Perspective

It was late at night and the truck’s headlights reflected off the damp pavement.

Too often in life we dwell on the negative. I know that I’m guilty of it, and I’m sure many of you are, as well.

The Missouri Temporary Sales Tax Increase for Transportation, Amendment 7 — a referendum to fund transportation infrastructure improvements by raising the state’s sales tax — was struck down by the voters Aug. 5.

The trucking industry is responsible for transporting more than 67% of the nation’s freight (by weight). Whether the freight is fresh produce, lifesaving medicines, auto parts, farm machinery or the latest tech gadget, nearly everything we buy has been hauled on a truck.   Additionally, almost 7 million people across the United States are employed in jobs that are directly or indirectly involved with trucking.

Whatever your thoughts on the need for electronic logging devices, they already are an integral part of the trucking industry’s future.

Private fleets stand out as a dynamically growing transportation market. The largest sector of the trucking industry, they account for approximately 50% of all Class 8 truck sales, and own or lease some three out of four Class 4 through Class 8 trucks on the road. Around 40% of all leased trucks are to private fleet companies.

In the past several years, fleets of all sizes have invested heavily in technology, with the intent of maintaining or creating a competitive advantage.

It seems no good deed goes unpunished for the trucking industry. After climbing out of the bottom of the recession, demand for transporting goods is finally on the rise, and the industry is as steady as it has been in years. While this is encouraging, the rise in demand brings its own set of problems.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced in a Federal Register notice that starting Aug. 23, carriers and drivers will be able to request the removal of roadside inspection violations from agency data systems to more accurately reflect outcomes of judicial proceedings. What does this mean — and why should it matter to you?

As I watched the video of a man sitting passively in the driver seat, I marveled at just how easily the vehicle managed to properly steer itself. What amazed me even further was when I was told the footage was from the 1950s.