Cargo Theft

5 Useful Tips to Help You Avoid Cargo Theft

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Cargo Theft

Cargo Theft

Cargo theft is a common problem of the trucking industry in the United States. During the third quarter of 2016, the total cargo theft incidents went up significantly. In July, August, and September there were 193 cargo thefts. The average loss of value was equal to $120,536.

According to FreightWatch International, in the third quarter of 2016, California got the first place in the cargo theft ranking. It accounts for 38 % of all incidents. Texas got the second place with 16 % of the thefts. About 75 percent of all thefts took place at the unsecured parking locations. 13 % of the thefts occurred at the secured parking lots and 11 percent at the warehouses/distributions centers.

It’s impossible to completely protect yourself from cargo theft. However, by following a few simple rules, you can significantly reduce the chances of being robbed.

  1. Find Secure Parking Spaces

As you can see from the statistics, most of the thefts occur in the unsecured parking lots. Since there is a certain shortage of secure truck parking in the country, finding a good location can be complicated. You can opt for trying to find a well-lit area that’s not isolated. Look for parking lots or spaces where you can back you truck against a fence or a wall to prevent easy access to the cargo. You can also park you truck tail to tail with another cargo vehicle.

  1. Keep Your Mouth Shut

This might seem rude but it’s one of the best ways to protect your cargo, especially when it’s valuable. Chatting with the guys at truck stops and discussing cargo details over the phone in a crowded area is the best way to give thieves a good idea of what you are transporting. Another simple way to reveal information is to create detailed social media posts. They are often easy to track.

  1. Lock Up

While this is an obvious advice, for some reason, many truckers believe that if they leave for “just a minute”, nothing bad will happen. Experienced thieves can leave you without your cargo in a matter of seconds. So even if you are going out for a quick bathroom break, make sure all your windows are rolled up and the doors are locked.

  1. Listen to Your Gut

When you are carrying expensive cargo, being paranoid is a good quality. If you feel as if someone is paying too much attention to your truck or following you for a long time, don’t hesitate to call for help. At least let the dispatcher know that there might be a problem, so you can avoid the responsibility in case such circumstances lead to theft.

  1. Know the Hot Spots

Most of the thefts happen during the first stop after loading. So you must be extra careful about your cargo when you first stop for refueling, resting, restroom breaks, etc. Plan your trip to make the first stop at least 200 miles away from the shipper’s location. Not many thieves are ready to follow your truck this long. Also be extra careful when traveling in California, Florida, New Jersey, Illinois, Georgia, and Texas. These states are the kings of cargo theft.

Dash Cam for truckers

Don’t Have a Dashcam? Time to Get One!

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Dash Cam for truckers

Dash Cam for truckers

Don’t Have a Dashcam? Time to Get One!

Dashboard cameras have been around for a while. But for some reason, not everyone is taking advantage of them. A dashcam is a small camera, installed on the dashboard and facing the traffic. Basically, it records everything a truck driver sees when he is on the road. A dashcam is not a very expensive piece of equipment that can save you some serious money and protect you against unfair tickets or unnecessary inspections.

Evidence

Dashcam records whatever you see with your eyes and can become your lawyer in situations when your innocence is far from being obvious.

If you’ve been on the road long enough, you know that accidents are impossible to avoid. Even if you are the perfect driver, who never breaks any rules, there are plenty of other people who are much less law-abiding than you are.

One of the most frequent situations is a car hurrying up to get in front of a truck and cutting it off. Then for some reason, the car driver slams on the breaks and the truck can’t stop soon enough. A rear-ending accident is an obvious fault of the driver who’s behind, right? And no matter how convincing you may sound, in 90 % of the cases, a police officer will decide that the accident is your fault. However, if you have a dashcam, you can easily prove who really is responsible.

Security

If you buy a dashcam with a motion-detection sensor, it will activate the recording as soon as it senses any movement around your vehicle. This feature allows you to find out if someone was tampering with your truck and catch fuel thieves at rest stops. You can also get information about vandals and hit-and-run drivers.

Protection

A dashcam offers you a good protection against fraud. If someone claims that you caused an accident when you really didn’t, one of the easiest ways to prove it is a dashcam. It can be your best protector against brake-checking too. While these situations might seem rare, there are plenty of conmen on the road trying to set up accidents to get insurance and truckers often become their targets.

Disadvantages

It’s hard to find a disadvantage of owning a dashcam if you are a safe driver. Some companies might be against installing such a camera but it’s a rare occasion. However, you must remember that if you get into an accident that’s YOUR fault, the footage from the camera can be subpoenaed.

