CALIFORNIA – Following in six other states’ footsteps, California just became the seventh state to ban auto insurers from using gender as a factor to calculate insurance rates for customers. The decision was put into effect on the first of January. This occurred because regulators and lawmakers increased pressure on insurers to focus their costs more on behaviors in driving than in gender and other unrelated criteria. So, what does…

UNITED STATES – As technology increases year after year, so does the promise of self-driving cars and automation technology in the trucking industry. While the technology brings a lot of good, like possibly reducing accidents, regulating the flow of freight, and more… it increases some fears for drivers. How does this technology impact truck drivers? Will drivers be replaced as automation increases? Luckily for drivers, most higher-ups in the industry…

UNITED STATES – On January 15, the US Supreme Court ruled 8-0 in the New Prime v. Oliveira case. And, the impact of this Supreme Court decision could affect the trucking industry across the nation. The results of the decision? That owner-operators can’t be forced into mandatory arbitration. John B. Lewis, a partner with BakerHostetler, talked about the impact this could have on the trucking industry. He said that the…

LOS ANGELES, CA – Candy Cane Lane might be in trouble. Residents of the Woodland Hills neighborhood known for its twinkly holiday displays of elaborate Christmas lights are worried the tradition might be dying out. The tradition began in 1952 when residents of the neighborhood bordering the 101 Freeway and Pierce College started decorated their homes with extravagant Christmas lights. 60 years later, tens of thousands of people visit the…

The federal rule requires truck drivers a rest break after driving for 8 hours. According to some representatives of the industry, the rule caused many arguments and even is considered to be harmful as it can cause more crashes and deaths.   The year 2017 broke the record of having the highest level of large truck crash numbers in 29 years, according to the records of the National Highway Traffic…

Uber Freight division is launching the new Powerloop service starting from Wednesday. With the platform, pre-loaded trailers will be available to eligible carriers. Also, it will make a trailer pooling program that allows smaller fleets and owner-operators to access the network.   The platform already operates in Texas and tested by Anheuser-Busch.   “The platform enables a common pool of trailers which can be utilized by a diffuse set of…

CALIFORNIA (state) -- A bill was signed on 21 Sep that allows near-zero-emission or zero-emission vehicles to weigh up to 82,000 pounds. California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed that bill.   The California Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) Coalition suggests that the bill will allow heavy-duty trucks to exceed California’s weight limits by 2,000 pounds. The legislation reflects the federal Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015, which altered truck…

  REDDING, CALIFORNIA – Officials reported California freeways that have recently been tremendously affected by an explosive wildfire forced many truckers to abandon their vehicles.   The fire destructed both sides of Interstate 5 near the Oregon state line and expanded to 23 square miles.       The affected areas are mainly rural and have homes.  It was moving rapidly but was still far from any large towns.  …

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- A Conshohocken firm, DrayNow has a booking and trucking software which is connecting millions of shippers to truckers. The company said they have raised over $5 million in an A-Series venture capital fundraising from Comcast Ventures, and from Osage Partners, operating in Philadelphia.   The software platform that is built, the DrayNowMarketplace, is linking intermodal transport brokers, logistics, and marketing firms with a desktop interface and a…

Over 45,000 Freightliner Cascadia tractors are being recalled by Daimler Trucks North America. The cause of the recalling is the issue concerning the ignition control which is not performing required bulb checks in different situations when it is needed.   The issue is noted from the documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.   According to the Daimler, in case the ignition is turned from on to off to…