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James Jaillet, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / October 24, 2017 The Environmental Protection Agency has formally proposed to repeal the Obama-era emissions regulations placed on glider kit tractors. The glider-specific emissions regs have yet to take effect but are scheduled to begin being phased in starting next year. The emissions standards placed on glider trucks were part of the broad Phase 2 emissions rule enacted by the EPA in 2016, which calls for a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by tractor-trailers by 2027. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt earlier this year announced the agency’s intentions to reevaluate the glider-specific portions of the Phase 2 standards. The agency followed through on Friday. It filed a proposal with the White House’s Office of Management and Budget to repeal the “emission requirements for glider vehicles, glider engines, and glider kits,” according to a notice posted on the OMB’s regulations portal. The rule’s glider kit restrictions would have forced glider vehicle makers to dramatically alter their operations to meet Phase 2 standards, as reported on in-depth last year by Overdrive. Glider manufacturers, such as Fitzgerald Glider Kits, have tried to engage Congress on the issue, arguing they make up such a small percentage of truck sales that they should be exempt from Phase 2 regulations. They have said the rule would “decimate” the glider kit business. Friday’s development is a win for Fitzgerald and other glider vehicle manufacturers who fought the Phase 2 emissions standards. The EPA also said it intends to evaluate the Phase 2 rule’s stipulations regarding trailer aerodynamics and emissions, following an ongoing and still unsettled lawsuit brought by the Truck and Trailer Manufacturers Association, which argues the EPA lacks statutory authority to regulate trailer emissions.

Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / October 23, 2017 ORLANDO — New upgrades to Freightliner’s new Cascadia model aimed at the driver were announced at the American Trucking Associations Management Conference & Exhibition. The new updates include keyless entry and medical power supply option designed for a CPAP machine. With Keyless entry, users can lock and unlock doors, roll down windows and, if equipped, test the bulbs on the truck’s exterior before a trip. Each truck purchase includes two keyless entry transmitters that are paired at the plant and one transmitter that can be paired to multiple trucks for fleet owners. Freightliner has also added a medical power supply that’s designed to provide 8 to 10 hours of power for a typical continuous positive airway pressure device, to help drivers with breathing problems while sleeping. The optional medical device power supply includes three main components: an Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) battery securely mounted under the bunk and vented externally; a 12-volt dedicated, labeled power outlet mounted on the front of the bunk, and a charge control isolator. The battery is automatically recharged from either the alternator or from shore power if so equipped. AGM is a fine fiberglass mat that offers the benefits of a gelled mat but can withstand more wear and tear. The battery’s design holds the electrolyte in suspension, fueling higher efficiency when discharging and recharging, according to Freightliner. “Part of what makes the new Cascadia best-in-class is that we are continually making improvements that benefit our customers,” said Kary Schaefer, general manager, marketing and strategy, Daimler Trucks North America. “Much of that focuses on safety and fuel economy of course, but we’re also making our product more productive and functional for the drivers. Each new feature is an important part of ensuring that every new Cascadia is a smart investment.” .

Navistar to Raise Truck Prices by up to 2% Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / October 23, 2017 ORLANDO - Citing rising commodity prices, Navistar has announced that it will raise truck prices by up to 2% in the coming year. That marginal increase will be offset by the overall value that new model trucks provide to customers, said Michael Cancelliere, president trucks and parts, during a media briefing at the American Trucking Associations annual Management Conference & Exhibition. “We continually improve our own productivity, but there is a point when suppliers raise costs to us that we can’t just absorb 100% of it,” he said. “We still have to be competitive. It’s a competitive industry.” The price changes will vary by model, depending on the level of content in the different trucks. “If you can get better fuel economy on a daily basis over a three-, four-, five-year period, I’m sure that’s worth well in excess of the increase,” Cancelliere said. Every day of downtime is also valued at about $1,000 on the low side, not counting intangible costs such as dissatisfied drivers and shippers. Reliable trucks and effective service networks make a difference there. The market itself also appears to offer a growing demand for new trucks. Overall, Class 6 and 7 truck orders are up 14.3% year over year as of August, while heavy vehicle demand was up 39%, and the demand for trucks in severe service applications was up 25.5%, Cancelliere said. Navistar’s share of the medium-duty and Class 8 market has increased 1.4 points year over year, he added. Economic growth accelerated in the second and third quarter, Cancelliere said, projecting that North America’s market for Class 6, 7, and 8 vehicles will continue to rise. “Right now (with) the truckload carriers, freight is strong, capacity is tight, rates are up,” he said of the current economic environment and strong orders for sleepers. Last week, Navistar secured a $200 million order from U.S. Xpress, and he says another unnamed large fleet has placed a big order of its own.

Chao says no infrastructure bill before tax reform Neil Abt, Fleet Owner / October 23, 2017 DOT secretary tells truckers their voices are being heard ORLANDO. No one should expect action on President Trump’s $1 trillion infrastructure proposal until after Congress completes work on tax reform. That was the message delivered by Elaine Chao, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), during a speech at the 2017 American Trucking Associations Management Conference & Exhibition. Tax reform “is the focus of the Congress and the administration right now,” she said. Chao said the general plan includes $200 billion in federal funding, with the rest made up of private investment and other methods. Chao said 16 federal agencies were involved in crafting the proposal, and that she had met numerous times with trucking industry officials. “Your voices are being heard,” she told MC&E attendees. She also said DOT was continuing to look at regulatory reforms that could help speed up construction projects and create more jobs. Chao said she is working with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on addressing the shortage of truck drivers. That could include further outreach to veterans, as well as to “underserved communities and women, she said. .

