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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.
Think Tanks: There’s a right way and wrong way to fill up
MONTREAL, Que. -- Some truck components have been around for so long that they rarely receive a second thought, and dual fuel tanks are a perfect example. Introduced to extend the range of trucks between refills, the tanks are usually mounted on opposite sides of the frame rails. But this also introduces hazards that emerge with two separate filling points.
Amazon re-shaping ‘final mile’ and beyond
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Amazon -- the bookseller that transformed into the world’s largest online retailer – has been transforming the way goods are trucked to market. And not just the freight that rolls through its distribution centers. Thank (or blame) the need for speed.
U.S. moves closer to tougher driver training standards
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Entry-level truck drivers in the U.S. will face newly mandated training requirements as of Feb. 7, 2020. But the new training standards set out by the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will not define the minimum number of in-class or in-cab training hours, as previously advocated for...
Get real — and retain your drivers
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Basic marketing sense says you should sell your positives, but when it comes to selling your fleet to potential drivers, overselling may be causing higher turnover. Industry experts talking driver retention and feedback at the 2018 Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) convention say broken promises lead to higher driver turnover, with a large number of drivers walking out the door before they’ve been employed a full six months.