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FMCSA Issues Rule Increasing Most Motor Carrier Civil Penalties

Read more at: http://www.ttnews.com/articles/base...utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=newsletter



The penalty for operating in violation of an out-of-service order jumped 41%, to $22,587 from $16,000, according to the rule.

By contrast, the agency decreased the penalty for a driver operating a commercial vehicle during the period the driver was placed out of service to $1,782 from $3,100.

The penalty for serious violations of hazardous materials regulations remained the most costly, increasing to $179,933 from $175,000."
 
ZF, WABCO develop emergency steering technology

http://fleetowner.com/equipment/zf-...m=email&elq2=185dd93d365b4147b5635024e2b0c3d3

"The assistant function detects if the automatic emergency braking system or driver braking is sufficient to enable a stop before hitting the obstacle. If braking is insufficient, as may be the case on slippery roads or if traffic hazards appear suddenly in blind curves or after hill crests, the EMA directs the truck with its trailer (initiated by the steering motion of the driver to the right or left) independently and safely toward the desired open lane or hard shoulder, even at maximum speed.

“Our innovative function simultaneously evades, brakes and stabilizes automatically—at all speeds, with any load in the semitrailer truck and with any type of semi-trailer,” says Mitja Schulz, senior vice president and general manager, Commercial Steering Systems at ZF TRW."
 
How Amazon Triggered a Warehouse Robot Arms Race

Read more at: http://www.ttnews.com/articles/base...utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=newsletter

"Those are Kiva robots, once the marvel of warehouses everywhere. Amazon whipped out its wallet and threw down $775 million to purchase these robot legions in 2012. The acquisition effectively gave Jeff Bezos, its 52-year-old chief executive, command of an entire industry. He decided to use the robots for Amazon and Amazon alone, ending the sale of Kiva's products to warehouse operators and retailers that had come to rely on them. As contracts expired, they had to find other options to keep up with an ever-increasing consumer need for speed. The only problem was that there were no other options. Kiva was pretty much it"
 
SwampRatt said:
TEXAS: 1 in 5 commercial trucks taken off road in DPS inspections

http://keyetv.com/news/local/1-in-5-commercial-trucks-taken-off-road-in-dps-inspections

"During that three day span inspectors looked at 7,795 commercial motor vehicles across the state and had to take 1,751 (22.5 percent) off the road because of safety violations. They also took 224 drivers out of service for not complying with state and federal laws."
Click to expand...

I wonder how many of those taken off the road was near the Mexican border?
 
SwampRatt said:
Why Will the Feds Let Robots Drive Trucks but Not Trains?

Read more at: http://www.ttnews.com/articles/base...utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=newsletter

"Peter Mills sees an inconsistency. One arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation is recommending two-person crews be required for freight trains as another plans to spend billions to help develop driverless technology for longhaul trucks"
Click to expand...
And it's a lot easier to automate trains than it is road going vehicles.

Anybody hear about the guy who was killed using the autopilot on his Tesla Model S? The computer malfunctioned and attempted to drive the car under a truck that was crossing the road. Bright sunny day, all white tractor trailer unit...and the driver of the Tesla failed to react to the failure of the autopilot. We're not talking "didn't react fast enough" or "didn't have time" because he didn't react at all. No brake application or steering input. Why would that be?

Someone tell me again what a great idea this technology is. The media is encouraging people to believe that "self-driving" means that you don't have to pay attention when the manufacturers themselves keep trying to explain that's not how it works. Driving distracted is just as illegal in a vehicle with autopilot as it is in one without it. Would anyone want to fly on a plane if they started finding out pilots were asleep or watching movies?

This technology is not as mature as everyone keeps insisting it is. These are not "driverless" vehicles, they are vehicles with cruise control that can auto brake and auto steer based on sensor inputs. The human driver MUST be present and aware. What if this idiot who wasn't paying attention drove into the side of a school bus? And imagine the outcry if that idiot wasn't driving a luxury sedan, but an 80000lbs tractor trailer, as it piloted itself into a busload of kids.

These autonomous vehicles need government regulation. They love regulating everything else, why has nobody within the government spoken up about the mistaken belief that driving distracted is okay if the car has autopilot?
 
Canadian Flyer said:
And it's a lot easier to automate trains than it is road going vehicles.

Anybody hear about the guy who was killed using the autopilot on his Tesla Model S? The computer malfunctioned and attempted to drive the car under a truck that was crossing the road. Bright sunny day, all white tractor trailer unit...and the driver of the Tesla failed to react to the failure of the autopilot. We're not talking "didn't react fast enough" or "didn't have time" because he didn't react at all. No brake application or steering input. Why would that be?

Someone tell me again what a great idea this technology is. The media is encouraging people to believe that "self-driving" means that you don't have to pay attention when the manufacturers themselves keep trying to explain that's not how it works. Driving distracted is just as illegal in a vehicle with autopilot as it is in one without it. Would anyone want to fly on a plane if they started finding out pilots were asleep or watching movies?

This technology is not as mature as everyone keeps insisting it is. These are not "driverless" vehicles, they are vehicles with cruise control that can auto brake and auto steer based on sensor inputs. The human driver MUST be present and aware. What if this idiot who wasn't paying attention drove into the side of a school bus? And imagine the outcry if that idiot wasn't driving a luxury sedan, but an 80000lbs tractor trailer, as it piloted itself into a busload of kids.

