⚠️ Fleet Owners: 2024's Hurricane Season Demands Action
Insiders - who will we see at the Mid-America Trucking Show this weekend? My co-editor Katie Parsons will be there to cover the event and meet more of our readers. Give us a shout if you'll be in Louisville!
Alright, let's take a look at the forecast. What's the weather got to do with logistics? Everything! Keep reading to get the details on what's to come in our featured story.
ICYMI: Monday's exclusive story about healthcare access for professional truck drivers was popular. Be sure you give it a read. Check it out here.
Buckle up and let's get to it!
Bianca
Inside today's newsletter
🌫️ A trucker faces charges after a massive foggy pile-up
👩⚖️ California judge sides against trucker job reclassification
🚺 Top women in trucking get the spotlight for innovation
🛠️ CARB's smog checks for trucks postponed to 2025
🔥 Faulty brakes ignite a blaze on a California interstate
Prepare your fleet for a 'super-charged' hurricane season
Forecasters at AccuWeather are warning of a “super-charged hurricane season” in 2024, caused by warm Atlantic waters and a La Niña weather pattern developing in late summer. Severe storms can disrupt supply chains, damage assets and pose a risk to drivers - so now is a good time to get prepared.
Have contingency plans. Make sure your operation has a Plan B and check that this addresses as many potential scenarios as possible - and it’s worth checking that you’re adequately insured for any clean-ups too.
Communication helps. From shippers to drivers, every link in the chain needs to up to date. Loads more tips in today's feature story.
🙂 GOOD DAY:
A bill removing duplicate checks for transportation workers is passing through the Senate. If it’s signed into law, the Transportation Security Screening Modernization Act will enable background checks to be reused across multiple TSA-managed credentialing programs, reducing red tape and fees for truckers.
🙁 BAD DAY:
Louisiana State Police have charged a trucker with negligent homicide for his role in a 168-vehicle pile-up last October which claimed eight lives. Authorities said Ronald Britt, of Lafayette, was driving too fast for the foggy conditions on Interstate 55, which caused him to collide with a vehicle stopped in traffic.
California judge denies trucking AB5 injunction
A California judge has blocked an injunction, filed by two trucking associations, aimed at protecting owner-operators from being reclassified as employed workers under state law.
Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) classifies workers as independent contractors or employed based on a three-part test. It’s faced stiff opposition from the trucking sector for clashing with the owner-operator model and the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994, which prevents local laws from affecting interstate trucking.
🚺 WIT names Top Women to Watch in Transportation
Women in Trucking has named its Top Women to Watch in Transportation, recognizing the 75 female innovators driving change and promoting gender diversity in the industry.
The list covers a cross-section of a fast-changing industry, ranging from sales and marketing at some of the company’s largest carriers and service providers to those at the cutting edge of technology development. A fifth (19%) are in charge of fleet safety and operations.
CARB delays new truck smog checks to 2025
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is delaying the launch of its its new periodic smog checks until January 1 2025 - six months after they were due to be introduced.
Under CARB’s Clean Truck Check Program, all non-gasoline vehicles with a gross weight over 14,000lbs will need to be registered in a database and emissions tested every six months, even if they are based out-of-state. Operators can apply for five-day permits if they are only visiting for a short period.
- TRUCK PARKING: Growing Congress support for $755m truckstop fund
- SHIPPING SURGE: Port of LA reports 60% year-on-year growth
- BREAKS FOR BRAKES: Hot brakes cause California interstate blaze
- EV PRICES: Gap closing between electric and gasoline vehicles
Quote of the Day:
“We always say, ‘We prepare for the worst, hope for the best’. A contingency plan is valuable only if it is treated as a living document, updated as events unfold and technology advances. Otherwise, it becomes practically useless."
Amos Rogan, LTL operations leader at Averitt
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Be safe out there -
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