Driver pay will rise an average 3 to 5 cents a mile for company drivers and 4 to 6 cents for owner-operators over the next 12 months, predicted Gordon Klemp, president of the National Transportation Institute in a speech Monday, March 14, to Truckload Carriers Association members at TCA’s annual meeting in San Diego.

Klemp’s firm surveys medium- and large-sized fleets quarterly. In addition to the expected mileage pay hikes, he predicted several other employment trends over the next year, including:

            -Driver pay more closely tied to performance measurements, including driver scores under the new federal Compliance, Safety, Accountability program

            -More use of sign-on and referral bonuses, which virtually disappeared during the recession. Klemp said 40 to 70 percent of fleets now offer one or the other

            -Expanded in-house driving training programs

            -Expanded truck lease-purchase programs

Klemp said that these pay rate hikes are also tied to a shortage of drivers created by downsizing due to the recession, generous unemployment benefits for laid-off drivers, a high retirement rate, and a movement of many drivers into the underground economy.

 “Supply’s not going to get better,” Klemp said. “Retention management, I think, is going to be huge.”

That will require not just good pay rates, but also finding new ways to recruit new drivers, train them well and do a better job of explaining their total compensation package to prevent them from mistakenly leaving a good carrier during periods of high turnover, Klemp said.

[via Commercial Carrier Journal]

Photo courtesy of Fabricio Zuardi and re-used under the Creative Commons license.

At the Detroit and Chicago auto shows earlier this year, Toyota began a clever marketing campaign to kick off the concept of multiple Prius models by asking consumers what the plural of "Prius" should be, because soon, there will be four models, not just one. One of those models will be the Prius PHV, or "Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle," which the Chicago Tribune was able to get a hand-on experience with.

Like the new Chevrolet Volt, the PHV will operate like a regular gas-electric hybrid, but you can plug it in to household current to add to vehicle electric-only range. The PHV takes about three hours hooked up to a regular 110-volt outlet to completely charge, and then is good for about 13 miles of electric-only travel. So, if your daily commute is less than 13 miles, the Prius can make it without burning any gasoline.

The Prius PHV uses a more sophisticated 288-cell lithium-ion battery, as opposed to the nickel-metal hydride battery back in the regular Prius. Lithium-ion doesn't have a memory, meaning you don't have to "train" the battery like nickel-metal hydride to accept full charges. Toyota says the materials to make lithium-ion batteries costs less than nickel-metal hydride, but production costs are greater.

Once the Prius PHV runs out of pure-battery power, it operates like any other Prius. Toyota hasn't released mileage figures, but even after the 13-mile runs using the battery, a test driver averaged 53.7 mpg, driving very conservatively.

This extra battery capacity adds weight, and takes up trunk space -- a placard in the PHV said that if you get a flat tire, call roadside assistance, as there is no room for a spare. On the road, you feel the extra weight, especially in corners, but the average Prius driver won't notice much difference. Outside, the only distinction is an extra little panel in front of the driver's door that pops open for the plug -- it looks just like the fuel-filler door at the rear of the car.

Toyota hasn't released prices for the Prius PHV, and won't for a while, but the best guess is it could add maybe $3,500 to the price. If going 13 miles on pure electricity is meaningful to you, it's worth it. But if you drive, say, 100 miles a day, it may not be.

[via The Chicago Tribune]

Photo courtesy of Joel C. Garcia and re-used under the Creative Commons license.

With entrepreneurs deploying food trucks in cities across the country, a number of business owners in New York City have banded together to form the New York Food Truck Association.

According to the association’s website, “The New York City Food Truck Association (NYCFTA) is an association of small businesses that own and operate premium food trucks in NYC focused on innovation in hospitality, high quality food, and community development. The Association aims to reinvent food truck vending in a way that is beneficial to New Yorkers, New York City, food truck entrepreneurs, and their patrons.”

According to a Wall Street Journal article, some of the issues the association plans to tackle are disputes over locations where food trucks can idle and dealing with city ordinances that prevent idling at metered spots.

While there is no official count of the number of food trucks operating in New York City, estimates show a group of more than 50 vendors, not counting hundreds of ice cream trucks.

[via Business Fleet]

Photo courtesy of Steven Brener and re-used under the Creative Commons license.

The New Jersey state assembly has approved a bill (A-3651) that provides a tax credit or a gross income tax deduction for businesses that purchase electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids and a corporate business tax credit for the purchase of an electric truck or electric bus.

