Trucking News from July 2023
It’s that time again! We collected what we think are the important trucking news stories from July. Let’s take a look at the industry news from a busy July with news about truck parking, regulation enforcement, and more.
Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy some trucking news from July you might have missed.
Truck Parking
Over $23.4 million in federal funds to pay for 2 new truck parking facilities – Truck parking will improve in two states thanks to federal funding for two projects. Federal grants were awarded recently for the projects that will create a total of 170 new truck parking places in Texas and Louisiana.
Arizona rest area reopens with $7.5 million in upgrades, expanded truck parking – On July 18, ADOT said that the Sunset Point Rest Area has reopened for public use after being partially shuttered in September 2022 for upgrades.
102 new truck parking spaces added at 2 new Love’s locations – Love’s Travel Stops opened new locations in Willcox, Arizona, and Lucedale, Mississippi.
Nevada to Build Truck Parking Areas Along Northern I-80 – New truck parking construction will start this summer on a northern Nevada freight route on Interstate 80 at the Golconda Summit so drivers no longer have to park along roadway shoulder ramps to rest.
University Wants Truckers’ Feedback on Rest Areas – The School of Public Health University of Saskatchewan is looking for long-haul truck drivers across Canada to express views and perspectives on what types of amenities truck stops should have in order to meet their needs.
Truckers remind public lack of parking means they “have to break the law” – “It’s very frustrating,” said truck driver Brent France. “That’s probably the number one thing I deal with every day. I have two choices: I have to sacrifice money out of my pocket through either fines or a loss of miles per day.”
Infrastructure
Wyoming Lands $13 Million Grant to Improve Interchange – Upgrade Set for State’s Largest and Busiest Intersection at Interstates 25 and 80 in Cheyenne. Wyoming officials are eager to start spending a new $13 million federal grant to complete final redesign to modernize where interstates 25 and 80 intersect in the state’s largest and most heavily used interchange, which was built in the 1960s.
Trans-Canada Highway improvement work in B.C. to begin in fall – Improvements to the Trans-Canada Highway between Ford Road and Tappen Valley Road are scheduled to begin this fall. A $128-million contract for the project has been awarded to Emil Anderson Construction. Work will require three construction seasons and is expected to be completed in 2026.
I-49 worst road for washroom breaks in U.S., study reveals – Finding a washroom on the road is a constant struggle for truck drivers, but those who travel I-49 have to hold it for longer than their peers on other highways. A study from QS Supplies shows the route that runs from Lafayette, Louisiana, to Kansas City, Missouri, has two rest stops spaced an average 264 miles (425 km) apart on the 528-mile (850-km) interstate.
Trucking Enforcement
Minnesota Adding Tire Enforcement Tech – The Minnesota State Patrol will be using high-tech systems that screen commercial vehicles at weigh stations to identify missing or underinflated tires. International Road Dynamics will supply 15 of its Tire Anomaly and Classification Systems (TACS) to the Minnesota Department of Transportation under a new contract. They will be added to five existing Virtual Weigh Station sites that are being used by the Minnesota State Patrol for weight enforcement and by the state DOT for traffic data collection.
New federal fines for Hours of Service, ELDs, range from $300 to $2,000 – Truck drivers and carriers face 60 new federal fines for Hours-of-Service violations – including those specific to mandated electronic logging devices (ELDs). Coming in three tiers, the fines range from $300 to $1,000 for drivers, and $600 to $2,000 for motor carriers.
Higher ELD, Hours of Service Fines Coming to Canada – Canada has introduced a new tier of fines related to electronic logging devices (ELDs). These changes could result in substantially higher fines for violators but a simpler process for resolving the violation.
North Carolina troopers are using AI to catch texting truckers – The North Carolina Highway Patrol (NCHP) is using new technology in order to identify truckers who are driving distracted, according to a report.
Study reveals states with the most distracted driver-related fatalities – Analyzing the most recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), business litigation and personal injury lawyers at Heninger Garrison Davis found that New Mexico has the highest rate of fatal crashes involving distracted drivers at 40.75%. With 174 out of 427 of traffic fatalities involving a distracted driver, New Mexico’s proportion of fatal crashes involving distracted driving is more than five times greater than the national rate of 8.12% observed across U.S.
Here’s what truckers are saying about the FMCSA’s controversial automatic emergency braking rule – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is now accepting public comments on a proposed rule to require automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems on heavy-duty trucks.
Side underride guards the most expensive mandate in trucking history? – The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s plan to mandate side underride guards has become a hot topic with almost 2,000 comments on a federal regulatory docket and a major mainstream media look into the long regulatory saga. But the side underride guards, intended to prevent the extremely dangerous situation of passenger vehicles going under a trailer during a crash, might cause more harm than good, many commenters note, despite efforts to cast them as life-saving devices.
Large Opposition to Side Underride Guard Proposal – Much more research and data collection is needed, before the U.S. government considers a rule requiring side under-guards on heavy trucks. As the first round of written comments closed July 20 on an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, it’s clear most industry stakeholders believe the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration must conduct more research, data collection and real-world testing to convince industry that a regulatory side underride mandate is a good idea, or if the costs are worth the benefits.
Trucking Business
Canada’s share of women truckers lags totals in North American survey – A Women in Trucking (WIT) survey has concluded that women account for nearly 12.1% of North America’s professional drivers, but preliminary 2021 Census data suggests Canadian-specific totals are actually far less than that.
VIDEO: Can an ‘average Joe’ drive a big rig with zero training? – Is it possible to hop in a semi truck and successfully operate it with no formal training or experience? That’s what the guys in this video are looking to find out.
