Schneider National chalks up its fourth consecutive SmartWay excellence award
Schneider National Inc has received its fourth consecutive Environmental Excellence Award from the US Environmental Protection Agency SmartWay Transport Partnership. Though the partnership has approximately 2,100 partners, just 37 were honored this year — and only two transportation companies, including Schneider National, have received the distinction each year since its inception.
“It's not easy to run the most energy-efficient fleet on the road, but it's a commitment Schneider has upheld for over 30 years,” said Steve Matheys, executive vice-president, chief administration officer at Schneider National. “In the past year alone, our industry-leading technologies and policies saved more than 200 million gallons of fuel and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by more than 2.2 million tons.”
Besides rewarding drivers with incentives of $11 million for their fuel management efforts (reduction of out-of-route and empty miles through improved trip planning), Schneider radically transformed its intermodal footprint in 2008. Schneider purchased more than 9,000 stackable containers to retool its intermodal fleet. This operational design shift resulted in a savings of more than 79 million gallons of fuel in 2008.
At the same time, initiatives launched prior to 2008 continued to improve the company's environmental footprint. Use of low-rolling resistance tires, synthetic and low-friction lubricants, aerodynamic tractor design, and idle-reduction equipment saved an additional 46.8 million gallons of diesel fuel and lowered Schneider's emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide by 10,000 tons and 3,332 tons, respectively.
For more information about SmartWay, call (734) 214-4767 or visit www.epa.gov/smartway. To learn more about award recipients, visit www.epa.gov/smartway/awards07.htm.
Mack to continue as sponsor of Share the Road in 2010
Mack Trucks Inc announced it would continue as a major sponsor of the Share The Road highway safety education program for 2010. The announcement was made at the American Trucking Associations' Management Conference & Exhibition in Las Vegas NV recently.
Designed to enhance the safety of America's roadways by teaching car drivers how to safely drive around large trucks, Share the Road uses professional truck drivers with exemplary safety records to deliver life-saving messages about potential blind spots, safe following distances, truck stopping distances, and other important topics. Traditionally, drivers have spread this information through demonstrations to local media, students, community leaders, and highway users around the United States, using a SmartWay-certified Mack Pinnacle model tractor donated by the truck maker as part of its support of Share the Road. Today, additional communication channels are also being used.
“Share the Road has exposed millions of citizens to essential information on how to safely drive around large trucks,” said Michael McNally, Mack vice-president of sales. “These messages have been delivered by the professional drivers who are the heart and soul of the Share the Road program. Their passion for safety helps them connect to a wide variety of audiences. ”
PerformX compatible with Hino engines
PeopleNet announced that its PerformX engine monitoring system is fully compatible with Hino engines in its medium-duty trucks (Class 4-Class 7), model years 2008-2010.
The announcement was made at the American Trucking Association's 2009 Management Conference and Exhibition held October 4-7 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Convention Center in Las Vegas NV.
PerformX hardware connects the PeopleNet onboard computer with Hino's engine diagnostic port, allowing it to collect engine performance data for creating various PerformX reports in the system. PeopleNet Product Manager Tom Dorazio said, “PerformX data feeds speed, shifting, and idle management information to PeopleNet's MPG dashboard, its Professional Services ROI program, as well as other PeopleNet applications that support driver compliance, safety, and improvements in operational efficiency.”
For more information, visit www.peoplenetonline.com.
ATA receives Environmental Excellence Award from SmartWay partnership
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) received an Environmental Excellence Award from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SmartWay Transport Partnership. ATA was one of 37 SmartWay partners to receive this distinction for its leadership in conserving energy and lowering greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and freight activities. The award was presented to ATA at its annual Management Conference & Exhibit.
SmartWay was introduced by EPA and a select group of 15 shipping and business leaders in 2004 as an innovative, market-based partnership to reduce fuel use, greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants from the freight sector. More than 2,100 businesses and organizations have joined the partnership, each working to improve their environmental performance.
Participant carriers and owner-operators commit to integrate innovative fuel-saving and pollution control technologies and strategies into their fleet operations, while shippers and logistics companies commit to increasing the percentage of freight shipped by SmartWay carriers and encouraging carriers to join the program.
Together, through the SmartWay partnership, these companies will eliminate 6 million tons of carbon dioxide that contribute to global warming and save more than 540 million gallons of diesel fuel — an economic savings of at least $2 billion a year.
“Participation in the SmartWay partnership is just one great way the trucking industry can conserve energy and lower greenhouse gas emissions,” said Bill Graves, ATA president and chief executive officer. “ATA advocates further strategies that aim to significantly reduce fuel consumption over the next 10 years.”