The bill, introduced on Jan. 26 and passed on Feb. 17, was just one of several electric vehicle initiatives approved by the assembly last week. Assemblyman Daniel Benson (D-14), said that the bill provides for both a strong environmental and economic climate.

“It is ultimately healthy for the nation,” said Benson.

You may view the bill in its entirety here.

Photo courtesy of sh4rp_i and re-used under the Creative Commons license.

Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. is recalling 2.17 million vehicles to address the potential for unintended acceleration. 

The automaker is recalling approximately 20,000 model year 2006 and early 2007 GS 300 and GS 350 All-Wheel Drive vehicles to modify the shape of the plastic pad embedded in the driver's side floor carpet. If the floor carpet around the accelerator pedal is not properly replaced in the correct position after a service operation, the plastic pad embedded into the floor carpet can potentially interfere with the operation of the accelerator pedal. If this occurs, the accelerator pedal may become temporarily stuck in a partially depressed position rather than returning to the idle position, Toyota said. 

Toyota is also recalling approximately 372,000 MY 2004-2006 and early 2007 RX 330, RX 350 and RX 400h vehicles, and approximately 397,000 MY 2004 through 2006 Highlander and Highlander HV vehicles to replace the driver's side floor carpet cover and its two retention clips. If the forward retention clip used to secure the floor carpet cover (located in front of the center console) is not installed properly, the cover may lean toward the accelerator pedal and interfere with the accelerator pedal arm. If this occurs, the accelerator pedal may become temporarily stuck in a partially depressed position rather than returning to the idle position. 

Owners of the involved vehicles will receive a notification by mail beginning in early March 2011. 

Separately, Toyota has amended a November 2009 recall, adding three models to address the potential for unsecured or incompatible floor mat entrapment of the accelerator pedal. The models added include: 

    -Approximately 603,000 2003 through 2009 4Runner

    -Approximately 17,000 2008 through 2011 Lexus LX 570

    -Approximately 761,000 2006 through 2010 RAV4. 

Toyota and Lexus dealers will make the repairs free of charge. 

The recalls come at the request of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, after the agency conducted an investigation into Toyota's earlier gas pedal-entrapment recall.

[via Automotive Fleet]

Photo courtesy of Motohide Miwa and re-used under the Creative Commons license.

As the trucking industry begins to contemplate what changes to equipment may be needed to meet heavy truck greenhouse gas (GHG) and fuel economy standards proposed by the federal government, some lubricant makers believe “thinner” engine oils could be one likely solution.

“I would expect to see an upgrade to the current CJ-4 [engine oil] product to perhaps a CJ-4 plus or a brand new standard to help increase fuel economy,” Reggie Dias, director of commercial products for ConocoPhillips Lubricants, told Fleet Owner at the 2011 Technology & Maintenance Council annual meeting.

How can new engine oil formulations improve heavy truck fuel economy? Dias said the key is lowering the viscosity of the oil, literally making it “thinner” to reduce the internal friction on engine components. Thinner oil means the engine’s pistons don’t need to work as hard to overcome the natural resistance caused by the oil in the cylinder, and less work translates into less fuel burned.

He stressed, however, that “thinner” cannot and will not translate into less protection for engine components. Rather, new formulations of additive packages will be required to maintain and even increase protective levels even as the viscosity levels of oil is lowered.

Dias expects a more general shift from 15W-40 down to 10W-30 oils over the next five years, a shift that would lead to roughly a 1% to 3% fuel economy improvement depending on the truck’s application and how it’s operated by the driver.  Longer term – perhaps over the next decade – there could be a shift down to 5W-30 oils, a move that would be highly dependent on warranty approval by engine OEMs and user confidence.

And it is also important to understand that lowering the viscosity of the engine oil is only one small piece of a fuel economy solution for tractor-trailers, Dias stressed.

“There are many variables that will need to be examined to meet fuel economy standards being proposed for the 2014/2015 time frame: the engines, the chassis, the drivetrain, the trailer, and of course the driver,” he said. “There will be a combination of things we’ll need to look at besides the lubricant in the engine.”

[via FleetOwner]

Toyota Motor Sales USA has announced that the general public has selected "Prii" as the preferred plural term for the brand’s flagship Prius hybrid. 

With 25 percent of the votes, "Prii" becomes the word not only endorsed by the public who chose it, but also as the term recognized by Toyota. As such, Dictionary.com has updated its entry for the word "Prius" to reflect this. 

