2013 Colorado Truck Driving Championships Fast Approaching

June 1 is the date for the annual truck driving championships competitions.  The event will be held at the Adams County Fairgrounds. Preparations are all but complete.  Of course CMCA welecomes event sponsors in various categories as well as volunteers to help run the operation.  Visit our TDC page for complete details and forms for the event.

TopTech Competition Speaks Well of Colorado Motor Fleet Maintenance

On April 27th., the CMCA Maintenance Council hosted the TopTech Competition, a skills competition open to any CMCA member company.  The idea was to honor the best diesel mechanics in Colorado and focus more attention to the outstanding job being done by fleet mechanics throughout the State. 

The competition was held at Lincoln College of Technology which provided a first rate facility for this sort of event.  A number of sponsors were onboard and the event was a showcase for maintenance practices in Colorado.  Winner names, fleets and their pictures can now be found on the Maintenance page of this website. 

Colorado winners now will represent Colorado at the National SuperTech Competition in September.  Here are some images from the April competition.

Survey Reflects Greater Use of Elogs, Increased Attention by Carriers and Shippers on CSA Scores

Results from Transport  Capital  Partners’ (TCP) First Quarter 2013 Business Expectations Survey found that the percentage of carriers utilizing electronic logs (elogs) on all their trucks increased dramatically in just three quarters: from twenty-five percent in May 2012 to thirty-five percent of carriers in February 2013. Two-thirds of responding carriers are already testing or utilizing elogs on their trucks and another ten percent of carriers are considering but have yet to make the transition. Seventy-one percent of smaller carriers are still not utilizing elogs, while forty-three percent of larger carriers have all their trucks on elogs. This may be reflective of larger truck lines having the financial resources to fund, train, and manage compliance, while the smaller carriers are postponing the expense until the deadline. “Carriers we have spoken with who have fully implemented elogs in their operations report improved CSA scores,” notes Steven Dutro, TCP partner. 

Carriers have also continued to undertake multiple efforts to improve their CSA scores over the last three years. The most common approach remains educating drivers, but sixty-four percent have also changed how they handle sub-performing drivers. Almost fifty-percent have changed their hiring standards, and/or have changed their incentive programs for clean inspections. “The industry continues to report adjusting to CSA, but in varying degrees and still with some controversy over reporting,” observes Richard Mikes, TCP partner. 

Carriers were also surveyed on the cost of CSA compliance and on the level of shippers’ concerns about CSA scores. Thirty-four percent of carriers believe the compliance cost is less than $500 per driver, while thirty-five percent believe compliance costs are between $501 and $1,000. Carriers report the number of shippers who are concerned about carrier CSA scores increased slightly, from seventy-nine percent to eighty-four percent since May of 2012.  Courtesy of Transport Capital.

Speed Limiter Proposal Returned to NHTSA for Reworking

The DOT's Office of the Secretary (OST) has told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to re-look at it's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for heavy truck speed limiters.  NHTSA, the agency that manages standards for new vehicles, said it expects to resubmit the proposal around July 26.

Speed governors, as a safety tool have been supported by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) since before 2005 when ATA and "Roadsafe America" petitioned NHTSA to require speed limiters set to 68 mph on trucks weighing over 26,000 pounds.   ATA maintains that the governors would promote safe and uniform truck operation by reducing speed differentials that increase vehicle interactions and lead to unsafe maneuvering.

Others in the industry oppose the idea.  The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) in particular is long on record against speed governors.  OOIDA contends that they harm the driver's ability to operate safely.

The speed limiter Notice of Proposed Rule Making has already been submitted twice so no early decision on this is expected.