Any truck driver with experience will tell you that a dashboard camera is a good idea and if you haven’t gotten one yet, it’s time to do it. There are plenty of them on the market today, so you are in for some serious research. Make sure to read the reviews before buying one since there is plenty of cheap trash out there. A dashcam is a great way to protect yourself so the time and money you spend on it is definitely worth it.

best truck routes

Truckers Are you Saving Miles or Saving Money?

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Saving Miles or Saving Money?

best truck routes

Truckers would you use small roads or express way if you can save some miles?

Trucking newbies, as well as experienced truckers, often find themselves in a situation when they see an amazing opportunity to save a few miles and some time by getting off the expressway and maneuvering through small town roads.

Our inner voice often tells us that breaking a small rule can help us gain a huge advantage, so it’s worth it. My own experience tells me otherwise. The few miles you save by going off the expressway can turn into a complete disaster for the following reasons:

  • Bad roads. By going off the route, you have no idea where you’ll eventually end up. A small town road might not be designed to accommodate your vehicle and you will be forced to U-turn, which is far from being a pleasant experience. If the roads are not designed to accommodate a large vehicle, a truck can cause damage to the pavement. The weight limits didn’t just come out of nowhere.
  • Let’s face it. Cops are not less intelligent than we are. They are more eager to catch truckers on the small roads than race after speeders on the expressways because small towns need money. In addition, a speeding ticket is much more preferable than a fine for entering a “no truck” zone. If you think there are fewer cops on town roads than on the highways, think again. There are just as many or even more.
  • Getting into an accident on a small town road is 70 % easier than on an expressway. People rarely expect to see a large vehicle when backing out of their driveways. Bikers, joggers, inattentive kids – these are the “fun” bonuses you get on small roads.
  • Consequences. The tickets you get for breaking the rules on small roads will eventually lead to:
  • Bad job records – A real killer for your career
  • Increased insurance – A serious toll on your wallet
  • Suspended registration – Job loss

The consequences of an accident don’t even need to be discussed. They can vary from unpleasant to downright scary.

Going to non-approved roads can cost you up to $2,000 in fines and lead to a registration suspension for up to three months. It is easy to do the math and realize that such consequences will cost you much more money and hassle than you will save by getting off the expressway.

Small roads might not always be a way to save time. Traffic on town roads can be much heavier than on an expressway.

We have all broken a few rules while driving. It is hard to avoid adding a little speed or parking for just a few minutes in a restricted zone. However, choosing your battles is an absolute must when you are driving a truck. The consequences of maneuvering on small town roads can be extremely unpleasant for you and damaging to your vehicle.

Food for thought: Did you know that a fully loaded five-axle rig that weighs 80,000 pounds could damage the expressway more than 5,000 cars? Imagine what it can do to a small town road.

 

truck speed limiter coming

Truck Speed Limiter: Is the Government About to Make a Mistake?

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Truck Speed Limiter is a huge concern for the government. The government is actively pushing through a law that will require installing electronic truck speed limiters on all trucks over 26,000 pounds. The rule will work only for the vehicles manufactured after the law goes into effect. The regulation can be finalized after the comment period that will end on November 7th. The speed might be limited to 60, 65 or 68 miles per hour.

Truck Speed Limiter

truck speed limiter coming

The supporters of the new rule are turning to physics and saying that the slower the truck is; the less damage will occur upon crashing. A study done by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that 1044 people die every year as a result of an accident involving heavy trucks on the roads, where the speed limits are at least 55 mph.

They point out that if the speed was limited to 60 mph then about 500 lives per year would be saved since the crashes would be less serious. If the speed limit would be set at 65 mph, then over 214 lives would be saved.

The agency seemed to have done a thorough job collecting and analyzing the statistics, but did they ask the truckers? People with many years of truck driving experience believe that the government could be making a huge mistake by limiting the driving speed.  Will the new speed limit for truckers make the matters on the roads worse?

The traffic jams

Now the time has come to forget the physics and turn to logic. What will happen when one truck will try to pass another at a similar speed? The traffic jams will be unavoidable, the car drivers will be frustrated, and eventually some rules are bound to be broken.

The advantage of owning an old Truck

Truck owners will try to do their best to extend the lives of the old vehicles that don’t have an electronic truck speed limiter installed. Can it boost the cost of the used vehicles? It most certainly can. Accordingly, the sales of the new ones will go down. This approach can be rather dangerous since older and ill-conditioned trucks will be filling the roads.

The same speed limit for everyone?

While limiting the speed of trucks, the government is not even considering the same limitations for other vehicles. This can result in a reversed effect. If the truck is running slower than the rest of the vehicles on the road, it can cause a crash situation. A car with a higher speed that’s coming up behind a truck will run into its back every other time. More than 50 % of the truck-car accidents are caused by the cars, not the trucks. So will limiting the trucks really work?