These autonomous vehicles need government regulation. They love regulating everything else, why has nobody within the government spoken up about the mistaken belief that driving distracted is okay if the car has autopilot?
Click to expand...
The latest I heard, the Tesla test mule driver was watching a movie. Yeah...

Seems to me, the only environment where self driving "could work", would be interstate/controlled access roads. Even then, it would require extensive updating/retrofitting to the infrastructure, as well as vehicles. That would require huge expenditure of funds. Funds this government doesn't have. The rail would be a far more sensible test ground, and it's private, self contained, etc. But no, our government seems to do exactly the opposite of what they should, most every step or the way. (end rant...)
 
SwampRatt said:
The latest I heard, the Tesla test mule driver was watching a movie. Yeah...

Seems to me, the only environment where self driving "could work", would be interstate/controlled access roads. Even then, it would require extensive updating/retrofitting to the infrastructure, as well as vehicles. That would require huge expenditure of funds. Funds this government doesn't have. The rail would be a far more sensible test ground, and it's private, self contained, etc. But no, our government seems to do exactly the opposite of what they should, most every step or the way. (end rant...)
Click to expand...
I heard that too. And Tesla is already advising people against driving these cars distracted because it's that obvious. I also heard people have been seen sleeping at the wheel of these cars.

Sometimes I think we, as a species, put way too much faith in the technology we create. I'm all for making life easier, but we should take caution before putting our lives in the care of such things. This autopilot would be a good thing for what they're actually intended for (reduced workload on the driver, the same reason it's used in planes) but as long as they keep using the buzzword "driverless" people are going to believe a human isn't required.
 
Canadian Flyer said:
And it's a lot easier to automate trains than it is road going vehicles.

Anybody hear about the guy who was killed using the autopilot on his Tesla Model S? The computer malfunctioned and attempted to drive the car under a truck that was crossing the road. Bright sunny day, all white tractor trailer unit...and the driver of the Tesla failed to react to the failure of the autopilot. We're not talking "didn't react fast enough" or "didn't have time" because he didn't react at all. No brake application or steering input. Why would that be?

Someone tell me again what a great idea this technology is. The media is encouraging people to believe that "self-driving" means that you don't have to pay attention when the manufacturers themselves keep trying to explain that's not how it works. Driving distracted is just as illegal in a vehicle with autopilot as it is in one without it. Would anyone want to fly on a plane if they started finding out pilots were asleep or watching movies?

This technology is not as mature as everyone keeps insisting it is. These are not "driverless" vehicles, they are vehicles with cruise control that can auto brake and auto steer based on sensor inputs. The human driver MUST be present and aware. What if this idiot who wasn't paying attention drove into the side of a school bus? And imagine the outcry if that idiot wasn't driving a luxury sedan, but an 80000lbs tractor trailer, as it piloted itself into a busload of kids.

These autonomous vehicles need government regulation. They love regulating everything else, why has nobody within the government spoken up about the mistaken belief that driving distracted is okay if the car has autopilot?
Click to expand...
Surely there is a money trail to follow. It is the most corrupt organization in the world after all
 
Truck-related deaths up 4% in 2015 (the headline)

NHTSA preliminary report shows overall traffic fatalities up 7.7% (The rest of the story)

The most significant increases came for pedestrians and bicyclists, the agency notes. (also a significant part of the story)

Several stories on this topic:

http://fleetowner.com/safety/truck-...m=email&elq2=243704792f4e42baa27eb6c59d8276d2

http://www.ccjdigital.com/nhtsa-rep...urnal&ust_id=124f9551466b2c5785e539d1cda3c973

http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=42447&page=1

Only the last one correctly mentions the big contributing factor:

"The ever-increasing use of digital communications devices while driving is undoubtedly exacerbating the situation.”



 
SwampRatt said:
Truck-related deaths up 4% in 2015 (the headline)

NHTSA preliminary report shows overall traffic fatalities up 7.7% (The rest of the story)

The most significant increases came for pedestrians and bicyclists, the agency notes. (also a significant part of the story)

Several stories on this topic:

http://fleetowner.com/safety/truck-...m=email&elq2=243704792f4e42baa27eb6c59d8276d2

http://www.ccjdigital.com/nhtsa-report-shows-increase-in-truck-related-fatalities-in-2015/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_content=07-06-2016&utm_campaign=Commercial Carrier Journal&ust_id=124f9551466b2c5785e539d1cda3c973

http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=42447&page=1

Only the last one correctly mentions the big contributing factor:

"The ever-increasing use of digital communications devices while driving is undoubtedly exacerbating the situation.”
Click to expand...
People have been run over by busses they're trying to catch. And it's amazing how many people you see standing on a street corner with their nose in their phone, oblivious to the approaching trailer tires.

I even saw a video on YouTube of a guy texting while walking who walked straight into the side of a big white van.
 
Indicators: For-hire trucking employment dips for fifth straight month

http://www.ccjdigital.com/indicator...urnal&ust_id=124f9551466b2c5785e539d1cda3c973

image-32-2016-07-08-08-48-500x309.png
 
Freight brokers, 3pls will search for capacity using e-log data from truckers

http://www.ccjdigital.com/freight-brokers-3pls-will-find-capacity-by-using-e-log-data-from-truckers/

“The genius in the Trucker Tools concept is that once they know what hours a driver has available to run legally, they will be able to present to market makers and 3pls only the power units that are legal to run the load we’re posting,” Wilson says. “This in turn negates the risk of driver coercion for the market makers’ load planner.

Talk about tracking every move... Welcome to Big Data.
 
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