned this recognition in 2019.

“This award is a great honor for everyone at Altruck because it recognizes all the hard work and professionalism we bring to customers in the Ontario area,” said Ryan Kirby, dealer principal.

“Everyone at Altruck is dedicated to providing an outstanding customer experience.”

Altruck, a division of Kirby International Trucks, is a full-service International dealership serving customers in six locations across Ontario.

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A statement from IDOT said “a theft ring that has impacted the westbound Three Rivers Rest Area on I-80 near Minooka for an extended period. It is now impacting the eastbound rest area as well.”

A transport truck driver was forced off the highway by a snowplow, says the company's fleet manager.

Dooley's Trucking fleet manager Mike Cooper says one of the company's drivers had just left the Fogo Island ferry terminal on Wednesday night when he met a snowplow driver near Stoneville on Route 335.

The incident occurred on Wednesday night near Stoneville after the driver left the Fogo Island Ferry terminal.

"[He] was driving in from Fogo Island, like you do every day, and met a Highways plow coming back towards Farewell. Due to, obviously, weather road conditions he was over a long ways, and our driver had no choice but to go into the ditch," said Cooper.

Staying on the road would have meant risking hitting another vehicle, said Cooper.

"The only option he had at that point was to veer off the roadway," he said. 

"You have a choice. You either hit another vehicle, or you just go in the ditch. And that's what the driver chose to do.… That's not something you want to see coming at you, a big heavy truck like that."

Cooper said the driver is unhurt, but the snowplow operator didn't stop at the scene.

A government official told him Thursday the incident is under investigation.

"Obviously, there's two sides to every story, so we need to find out from his point of view as well what happened," he said. "Nobody's seen him. We have no report of him returning."

Cooper said there were witnesses to the incident who back up their driver's story.

"I spoke to one driver that was following our truck and he basically reiterated what our driver told us."

In an emailed statement, the Department of Transportation and Works said it is aware of the incident and is "reviewing operations and investigating the matter."

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ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Transportation Research Institute today released its annual list highlighting the most congested bottlenecks for trucks in America, and six Washington locations made the top 100.

The 2020 Top Truck Bottleneck List assesses the level of truck-involved congestion at 300 locations on the national highway system. The analysis, based on truck GPS data from over 1 million heavy duty trucks uses several customized software applications and analysis methods, along with terabytes of data from trucking operations to produce a congestion impact ranking for each location. ATRI's truck GPS data is also used to support the U.S. DOT's Freight Mobility Initiative. The bottleneck locations detailed in this latest ATRI list represent the top 100 congested locations, although ATRI continuously monitors more than 300 freight-critical locations.

"Washington's vibrant economy moves in our state's trucks," said Washington Trucking Association Executive Vice President Sheri Call. "As our economy grows, as our trade relationships with Canada and across the Pacific improve, congestion will be a threat to put the brakes on our economic prosperity unless we address our crumbling infrastructure. Congestion ultimately impacts the cost of goods being hauled on trucks held up by needless delays – the cost of doing nothing is one we all pay." 

The six bottlenecks in Washington are:

• No. 34 Vancouver: I-5 at Columbia River
• No. 35 Tacoma: I-5 at I-705/SR 16
• No. 39 Federal Way: SR 18 at I-5
• No. 44 Seattle: I-5 at I-90
• No. 60 Auburn: SR 18 at SR 167
• No. 76 Seattle: I-90 at I-405

"ATA has been beating the drum about the continued degradation of our infrastructure, and thanks to ATRI's research we can see exactly how decades of ignoring the problem are impacting not just our industry but our economy and commuters everywhere," said American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear. "This report should sound the alarm for policymakers that the cost of doing nothing is too high, and provide a roadmap of where to target investments to really solve our nation's mounting infrastructure crisis."

For access to the full report, including detailed information on each of the 100 top congested locations, please visit ATRI's website at TruckingResearch.org.

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Commercial insurance is a popular topic among those in the trucking industry and other commercial sectors in the economy. In response to the increasing attention pertaining to commercial insurance, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has formed the National Commercial Insurance Task Force, with the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) being a key member.

