Arkansas Trucking Association

Elon Musk published part deux of his “master plan” for Tesla Motors Inc., which includes a future with an integrated solar and battery product, the addition of a pickup, freight truck and bus to its electric vehicle lineup and plans for a ride-sharing business.

Consumers can expect Tesla to look beyond expensive passenger vehicles to public transit and cargo shipping. “In addition to consumer vehicles, there are two other types of electric vehicle needed: heavy-duty trucks and high passenger-density urban transport,” Musk, Tesla’s CEO, wrote in the blog post on July 20. “Both are in the early stages of development at Tesla and should be ready for unveiling next year. We believe the Tesla Semi will deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport, while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate."

Arkansas sent nine drivers representing six different carriers to compete at the 2016 National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC) in Indianapolis, Aug. 10-13.

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) sponsors the annual championships, known as the “Super Bowl of Safety,” to recognize industry leadership in safety and to promote professionalism among truck drivers.

This year, more than 430 drivers from all 50 states competed in nine competition classes in Indianapolis after qualifying in their state championships. Collectively, the competitors have accumulated more than 600 million safe-driving miles during their careers as professional truck drivers.

The American Transportation Research Institute is looking for industry feedback with the 2016 Top Industry Issue Survey.

The annual survey, being issued for the 12th year, asks industry stakeholders to rank the top issues of concern for trucking, along with strategies for addressing the issues.

After a House Motor Vehicle and Highways Permanent Subcommittee of Transportation meeting, Ark. Rep. James Sorvillo (R-Little Rock), chairman of the committee, said he wanted to better educate the public to report road debris.

After encountering road debris first-hand and the $1200 bill in damages it caused his wife’s vehicle, Sorvillo wants to see a solution to what he says is a growing problem.

"Any debris on the highway can be a hazard and a safety concern," says Shannon Newton, President of the Arkansas Trucking Association.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s medical review board will soon offer new recommendations for changing standards and practice for medical examiners diagnosing and treating truck drivers for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Specifically, the board will make suggestions to the agency on the disposition of comments from medical professionals and associations, as well as from safety advocacy, labor and industry groups.

A new poll by the Natural Resources Defense Council shows that respondents of all political views “overwhelmingly” endorse initiatives to curb carbon pollution from cars and trucks, according to the non-profit organization.

NRDC’s poll finds that 77 percent of Americans think “cars and trucks contribute to the problem of air pollution” a great deal or somewhat. Additionally, 95 percent of Americans want automakers to keep improving fuel economy for cars and trucks. And 79 percent want the government to keep increasing fuel efficiency standards.  

The Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have released new emissions and fuel economy standards for medium and heavy-duty vehicles and engines.

The heavy-duty category incorporates all motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 8,500 lbs or greater, and the engines that power them, except for medium-duty passenger vehicles already covered by the greenhouse gas standards and corporate average fuel economy standards issued for light-duty model year 2017-2025 vehicles. This “Phase 2” of greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency standards is a continuation of the Obama Administration’s efforts under the Climate Action Plan.

Arkansas’ best truck drivers to compete at national championship

The Arkansas Trucking Association is sending nine drivers to compete in the 2016 National Truck Driving Championship and National Step Van Championship in Indianapolis, Ind. Aug. 10–13. American Trucking Associations will be hosting more than 400 of the trucking industry's top professional truck drivers at the Indiana Convention Center for the 79th annual "Super Bowl of Safety."

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the trucking industry's not-for-profit research organization, today launched the 2016 Top Industry Issues Survey. The annual survey, commissioned by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), asks trucking industry stakeholders to rank the top issues of concern for the industry along with appropriate strategies for addressing each issue. The survey is in its 12th year and participation by trucking stakeholders has grown each year.

The Arkansas Trucking Association wants to encourage all its members to complete the survey from the website by clicking here.

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted in May to send the full House a bill that would permanently restore 2011 regulations pertaining to the 34-hour restart provisions of the hours of service requirements.

The provisions would revert restart rules to those in effect in December 2011. A 34-hour restart would not be required to include the two 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. periods, and its use would not be limited to once a week. The 30-minute break requirement would still be in effect, however, and would be the lone remaining element of the hours of service changes that went into effect in July 2013.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told a Senate panel that Compliance, Safety, Accountability carrier ranking system changes will take about two years to complete, and the industry shouldn’t expect to see CSA scores—the percentile rankings in the CSA Safety Measurement System’s seven BASICs — return to public view until those changes have been made.

“Based on our preliminary assessment, it’s going to take a while to do the revised analysis,” Foxx said. The changes in the CSA score methodology were required in Congress’ 2015 FAST Act bill.