Road Scholar Transportation

Think you know everything about the trucking industry?  Below are some interesting facts you may not have known; from the history of the first tractor trailer to interesting tidbits will spark any truck lover’s interest.

The First Tractor Trailer

The first tractor trailer was invented in 1914 by Charles Freuhauf, who was a German-American blacksmith. Freuhauf built the truck in Detroit at a merchant’s request to transport his boat to the Ford Motor Company.  Freuhauf was then asked to build a similar tractor trailer to haul lumber, leading him to establish the Freuhauf Trailer Company in 1918.  (http://www.ehow.com/about_5148345_tractor-trailer-definition.html#ixzz1HFqVk8NV)

The Fifth Wheel

John Endebrock, a sales representative at the Sechler Company, a carriage manufacturer which changed its name to The Trailmobile Company in 1915 when Endebrock created a trailer that could be pulled by a Ford Model T, created the fifth wheel, a mechanism that couples the tractor to the trailer. (http://www.ehow.com/about_5148345_tractor-trailer-definition.html#ixzz1HFqVk8NV)

The Motor Carrier Act

Passed by Congress in 1935, allowing the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to “grant operating permits, approve trucking routes,” and “set uniform tariff rates for hauling freight,” leading to little competition among trucking companies.  The ICC was abolished in 1995.  (http://www.irs.gov/businesses/article/0,,id=170623,00.html)

The Department of Transportation

Created in 1967, the DOT sets requirements on braking standards, maximum work hours, and “overall safety fitness of interstate carriers.”  (http://www.irs.gov/businesses/article/0,,id=170623,00.html)

Maximum Weight Requirements

In 1982, the Surface Transportation Act was created, stating that interstate highway trucks cannot have a total weight of more than 80,000 pounds.

Largest Tractor

The world’s largest tractor was created by the French in 2005.  Named the TRACTOMAS TR 10X10, created by NICOLAS Industrie, this tractor has a “tare weight of around 40 tonnes, along with a vehicle total weight of 71 tonnes,” with an overall weight of truck and trailer of about 600 tonnes.  (http://www.press-n-relations.de/news/news-detail/artikel/tractomas-tr-10×10-d100-the-worlds-biggest-tractor//archiv/2005//cat/3/back/16/liste/2/)

Largest Cargo Theft

To date, the largest cargo theft resulted in $76 million worth the loss from an Eli Lilly and Co. warehouse loaded with prescription drugs in Enfield, Conn. on March 14, 2010.

(http://www.nrsonline.com/pdfs/ASMay2010_RippedOff.pdf).  This case shows the importance of transporting your freight with a carrier well-versed in cargo security and exercising the toughest security features such as Road Scholar Transport.  Check out Road Scholar’s services at www.roadscholar.com.

Did You Know?

Road Scholar Transport is a leading solutions provider in the transportation industry with a 0.0005% damage and loss rate, which is among the lowest in the industry and far below the rates of those major national carriers.

Jim Barrett, founder of Road Scholar, is well-versed in cargo security, partnering up with Walt Beadling, President of the Cargo Security Alliance, and Peters, radio host of Tough Talk (94.3 FM) who served in the White House and then as liaison to the Office of Homeland Security, to discuss threats to the motor freight supply chain.  You can listen to Barrett’s Tough Talk interview with Peters at http://www.roadscholar.com/webinars/toughtalk2.html.

What kind of interesting trucking facts do you know?