Letters to the Editor

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Letters to the Editor, Business, Government, Safety, Fuel

US Needs to Be Energy Independent

I read Transport Topics regarding Exxon Mobil’s recent shipment of its first tanker load of U.S. crude oil from Beaumont, Texas, to its refinery in Sicily, Italy. The article also indicated that a 40-year export ban had been lifted.

April 18, 2016
Letters to the Editor, Business, Government, Safety, Autonomous

Letters: Platooning, Apnea Studies, Fatigue

A recent letter to Transport Topics noted several concerns regarding truck platooning, linking the recent low-speed Google driverless car crash to potential outcomes with truck platooning. The writer raises some valid points but also has several misconceptions I’d like to address.

April 4, 2016
Letters to the Editor, Business, Safety, Government, Technology

Letters: On Platooning, Exemption Fatigue

While “platooning” of heavy vehicles appears to have some viability, Google’s vaunted, autonomous car recorded its first at-fault accident only last month. The reality is, platooning cannot control the actions of other motorists.  

March 14, 2016
Letters to the Editor, Business, Safety, Government, Autonomous

Letters: Proud to Be a Retired Professional Truck Driver,

I am a proud retired professional driver with more than 44 years and 5.3 million accident-free miles behind the wheel.

March 7, 2016
Letters to the Editor, Business

Letters: Toll Plan, Drivers and Large Fleets

Weight is a roadway’s enemy. Heavier weight requires thicker pavements, longer curves, reduced grades and more substantial bridges. These truths cannot be disputed; the construction standards associated with each item substantially increases the initial cost of the roadway network.

February 29, 2016
Letters to the Editor, Business

Letters: Restart, Deregulate HOS

Federal agencies and the trucking industry both recognize the health and welfare of commercial motor vehicle drivers is imperative to protecting public safety. But as you would expect, there is disagreement over the means to achieve this end.

February 22, 2016
Letters to the Editor, Business

Letter: Get the Language Straight for ELDs

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration needs to suspend promulgation of electronic logging devices, or ELDs, and reopen the comment period due to fatal flaws stemming from contradicting language in the rule’s wording.

January 11, 2016
Letters to the Editor, Business

Letter: Nonpreventable Crashes and Predictability

I disagree with the conclusion that removing nonpreventable crashes will result in significant changes in carriers’ CSA Crash Indicator BASIC percentile scores.

December 7, 2015
Letters to the Editor, Business

Letter: Thanks for Helping Train Technicians

The Diesel Equipment Technology program at Northeastern Junior College in Colorado has come a long way in the four years that I have been teaching here. It went from two graduates to about 14.

November 23, 2015
Letters to the Editor, Business

Letter: Highway Trust Fund Needs Robust Fix

President Obama recently signed into law a patchwork bill extending funding for the Highway Trust Fund.

November 16, 2015