http://www.overdriveonline.com Overdrive Magazine - Owner Operators and Independent Contractors Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:05:27 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today, March 10, launched a program to replace up to 636 of the oldest, most polluting trucks serving the port with newer models that generate less pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The $28 million program is ... http://www.overdriveonline.com/ny-port-starts-truck-replacement-program/ Tennessee truck owners are eligible to apply for up to $4,000 in grant rebates to install auxiliary power units on their trucks. An estimated $1.73 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will supplement the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Idle Smart grant ... http://www.overdriveonline.com/tennessee-offers-funds-for-apus/ A bill to authorize private groups to build and operate the Illiana Expressway in Indiana as a toll road is on the governor’s desk. On March 2, the state’s Senate voted unanimously in favor of House changes to a bill that would authorize private investors to build and operate the Illiana ... http://www.overdriveonline.com/ind-toll-road-bill-to-governor-2/ The for-hire trucking industry lost 4,300 jobs in February, and the industry lost jobs in January rather than gained them, according to revised seasonally adjusted figures from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Preliminary data released a month ago indicated the industry had added 2,500 jobs in January. ... http://www.overdriveonline.com/trucking-jobs-fall-in-february-2/ The national average retail price of a gallon of diesel continued its surge this week. The price gained 4.3 cents to $2.904, according to the Department of Energy. All regions except New England reported sharply higher prices. The Gulf Coast jumped 5.4 cents to $2.873, while the Midwest, the lowest price ... http://www.overdriveonline.com/diesel-price-moves-higher-2/ The Pelletiers and the Crawfords of Maine are known far and wide for their success in the log-hauling business in the north woods, the Pelletiers the subject of the Discovery Channel's American Loggers series, which I wrote about in December when they took delivery of a couple new Mack Titans. The ... http://www.overdriveonline.com/the-grand-gesture-rival-maine-log-hauling-families-spar/ Bruce Smith of Kilgore, Texas, hauls frac sand loaded in this Stevens 2008 pneumatic tanker, pulled by this 2009 Peterbilt 389. It is powered by a 600-hp Cummins and an 18-speed Eaton Fuller. Southern Transport owner Thomas Ivy owns the truck. http://www.overdriveonline.com/7511/ As carriers begin to cope with the realities of Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010, they’ll look at retention and recruitment in new ways. In a webinar produced by Overdrive and Truckers News, Schneider National’s Don Osterberg will examine how fleets need to evaluate drivers’ safety performance and whether the new federal ... http://www.overdriveonline.com/csa-2010-webinar-slated-for-march-17/ It’s a pity that it takes the heavy hand of government to ban practices that common sense would say are stupid, if not deadly. Such is the case with text messaging while driving, which the U.S. Dept. of Transportation recently outlawed for commercial drivers. Studies show that texting and related behaviors ... http://www.overdriveonline.com/distracted-driving-needs-uniform-restrictions/ The national average retail price of a gallon of diesel continued its surge this week. The price gained 4.3 cents to $2.904, according to the Department of Energy. All regions except New England reported sharply higher prices. The Gulf Coast jumped 5.4 cents to $2.873, while the Midwest, the lowest price ... http://www.overdriveonline.com/diesel-price-moves-higher/