How safe is your ELD?
TORONTO, Ont. -- Electronic logging devices (ELDs) present a real threat to security for the trucking industry says Geotab vice president, product safety Glenn Atkinson. “It’s surprising the number of small to medium-sized companies that aren’t aware of what they’re putting in their truck,” he said at a morning session at the 2018 Geotab Connect conference.
Smoke Screen: Testing remains in a legal vacuum
July 1 has secured an unusual place in the story of marijuana. The national holiday was once reported as the deadline to legalize recreational weed. That didn’t happen, of course, but Canada Day is still left as the deadline for Ontario’s Cannabis Act, which established related rules for drivers and sellers alike. Canada’s cross-border drivers even began facing their mandated drug tests on July 1, 1996.
Test and Measure: Not all testing methods equal
TORONTO, Ont. -- Whether testing for the presence of alcohol or drugs in a workplace, or at the side of a road, each tool comes with its own pros and cons. Now that Canada is preparing to legalize recreational marijuana, police forces across the country are being trained in oral fluids testing, also known as saliva testing, and the Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST). And these are both options for a fleet looking to determine a driver’s fitness for duty. Both methods offer immediate results – unlike tests involving hair, urine, or blood. That’s good enough to determine fitness for duty and keep a potentially impaired driver off the highway. But courts typically rely on another layer of tests, which means the initial positive results might not be enough to terminate someone.
Kindersley lauded for commitment to diversity
SASKATOON, Sask. – Kindersley Transport says recognition for its employment equity and diversity program is a humbling experience. The group was one of 18 recognized last Fall with an inaugural Employment Equity Achievement Award (EEAA) from the Government of Canada. The EEAA is awarded to companies that are subject to the federal Employment Equity Act, who have implemented programs to help create more diverse workplaces.
Video: Find the right spec’ing balance
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- One of the biggest challenges for any fleet manager is a spec'ing decision, looking to strike the balance between initial purchase prices and performance. Maintenance leaders from Challenger Motor Freight, Bison Transport, and Titanium Transport shared their approaches with peers at the Canadian Fleet Maintenance Summit.
Here Comes the Sun: Does solar have a role as an alternative fuel?
TORONTO, Ont. -- In some corners of North America, the idea of adding solar power to a truck or trailer is a no-brainer. You'd be forgiven for thinking that none of those corners are in Canada. That's mostly true, but it doesn't necessarily mean that solar has no place here. Just that you must be careful in assessing manufacturer claims about what their solar gizmo can actually do. Almost all of Canada gets an average of 4.2 hours of solar sunlight a day. Two areas -- a small stretch of the southern prairies and a little ribbon of central B.C. -- crank that number up to 4.5 hours. Compare that to as many six hours in Arizona, New Mexico, and a patch of southeast California. Doesn't sound like much of a difference, but it's a big deal. A 300-watt solar setup that can help to run a tractor's electric APU in that part of the U.S. would probably have to be a 600- or 800-watt setup for a rig running, say, a Toronto-Montreal-Halifax route. It also means that manufacturer claims can be rather idealistic if calculations were based on experience in warm and sunny parts of our world. There's no subterfuge involved here, but “your mileage may vary,” as they say.
Are your driver drug test records secure?
TORONTO, Ont. – Cross-border drivers face drug tests when they’re hired, after an accident, and randomly throughout the year. But once you give a sample, what happens to the medical data? It’s a similar question to one that researchers from St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto asked in a study of five teaching hospitals, including clinics and physicians’ offices.
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