ATA also supports a national 65-mph speed limit, governing truck speeds at 65 mph or below, reducing engine idling, reducing congestion by increasing highway capacity, using more productive trucks, and setting national fuel economy standards for trucks.
ATA leaders overwhelmingly back anti-texting legislation
The American Trucking Associations Executive Committee voted overwhelmingly to support a bill introduced by US Sen Charles E Schumer (D-NY) to ban texting by all drivers. The ATA board of directors also approved policy statements on onboard safety systems, natural gas as a truck fuel, and on educating and testing passenger vehicle drivers on operating safely near trucks.
The 42-member committee voted to support Schumer's approach to the hazard of texting, which would require states to enact and enforce a law that “except in the event of an emergency, prohibits an operator of a moving motor vehicle from writing, sending, or reading a text message using a hand-held mobile telephone” or other personal electronic device.
This bill is known as the Avoiding Life-Endangering and Reckless Texting by Drivers Act, or the ALERT Drivers Act. It was introduced also by Sens Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), and Kay Hagan (D-NC). The legislation was drafted after distracted operators caused several mass transit crashes and after Virginia Tech researchers revealed that drivers are 23 times more likely to get into a crash when texting on phones. The bill defines a hand-held mobile telephone as mobile telephone or other portable electronic communication device with which a user engages in a call or writes, sends, or reads a text message using at least one hand. It does not include a vehicle-integrated, voice-activated device.
The ATA's board voted to approve three new policy statements. The text of each of those resolutions are:
Onboard Technology
“ATA supports the use of onboard safety systems for all motor vehicles in an effort to enhance the safety of all roadway users (to include, but not limited to, lane departure warning systems, brake stroke monitoring systems, automated transmissions, vehicle stability control, and collision avoidance systems) and believes incentives should be provided to encourage their adoption.”
Natural Gas
“Natural gas should remain a voluntary alternative fuel. The trucking industry supports financial incentives to encourage trucking companies to use natural gas, provided that those financial incentives do not reduce money allocated to the highway trust fund. The trucking industry opposes government actions that artificially increase the cost of diesel fuel compared to other transportation fuels.”
Volvo will continue sponsorship of America's Road Team in 2010
Volvo Trucks North America will continue as the sole sponsor of America's Road Team in 2010. A trucking industry safety outreach program, America's Road Team uses professional drivers with outstanding driving records to deliver messages about highway safety and the essentiality of trucking. The continuation of Volvo's sponsorship was announced at the American Trucking Associations' (ATA) annual meeting in Las Vegas NV recently.
“We view America's Road Team as one of the most important proactive safety efforts in existence today,” said Scott Kress, Volvo Trucks senior vice-president-sales and marketing. “The members of the Road Team demonstrate by personal example the trucking industry's unwavering commitment to highway safety, a commitment which mirrors Volvo's own core value of safety. Volvo Trucks is proud to continue as the sole sponsor of this outstanding program.”
America's Road Team is a program founded and run by ATA. Members of the team are known as Captains, many of whom may have millions of miles of accident-free driving in their careers. They undergo a rigorous selection process to become part of the Road Team.
The Captains are frequently referred to as ambassadors for the US trucking industry. Each year, they speak to hundreds of groups of lawmakers, government officials, students, regulators, and other truck drivers. Their presentations include safe driving tips and highway safety information, much based upon their own experiences, as well as the importance of trucking to the American economy.
Dupré Logistics receives seven ATA awards
The American Trucking Association's Safety Management Council recently presented Dupré Logistics with seven awards recognizing superior safety achievements during the 2009 Safety & Human Resources National Conference & Exhibition in Baltimore MD.
ATA National Truck and Industrial Safety Contests recognize the extraordinary safety accomplishments of motor carriers across the United States by operation type and size. National carriers representing every type and size of operation enter and are judged on their safety records relative to others within their classes and category.
During this year's awards ceremony, Dupré Logistics was recognized in these areas:
Asset Group
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2nd Place, Industrial Safety Contest (Unlimited Employees)
Asset Logistics
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Certificate for National Truck Safety Contest for Recognition of Improvement in 2008
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Certificate for Industrial Safety Contest for Recognition of Improvement in 2008
Energy Group
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3rd Place, Industrial Safety Contest (Unlimited Employees)
Site Logistics
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1st Place, Industrial Safety Contest (Unlimited Employees)
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Certificate for National Truck Safety Contest for Recognition of Improvement in 2008
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Certificate for Industrial Safety Contest for Recognition of Improvement in 2008