Archive for October, 2010
Friday, October 29th, 2010
Walter Porreca has been a truck driver at Road Scholar Transport for fourteen years now, but his experience far surpasses that. At almost 52 years old, Walter has been driving tractor trailers since the age of 17. His brother Dale, was already driving for Road Scholar Transport and recommended that Walter to join the company. Walter did and has been driving there since.
“I think the company is great. We get new equipment and are updating everything nice. I think we are moving along great,” he said.
In the 35 years Walter has been driving trucks, he has seen a lot, from accidents to tornados.
“I was in Richmond, VA about three years ago. They had tornados all around the area that day. Well I came down 95 in South Richmond and sure enough, a tornado came across the highway and I watched it take a roof off of a building on the south side of the highway. It went across the road and piled up about six cars. It just kept going. That was pretty scary. You could actually watch it. We were all stopping.”
Although witnessing a tornado was something that stood out in Walter’s mind, there was one event that he claims he would never forget.
We all remember where we were on September 11, 2001. Some of us were at work, others at home or in school. But for Walter, the events that occurred that day meant much more.
“In the south tower was a Mariott. I used to deliver there once a month. I would back in under the basement. Usually I would leave here and would be there by five in the morning so that I beat all the traffic. But that particular day I had to wait for products so I was late going down that morning. It was about 8:00 a.m. when I left the terminal.”
“I was on my way to Queens, NY. I turned around by Tobyhanna and got off the exit when I heard about the first tower building. There was a gas station by there and I went in and watched both buildings go down on their TV. So I turned around and came back.”
“That was tough because you go over there and then something like that happens and you don’t know. That’s why I came home that day. We didn’t know if the whole United States was under attack or what the deal was. I guess that was a good thing that I came home because once that happened, they shut the whole city down.”
“That was something that you would never have expected and if I would have left any earlier that day…” Walter reflected.
- Flight 93 Awareness Trailer
Tags: 9/11, Dale, Mariott, NY, Queens, Richmond, road, scholar, september 11, Tobyhanna, tornado, transport, truck, twin towers, VA, Walter Porreca
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Thursday, October 28th, 2010
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Thursday, October 28th, 2010
Earlier this week, the Obama Administration developed new fuel and greenhouse gas emission criteria that were widely received, especially by the American Trucking Association (ATA), which would apply to truck model years 2014-2018.
So where do we need to turn to satisfy these new standards? According to experts, we need to look no further than existing technologies.
As earthandindustry.com notes, there are six ways to advance standards in the trucking industry. (The following is provided from http://earthandindustry.com/2010/10/6-ways-trucks-will-meet-new-fuel-and-emissions-standards/).
1. Engine efficiency and clean diesel technology: Can cause as much as a 20% decrease in fuel consumption.
That’s why Road Scholar Transport acquired new tractors that emit way less diesel particulate than the 2004 engines. It takes four of our trucks combined to emit as much diesel as one 2004 engine!
2. Fuel efficient tires and wheels: Can lead to an almost 11% fuel reduction.
3. Clean-idling and hybrid technologies: Can result in a 6-8% fuel reduction.
Did you know that “11 million tons of CO2, 200,000 tons of NOx, and 5,000 tons of particulate matter” are emitted by long-haul trucks each year? You do now and clean-idling and hybrid technologies are two ways to help.
4. Advanced transmissions: Result in a 5-7% fuel decrease.
5. Cab and Trailer Aerodynamics: Leads to a 3-4% fuel reduction for cabs and as much as an 8.5% reduction in trailers.
6. Reducing weight: Something as simple as reducing the weight of trucks can produce a 1% fuel decrease.
For more information on the greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency proposal see the blog “Obama Proposes Greenhouse Gas and Fuel Standards for Trucks.”
Road Scholar Transport
Tags: aerodynamic, American Trucking Assocation, ATA, cab, diesel, emission, engine, fuel, gas, greenhouse, hybrid, Obama Administration, tire, tractor, transmission, truck, weight, wheel
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Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
The Freight is the Future of Commerce in the United States Act of 2010 (otherwise known as the Freight FOCUS Act of 2010), is designed to make the transport of freight more efficient and increase the availability of jobs within the trucking industry.
A large portion of the bill is based on improvements in funding. As an article in The Trucker notes, instead of the Highway Trust Fund providing the money needed to pay for construction and development, the general fund would transfer three million dollars instead into the projects.
The Freight FOCUS Act of 2010 also wants to guarantee that funds are used strictly for the benefit of the trucking industry. To ensure this, the bill wants to create both a “Goods Movement Trust Fund, which would fund grants to deserving projects across the nation,” as well as a National Freight Advisory Committee, which would “allow the public and private sectors to offer opinions on planning and which projects are to be funded” (http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2010/10/27/Billtofundinfrastructurefixfastingatheringsupport.aspx).
Aside from funding, the bill asks for the price of diesel fuel to increase by twelve cents as well as the improvement of check points, the article notes.
