Over $9.2 billion in trucking operational costs were added due to congestion on the Interstate highways of the nation in 2013. This statistic was based off research conducted by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) which is a not-for-profit research institute for the trucking industry.

The ATRI used the financial data of motor carriers along with billions of GPS data points (anonymous) for calculating the delays and costs of each mile of the highway. It was found that there were more than 141 million hours of lost productivity. This is equivalent to more than 51,000 trucks sitting idle each working year.

The analysis done by ATRI additionally established the metropolitan areas, states, and counties that had the highest congestion costs. With over $1.7 billion in costs, California took the lead. Texas followed with more than $1.0 billion. At almost $1.1 billion, the Los Angeles metropolitan area had the highest cost while New York City came in fairly close with congestion costs of around $985 million. Read the rest of this entry »

GPS used to catch a thief

Construction company in Australia attempts to track down thieves with the use of GPS tracking technology.

Police in Adelaide, Australia recently revealed that they have been informed of several construction companies around the area that are taking the law in their own hands. These companies are tired of having appliances and timber stolen from job sites to be sold to private parties. So they wanted to do something about it.

They are doing so by using GPS tracking devices in loads of timber, in the hopes that when the timber is stolen, they can track down the thieves and get justice. Read the rest of this entry »

If your business has fleet vehicles, you may already be aware of how GPS trackers work. You likely use this technology for maps, navigation, and alerts. However, you might not have realized that the alerts and other functions of the GPS fleet tracking technology can actually help you with the upcoming fall fleet maintenance. Here are some ways to use GPS technology with your fleet vehicles.

Schedule Reminders With GPS Trackers

One of the biggest benefits to using GPS trackers for fleet maintenance in the fall is to use this technology to schedule maintenance reminders. You can program alerts and reminders into the device that lets you know during different intervals what maintenance tasks are coming up. This could be anything from filling up the fluids in the fleet vehicles to getting a tune-up or checking the brakes. You can have these alerts sent to you via text message or email. This will help keep your trucks in good condition with regular maintenance so you don’t have to worry about winter breakdowns. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s unfortunate, but plastic pollution is becoming a growing threat in our oceans and is claiming the lives of our precious seabirds, according to scientists.

In fact, the US National Academy of Sciences published a study that says over 95 percent of our seabirds will have consumed some type of plastic by the year 2050.

Jane Haakonsson, DOE Terrestrial Research Officer, states that with the extinction of animals, ‘ll such as the Cayman thrush, there is a real risk of the same thing happening again.

If you conduct a search on the internet, you’ll find many photos of dead seabirds being full of plastic debris. This is quite sad and plastic continues to be a threat for our seabirds, an alarming indication that fueled the study. The seabirds are of particular interest in the study, says Haakonsson, and their resident birds will hopefully be studied next year.

Across the world, there is plastic floating in our oceans and our birds are eating it unintentionally thinking it is food. Sadly, it results in their death at times; even in their young. Read the rest of this entry »

The annual Hot Wheels report through the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) identifies the 10 vehicles which have been stolen the most in the US. This report evaluates vehicle theft data which law enforcement submitted to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). It goes over vehicle model, make, and the model year in 2014 that was reported stolen the most.

The most vehicles stolen for 2014 in the nation include:

1. Honda Accord having around 51,290 thefts
2. Honda Civic having around 43,936 thefts
3. Ford Pickup (Full Size) having around 28,680 thefts
4. Chevrolet Pickup (Full Size) having around 23,196 thefts
5. Toyota Camry having around 14,605 thefts
6. Dodge Pickup (Full Size) having around 11,075 thefts
7. Dodge Caravan having around 10,483 thefts
8. Nissan Altima having around 9,109 thefts
9. Acura Integra having around 6,902 thefts
10. Nissan Maxima having around 6,586 thefts

Read the rest of this entry »