Sean Kilcarr, Fleet Owner / October 23, 2017 Company also rolls out new improvements to Cascadia model, alongside new mobile application offerings. ORLANDO. Truck production is expected to “finish strong” this year, with “no pause at all” in commercial vehicle orders, according to Roger Nielsen, president and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA). In a round-table interview with reporters here at the 2017 American Trucking Associations (ATA) Management Conference & Exhibition (MC&E), Nielsen added that there are “no plans” at the moment to increase sticker prices on DTNA’s models, though he explained that there is “definitely pressure” as the rising costs of raw materials “is an area of discussion.” “Our plan is to remain focused on fuel efficiency and safety; that’s everything in trucking,” Nielsen said. While he didn’t provide specific numbers, he added that year-to-date (YTD) truck sales are up for DTNA versus the same point in 2016. Freightliner Business Class medium-duty model and severe-duty model sales are up 9% and 16% versus last year, while Western Star sales are up 30%. Meanwhile, sales of Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. (FCCC) and Thomas Built Buses (TBB) among other specialty” models are up 9% as a group.Though sales of “premium” linehaul tractors are off 1% versus last year, overall, DTNA’s total YTD truck sales for the NAFTA region is up 6% versus 2016. Nielsen commented on a wide range of issues during his meeting with reporters, touching on everything from truck platooning to autonomous driving and electrification: • He views the company’s Detroit Connect Virtual Technician remote diagnostic system as “more and more of an advantage” in the trucking market in terms of reducing downtime for repairs. “It is all about uptime in this market now,” Nielsen noted. • He said everything DTNA is doing in terms of developing platooning and autonomous technology is “aimed at safety; that’s what we are putting our money on – everything we can do to make the driver’s life safer and help them complete their mission,” in part because “we don’t believe trucks will be completely driverless in the future.” • In terms of truck platooning research “there is technically no limit” as to how many tractor-trailers one can “synch together.” However, “we are still searching or applications that make sense for two-truck platoons; we’ve not seen anyone yet asking for five-truck platooning applications.” • Nielsen noted that DTNA now refers to itself as “a mobile device company that happens to build trucks and buses” because today’s trucks and buses are becoming like iPhones; the technological “base” for different applications. • “It doesn’t make sense for a customer to have 18 different [communication] contracts for cameras, braking systems, telematics, and other technologies,” he explained. “Our capacity, our ‘box,’ can provide a single electronics and communication platform. Apple for example does not write every software application for its iPhone; it acts as a host for them.” • While DTNA is watching fuel economy and greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation rollback discussions closely, “regardless of what happens, we’ve moved on with our business plans,” Nielsen said. • A major concern with autonomous vehicle technology is the “shifting of liability” when it comes to crashes and managing traffic congestion, he said; issues still being debated. • Are electric trucks viable? Nielsen noted that DTNA plans a “full launch” of the eCanter all-electric medium-duty truck built by its Mitsubishi Fuso division in Japan, the U.S., and European Union nations in 2019 with four models, followed by “more models in multiple classes” in 2020 and beyond. • “We believe we still need more power density from the batteries and lower total cost of operation (TCO),” he said. “We’re working with fleets right now to define different use cases.” DTNA also made several product announcements during the annual ATA MC&E. First the company is offering a series of upgrades to the Freightliner Cascadia family of heavy-trucks, including: • Keyless entry that that not only offers buttons for locking and unlocking the doors but that also rolls down windows and tests the bulbs on the truck’s exterior lights prior to driving the vehicle. Each truck purchase includes two keyless entry transmitters that are paired at the plant, with one transmitter capable of being paired to multiple trucks. • A new built-in power supply for medical devices, powered by an absorbent glass mat (AGM) battery mounted under the bunk and vented externally that offers eight to 10 hours of power for equipment such as a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device for drivers with sleep apnea. DTNA is also making its new Detroit Connect mobile application available for download for Freightliner and Western Star customers who have an active Detroit Connect subscription, which allows them to access information about their vehicles’ performance without needing to be at a desk or on a computer. The new app, available for iOS or Android-enabled mobile devices, is available for free in Apple’s App Store or Google Play, DTNA said, with access to the new Detroit Connect portal and mobile app included with any active Detroit Connect subscription at no charge. Finally, the OEM noted that its Detroit Connect Virtual Technician remote diagnostic system can now deliver remote fault event diagnostics for Detroit DT12 automated manual transmissions (AMT) – monitoring up to 150 distinct faults for that gearbox. The Virtual Technician diagnostic process for the DT12 is similar to the process for Detroit engine and after-treatment systems, DTNA said, with fault events “categorized” based on how severe vehicle drivability is affected. “Since we launched Virtual Technician in 2011, we have been improving it by integrating additional Detroit components,” said Kary Schaefer, general manager, marketing and strategy, Daimler Trucks North America. “We pride ourselves on helping customers understand their truck’s health and maximizing the uptime.” .

Transport Topics / October 24, 2017 ORLANDO, Fla. — Daimler Trucks North America continues its pursuit of automated driving technology, but that development path is focused not on “autonomous” trucks but advanced driver-assistance systems, CEO Roger Nielsen said. “You’ll see us change our language to advanced driver-assistance systems, or active safety. You won’t see us talking about autonomous,” Nielsen said during an Oct. 24 roundtable discussion with industry press here during American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition. DTNA, which builds Freightliner and Western Star trucks and Detroit engines and components, remains firm in its belief that trucks will not become driverless in the foreseeable future. “The driver does more than just steer, brake and accelerate,” Nielsen said, adding that professional drivers provide customer service, perform pre-and post-trip vehicle inspections and respond to unexpected issues that arise on the road. DTNA helped ignite conversations about trucking’s future when it unveiled its self-driving Freightliner Inspiration concept truck at the Hoover Dam in 2015, but the company has since moderated its tone on autonomous driving technology. Nielsen compared the development of automated trucks to space exploration. The real benefit isn’t just landing on the moon; it’s everything that was invented on the way. Similarly, the pathway toward higher levels of automation will yield further advancements in active safety, which “helps us get to the point of accident free driving,” Nielsen said. “And that’s the key here. We want drivers to come home safe and less tired.” One new form of ADAS technology that DTNA is currently testing is truck platooning, which combines active safety systems with vehicle-to-vehicle communication to enable a pair of trucks to travel down the highway in a tight, aerodynamic formation. Nielsen reiterated DTNA’s stance that active lane keeping for the following truck will be “absolutely required to make platooning work.” That active steering capability will help the driver of the second truck, who will have limited visibility as the vehicle travels about 45 feet behind the lead truck at highway speeds. “We are not ready to announce a market availability of platooning yet, although you’ll see us come out soon with active lane keeping as yet another advanced driver-assistance system,” Nielsen said. Daimler also continues to explore electric-powered trucks. The company recently introduced its fully electric Fuso eCanter medium-duty cabover in the United States, Japan and Europe with a full launch aimed for 2019. In Europe, Daimler also is planning tests and trials for its heavy-duty Mercedes-Benz Urban e-Truck ahead of a broader launch in 2020 or beyond. In the United States, DTNA has plans in place to electrify the Freightliner Cascadia, Nielsen said. However, he acknowledged that the industry still “has a lot to learn” about increasing power density, reducing weight and providing a viable total cost of ownership with electric trucks. “Our focus at the moment is not on the business case,” he said. “Our focus right now is on bringing the technology to a higher level.” Nielsen also provided a brief overview of this year’s truck market. Year-to-date through September, DTNA reported a 10% decline in the U.S. Class 8 market, but a 0.3% uptick in market share compared with the previous year. The U.S. Classes 6 and 7 market edged up 1%, and DTNA’s share of that market rose 0.7%, the company said. .

