New and Used Cottrell Trailers and Cottrel Carhaulers for Autotransport Industry

Showing posts with label red safety flag. Show all posts

Oil Slides On The Post Sequester Economy...

Oil slid again. I am sure every Cottrell owner, carhauler, trucker, autohauler, etc is enjoying this. Oil going down is good but the reason for it is not. Post sequester I have witnessed the economy hit the brakes whether it was merited or not. Now hold on, I do not mean the affluent economy of the stock market or the large international company that benefits by less US debt and increasing value of the dollar.

Cottrell Trailers And The Price Of Oil?

I am talking about our economy. You know the real economy. The one that surrounds buying and selling, job creation (or lack thereof) or the reality that 98% of the American Population faces. That economy is slowing.

So lower oil prices may be good, but they are not part of a good trend..

http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2013/4/17/Oilslidecontinuesendsat8668.aspx

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#Parts For Use With Cottrell Trailers and #Car Hauler #Autohauler Specials

Click links below for updated information on each item

Replacement Straps
Height Stick
7" Tie Down Chain
28" Tie Down Bar

Graphite Lube
Red Safety Flag

Huge selection of Cottrell Trailer Parts at parts.ectts.com

“Recalculating”

If you have ever seen the insurance commercial where “Mr. Mayhem” pretends to a confused GPS system, this might be for you. I always figured GPS systems were not 100% accurate, but it really never dawned on me how far reaching the impact of that could be.

Well according to a Transport Topics article they are not designed for trucks to use either, at least not the version that was originally designed for cars. The GPS versions that were designed for cars do not calculate (or recalculate) the height of your truck and the height of the bridges around you.

Thus you have a rash of bridge collisions by truck drivers who faithfully listened to their GPS. In fact the article I pulled this from said the vast majority of bridge collisions in New York State were caused by truckers using a GPS system designed for cars.

I guess there was truth to that commercial after all about mayhem being in the GPS.

http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=31461&t=FMCSA-Warns-Truckers-to-Use-Truck-Specific-GPS

Truck and Carhauler Parts Specials

click items below for ordering information or product specifics
****NOTE PRICING ON HEIGHT STICK IS $115.00****

It Is Time To Share The Burden?…

I read a Los Angeles Times story about the causes of accidents between cars and trucks. After reading it I started to rethink my position on truck safety. Currently, the focus is centered around trucks. The idea is simple. Heavily regulate the trucking industry and the roads will be safer.

Indeed the rules and regulations have improved the quality of drivers and the monitoring of drivers and fleets. But there are still accidents. According to the article, a huge reason for those accidents is NOT the truck drivers but the car drivers.

81% of accidents are attributed to car drivers and small trucks when a heavy truck is involved

So my next question is, why is the trucking industry still getting a lions share of the attention on who is to blame. Maybe the real focus needs to be on the car driver side of the equation. The rules and regulations surrounding what people have to know to get a license need to heavily focus on training people to drive around trucks.

I have read of some municipalities that have outreach and training programs to teach people how to drive around heavy trucks. This is great but I think the numbers are showing that there is a critical need to expand the reach of these types of programs.

Nobody wants unsafe roads, but to focus just on the trucks only, is not effective. The numbers are showing that the car drivers either do not understand either the importance of following certain safety procedures or do not really know how to drive around heavy trucks to begin with.

Just like there are campaigns to push safety at work sites around tow men and highway workers, there needs to be campaigns that CONSTANTLY remind the public of how to drive around trucks and the importance of doing the right things when they are driving around trucks. A bumper sticker that says "I make wide right turns" is not enough. If safety is really important, then this issue needs to be addressed with the same intensity that the Federal government has pursued regulations on heavy trucks.

Your thoughts?

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-car-truck-crashes-20130212,0,7321710.story