Trucking News

For one truck driver, a routine day became anything but normal when he drove into a train. He had loaded his truck with a container and railroad ties and was headed out, driving along a small road on his way to State Highway 1 in Shreveport, Louisiana. As he approached the tracks, moving under five miles per hour because there are no signals or gates at the crossing, he looked to south and saw some railcars on a siding. No movement. Then he looked north and proceeded to try to cross the tracks.

The train engineer blew his horn but the driver had the windows rolled up and failed to hear the noise as the train went by, traveling at approximately 50 miles per hour. The front of the truck hit the train just underneath the engineer’s window.

The driver was lucky. If he would have been moving faster he might have been crossing the tracks right in front of the train, and everyone knows they can’t stop on a dime. His truck would have been hit by the locomotive and could have been pushed down the tracks or crushed. Because he was moving so slowly a much more potentially-deadly accident was avoided and there were no serious injuries.

With the price of gas on the steady incline, more consumers have taken interest in alternative fuels, even going as far as purchasing vehicles specifically made to support them. Biodiesel is one such fuel that powers vehicles like the 2005 Volkswagen TDI and the 2005 Dodge RAM 2500 Pickup. While this domestically produced, renewable fuel solution is supposed to be safer for the environment, many questions have been raised about its effectiveness. Consumers have been warned that it will leave behind deposits from petrodiesel. These deposits can then clog the fuel filter which may eventually prevent the vehicle from running.According to one consumer, B20 is the preferred choice over B100 (100% biodiesel) which often requires specific engine modifications to prevent maintenance and performance issues. The consumer went on to explain that B20 even blended nicely with the B99 he put into the tank previously, giving great performance and mileage. Although the jury is still out on the overall efficiency of this alternative fuel, its good to know that some of us are enjoying the benefits.