Sean Kilcarr, Fleet Owner / October 22, 2017 OEM also believes demand for Class 8 sleeper tractors will increase into next year. ORLANDO. With commodity prices and supplier costs both on the rise, truck and engine maker Navistar will seek to increase sticker prices by 2% – an increase Michael Cancelliere, the company’s president of truck and parts, also believes reflects the “higher value” of the OEM’s product line. “It is not just about the cost of materials; there’s a value to improved uptime and fuel economy,” he explained during a press conference here at the 2017 American Trucking Associations (ATA) Management Conference & Exhibition (MC&E). “Think about the value better fuel economy on a daily basis in the long haul segment means over a three to four year trade cycle,” he explained. “Then factor in the benefits of greater uptime. A day of [truck] downtime at the very least is $1,000 on the low side.” Cancelliere noted that both economic growth and freight volumes are accelerating, especially in the TL segment, where he said “freight is strong, capacity is tight and rates are up.” Cancelliere added that to date industry orders are up strongly year-over-year: up 14.3% for Class 6-7 trucks, up 39% for heavy trucks and 25.5% for severe service trucks. He told Fleet Owner that he expects that orders for Class 8 sleeper tractors will be particularly strong heading into 2018. Still, he stressed that while Navistar “must still be competitive” on price in the commercial truck market, the “real focus” must be on providing more “value” to customers. To improve on that “value proposition,” Cancelliere noted that Navistar just opened a new Uptime Command Center located at the company's headquarters in Lisle, IL, that will tap a dedicated cross-functional team of specialists and key suppliers to assure 24/7 on-road support for customer vehicles – with the goal of getting vehicles back on the road no later than 48 hours after diagnosing a problem. “That’s our goal for our Diamond-edged certified dealers; that we diagnose the problem within two hours and then repair it within 8 hours,” he explained. “That’s our focus: to get 80% of those repairs completed in 24 hours and the remaining 20% in 48 hours.” Cancelliere outlined three key facets of this “uptime mission: Navistar is embarking upon: Proactive: The UptimeCommandCenter will tap into the OEM’s OnCommand Connection telematics network that constantly monitors and captures data from more than 325,000 vehicles collectively traveling more than 8.8 million miles per day. Predictive: The next step is to craft predictive maintenance strategies that take advantage of OnCommand Connection Live Action Plans, a feature now being pilot tested, which will predict when parts are about to fail before they actually do, and to provide the customer with alerts about potential corrective actions, the potential repair, the parts needed, and the training required to make the repair. Furthermore, if the repair is performed as instructed and the vehicle is under warranty, Navistar would pay for the repair. Collaborative: The UptimeCommandCenter is working collaboratively with the International dealer network, to begin offering 24/7 parts and service availability to support uptime. This goal builds on the company's long-standing commitment to 24/7 parts availability, which includes "hot-shot" part deliveries from one of the OEM’s Parts Distribution Centers to the dealer. To date, Cancelliere said Navistar customers using OnCommand Connection report a 30% reduction in unplanned maintenance. "The UptimeCommandCenter reflects our steady progress in evolving to a proactive, predictive and collaborative maintenance model," he added. "It builds on the International A26 Customer Uptime Assurance Program, which we launched in August, to signal our confidence in our newest 12.4-liter big bore engine.” Cancelliere noted, too, that key suppliers such as Meritor, Cummins and Bendix will provide specialists to help staff the OEM’s new UptimeCommandCenter. “The customer doesn’t see their names, though; they see our badge on our trucks,” he added. “That’s why we need to own the support platform.” Navistar is also planning to launch what it calls the OnCommand Connection Marketplace on Friday, October 27; a new open-architecture, cloud-based technology e-commerce platform for complete telematics services and a broad range of related driver support tools and will be open to customer-created and third-party apps. "It is another way we are helping our customers become more profitable," Cancelliere noted. "The OnCommand Connection team developed the marketplace to give drivers and fleet managers centralized and easy access to applications and other resources that aid in day-to-day operations." He stressed that Navistar’s goal is “to provide our customers with the best overall connected experience and we're doing this by creating products and services that are open to everyone.” .

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says would travel to North Korea Reuters / October 22, 2017 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said he would be willing to travel to North Korea on behalf of the Trump administration to help diffuse rising tensions, The New York Times reported on its website on Sunday. “I would go, yes,” Carter, 93, told the Times when he was asked in an interview at his ranch house in Plains, Georgia whether it was time for another diplomatic mission and whether he would do so for President Trump. Carter, a Democrat who was president from 1977 to 1981, said he had spoken to Trump’s National Security Adviser Lt.-Gen. H. R. McMaster, who is a friend, but so far has gotten a negative response. ”I told him that I was available if they ever need me,” the Times quoted Carter as saying. Told that some in Washington were made nervous by Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s war of words, Carter said “I‘m afraid, too, of a situation.” ”They want to save their regime. And we greatly overestimate China’s influence on North Korea. Particularly to Kim,” who, Carter added, has ”never, so far as I know, been to China.”“And they have no relationship. Kim Jong-il did go to China and was very close to them.” Describing the North Korean leader as “unpredictable,” Carter worried that if Kim thinks Trump will act against him, he could do something pre-emptive, the Times reported. “I think he’s now got advanced nuclear weaponry that can destroy the KoreanPeninsula and Japan, and some of our outlying territories in the Pacific, maybe even our mainland,” Carter said. In the mid 1990s, Carter traveled to Pyongyang over the objections of President Bill Clinton, the Times report said, and struck a deal with Kim Il Sung, grandfather of the current leader. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jimmy Carter Lusts for a Trump Posting Maureen Dowd, The New York Times / October 21, 2017 PLAINS, Ga. — Most people would run away screaming at the thought of working for a boss who humiliates subordinates in public, throttles them in private, demands constant flattery, spends all day watching cable TV and behaves in a wildly unpredictable way. And yet, there is someone who is eager to work for President Trump. Curious, but it’s a Democrat. And even curiouser, it’s a fellow member of the presidents club. And curiousest, it’s someone whom Trump has disparaged on Twitter as one of the worst presidents in history. Miracles can happen. No one knows that better than Jimmy Carter, who defied all odds 40 years ago to leap from his peanut farm to the White House and defied all odds again two years ago to beat brain cancer. The 93-year-old would like to pull another rabbit out of a hat — just not a killer rabbit — and enter into a productive partnership with Donald Trump over North Korea. When you think about it, though, it makes sense. One of the basic premises of the CarterCenter is that you should talk to dictators. The closest our two countries had come until now to resuming the Korean War was in 1994. Carter flew into Pyongyang on his own over the objections of President Bill Clinton and struck a deal with Kim Il-sung, the grandfather of the current leader, Kim Jung-un, and the man the grandson models himself on — right down to his hairstyle. North Korea secretly cheated on the deal by pursuing another path to a bomb just four years later. So is it time for another Carter diplomatic mission, and would he do it for Trump, his polar opposite in so many ways? “I would go, yes,” he said, wearing a big “JC” belt buckle and sipping coffee in his ranch house, which is chockablock with Carter family paintings and with furniture he made himself, including his four-poster bed. Rosalynn sits nearby, chiming in slyly at moments. I told him that the big shots in Washington were terrified about the childish, bellicose tit-for-tat tweeting battle between the Dotard and Little Rocket Man. “I’m afraid, too, of a situation,” he said. “I don’t know what they’ll do. Because they want to save their regime. And we greatly overestimate China’s influence on North Korea. Particularly to Kim Jong-un. He’s never, so far as I know, been to China.” (Who knows if he made a surreptitious trip.) Carter continued, “And they have no relationship. Kim Jong-il did go to China and was very close to them.” Carter said that the “unpredictable” Kim Jong-un makes him more nervous than his father, Kim Jong-il, and that if the young leader thinks Trump will act against him, he could do something pre-emptive. “I think he’s now got advanced nuclear weaponry that can destroy the KoreanPeninsula and Japan, and some of our outlying territories in the Pacific, maybe even our mainland,” Carter explained. He said he has talked to Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, Trump’s national security adviser, who is a good friend, including at Zbigniew Brzezinski’s funeral when McMaster asked to sit next to Carter, but has so far gotten a negative response. “I told him that I was available if they ever need me,” he said. When I asked about Trump’s souring our image in the world, Carter defended his successor. “Well, he might be escalating it but I think that precedes Trump,” he said. “The United States has been the dominant character in the whole world and now we’re not anymore. And we’re not going to be. Russia’s coming back and India and China are coming forward.” Holy malaise. He also said he liked Trump’s initiative reaching out to Saudi Arabia. He doesn’t know Jared Kushner but is not totally dismissive of the idea that the son-in-law could succeed where others have failed. “I’ve seen in the Arab world, including the Palestinian world,” he said, “the high esteem that they pay to a member of one’s own family.” Indeed, Carter was harder on Obama during the interview than he was on Trump. Both Carter and Trump had stern, demanding fathers. “Daddy expected me to be perfect,” Carter told me. “So I obeyed his orders and his wishes.” Saying that he did not think “there’s much hope now that Israelis will ever permit a two-state solution,” he knocked Obama on the Middle East: “He made some very wonderful statements, in my opinion, when he first got in office, and then he reneged on that.” Recalling that “we have 22 votes in our family and Obama got all 22 of them,” he complained that Obama had “refused” to talk to North Korea more, and then Carter lamented the fact that Obama joined in the bombing of Yemen, which Carter says is the most interesting place he’s ever been. (He even tried chewing khat, an addictive shrub that acts like amphetamines.) I asked if he had Obama’s email address. “No,” he said flatly. I wondered about his relationship with other presidents, given his body language in the famous picture where he stood off to the side, which he told Brian Williams was deliberate because “I feel that my role as a former president is probably superior to that of other presidents.” “I had my best relationship, when he was in office, with George H. W. Bush,” he said. Carter is also not as bothered as some by Trump’s Putin bromance. “At the CarterCenter,” he said, “we deal with Putin and the Russians quite frequently concerning Syria.” Did the Russians purloin the election from Hillary? “Rosie and I have a difference of opinion on that,” he said. She looked over archly. “They obviously did,” she said. He said: “I don’t think there’s any evidence that what the Russians did changed enough votes, or any votes.” Rosalynn pressed, “The drip-drip-drip about Hillary.” Carter noted that in the primary, “We voted for Sanders.” I asked the famously ethical Carter what he made of Obama’s post-presidential string of $400,000 speeches. “I don’t care if he gets rich or Clinton gets rich or whatever,” he said. “I don’t want to get into a bragging position; I’m not trying to do that. But I announced when I was defeated I was not going to be on corporate boards, I was not going to try to enrich myself with speeches. I was patterning my policy after Harry Truman.” When I compared the Clinton Foundation with the CarterCenter, Carter noted: “Rosie and I put money in the CarterCenter. We never take any out.” I wondered how the starchy Carter, who put out a White House edict that nobody could fly first class, felt about the louche Trump White House, where conflict of interest has been replaced by confluence of interest. “I think the media have been harder on Trump than any other president certainly that I’ve known about,” Carter replied. “I think they feel free to claim that Trump is mentally deranged and everything else without hesitation.” Since Rosalynn’s focus as first lady was mental health, I asked her if we should break the last taboo and let presidents have a White House shrink. “I think it might help them,” she said with a smile. She told me that she was left out of a first ladies lunch held by Michelle Obama on the issue of mental health, making it clear that she was still hurt. On the issue of tearing down Confederate statues, the former president mused: “That’s a hard one for me. My great-grandfather was at Gettysburg on the Southern side and his two brothers were with him in the Sumter artillery. One of them was wounded but none of them were killed. I never have looked on the carvings on Stone Mountain or the statues as being racist in their intent. But I can understand African-Americans’ aversion to them, and I sympathize with them. But I don’t have any objection to them being labeled with explanatory labels or that sort of thing.” On the issue of N.F.L. players kneeling, Carter was less sympathetic: “I think they ought to find a different way to object, to demonstrate. I would rather see all the players stand during the American anthem.” I asked if he thought the president was deepening racial divisions. “Yes, I think he is exacerbating it,” he said. “But maybe not deliberately.” As a genuinely pious man, how does he feel about the Two Corinthians president bonding with evangelical voters, who do not desert Trump no matter how coarse his language or how upsetting the “Access Hollywood” tape was. Don’t the evangelicals seem cynical to stick? “Apparently not,” he replied. In “The Art of the Deal,” Trump wrote that Carter came to his office to ask for $5 million for his presidential library. Trump was impressed that Carter had “the nerve, the guts” to ask for something so “extraordinary,” but didn’t give it to him. “He bragged about it,” Carter said wryly. “That was one of his major selling points: ‘I turned down Jimmy Carter.’” But now the indefatigable Carter is back with another nervy proposal. Will Trump bite? .

