Archive for March, 2008

Ever since they first formed that impossible-to-ignore bulge in population statistics, the baby boom generation has been a driving force in making and breaking trends. The trucking industry is feeling their pain now, as aging drivers find getting around to be a bit trickier than it once was, at the same time that carrier recruitment efforts are targeting retirees to fill their emptying drivers’ seats. According to Jonathan Cagan, Ph.D., professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie …

Frugal hog farmers are proud to say they use everything but the squeal when they butcher a pig. Truck dismantlers these days have the same attitude about squeezing out the last drop of profit when they recycle a used-up or crash-damaged big rig. “As the years go on, it seems like we’re recycling the squeaks and rattles out of them,” says Jake Rea of Michigan Truck Parts in suburban Detroit. “Every ounce of metal, all the fluids, all of the sheet metal we flatte…

I had the opportunity to attend one of several Rollover Prevention Summits put on by the National Tank Truck Carriers Conference. It was an enlightening experience. In his remarks to the meeting, John Hill, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, noted that some 45 percent of injuries from single large truck accidents are due to rollovers and 52 percent of truck occupant fatalities involve a rollover. As you might expect, cargo tank trucks are more likely than v…

The highway is an extremely dangerous place to be a pedestrian, especially when you leave your cab after a crash. Confusion reigns around an accident scene, as backed up traffic continues to move around the vehicles involved and rubbernecking commuters are distracted by police lights and mangled metal. This is a time for drivers involved in an accident to proceed most carefully. If you are hurt and can stay put, you might want to do so as long as your truck isn’t in a precarious positio…