According to The Trucker, the bill has already gained full support of the American Trucking Association (ATA), the Waterfront Coalition, The Retail Industry Leaders Association, and the Port of Long Beach.
Road Scholar Transport
Tags: American Trucking Association (ATA), and the Port of Long Beach, FOCUS, freight, Future of Commerce in the United States Act of 2010, Goods Movement Trust Fund, National Freight Advisory Committee, road, scholar, The Retail Industry Leaders Association, the Waterfront Coalition, transport, truck
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Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
View this blog on our awareness site at
http://www.roadscholarawareness.org/keeping-the-wish-alive/
Tags: charity, computer, Disney Land, donate, foundation, Legoland, Make a Wish, road, scholar, tractor, trailer, transport, violin, volunteer, wish
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Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
On Monday, Obama announced a proposal for greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency standards for those in the trucking industry, which includes propositions from both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as National Highway Traffic Safety Admininstration (NHTSA).
In an attempt to “go green,” and eventually put more hybrid trucks on the road, the proposal seeks to cut usage of fuel and emissions by 20 percent for tractor trailers, with smaller trucks having a slightly smaller cut, according to an article in The Hill.
With carbon emission reductions being favored over increasing fuel prices in order to lower the use of diesel fuel consumption, the EPA notes that the proposal will not require trucks to use a certain type of fuel but instead, can work on improving the truck’s engines, tires, and aerodynamics, the article states.
Road Scholar Transport has already brought new tractors into the fleet that account for 42 trucks in the amount of diesel particulate given off (a 1:42 ratio).
The following is projected to occur as a result of the proposal (information provided by http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/125727-trucking-industry-gives-initial-praise-to-proposed-carbon-efficiency-controls)
-Provide $41 billion in net benefits over the lifetime of model-year 2014 to 2018
vehicles.
-Nearly $74,000 in fuel savings over the life of a semi truck.
-Save 500 million barrels of oil and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 250 metric tons.
Tags: diesel, efficiency, EPA, fuel, gas, green, greenhouse, NHTSA, Obama, road, scholar, tractor, trailer, transport
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Monday, October 25th, 2010
Tags: animal, awareness, campaign, charity, contest, MA, pets, Plymouth, road, scholar, tractor, trailer, transport, Under My Wings Pet Sitting, wishbones
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Monday, October 25th, 2010
The EOBR rule, which is set to go into effect June 1, 2012, is being asked to undergo review 
by the courts.
According to Truckinginfo.com, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), has filed for review of the mandatory use of EOBR’s to those carriers who “violate hours of service rules 10 percent of the time,” believing that it can be inaccurate, lead to harassment, and also violate a driver’s Fourth Amendment.
As the site notes, the OOIDA poses the question of how the EOBR can record a driver’s hours of service and duty status,” when it only is able to track the truck.
The other problem OOIDA considers is that drivers will feel pressured knowing that they are constantly being monitored, which can lead to safety problems since drivers may feel obligated to continue driving even when feeling tired in order to meet their hours quota.
The article also believes that the driver’s Fourth Amendment (the right to privacy) could be tampered with, since the driver would be under 24 hour surveillance. Invasion of privacy, especially in one’s home, is not permitted without a warrant and since many truck drivers sleep in their trailers, thus acting as their home when on the road, it would be an invasion as well.
The FMCSA has until November 4th to reply on OOIDA’s remarks (http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=72009).
Tags: driver, EOBR, federal motor carrier safety administration, FMCSA, Fourth Amendment, OOIDA, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
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Friday, October 22nd, 2010
Tags: Alex’s Lemonade Stand, and Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, brain, charity, Children’s Tumor Foundation, coffee, cure, glioma, Prostate Cancer Awareness, research, road, scholar, study, tea, The American Breast Cancer Foundation, transport, trucking, tumor
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Friday, October 22nd, 2010
Concrete Logistics
Road Scholar Transport
Concrete Logistics, a trucking company located in Australia, is turning heads after they decided to paint one of their trucks pink this month.
The company came up with the idea to support Pink Ribbon Day, October 25th, after losing a close friend, Jade English, to breast cancer.
According to pilbaraecho.com, the company also donated $5000 to the Cancer Council WA.
Susan Roon, Chief Executive Officer of the Cancer Council WA, was astonished by the truck, believing it to serve two purposes: one, to remind those of Pink Ribbon Day and two, to support those individuals, their family, and friends battling the disease that there are people that support them in their fight (http://www.pilbaraecho.com.au/echo/content/view/2474/1/).
To think that Susan was amazed by one pink truck makes one wonder what she would say if she came to America and saw Road Scholar Transport’s tractor-trailers painted, not only pink, but different shades of blue, black, white, red, brown, yellow, and purple in support of over 17 different causes.
Tags: Australia, breast cancer, Cancer Council WA, charity, Concrete Logistics, Jade English, Pink Ribbon Day, road, Roon, scholar, Susan, tractor, trailer, transport, truck
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