Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Tow-retrieval charge takes a hike in Victoria
Image via WikipediaThe cost of getting your car back if it's towed from a Victoria street or parking lot is going up.
Victoria councillors yesterday agreed to a hike in the towing fees companies can charge to $85.50 from $65. The storage fee will increase to $20 from $15.
Fees were last increased in 1995.
Towing companies will also be allowed to charge $33.60 for the use of a dolly in a tow.
The city tows vehicles that are illegally parked on streets or in city lots.
Councillors were told the rate increase is needed for companies to meet increased costs.
Only Coun. Philippe Lucas voted against the increase, arguing he couldn't support it without evidence that the increases were necessary to cover costs.
The increases are designed to bring Victoria rates, which have been among the lowest in the region, more in line with neighbouring municipalities.
Saanich recently increased its tow rate to $75 from $65 and Esquimalt's $65 rate is under review.
Because the Victoria Police Department negotiates its own towing services contract, police-initiated tows can be exempt from the city towing bylaw.
Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/retrieval+charge+takes+hike+Victoria/3312693/story.html#ixzz0unQKBGoU
-------------------
msaks@ectts.com -
Tow-retrieval charge takes a hike in Victoria
Friday, July 23, 2010
Peterbilt 379 for sale
Image via Wikipedia
2004 PETERBILT 379 Conventional Truck w/ Sleeper For Sale At TruckPaper.comQuantity 1
Stock Number 6301
Year 2004
Manufacturer PETERBILT
Model 379
Price Call
Location Portsmouth, Virginia
Condition Used
Sleeper Size 63"
Engine Specs Caterpillar
Engine Type C-15
Horsepower 475
Transmission 13 Spd
Ratio 3.55
Tires 24.5
------------------------
email msaks@ectts.com for more information
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Diesels make bad dentists
pulled from Toronto Sun
July 21,2010
A Kitchener truck driver is facing a careless driving charge but on the bright side, his tooth doesn’t hurt anymore.
Lambton County OPP say they stopped a big rig driver doing some driving dentistry along Hwy. 402 on Wednesday.
Const. John Reurink told the Sun Saturday it’s the first time he’s ever heard of a driver being pulled over performing dental surgery.
“I’ve never heard of this sort of thing occurring before,” Reurink said, adding he has stopped drivers doing their make-up, reading a map or talking on a cellphone. “Somebody doing an amateur tooth pulling? That’s a first.”
Reurink said it all started June 30 when an officer was on Hwy. 402 in Warwick Township, near Sarnia, and a passing driver pointed him to a tractor trailer being driven “all over the road.”
The officer found the eastbound rig and pulled it over.
Cops determined the 58-year-old driver was driving so poorly because he was trying to pull out a tooth while he was driving.
“The driver was very forthright with the officer,” Reurink said.
The amateur dentist of a driver had rigged a string around his hurting tooth and then tied the other end to the roof of the cab, police said.
“One good bump and the tooth should come out,” police explained.
Turns out the “one good bump” likely did come along at some point.
“The evidence of his efforts were nearby,” Reurink said.
When the driver was stopped the officer found a bloody tooth and a string lying next to him.
Strangely, police say the road down that way isn’t that bumpy and was recently resurfaced.
“He may have been better off on a sideroad,” Reurink said.
Police won’t be releasing the driver’s name because he’s charged under the Highway Traffic Act, not the Criminal Code, and they figure he’d be “continuously bombarded” by media trying to talk to him about his stunt - which would likely be more of a headache than a toothache.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
msaks@ectts.com -
- msaks@ectts.com
July 21,2010
Lambton County OPP say they stopped a big rig driver doing some driving dentistry along Hwy. 402 on Wednesday.
Const. John Reurink told the Sun Saturday it’s the first time he’s ever heard of a driver being pulled over performing dental surgery.
“I’ve never heard of this sort of thing occurring before,” Reurink said, adding he has stopped drivers doing their make-up, reading a map or talking on a cellphone. “Somebody doing an amateur tooth pulling? That’s a first.”
Reurink said it all started June 30 when an officer was on Hwy. 402 in Warwick Township, near Sarnia, and a passing driver pointed him to a tractor trailer being driven “all over the road.”
The officer found the eastbound rig and pulled it over.
Cops determined the 58-year-old driver was driving so poorly because he was trying to pull out a tooth while he was driving.
“The driver was very forthright with the officer,” Reurink said.
The amateur dentist of a driver had rigged a string around his hurting tooth and then tied the other end to the roof of the cab, police said.
“One good bump and the tooth should come out,” police explained.
Turns out the “one good bump” likely did come along at some point.
“The evidence of his efforts were nearby,” Reurink said.
When the driver was stopped the officer found a bloody tooth and a string lying next to him.
Strangely, police say the road down that way isn’t that bumpy and was recently resurfaced.
“He may have been better off on a sideroad,” Reurink said.
Police won’t be releasing the driver’s name because he’s charged under the Highway Traffic Act, not the Criminal Code, and they figure he’d be “continuously bombarded” by media trying to talk to him about his stunt - which would likely be more of a headache than a toothache.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
msaks@ectts.com -
- msaks@ectts.com
Monday, July 12, 2010
Useful fuel savings tips
On a recent tour of Volvo’s New River Valley truck plant in Dublin, Va., I had the chance to listen to truck expert Frank Bio discuss aerodynamics and fuel efficiency. He gave a 10-minute overview on the subject in front of a Volvo VN. Here are four quick tips (all of them easy and inexpensive to implement) that I thought were worth sharing:
Slow down: When travelling down the highway at 65 mph, 30-50% of the energy generated by the engine goes towards simply moving the vehicle through the air, Bio noted. A lot of customers are beginning to slow down to improve fuel mileage. Bio said many customers that used to gear to run 72 mph are now reducing their road speed down to 67 mph, which causes a 3-5% fuel economy improvement. There’s just one caveat, Bio says, you must also keep your rear axle ratio set where it will allow the engine to continue running in the sweet spot...more tips click here
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
msaks@ectts.com -
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
msaks@ectts.com -
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Trucking firm TransForce Inc. signals faith in the West
One of Canada's largest trucking companies has tripled its presence in Calgary, signalling confidence in the city's -- and Western Canada's -- future potential as a major transportation hub.