The discussion is underway and the new regulation has plenty of supporters. Chris Spear, CEO of the American Trucking Associations, is fighting against the new rule.

“The various differentials in speed from what this rule proposes and what state speed limits are dangerous,” he said. ““We cannot afford to elevate risks for the motoring public with a rule that does not take into account the danger of differential speeds for cars and trucks.”

But will his efforts be enough to stop the government from making a mistake?

free trucking software

TransIT offering Free Trucking Software

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free trucking software

free trucking software

Irving, TX: TransIT TMS is offering free trucking software for owner operators and small trucking companies operating two trucks or less in their fleet. Interested owner operators and small trucking companies can sign up at the website selecting the package and following through the sign up process. Once you have signed up, you will be provided with the username and password to access the software within 24 – 48 hours (currently there is a delay). TransIT is the only software provider offering free web based trucking software in the trucking industry.

TransIT TMS helps you manage trucking operation efficiently by offering complete truck management system. Set up and dispatch easily from anywhere.

As always, we will be here when you need support.

Thank you for your continued support.

Operations Manager

TransIT

news@transittms.com

Truck Safety Campaign Launched

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FMCSA Launches New Safety Campaign to Promote Sharing Roads with trucks

Give room for trucks - Truck Safety

share the road with trucks

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has launched a new campaign called “Our Roads, Our Responsibility,” which is aimed at educating the public about how to operate their vehicles safely around large trucks, buses and other commercial motor vehicles (CMVs).

According to the FMCSA, there are more than 12 million CMVs on the road, and operating safely around them often means taking special precautions into consideration. The campaign offers drivers the following tips:

  • Avoid driving in blind spots at the front, back and on the sides of these vehicles. These blind spots are often larger than some drivers estimate, so give CMVs plenty of room.
  • In order to safely pass a large CMV, make sure you can see the driver in the mirror before passing or changing lanes.
  • Large vehicles may need more room to execute turns, so give them the extra room to do so.
  • Remain focused on the road and avoid distractions.

The FMCSA urges both commercial drivers and the public to visit its website, which has additional resources and information available.
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Truck Safety – Truck Safe driving, Truck Safety when driving, Truck Safety on road

Google Starts Carpooling Service with Waze App

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waze google car pooling

waze google car pooling

Google Starts Carpooling Service with Waze App

San Francisco: Google Started Carpooling Service around the San Francisco Bay Area with its Waze App. Charging just 54c a mile it seems like the Cheaper alternative to taxis, uber, lyft. etc.

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Uber Acquired Otto 90+ team of Self driving Truck Company

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Uber Acquired Otto

Uber Acquired Otto

Uber Acquired Otto

I’m excited to announce that Uber has acquired Otto, a 90-plus person technology startup whose mission is to rethink transportation, starting with self-driving trucks. Anthony Levandowski, Otto’s co-founder, will now lead our combined self-driving efforts reporting directly to me—across personal transportation, delivery and trucking—in San Francisco, Palo Alto and Pittsburgh.

If that sounds like a big deal—well, it is. More and more the world of atoms is interacting with bits. In order to provide digital services in the physical world, we must build sophisticated logistics, artificial intelligence and robotics systems that serve and elevate humanity.

Screen Shot 2016-08-18 at 10.39.10 AM

When it comes to this advanced technology stack, Otto plus Uber is a dream team. Anthony is one of the world’s leading autonomous engineers: his first invention, a self-driving motorcycle called Ghostrider, is now in the Smithsonian. Just as important, Anthony is a prolific entrepreneur with a real sense of urgency.

Together, we now have one of the strongest autonomous engineering groups in the world; self-driving trucks and cars that are already on the road thanks to Otto and Uber’s Advanced Technologies Center in Pittsburgh; the practical experience that comes from running ridesharing and delivery services in hundreds of cities; with the data and intelligence that comes from doing 1.2 billion miles on the road every month.

In the last six years we’ve seen the profound impact that smartphone technology has had on transportation, as well as the delivery business. When people can push a button and reliably get an affordable ride across town, things change for the better—and quickly. Ridesharing helps cut drunk driving. It complements public transit, getting people to places that other means of transportation don’t reach, replacing the need to own a car over time. Most important of all, the smartphone has made mass carpooling a reality. By getting more people into fewer cars, we can reduce congestion and pollution in our cities.