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ZF at the Busworld 2017 ZF Press Release / October 20, 2017 At the Busworld 2017 trade fair in Kortrijk, Belgium, ZF is presenting its innovative products for the bus and coach sector. E-Mobility solutions take front and center, e.g. the central electric drive CeTrax, which powers a new bus prototype. Link to full coverage - https://press.zf.com/site/press/en_de/microsites/press/list/release/kit_37075.html

Reuters / October 20, 2017 BERLIN - Daimler lifted the outlook for its trucks division for a second time in three months on Friday while its overall profit fell on costs related to diesel-engine updates, vehicle recalls and restructuring. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) at Daimler Trucks, the group’s second-largest unit by revenue, will significantly exceed year-ago levels after jumping by a third to 614 million euros ($725 million) in the July-to-September period, the company said. Daimler and rivals in the truck industry including Sweden’s Volvo and Volkswagen have seen rising demand this year for commercial vehicles. In late July, Daimler said it expected EBIT at trucks operations to be flat after previously guiding for profit to fall below 2016 results. “Truck growth is in full swing, and order books are going from strength to strength,” said Bernstein analyst Max Warburton who has an “Outperform” rating on Daimler stock. Quarterly truck orders at Daimler surged 47 percent thanks to strong demand in North America and Asia where the German manufacturer is market leader, and increased 11 percent in Europe, according to Warburton. GROUP COSTS BITE Group operating profit at Daimler meanwhile slipped to 3.98 billion euros from 4.04 billion a year earlier, including 523 million euros in one-time costs. Daimler spent 223 million euros last quarter to update over three million Mercedes diesel-engine models in Europe to curb pollution and help avert driving bans. It added another 230 million euros to fund a recall of more than 1 million Mercedes models worldwide to address potential unintended air bag deployments. Besides another 70 million euros for trucks restructuring, Daimler said it also needs to spend 100 million euros to fund a planned reorganization of its passenger-cars and trucks units. “If special items are excluded, Daimler delivered excellent results, with trucks and luxury cars being the main drivers,” said LBBW analyst Frank Biller who has a “Buy” recommendation on the shares. Third-quarter sales of luxury Mercedes-Benz cars rose 7.9 percent to a record 573,026 models, powered by strong demand for sport-utility vehicles such as the GLA and GLC models and the E-Class. That beat the 1.2 percent gain to 499,467 autos at rival BMW, which Mercedes last year eclipsed as the world’s biggest premium automaker by sales, and the 3.6 percent rise to 471,850 cars at Volkswagen’s Audi brand. The group stuck with its guidance for a significant increase in group EBIT this year and said it expects EBIT at its finance arm to also significantly beat year-earlier levels, having previously guided for earnings to rise only slightly. Separately, Daimler has asked the European Commission to act as principal witness in investigations of an alleged collusion among German carmakers to be exempt from potential fines, finance chief Bodo Uebber said on an earnings call. European Union and German antitrust regulators have been investigating whether Daimler, VW, BMW, Porsche and Audi colluded to discuss prices, suppliers and standards to the detriment of foreign carmakers. “In principle, this is about possible antitrust agreements (among German carmakers) that have been discussed in the media some time ago,” Uebber said, declining to be more specific.