The Task Force will begin meetings this month in Alberta and travelling across the rest of the country in the Winter-Spring of 2020. The IBC Task Force has a mandate to:

• Educate and inform consumers, governments and stakeholders on the factors contributing to the current availability and affordability challenges with commercial insurance;
• Learn from different industry partners, consumers and stakeholders about their experiences related to challenges around insurance availability and affordability;
• Develop a report with recommendations that aim to improve insurance availability and affordability for industry partners, consumers and stakeholders.

“The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) thanks and applauds IBC for taking leadership on this issue and establishing this process,” said CTA President Stephen Laskowski. “This is an opportunity to explore with the insurance industry what changes the membership would like to see in the area of commercial insurance.”

In preparation for this process, CTA has begun surveying its membership on potential areas for improvement they would like to see in commercial insurance.

“Early responses highlighted by members include issues related to insurance fraud, trucking sector specific issues, insurance personnel training, and length of claim process,” said CTA’s Senior VP Policy Geoff Wood. “Members will have an opportunity to be engaged in this process through CTA staff, or in some cases more directly by attending regional meetings of the Task Force. Either way we encourage the membership to get involved.”

To learn more about this important initiative, please click here.

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TORONTO, Ont. – Contracts define responsibilities in any business relationship. But Rui Fernandes is seeing a growing number of documents using “extreme” language that favors shippers.

“They’re trying to transfer all liability to the other side, whether it’s the carrier or another vendor,” said the Fernandes Hearn partner, during the firm’s annual conference in Toronto.

“The verdicts can exceed insurance coverage or even the amount of the company, especially in the U.S.”

The troublesome contract language can come in many forms: An exclusion of liability; limitation of liability; indemnification clauses; insurance clauses; a lack of any need to salvage cargo after a collision; on-time performance clauses and penalties. And when the examples are particularly extreme, he advises clients not to sign the documents.

TORONTO, Ont. – An Ontario-based transportation lawyer is warning carriers to “proceed with extreme caution” if they are using the ‘Driver Inc.’ business model – a structure that attempts to classify employed drivers as independent contractors.

“The consequences to the carrier of engaging Driver Inc. are significant,” said Carole McAfee Wallace of Toronto-based Fernandes Hearn, during a presentation at the firm’s annual conference in Toronto.

WorkSafeBC clearly promotes a worker’s right to refuse unsafe work, be it on a worksite or along our highways.

The Workers Compensation Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act defines what needs to happen if this right is invoked.

On top of this, Canada has the Motor Vehicle Act, to be enforced by the police in any given area.

Under this act there is a law, known as Slow Down, Move Over, which states drivers must reduce their travelling speed, to 70 km/h if the posted speed is more than 80 km/h, for all vehicles stopped alongside the road that have flashing red, blue or yellow lights.

I say posted speed because most drivers add at least 10 km/h to the posted speed.

Drivers are also required to change lanes if safe to do so.

So why is it a tow truck driver was recently seriously injured in Malakwa one night after being struck by a vehicle traveling on a four-lane highway in a snowstorm?

I need to share my humble conclusions of driver mentality driving through our mountains.

You are in too much of a hurry and our highway is not a racetrack.

It is your responsibility to watch for any warning lights of roadside workers.

Under the law, you are required to slow down to 70-km/h.

I suggest in a snowstorm, or when passing through the mountains, that you slow down some more — there is no law against it.

Forget your phone and drive defensively if you are in a mountains snowstorm.

Even our local police complain our Slow Down, Move Over law is not respected. There is not enough manpower to sit at every roadside worksite.

This law came into effect in 2009 and was ratified in 2015. The time for education is over.

Roadside workers, tow truck drivers, service providers, be it phone, hydro or road construction and maintenance — refuse unsafe work.

Demand traffic control at your job site. Do nothing until proper controls are in place to keep you, your equipment and other road users from harm.

It’s the law.

Pass the cost of proper traffic control services to your client.

Proper use of traffic control services in this instance would have given more than a kilometre of warning, reduced traveling speed and shifted oncoming traffic safely into the other lane and provide a buffer vehicle.

Accidents are preventable.

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