Tow operators pulled into CVOR
Ontario expands its Commercial Vehicle Operator's Registration system to include tow trucks in 2017, although an "education" period will help to ease the rules into place. In the meantime, tow operators are still exempted from Hours of Service regulations and the need to pull into roadside scales.
Ontario’s plan to MELT
Ontario will become the first jurisdiction in North America to introduce Mandatory Entry Level Training (MELT) for truck drivers, making it tougher than ever to earn a Class A licence. As of July, wannabe truckers face a minimum of 135 hours of mandatory training, including 36.5 hours in the classroom, 17 hours in yard, 18 hours behind the wheel and off the road, and 32 hours on the road. But will this bring an end to licensing mills that do little more than take tuition and create poorly trained licence holders?
David Bradley’s exit plan
David Bradley, arguably the most recognized industry lobbyist in trucking, retires this year from the role he defined as the long-time Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Trucking Alliance. Stephen Laskowski has been named as his successor, and has already begun to assume many of the related duties.
The rise of autonomous vehicles
This year marked major milestones in the push toward autonomous vehicles. Freightliner unveiled a truck that could drive itself in Nevada. Platoons of trucks from DAF, Iveco, MAN, Scania, Volvo and Daimler made their tightly packed trips to Rotterdam in the Netherlands. A self-driving truck made possible by Otto delivered a load of beer to Colorado Springs. And Canada's first autonomous truck is part of a Suncor trial in Alberta's oil patch. Stay tuned for more. The march of technology continues.
Canada’s approach to Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs)
The days of paper logbooks are numbered for southbound fleets, with the U.S. preparing to mandate Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) by the end of 2017. Canada originally led the way in discussions to set standards for the devices. Now we're playing catch-up. With trucking associations backing their use, it may only be a matter of time before ELDs are mandated for domestic fleets as well.
A marriage made in Europe — VW and Navistar
Volkswagen Truck and Bus stunned North America's trucking industry when it purchased a 16.6% stake in Navistar. The companies are now investigating synergies that could create an estimated $500 million in savings - and bring a Volkswagen-engineered powertrain to our market by 2019.
A new oil category — with two oils
It's a long journey to the top of the CN Tower. There are 1,776 steps for those who want to climb it; the glass-floored elevators are the world's highest. The Toronto landmark even represented the final stop in a long journey toward a new engine oil category that officially took hold on December 1 - and introduces a significant choice for buyers.
Cleaner air, higher equipment prices
Clean air comes at a cost, and that is particularly apparent whenever regulators tighten the limits on emissions. Luckily, Phase II Greenhouse Gases rules will improve fuel economy, giving truckers a chance to recoup the investments on 2018-27 Model Year equipment. That's the good news. While Environment Canada traditionally aligns its rules with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, that could threaten some uniquely Canadian spec'ing options. Research into everything from tires to 6x2 tractors will continue as regulators prepare to unveil Canadian versions of the rules.
IN PRINT — Fit to Drive: Ulch Transport takes action on employee health
Ulch Transport dispatcher Paul Podsadecki was miserable in every sense of the word. He was on a steady dose of Tylenol and antacids to dull the recurring headaches and heartburn. Sleep was fitful when it came at all, and his mood was sour. Fellow employees began to avoid him, and he was officially reprimanded for being too irritable on the job. Then his new family doctor told him he was going to die if things didn't change. And soon. "It was a kick in the butt," Podsadecki admits, referring to his checkup in the winter of 2014. But the scale didn't lie. He weighed in at 330 pounds. "I didn't think I was that big," he says. "I was embarrassed." The news spurred him to action.
Hellish Ontario highway gets TV show
TORONTO, ON -- Highway Thru Hell offered many television viewers their first glimpse of heavy rescue operations, and now the producers are focusing cameras on one of the most hellish routes Canada has to offer -- Ontario's 400 Series highways. Heavy Rescue: 401 debuts on the Discovery Channel this January 3, showcasing the efforts needed to keep traffic moving between Sarnia, Toronto and Barrie.
IN PRINT — Top 10 products of 2016
Here we go again. Another year finished and another chance to head way out on a limb and name 10 products that I think are especially worthy of note from 2016. It's an entirely subjective review, of course, and you may well disagree with every last one of them. So be it. My shortlist was three times as long, not surprisingly. To make things a little easier I've ruled out, as usual, whole trucks and trailers and other products that may have been announced but weren't actually available in 2016. That left out some cool machinery from Freightliner and International, among others. Given the profusion of products in the realm of electronic logs and fleet management software, I felt I had to leave that one alone as well. I could have filled my entire list and still left out some good ones, so I opted to ignore it entirely. With one exception.
IN PRINT — Clear the Air: Know how to care for your DPF
It's not quite the "blue screen of death" that appear on troubled Windows computers, but an engine fault indicator still means a bad day is about to get worse - especially if it means a parked regen. Few drivers or fleets can afford more than an hour to solve a problem that should have been addressed earlier. Aftertreatment systems are one of the most expensive maintenance items on today's trucks. Parts are costly, the associated downtime can be crippling, and many people are still confused about how to care for the systems, even though the equipment has been in the field for eight years.
New to You: Minimize challenges with used trucks
The days of walking around a truck and kicking the tires to see if it's a worthy investment are over. Much of what could cause problems with a used truck is no longer visible to the naked eye. Frankly, if a vehicle has obvious -problems, it's probably wise to avoid it. In the hunt for a reliable machine today, a used truck buyer's best asset is research skills.
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