In the old days, there was one bad driver per hundred. Now there are, I hate to say how many, per hundred. And as a result, we nowadays constantly see this..............http://wspa.com/2017/10/21/tractor-trailer-hits-bridge-guardrail-on-i-85-in-oconee-co/

Engineering News / October 20, 2017 As fleet operators increasingly aim to enhance fuel efficiency and reduce costs, natural gas company Tetra4, a subsidiary of JSE-listed energy company Renergen, has started trialling diesel dual-fuel (DDF) kits on two European brands of trucks to establish the advantages of natural gas as a fuel source. Preliminary results of the trial show that at least 50% of diesel can be substituted with gas, says Renergen CEO Stefano Marani, who tells Engineering News that, depending on further initial results, the company aims to introduce the trucks with the DDF units in fleet operations for a similar or shorter timeframe. The trials on the trucks, which have engine performances of 440 hp and 480 hp, are expected to run until the end of this month. As a key focus for the company is long-haul logistics, Tetra4 then aims to present the business case for using compressed natural gas (CNG) as a fuel source for large fleet operators. Renergen COO Nick Mitchell highlights that, while several million vehicles worldwide operate using some form of gas, the importance of the trial lies in demonstrating the results in a South African context and ensuring that the conversions are successful. Tetra4 is supplying CNG for the trucks, as well as the making available the filling infrastructure in Virginia, also in the Free State. The trucks have each been supplied with three 200 ℓ CNG cylinders that can currently provide a travelling range of 550 km. “The trucks will run on a combination of routes – from the home base in Virginia to Johannesburg, in Gauteng, and to Bloemfontein, in the Free State. We will also conduct trials to Harrismith, in KwaZulu-Natal, to monitor the change in elevation,” Marani says, noting that the trucks will consistently haul heavy loads. South Africa-based installer and distributor Vehicle Gas Solutions, which imports, supplies and fits CNG kits to all types of vehicles using petrol, diesel and/or liquefied petroleum gas, undertook the import and installation and/or conversion of the DDF kits onto the trucks, as well as the monitoring of the kit performance. The kits are imported from Italy-based dual-fuel technology provider Ecomotive Solutions. “Key features of the kits include a cutoff function, where the CNG will be cut off should the temperature of the engines increase significantly. Temperature breaches will also be logged by the kit,” Vehicle Gas Solutions director Clinton McGuinness says. The technology further allows for a mixture of diesel and CNG, with the quantity of each fuel depending on the engine’s needs. This means that, as the engine requires more torque, it uses more diesel. When the units incur more static revolutions on the long road, they use more gas. The injection timing of the diesel is cut in the dual-fuel units, thereby reducing diesel use, while the energy value is supplemented by gas. This ensures that the kilowatt output of the truck is maintained, McGuinness adds. The kilowatt strength of the trucks is maintained to original-equipment-manufacturer (OEM) specifications. Other benefits of the technology include fuel cost savings, as well as carbon footprint reductions. To ensure the independence of the trial results and data analytics, Tetra4 appointed actuarial data science company Autolytix Data Science, whose speciality is vehicle life cycle cost analytics, to conduct and monitor independent trials. Autolytix Data Science COO Wimpie Frost explains that, during the trial, the company will primarily use data generated by machines and aims to calculate the fuel consumption for diesel, based on the data provided by the telemetry and gas consumption. The human input, such as the frequency of the fuel fill-ups, will also be calculated. Frost enthuses that indicative results can play a significant role in the development of an alternative cost-saving methodology for fleet owners and in pursuing and encouraging fleet optimisation. “Given the fact that there are already several logistics companies on board with the concept and we are working closely with two OEMs on natural gas as an alternative to diesel, I would see the second phase as the catalyst for at least two operators to convert a meaningful portion of their fleet to run on Tetra4 gas,” Marani concludes. .

"Mack" today is nothing more than a "name" on a foreign truck. I suspected the Canadian deal was the sticking point. Mack Defense is nothing more than a shell company for a foreign aggressor. Go Oshkosh! Go Navistar!

Lack of US Mack brand cut bids in Volvo sale Pierre Tran, Defense News / October 19, 2017 PARIS – An absence of the US Mack Defense brand name played a key role in slashing the bidders’ valuation of Volvo’s military vehicles business, which led to the Swedish company to cancel its tender, two industry executives said on Wednesday. The bidders’ valuations in the sale of the Volvo Group Governmental Sales unit were essentially based on Acmat, Panhard and Renault Trucks Defense, based in France, the sources said. CMI, a Belgian firm that specializes in guns and turrets, and Franco-German joint venture KNDS, were the rival bidders in the competition, which Volvo said yesterday had been cancelled due to low bids. Volvo will maintain operations of the government sales unit. The US Mack Defense unit was excluded from the sale, dragging down the two bids, which were around €400 million (US $471 million), said the first executive. Volvo wanted to hold on to the Mack Defense brand name and business because the U.S. unit won in 2015 a contract worth more than €500 million (US $588 million). That deal was to supply more than 1,500 trucks to the Canadian Army, with delivery between mid-2017 and the end of 2018 and an option for a further 600 units. These are not just eight-wheel drive commercial trucks but vehicles delivered to military specification, including elements such as bullet-proof armored driver’s cab and central tire inflation system, the executive said. RTD and Panhard build the vehicles in France and ship them bearing the critical Mack brand name, the executive said. The cab will be assembled in Canada. Retaining the Mack “name” gives Volvo direct access to the U.S., the biggest military market. Mack does not build vehicles in the U.S. but has set up an engineering and prototype center. The 2015 contract for the Canadian Army’s medium support vehicle system is the largest award for Mack since World War II, the company said on its website. A Volvo spokesman, Joakim Kenndal, refused to comment on the Mack business. The canceled sale has injected doubt over the future of Volvo’s military vehicles business, with a view that the Swedish company is waiting to put the unit back on the market to fetch a higher price, the executive said. That uncertainty will likely weaken sales as potential customers want to know the stability of suppliers of military gear. It remains to be seen whether Kuwait will now sign a contract for the RTD Sherpa light vehicle. That prospective Kuwaiti deal, worth close to €270 million, was announced last December by the then French defense minister Jean-Yves Le Drian while on a visit to an RTD plant. “Long term partnership is key in the military market,” the executive said. Lower sales hurt the order book, weakening the valuation. So if Volvo were to try to sell the division again, the price will be lower than the CMI and KNDS valuations, which were already considered too low. Both the rival bidders submitted offers of around €400 million, a second executive said. The very closeness of the competitors’ valuation signalled that Volvo had overvalued the unit. Volvo, advised by Rothschild, had expected bids of around €500 million, the equivalent of 2015 sales of RTD. KNDS made its offer after the joint venture partners Nexter and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann agreed on valuation, the second source said. For the former, there were industrial and political factors underlying its valuation, while the latter, a private firm of the Bode family, is keyed to financial interests and to buy “at the right price.” That the sale boiled down to just two bidders reflected a French political chill toward bids from foreign and venture capital firms for a military company, the second source said. Of venture capital firms, Advent was seen as a strong contender but there was talk of a clear political message of a lack of welcome, perhaps to avoid any suspicion that president Emmanuel Macron, a former Rothschild investment banker, had shown preference. RTD is the main unit in the Volvo Group Governmental Sales division, which accounts for some 1.5 percent of group sales. The government sales unit employs some 1,300 staff, mainly in France. Acmat sells into Africa, RTD is strong in the Middle East and Panhard sells in Asia. The U.S. Africa Command has an order for Acmat Bastion troop carriers for African nations. State-owned Nexter works on the chassis and RTD on the engine and driveline on the Griffon multirole troop carrier and Jaguar combat vehicle in the French Army’s €6 billion Scorpion program. .