Montreal-based TransForce Inc. said Wednesday it acquired a 52-door terminal in the city which will substantially increase its subsidiary TST Overland Express's ability to move shipments into and out of the region.
Calgary is a central location for cross-border as well as interprovincial truck traffic.
"We are continuing to invest in our operations in Western Canada because of the region's economic strength and growth potential," said president Alain Bedard. "This new terminal enables TST Overland to deliver expanded services in and out of Calgary, which is a major gateway for shipments within Western Canada as well as to and from the United States."
The subsidiary, headquartered in Mississauga, Ont., has added direct line hauls between Calgary and Dallas, reducing freight handling and transit times. It boasts Canada's largest less-than-truckload network, using terminals such as Calgary to consolidate shipments between destination points.
The estimated $10-million cash acquisition is small for the multibillion-dollar company, but significant as it signals a strategic push to boost capacity in the less-than-truckload traffic in Western Canada, said RBC analyst Walter Spracklin.
"This is a vote of confidence in the future growth potential of the west," Spracklin told the Herald.
"I don't think capacity is tremendously stretched today, but certainly when you go out a few years. . . . You don't want to position yourself for next year, you want to position yourself for the long term, and that's what they've done."
The acquisition gives the company extra capacity to grow in a promising region, Spracklin said.
"It doesn't do anything to the actually level of volume," he said. "What it does is it allows that volume to come in, where as before it was extremely constrained."
TransForce made the deal with cash-strapped YRC, the largest cross-border player in Canada, which has been shedding assets to improve its financial footing.
The company, a merger between the Yellow Transportation and Roadway networks, has extensive global trucking operations, and operates in Canada under YRC Reimer.
"Given the fact that YRC is the largest cross-border player, we consider TransForce, as the No. 2 player, to be in a very enviable position of acquiring assets at what could be very distressed prices," Spracklin noted.
domeara@theherald.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Montreal-based TransForce Inc. said Wednesday it acquired a 52-door terminal in the city which will substantially increase its subsidiary TST Overland Express's ability to move shipments into and out of the region.
Calgary is a central location for cross-border as well as interprovincial truck traffic.
"We are continuing to invest in our operations in Western Canada because of the region's economic strength and growth potential," said president Alain Bedard. "This new terminal enables TST Overland to deliver expanded services in and out of Calgary, which is a major gateway for shipments within Western Canada as well as to and from the United States."
The subsidiary, headquartered in Mississauga, Ont., has added direct line hauls between Calgary and Dallas, reducing freight handling and transit times. It boasts Canada's largest less-than-truckload network, using terminals such as Calgary to consolidate shipments between destination points.
The estimated $10-million cash acquisition is small for the multibillion-dollar company, but significant as it signals a strategic push to boost capacity in the less-than-truckload traffic in Western Canada, said RBC analyst Walter Spracklin.
"This is a vote of confidence in the future growth potential of the west," Spracklin told the Herald.
"I don't think capacity is tremendously stretched today, but certainly when you go out a few years. . . . You don't want to position yourself for next year, you want to position yourself for the long term, and that's what they've done."
The acquisition gives the company extra capacity to grow in a promising region, Spracklin said.
"It doesn't do anything to the actually level of volume," he said. "What it does is it allows that volume to come in, where as before it was extremely constrained."
TransForce made the deal with cash-strapped YRC, the largest cross-border player in Canada, which has been shedding assets to improve its financial footing.
The company, a merger between the Yellow Transportation and Roadway networks, has extensive global trucking operations, and operates in Canada under YRC Reimer.
"Given the fact that YRC is the largest cross-border player, we consider TransForce, as the No. 2 player, to be in a very enviable position of acquiring assets at what could be very distressed prices," Spracklin noted.
domeara@theherald.canwest.com
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Warrant not needed for truck searches
REGINA -- Despite not obtaining a search warrant, the Supreme Court of Canada said the seizure of nearly 400 pounds of marijuana and a large stash of money in Saskatchewan was within the law.
Initially, the two men occupying the semi were acquitted by a trial judge who determined that the men had been detained arbitrarily and that the search infringed their right to privacy. The judge excluded the money and marijuana from evidence, causing the men to be acquitted...to read the rest of the article click here
Initially, the two men occupying the semi were acquitted by a trial judge who determined that the men had been detained arbitrarily and that the search infringed their right to privacy. The judge excluded the money and marijuana from evidence, causing the men to be acquitted...to read the rest of the article click here
Thursday, July 1, 2010
NAFTA Surface Trade Jumps in April
Surface transportation trade among the United States, Canada and Mexico rose 32.4% in April, the third straight jump of at least 24%, the Department of Transportation said Tuesday.
The year-to-year increase to $65.8 billion in trade among the North American Free Trade Agreement partners left the index 11.4% below the level for the same month in 2008....to read the full article click here
The year-to-year increase to $65.8 billion in trade among the North American Free Trade Agreement partners left the index 11.4% below the level for the same month in 2008....to read the full article click here
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)