Recently there have been reports that tire techs have been flooding tires with too much water-based lube when mounting tires. This excess amount of lube starts corrosion in the tire/rim assembly and will interfere with the performance of ALL internal balancing media including the Counteract Balancing Beads that I have been associated with since that product was tested at Auburn University. What happened to the concept of ONLY clean dry air going into the tire?... Read More

I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have been told that “every big rig in America needs to be running my product.” As I dig into the facts I usually find there is a reason the world has not beat a path to the prospective client’s door. A few years ago I was following my standard procedure:... Read More

This article was originally posted on the Eco-Scientific web site by Paul Kauler, a self-described independent consultant, truck driver, diesel mechanic, avid student of life sciences and cancer research technician.... Read More

Does anyone remember the days when the only time we thought about high diesel fuel prices was when OPEC decided to mess with us? Fuel cards were handed out and drivers could fuel anywhere they wanted. Actually, some companies still do it. My guess is that those few companies that still do it, and back in the old days, no one really paid attention to fuel management. It wasn't that important. Today, fuel management better be part of the picture, or companies just won't achieve the fuel savings they should be.... Read More

You're the Safety Manager and you are about to start a driver meeting to go over CSA 2010 and how it relates to the drivers and the company. It's early Saturday morning and all the good donuts have already been picked over. You just made a promise to yourself to never let the dispatchers pick up the donuts again. Your laptop is warming up and you're about to start your very well prepared slide show.... Read More

This blog post was originally posted to the Public Policy & Sustainability Blog by Doug Stotlar, president and chief executive officer of Con-way Inc. Stotlar, along with Tommy Hodges, chairman of American Trucking Associations, and other industry executives joined President Obama at a Rose Garden signing ceremony earlier this year that laid the groundwork for new fuel efficiency standards for the trucking industry. ... Read More

We are on the threshold of the annual summer heat season and the associated road failures that it will bring. I want to take this opportunity to elevate what must surely be in the minds of all fleet managers so that you begin now to pay special attention to the several critical maintenance systems and components that could lead to costly road failures and unwanted affects on your delivery times. ... Read More

Prior to making my decision to go to school to obtain my CDL, I had never even been near an 18-wheeler. Up close, that is. Saw them on the roads but didn't really pay any attention to what they were doing or where they were going; didn't know anyone who drove one; and had never been in one. Now that I drive one, it's like I've never driven a car. Driving an 18-wheeler is not as difficult as one might think, but it's certainly different. Below are some of the things I've learned.

Ten Things I Learned Driving a Truck... Read More

At DriveCam we review thousands of risky driving incidents every day. Many of these incidents are near collisions and often, only luck separates these incidents from being a crash. Recently, I was reviewing video clips of several near collisions at a client's request to see how many were unavoidable and could merit positive recognition for the driver. There were some, but there were also many where the driver inadvertently placed himself in a situation that increased the potential of a close call. By examining DriveCam's database of more than 15 million driving events, we know that drivers with an avoidable near collision are...... Read More

The truck world is all abuzz about EPA’s 2010 standards for diesel emissions. Press announcements and media stories are in the news it seems daily. Volvo and Mack announced that they received the first 2010 EPA certification. International continues their legal wrangling with EPA over allowing the use of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) to comply with 2010 standards. I attended the OPIS Fleet Fueling Conference earlier this fall and the conference subtitle could have been “All About DEF”. The ATA Management Conference in Las Vegas also featured DEF. DEF, in case you don’t live and breathe the truck world, is diesel exhaust fluid. DEF is a chemical used in an SCR control device to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx). In the eyes of a truck operator, DEF is another fuel system that must be maintained and replenished.... Read More