Otto truck Driverless

Otto Truck Driver less

Of course, this is just the start, especially when it comes to safety. Over one million people die on the world’s roads every year and 90 percent of these accidents are due to human error. In the US, traffic accidents are a leading cause of death for people under 25. This is a tragedy that self-driving technology can help solve. That’s why our partnership with Swedish car maker Volvo, which we’re also announcing today, is so important. Volvo has consistently been a leader when it comes to safety. And partnership is crucial to our self-driving strategy because Uber has no experience making cars. To do it well is incredibly hard, as I realized on my first visit to a car manufacturing plant several years ago. By combining Uber’s self-driving technology with Volvo’s state-of-the art vehicles and safety technology, we’ll get to the future faster than going it alone.

Here’s to a great partnership with Volvo. And to Anthony, Lior and the Otto team—welcome to Uber. We’re pumped to have you on board. It’s time to move.

–Travis Kalanick, CEO and Co-Founder, Uber

www.uber.com

Uber’s First Self-Driving Fleet Arrives in Pittsburgh, PA

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Uber’s First Self-Driving Fleet Arrives in Pittsburgh This Month

The autonomous cars, launching this summer, are custom Volvo XC90s, supervised by humans in the driver’s seat.

 

Uber-first-Self-Driving-Car-pittsburg-pa

Uber-first-Self-Driving-Car-pittsburg-pa

Starting later this month, Uber will allow customers in downtown Pittsburgh to summon self-driving cars from their phones, crossing an important milestone that no automotive or technology company has yet achieved. Google, widely regarded as the leader in the field, has been testing its fleet for several years, and Tesla Motors offers Autopilot, essentially a souped-up cruise control that drives the car on the highway. Earlier this week, Ford announced plans for an autonomous ride-sharing service. But none of these companies has yet brought a self-driving car-sharing service to market.

Uber’s Pittsburgh fleet, which will be supervised by humans in the driver’s seat for the time being, consists of specially modified Volvo XC90 sport-utility vehicles outfitted with dozens of sensors that use cameras, lasers, radar, and GPS receivers. Volvo Cars has so far delivered a handful of vehicles out of a total of 100 due by the end of the year. The two companies signed a pact earlier this year to spend $300 million to develop a fully autonomous car that will be ready for the road by 2021.

 

Ford Full Autonomous/Driverless car in 2021

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ford-driverless-car-2021

ford-driverless-car-2021

FORD TARGETS FULLY AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE FOR RIDE SHARING IN 2021; INVESTS IN NEW TECH COMPANIES, DOUBLES SILICON VALLEY TEAM

 

 

  • Ford announces intention to deliver high-volume, fully autonomous vehicle for ride sharing in 2021
  • Ford investing in or collaborating with four startups on autonomous vehicle development
  • Company also doubling Silicon Valley team and more than doubling Palo Alto campus

PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 16, 2016 – Ford today announces its intent to have a high-volume, fully autonomous SAE level 4-capable vehicle in commercial operation in 2021 in a ride-hailing or ride-sharing service.

To get there, the company is investing in or collaborating with four startups to enhance its autonomous vehicle development, doubling its Silicon Valley team and more than doubling its Palo Alto campus.

“The next decade will be defined by automation of the automobile, and we see autonomous vehicles as having as significant an impact on society as Ford’s moving assembly line did 100 years ago,” said Mark Fields, Ford president and CEO. “We’re dedicated to putting on the road an autonomous vehicle that can improve safety and solve social and environmental challenges for millions of people – not just those who can afford luxury vehicles.”

Fields says he’s not closing the door on potential partnerships. Ford and Baidu Inc., the Chinese Internet behemoth, announced that both companies jointly invested $150 million in Velodyne, a Silicon Valley company that specializes in sensors. Already Silicon Valley and the auto industry have been in a dating frenzy looking for long-term partners to help develop the technology behind a self-driving car. Volkswagen spent $300 million to get a piece of ride-hailing company Uber’s European rival Gett. General Motors spent $1 billion to purchase Cruise Automation, as well as investing in ride-hire service Lyft. Meanwhile, Toyota invested in Uber.

Ford’s engineers may be confident, but are riders? The announced plan would have cars without not only drivers but obvious vehicle controls. Visintainer says he understands the public’s uneasiness about autonomy. He says the company is looking for ways to convince the public that self-driving cars can be safe. “It’s going to be an education and a journey, being transparent and open about the progress we’re making, and how we’re doing is a key part of that.”

Analysts say discussing the technology is a move to placate the concerns of Wall Street. General Motors, Google and some of Ford’s other competitors have spent the year making announcements and investments in advanced technology. Michelle Krebs with autotrader.com says GM has been grabbing all the headlines recently “and Ford can’t be happy about that, especially as some Wall Street analysts have wondered if Ford is falling behind in future mobility.” Ford’s Mark Fields has said Ford has been setting the pace.

 

Read More

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/08/17/490406911/ford-looks-to-a-fleet-of-driverless-cars