U.S. NAFTA proposals: Going over like a lead balloon? Sandi Soendker, Land Line (OOIDA) / October 20, 2017 The fourth round of the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations wrapped up Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Phrases like “labor standards,” “dairy,” “rules of origin for autos,” “sunset clause” and “trade deficit” were tossed around along with more ill-omened words like “impasse” and “nonstarter.” Some of the hardline proposals made by the U.S. are clearly not well received by Canada and Mexico, and few now expect NAFTA 2.0 to remain on the fast track. In his closing statement, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer firmly clarified President Trump’s objective to rebalance the $500 billion trade deficit. “For us, trade deficits do matter,” Lighthizer said. “And we intend to reduce them.” Lighthizer said he was surprised and disappointed by the resistance to change. “As difficult as this has been, we have seen no indication that our partners are willing to make any changes that will result in a rebalancing and a reduction in these huge trade deficits. Now I understand that after many years of one-sided benefits their companies have become reliant on special preferences and not just comparative advantage. Countries are reluctant to give up unfair advantage.” In his statement he also said “the president has been clear that if we are going to have an agreement going forward, it must be fair to American workers and businesses that employ our people at home.” Mexico will host the fifth round of talks in Mexico City from November 17-21, 2017. Additional negotiating rounds will be scheduled through the first quarter of 2018.

Latest exemption lets truckers change duty status via mobile ELD Greg Grisolano, Land Line (OOIDA) / October 20, 2017 The latest exemption to the electronic logging mandate will allow drivers who use a mobile device-based ELD to change their duty status outside of or away from their vehicles. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration granted the waiver request filed by Atlanta-based United Parcel Service, according to documents filed Friday in the Federal Register. Per the agency’s ruling, the exemption will apply to all carriers, not just UPS. Drivers using a portable, driver-based ELD will be allowed to change their duty status outside of the truck as long as the driver annotates the ELD record to indicate the appropriate duty status. The exemption has been granted for five years and expires Oct. 20, 2022. UPS applied for exemptions from various parts of the ELD mandate, including the portion that requires an ELD to automatically record certain data elements upon a duty-status change when the driver is not in the vehicle. Any time the driver is in the truck with the engine on, the portable ELD will still be required to automatically record change of duty status and logins or logouts. The agency also granted a second waiver for all carriers, allowing them to perform multiple “yard moves” without having to re-enter “yard move” every time the tractor is powered off, thus reducing the number of inputs a driver has to make if they are moving trucks around a yard all day. “In granting these blanket exemptions, FMCSA has addressed just a couple of the inconsistencies from the final ELD rulemaking,” said Jay Grimes, OOIDA’s manager of federal affairs. “Unfortunately, many more issues, such as self-certification and cybersecurity, remain unresolved as the Dec. 18 implementation date nears closer. These problems must be fixed by the agency or else the industry, especially small-business truckers, will be forced to deal with the negative consequences of another one-size-fits-all mandate.” In addition to the exemptions, FMCSA clarified two other parts of UPS’ exemption request. The clarifications state that fleets using Automatic On-Board Recording Devices that have been grandfathered into the ELD mandate until December 2019 may install the same AOBRD in a replacement vehicle after the Dec. 18 deadline. However, newly purchased and installed AOBRDs after the December 2017 deadline will not be grandfathered into exemption. The agency also clarified that so-called “wash and fuel” employees who only drive trucks on company property and do not drive on public roads are exempt from hours-of-service regulations and do not require ELDs. .

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Associated Press / October 19, 2017 NEW ORLEANS — Textron Marine and Land Systems has been awarded a U.S. Army contract for nearly $333 million to make up to 255 Mobile Strike Force Vehicles — armored personnel carriers that the company has been making since 2012 for the Afghan National Army. Textron’s new contract runs through October 2024. It also covers hardware and field representative services. A brief notice Wednesday in the Pentagon’s daily list of military contracts did not say where the new vehicles will be deployed. Textron said in October 2015 that it had supplied 621 of the vehicles to the Afghan National Army since 2012, and more than 550 were in use. At the time, it had received a $17 million contract to train Afghan soldiers to maintain and repair the vehicles. Photo - Afghan commandos of 1st Company, 6th Special Operations Kandak conduct movement to their target in Mobile Strike Force Vehicles for an operation in Kabul province, Afghanistan, on Dec. 24, 2013. .

IVECO Press Release / October 20, 2017 IVECO BUS and Microsoft Team for the future of remote maintenance. A mixed reality project leveraging Microsoft’s HoloLens headsets to streamline maintenance operations and to train maintenance experts. .

Cummins Press Release / October 2017 Cummins recently announced their acquisition of Brammo, Inc., which designs and develops battery packs for mobile and stationary applications. Adding Brammo’s battery pack expertise and resources is an important milestone in Cummins’ efforts to become a global electrified power leader. Here are five interesting facts about Brammo and their products. HUMBLE BEGINNINGS Brammo was founded in a garage as a motorsports and performance vehicle company in 2002. The company’s original goal was to build a high performance car, which would comfortably accommodate a 6-foot-8-inch tall person weighing 300 pounds. The company has gone on to power a range of other products, including electric motorcycles, forklifts and even a helicopter. PUSHING THE LIMITS OF SPEED AND INNOVATION Similar to Cummins, Brammo has a rich motorsport history and has helped push the limits of electric vehicle technology on the race track. Brammo participated and podiumed in the first ever all electric motorcycle race at the Isle of Man TT in 2009. Brammo was also the first racing team to win an electric vehicle race at Daytona International Speedway and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the bike reached speeds in excess of 170mph – a new electric motorcycle world record for a race circuit. NO STRANGER TO LATE-NIGHT TV American late-night TV personality Jay Leno has featured multiple Brammo vehicles on his show, Jay Leno’s Garage, including his own Brammo Empulse. OFF-ROAD OPTIONS APLENTY The Brammo powered Polaris Ranger EV Li-Ion is the industry’s first off-road vehicle powered by Lithium-Ion technology. Brammo is also an industry leader in the utility vehicle, delivery vehicle, snow and turf, aviation and motorcycle markets. TAKING BRAMMO POWER TO THE SKIES Brammo powered one of the first full-size helicopter flights that solely used battery power. A series of 11 Brammo batteries were used to power the flight, which lasted around five minutes and only drained 20% of the battery energy. . .

