Future of Trucking

[roadweazel]

Found this at [www.layover.com]

link to this is [http://www.layover.com/owneroperator/grapevine/0106.html]


Q: What's in store for the trucking industry? What have you heard?

A:
First of all, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the trucking industry's leading research organization, recently unveiled its list of the top ten (10) critical issues facing the U.S. trucking industry. The high cost of diesel fuel and the driver shortage were the two leading issues in the survey of more than 2,000 trucking executives. Making the top ten list along with diesel fuel costs and the driver shortage were: insurance costs, hours-of-service, tolls and highway funding, tort reform, regulatory redundacy/costs, congestion, environmental issues, and trucking security.
Next, imagine you are driving your truck down the highway when a DOT officer pulls you over. Before even looking at your logbook or truck, he tells you that your vehicle is overweight, the brakes are out of adjustment, your medical card has expired, and you are in violation of the hours-of-service.

It may sound impossible now, but that is just the sort of high-tech inspection the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) might like to see, and the agency is asking for the public's help to develop it. The FMCSA is seeking creative ideas on new ways to conduct inspections using wireless communications, sensors, and other new technologies that can give inspectors a lot of information without having to review paperwork and climb under the truck.

The ultimate goal of a partially- or fully-automated inspection process is to improve the quality of inspections, increase the number of vehicles screened and inspected, and/or enable faster inspections, resulting in improved effectiveness, efficiency, and most of all safety.



I thought the DOT could not base your HoS on the Qualcom computer log( over than Werner Ent.)

 

[greg334]

My Thoughts…

OK I know some are not going to agree with this, but it is time that many of you realize that technology is going to change trucking to the point where we will have little latitude to squeak by as many have been use to in the past. It is sad that this profession has to fall into the trap of “safety is needs to be number one, so we are mandating ….(fill in the blanks)†by the government.

I think that Qualcomm is pushing the tracking service as part of their strategic plans and lobbying the government to use their services. I got somewhere a large manual of all their services and equipment and I can tell you there is a lot they offer for all kinds of parts of transportation.

I do know that sensors, engine control data dumps and other things may soon be a part of new trucks as some safety mandate and this stuff will be as seamless to you as your XM radio. Most of your engines already track some data, more for diagnostics but can very easily expand to include speed, engine run time and your driving habits.

As for logging, I can easily see where the DOT office already has your log pulled up on his/her computer in the near future. It can be done so easily, but not one of the present logging software is usable let alone acceptable by minimal government standards. (If anyone wants to know why, I can tell you, just ask.)

 

[bryan]

Hi
Anyone remember ADVANTAGE 75 AND 401.I'd love to find all the info on that deal.They had signs up and down 75 and the 401,at the scales and at the Ambassador bridge.Also remember customs officers talking about a card that all commercial drivers would be given and at the border the driver would swipe the card.Kind of like Easy Pass except this was how you cleared the freight.
Forget big brother we need to worry about big business they are the ones really watching. I know that will get some laughs but think about what all has changed in the last few years all in the name of safty.Canada is a good example:OPP made the statement that truck drivers were the safest drivers on the 400 series highways and now the goverment wants to put speed limiters on trucks.Sounds to me like someone in parliment owns a company that makes speed limiters.Of courseit could just be that nobody in the goverment ever talks to the people who actually know something about the issues.But then again why waste taxpayers money on something that isn't needed.
My other conspiricy theory is that by increasing the rules and regulations that effect this industry the goverment can move more Americans out of the trucking industry and move more immagrants in.It hasn't effected the expedited sgement as bad as the OTR yet but I'm sure the powers that be are working on it.