After more than 1.8 million votes were cast during the course of the six-week campaign, Prii beat out its four competitors: Prius, Priuses, Prium and Prien. Prius came in at a close second with 24 percent of the votes.

The plural of Prius has sparked debates since the launch of the vehicle 10 years ago. Now that the Prius family has grown, Toyota asked its customers to help the company decide on a term to describe the plural of Prius vehicles, thus answering the decade-long question -- what do you call more than one Prius?

With the expansion of the Prius family to include the Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicle (PHV), Prius v and Prius c concept, Toyota hopes to further increase acceptance of the Prius brand by offering a wider selection of vehicles.

[via Automotive Fleet]

Photo courtesy of zombieite and re-used under the Creative Commons license.

CONCERN over the implications of a 2006 revision to a federal safety standard is spurring regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to reconsider their change. At issue is whether the change, which redefined what constitutes a car’s ignition key, has effectively increased the possibility of accidents caused by a vehicle rolling away.

The matter involves the so-called smart key fobs used in millions of vehicles to replace conventional metal keys. Instead of pins and tumblers, these devices use an electronic code that enables a vehicle to be started either by pressing a button or inserting the fob into a slot on the dashboard.

The problem is that under the revised NHTSA standard for such devices, the vehicle’s engine can be shut off and the key fob removed without the automatic transmission being shifted to the Park position. A spokesman for the safety agency, Jose Alberto Ucles, said in an e-mail exchange that the chief concerns behind the fresh look at the standard “are vehicle roll-away, theft, possible carbon monoxide poisoning and shutting off moving vehicles in the event of an emergency.”

Since 1992, automakers have been required under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 114 to prevent the key from being removed from the ignition unless the transmission is in Park, a measure intended to prevent the “accidental roll-away of motor vehicles.”

But as electronic fobs became more popular, the agency expanded its definition of the key beyond the traditional physical object to include the electronic codes of smart fobs. This change would prove an unpleasant surprise for some drivers.

 “It doesn’t pass the common-sense test,” said Sean Kane, the president of Safety Research and Strategies, a Massachusetts consulting firm that provides research for plaintiff’s attorneys.

A spokeswoman for the safety agency, Karen Aldana, said in an e-mail that automakers originally asked the agency whether an electronic code could be considered a key and they were told that was allowed. “NHTSA doesn’t wish to discourage innovation when it comes to automotive technology,” she wrote.

[via The New York Times]

Photo courtesy of khedara and re-used under the Creative Commons license.

Officials at the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles have announced that the department will impose two points on the driving records of those who have been found guilty of driving while using a cell phone for offenses committed on or after Feb. 16 of this year.

Previously, no points were assigned for talking on a cell phone although two points are assigned for texting while driving violations. The new regulation will align the point penalty for both violations.

"Distracted driving is one of the most serious dangers on our roadways today," said DMV Executive Deputy Commissioner J. David Sampson. "By strengthening the current law, our hope is that motorists will become even more aware of the potential consequences of their actions if they use a cell phone while driving."

In New York State, driver distraction is a contributing factor in at least one out of five crashes. Each year more than 300,000 tickets are issued statewide for cell phone violations. In 2009, nearly 5,500 people died nationwide in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver and more than 440,000 were injured.

[via Automotive Fleet]

The Obama administration’s proposed 2012 budget eliminates or reduces funding for a number of programs, from DERA to fuel cells, and creates a consumer rebate for the purchase of electric vehicles. The cuts include eliminating funding for the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) and the budgets for the Fuels Program, the Fuel Cells Program, the Oil and Gas Research program, and the Unconventional Fossil Technology program.

The administration has stated a serious commitment to electric vehicle technology, with a proposal to transform the existing $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles into a rebate available to consumers at the point of sale; a $200 million program to invest in electric vehicle infrastructure; removal of regulatory barriers to implementing electric vehicle infrastructure; and an increase in support for vehicle technology R&D.

In addition, the administration’s proposed 2012 budget for the EPA include implementing new standards to reduce emissions from cars and light-duty trucks for model years 2012 through 2016, extending that program to model year 2017 and beyond, and creating a similar program to reduce GHGs from medium-and heavy-duty trucks for model years 2014-2018.

With the budget now being sent to Congress for consideration, it will likely undergo major changes as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives pushes for deeper budget cuts.

[via Automotive Fleet]

Photo courtesy of Randy Robertson and re-used under the Creative Commons license.