Here's the text of the speech (http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/19/full-text-george-w-bush-speech-trump-243947) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Transcript of George W. Bush's speech delivered Oct. 19, 2017 at the at the “Spirit of Liberty: At Home, In The World" event in New York. Thank you all. Thank you. Ok, Padilla gracias. So, I painted Ramon. I wish you were still standing here. It’s a face only a mother could love – no, it’s a fabulous face. (Laughter.) I love you Ramon, thank you very much for being here. And, Grace Jo thank you for your testimony. And, big Tim. I got to know Tim as a result of Presidential Leadership Scholars at the Bush Center along with the Clinton Foundation, with help from 41 and LBJ’s libraries. I am thrilled that friends of ours from Afghanistan, China, North Korea, and Venezuela are here as well. These are people who have experienced the absence of freedom and they know what it’s like and they know there is a better alternative to tyranny. Laura and I are thrilled that the Bush Center supporters are here. Bernie [Tom Bernstein], I want to thank you and your committee. I call him Bernie. (Laughter.) It’s amazing to have Secretary Albright share the stage with Condi and Ambassador Haley. For those of you that kind of take things for granted, that’s a big deal. (Laughter and Applause.) Thank you. We are gathered in the cause of liberty this is a unique moment. The great democracies face new and serious threats – yet seem to be losing confidence in their own calling and competence. Economic, political and national security challenges proliferate, and they are made worse by the tendency to turn inward. The health of the democratic spirit itself is at issue. And the renewal of that spirit is the urgent task at hand. Since World War II, America has encouraged and benefited from the global advance of free markets, from the strength of democratic alliances, and from the advance of free societies. At one level, this has been a raw calculation of interest. The 20th century featured some of the worst horrors of history because dictators committed them. Free nations are less likely to threaten and fight each other. And free trade helped make America into a global economic power. For more than 70 years, the presidents of both parties believed that American security and prosperity were directly tied to the success of freedom in the world. And they knew that the success depended, in large part, on U.S. leadership. This mission came naturally, because it expressed the DNA of American idealism. We know, deep down, that repression is not the wave of the future. We know that the desire for freedom is not confined to, or owned by, any culture; it is the inborn hope of our humanity. We know that free governments are the only way to ensure that the strong are just and the weak are valued. And we know that when we lose sight of our ideals, it is not democracy that has failed. It is the failure of those charged with preserving and protecting democracy. This is not to underestimate the historical obstacles to the development of democratic institutions and a democratic culture. Such problems nearly destroyed our country – and that should encourage a spirit of humility and a patience with others. Freedom is not merely a political menu option, or a foreign policy fad; it should be the defining commitment of our country, and the hope of the world. That appeal is proved not just by the content of people’s hopes, but a noteworthy hypocrisy: No democracy pretends to be a tyranny. Most tyrannies pretend they are democracies. Democracy remains the definition of political legitimacy. That has not changed, and that will not change. Yet for years, challenges have been gathering to the principles we hold dear. And, we must take them seriously. Some of these problems are external and obvious. Here in New York City, you know the threat of terrorism all too well. It is being fought even now on distant frontiers and in the hidden world of intelligence and surveillance. There is the frightening, evolving threat of nuclear proliferation and outlaw regimes. And there is an aggressive challenge by Russia and China to the norms and rules of the global order – proposed revisions that always seem to involve less respect for the rights of free nations and less freedom for the individual. These matters would be difficult under any circumstances. They are further complicated by a trend in western countries away from global engagement and democratic confidence. Parts of Europe have developed an identity crisis. We have seen insolvency, economic stagnation, youth unemployment, anger about immigration, resurgent ethno-nationalism, and deep questions about the meaning and durability of the European Union. America is not immune from these trends. In recent decades, public confidence in our institutions has declined. Our governing class has often been paralyzed in the face of obvious and pressing needs. The American dream of upward mobility seems out of reach for some who feel left behind in a changing economy. Discontent deepened and sharpened partisan conflicts. Bigotry seems emboldened. Our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication. There are some signs that the intensity of support for democracy itself has waned, especially among the young, who never experienced the galvanizing moral clarity of the Cold War, or never focused on the ruin of entire nations by socialist central planning. Some have called this “democratic deconsolidation.” Really, it seems to be a combination of weariness, frayed tempers, and forgetfulness. We have seen our discourse degraded by casual cruelty. At times, it can seem like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together. Argument turns too easily into animosity. Disagreement escalates into dehumanization. Too often, we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions – forgetting the image of God we should see in each other. We’ve seen nationalism distorted into nativism – forgotten the dynamism that immigration has always brought to America. We see a fading confidence in the value of free markets and international trade – forgetting that conflict, instability, and poverty follow in the wake of protectionism. We have seen the return of isolationist sentiments – forgetting that American security is directly threatened by the chaos and despair of distant places, where threats such as terrorism, infectious disease, criminal gangs and drug trafficking tend to emerge. In all these ways, we need to recall and recover our own identity. Americans have a great advantage: To renew our country, we only need to remember our values. This is part of the reason we meet here today. How do we begin to encourage a new, 21st century American consensus on behalf of democratic freedom and free markets? That’s the question I posed to scholars at the Bush Institute. That is what Pete Wehner and Tom Melia, who are with us today, have answered with “The Spirit of Liberty: At Home, In The World,” a Call to Action paper. The recommendations come in broad categories. Here they are: First, America must harden its own defenses. Our country must show resolve and resilience in the face of external attacks on our democracy. And that begins with confronting a new era of cyber threats. America is experiencing the sustained attempt by a hostile power to feed and exploit our country’s divisions. According to our intelligence services, the Russian government has made a project of turning Americans against each other. This effort is broad, systematic and stealthy, it’s conducted across a range of social media platforms. Ultimately, this assault won’t succeed. But foreign aggressions – including cyber-attacks, disinformation and financial influence – should not be downplayed or tolerated. This is a clear case where the strength of our democracy begins at home. We must secure our electoral infrastructure and protect our electoral system from subversion. The second category of recommendations concerns the projection of American leadership – maintaining America’s role in sustaining and defending an international order rooted in freedom and free markets. Our security and prosperity are only found in wise, sustained, global engagement: In the cultivation of new markets for American goods. In the confrontation of security challenges before they fully materialize and arrive on our shores. In the fostering of global health and development as alternatives to suffering and resentment. In the attraction of talent, energy and enterprise from all over the world. In serving as a shining hope for refugees and a voice for dissidents, human rights defenders, and the oppressed. We should not be blind to the economic and social dislocations caused by globalization. People are hurting. They are angry. And, they are frustrated. We must hear them and help them. But we can’t wish globalization away, any more than we could wish away the agricultural revolution or the industrial revolution. One strength of free societies is their ability to adapt to economic and social disruptions. And that should be our goal: to prepare American workers for new opportunities, to care in practical, empowering ways for those who may feel left behind. The first step should be to enact policies that encourage robust economic growth by unlocking the potential of the private sector, and for unleashing the creativity and compassion of this country. A third focus of this document is strengthening democratic citizenship. And here we must put particular emphasis on the values and views of the young. Our identity as a nation – unlike many other nations – is not determined by geography or ethnicity, by soil or blood. Being an American involves the embrace of high ideals and civic responsibility. We become the heirs of Thomas Jefferson by accepting the ideal of human dignity found in the Declaration of Independence. We become the heirs of James Madison by understanding the genius and values of the U.S. Constitution. We become the heirs of Martin Luther King, Jr., by recognizing one another not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. This means that people of every race, religion, and ethnicity can be fully and equally American. It means that bigotry or white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the American creed. (Applause.) And it means that the very identity of our nation depends on the passing of civic ideals to the next generation. We need a renewed emphasis on civic learning in schools. And our young people need positive role models. Bullying and prejudice in our public life sets a national tone, provides permission for cruelty and bigotry, and compromises the moral education of children. The only way to pass along civic values is to first live up to them. Finally, the Call to Action calls on the major institutions of our democracy, public and private, to consciously and urgently attend to the problem of declining trust. For example, our democracy needs a media that is transparent, accurate and fair. Our democracy needs religious institutions that demonstrate integrity and champion civil discourse. Our democracy needs institutions of higher learning that are examples of truth and free expression. In short, it is time for American institutions to step up and provide cultural and moral leadership for this nation. Ten years ago, I attended a Conference on Democracy and Security in Prague. The goal was to put human rights and human freedom at the center of our relationships with repressive governments. The Prague Charter, signed by champions of liberty Vaclav Havel, Natan Sharansky, Jose Maria Aznar, called for the isolation and ostracism of regimes that suppress peaceful opponents by threats or violence. Little did we know that, a decade later, a crisis of confidence would be developing within the core democracies, making the message of freedom more inhibited and wavering. Little did we know that repressive governments would be undertaking a major effort to encourage division in western societies and to undermine the legitimacy of elections. Repressive rivals, along with skeptics here at home, misunderstand something important. It is the great advantage of free societies that we creatively adapt to challenges, without the direction of some central authority. Self-correction is the secret strength of freedom. We are a nation with a history of resilience and a genius for renewal. Right now, one of our worst national problems is a deficit of confidence. But the cause of freedom justifies all our faith and effort. It still inspires men and women in the darkest corners of the world, and it will inspire a rising generation. The American spirit does not say, “We shall manage,” or “We shall make the best of it.” It says, “We shall overcome.” And that is exactly what we will do, with the help of God and one another. .

ELD Mandate Enforcement Highlights ATA Educational Session Deborah Lockridge, Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / October 20, 2017 ORLANDO — In a sometimes-lively educational session at the American Trucking Associations 2017 Management Conference & Exhibition Saturday, a panel of regulatory, enforcement and fleet personnel fielded questions on enforcement and other aspects of the electronic logging device mandate that goes into effect Dec. 18. “In today’s environment, you cannot pick up a periodical or go through 10 emails without someone offering a webinar about the ELD mandate,” said Jim Ward, president and CEO of D.M. Bowman Inc., a 400-truck fleet that has been on electronic logs since 2013. Pointing out that the overwhelming majority of the country’s trucking operations are small fleets, “it is a huge impact on a number of small businesses.” Joe DeLorenzo, director of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement, went over some of the common questions, such as exemptions. But much of the discussion centered around what will happen at roadside come December. Both DeLorenzo and Colin Mooney, executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, stressed several times that the ELD rules do not change the underlying hours of service rules. “A lot of folks are tying ELDs to the hours of service rules themselves,” Mooney observed. Many of the drivers and others objecting to the ELD mandate claim it will end the “flexibility” they currently have with paper logs. But in the eyes of the law, that “flexibility” is simply cheating. “Enforcement’s ready to enforce the rules,” Mooney said. “All we're doing is moving from a paper to electronic format. However, for some it will be their first introduction to hours of compliance,” he noted, drawing a chuckle from the audience. Enforcement issues Mooney and DeLorenzo also wanted to clear up some confusion about the CVSA and FMCSA’s recent announcement that drivers will not be put out of service for violating the ELD rule until April 2018. “A lot of people thought it meant ‘soft enforcement’” Mooney said. “We are not using that term at all. That is very subjective depending on who you’re talking to.” Come Dec. 18, he said, enforcement officials will be noting violations on inspection reports, which will go into the SMS database and affect carrier CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) scores. DeLorenzo explained that the points system for CSA is not changing. If a driver does not have an ELD or grandfathered AOBRD, points will be charged as if he did not have a paper logbook. If you’ve exceeded the allowable hours, it’s the same violation as before. If the ELD data file pulls up on an enforcement official’s system with a notification that the truck was moving when the driver had logged sleeper berth time, that’s falsifying logs. “Think about an ELD as an electronic form of keeping hours of service,” DeLorenzo said. “Everything is pretty much the same. Each violation cited on an inspection report has a certain weight associated with it; if it's out of service, it gets a little more weight.” In addition to the inspection report, enforcement officials may also opt to issue a verbal or written warning, or write a citation/ticket. Although the press release said jurisdictions would have discretion on the level of enforcement, Mooney told the audience, “From what I'm hearing it's going to be pretty consistent across the board. We’re training the trainers at all the jurisdictions at the same time. I’ve been given no indication it will be done any other way.” Mooney also addressed a recent petition from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association asking for a delay in the implementation of the rule, claiming that many states did not have the proper legislation in place to be able to legally enforce the federal rule. “We have canvassed all of our states and there’s only a couple that are still in the process of going though the legislative process, and both are on track to have that in place by Dec. 18.” Data transfer Mooney said the agency is embarking on a train-the-trailer program next week to educate state enforcement about the data transfer process — an area that has caused some confusion, especially since the agency did not have a process in place for vendors to test their data files until fairly recently. On its website, the FMCSA has a data vile validator tool. Although it was designed for ELD vendors to check their data files, DeLorenzo noted that some fleets have been using it to test their ELD files as well. He also said that while the ELD rules allow for several different options for that file transfer, including email, web transfer, Bluetooth and USB, “I will tell you that in the overwhelming majority of cases, we're going to be looking at web services as the way that data is transferred.” The web transfer system just went live a few days ago and live testing of the data transfer will be occurring in the coming weeks. The enforcement official will give the driver his code, which the driver enters into the appropriate field on the ELD screen, and that data transfers to the officer’s device. It does not automatically note violations, but it does flag problem areas for the officer for further investigation. If the inspection is taking place in an area with poor cellular coverage, the backup options are for the driver to print out the log, or more likely, show the enforcement officer the display. This has caused some concern about officers having to climb up into cabs or walking away with the ELD device, but DeLorenzo said, “i tell people all the time that there’s nothing that says you have to hand the display over to the officer and let them walk away with it. This is what we’re telling our folks — have the driver step out of the vehicle with their display, and hold the display for the law enforcement officer. That to me is the common sense approach.” Ward added another bit of common-sense advice based on his fleet’s experience: “Make sure you have seven days of paper logs in the truck and the documents you're supposed to have in the truck, otherwise you're going to get zinged.” Annotate, annotate, annotate DeLorenzo emphasized multiple times the importance of annotating the ELD hours of service record to indicate problems or extenuating circumstances. “When something goes wrong on a paper log the driver makes a note on the paper log. The ELD has that exact same capability, and I really encourage you to make sure your drivers are trained on how to use it and they do use it. Because circumstances come up. Don't just make an edit; make an edit and an annotation so it's clear what happened. Those notes will be there for you and your company and for enforcement as well.” For instance, DeLorenzo said, one way to handle yard moves is to do nothing at the time of the yard move. The driver will get in and be presented with this list of unassigned miles and asked are they are his. “The driver rejects these miles, and you address it by annotating on the back end.” A fleet from Wyoming asked about what happens if you’re caught in an unexpected snowstorm. DeLorenzo pointed to the part of the 11-hour driving rule allowing an extra two hours for unforeseen adverse driving conditions. I empathize I the words unforeseen. Traffic in DC at 5:00, not unforeseen. A pop up snowstorm in Wyoming, unforeseen. But i would add, with ELDs, that's an opportune time when you would annotate.” Non-compliant ELDs There has been concern that with the large number of new entrants into the marketplace, and the fact that the process to become listed on the FMCSA’s ELD website is a matter of self-certification, that it’s possible some fleets might get stuck in a tough situation if they chose an ELD later found to not be compliant with the ELD required specifications. According to the rules, carriers would only have eight days to replace a device that the agency had de-certified. But DeLorenzo and Mooney seemed to indicate that they are well aware of the situation and that their focus would not be on putting fleets into that type of situation. When asked if roadside inspectors will be looking to find non compliant devices, Mooney said, “We are not encouraging that. We want to focus on hours of service compliance.” As DeLorenzo added, “If [the ELD is] on the registered devices list, then they kind of move on.” If there is an issue with an ELD, DeLorenzo said, most of the time those are software issues and FMCSA works with the vendor to get it straightened out, often without customers even realizing it. “As long as we’re getting hours of service information, we’re probably not going to bother the motor farrier while we get things straightened out with the vendor.” If there’s a worst case scenario where FMCSA is unable to get it straightened out, DeLorenzo indicated that the agency is aware that switching an entire fleet to a different ELD within the eight-day window would be a nightmare and that it would work with the carrier on a solution. If that comes up, he said, “we will do that on a case by case basis. Those we’ll handle as they come up.”