As the trucking world twirls, more and more of us are working longer and longer hours.

There is more work to do because there are fewer people to do it as companies downsize.

As my brother Steve is fond of preaching: “It is what it is, and you need to do what you need to do.” True enough but, putting in too many long hours could be affecting our brains.

A recent study found that compared with working the typical 40-hour week, middle-aged workers who put in more than 55 hours per week had significantly lower performance on a series of mental skills, reasoning, and vocabulary tests.

More disturbing, the research adds to the increasing evidence that establishes a link between cognitive impairment and later life dementia.

The study stated that the “cognitive functioning between employees working long hours and those working normal hours is similar in magnitude to that of smoking, a risk factor for dementia.”

You might want to share this blog with your boss when you leave the office - on time - today.

With everything going on in the world these days, you may have missed a most interesting read: the National Highway & Traffic Safety Administration’s report entitled, Commercial Medium Tire Debris Study.

The agency contracted researchers to adopt a scientific approach to determine the causes, extent, and impacts of tire debris.

You’re probably shaking your head thinking: Kolman needs a checkup from the neck up. Right?

Not so fast.

I’ll have you know this 214-page report is chock full of educational, useful, and thought-provoking material. In addition to discussing the whole matter of tire debris, subjects addressed range far and wide - from the processes of tire manufacturing, retreading, and regrooving to fleets and their tire programs to truck tire failures to tire safety and durability issues to wide base tires and more.

One of the many things that caught my attention was that overall, researchers collected more than 86,000 tons of tire/rubber casings and debris, of which 1,496 items were assessed to determine their probable cause of failure. Talk about labor-intensive.

The researchers found that the top three reasons casings were removed from service were:

- Road hazards - 32 %.

- Maintenance/operational factors - 30%.

- Overdeflected operation (underinflation) -14%.

“Slightly less than 10% of all casings identified showed any manufacturing or process-related conditions that could be expected to contribute to the tire being removed from service,” the report stated. “Of this slightly less than 10%, the vast majority appeared to be retreading process issues, such as casing selection and repair, or tread rubber application issues.”

An underlying message throughout the report, published in December, is that proper tire care and maintenance is essential to keeping tires operating safely and at peak performance.

Give it a read.

The report can be accessed by clicking here.

What do you get when you combine the green movement, with renewable energy researches, and outside-the-box thinking?

You get the Electro-Kinetic Road Ramp - basically a “green” speed bump that generates electrical energy when vehicles drive over it.

The device operates by virtue of a series of articulated plates set in a pad that is practically flush to the road. When a vehicle’s weight is exerted on these plates, they are moved up and down by means of a special mechanism which drives a generator capable of producing AC or DC current.

The generator’s output will vary according to the frequency and weight of traffic, but in general terms, it is capable of producing between 5 and 10kW of energy.

Each ramp is covered with a hardwearing elastromeric membrane to avoid any problems with vehicles gripping or skidding when crossing the ramp, and to seal the mechanism from the ingress of dirt, water, and anything else which may harm the mechanism.

Unlike a conventional speed bump, the Electro-Kinetic Road Ramp is not hard, and has a damping effect to avoid causing discomfort to vehicle occupants.

This “sleeping policeman” - what the English have nicknamed speed bumps - can be used for generating electricity to power street lighting, traffic lights, or road signs. Electricity can also be stored in a battery for later use.

Highway Energy Systems, a research company in the United Kingdom that developed the Electro-Kinetic Road Ramp, says the device not only produces green energy, it is free energy, once the capital cost of the equipment has been paid.

A pilot program using the ramps is set to begin soon in London.

Depending on the outcome of the testing, it might not be that long before green speed bumps start showing up across the US.

Every now and again we learn about some jokester who thinks it’s funny to change the messages on those electronic road signs used to warn road users of hazards down the road. They apparently get a kick out of displaying ridiculous messages.

Most recently, jokesters in a handful of states have “tinkered” with such signs, getting them to present warnings about zombies. Among the messages: “Daily Lane Closures Due To Zombies,” “Caution Zombies Ahead,” and “Zombies In Area! Run.”

A sample of tampered safety messages can be found by clicking here.

While such pranks may seem amusing, they cause create dangerous situations. “Joke” messages distract road users from heeding legitimate safety information.

Electronic road signs play an important role in highway safety and traffic operations. They are intended to attract motorists’ attention and provide important information to protect motorists, highway crews, and emergency response personnel.

Jokes and pranks have their place, but not in road traffic safety.

There is nothing humorous about deaths, injuries, and property damage resulting from vehicle crashes.

Much of the revolutionary technology we enjoy today evolved from America’s space program. Over the years, the program has transferred a wide variety of space technologies to other applications, as diverse as noninvasive tests that detect cardiovascular disease, lithium batteries for electric vehicles, and space age swimsuits that significantly reduce skin friction drag.

You may be interested to know that 94% of gold medals in swimming at the 2008 Olympics were won in such swimsuits.

Yet, we tend to take technology for granted. Consider truck design.

It was in the 1970s when researchers at the Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, began conducting numerous tests to refine the shape of trucks to reduce aerodynamic drag and improve efficiency.

Already working on the effects of drag and wind resistance on different kinds of aircraft and the early space shuttle designs, the researcher transferred their considerable knowledge to the design of large trucks.

Aerospace Engineer Edwin J Saltzman and his team found that rounding a tractor’s edges, placing a smooth fairing on its roof, and extending the sides back to the trailer could cut drag by more than 50%, increase highway fuel economy by more than 20%, and help with vehicle handling.

Assuming a typical truck drives 100,000 miles annually, these modifications translated to fuel savings of more than 6,000 gallons per year per vehicle.

The research revolutionized truck design. The modifications the engineers tested have now been widely adopted around the world.

Now, this technology is being recognized by the Space Foundation - one of the world’s premier non-profit organizations supporting space activities, professionals, and education.

Next month, a more efficient truck cab design will be inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame during the 25th National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

I wondered why Saltzman decided to investigate truck design in the first place.

I discovered he was motivated while bicycling through the California desert. He noticed the push and pull of large trucks at highway speeds while riding to work.

As a tractor trailer overtook him, he first felt the bow wave of air pushing him slightly away from the road and toward the sagebrush. Then, as the truck swept past, its wake had the opposite effect, drawing him toward the road and even causing him and his bike to lean toward the lane.

This got him exploring the flow of air around a moving truck.

Learning Saltzman’s story brings to mind the quote: “Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why.

It’s very apparent that traffic congestion is not just a problem of recurring “rush hour” delays (road use exceeds existing capacity) that exist virtually every day. Congestion occurs during longer portions of the day, and delays more travelers and goods than ever before.

Did you know that know that more than half of all congestion is non-recurring, meaning it is caused by crashes, disabled vehicles, adverse weather, work zones, special events and other temporary disruptions?

Here’s another shocker. While it may not seem so, traffic congestion has actually eased.

Last year, traffic congestion decreased about declined 30% during the peak periods on major roads in the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas. So finds the latest Inrix National Traffic Scorecard. Inrix is a leading provider of traffic information.

The chief reasons for this, Inrix found, was turbulent fuel prices, which led to less driving and more carpooling, and a struggling economy, which has caused a decrease in jobs.

What has stayed the same, however, is that Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Washington, DC; Houston, TX; and San Francisco, CA, have maintained their distinction of being the US’ most traffic-congested cities.

And what’s a consequence of traffic congestion? Road rage.

So head’s up if you’re going to be traveling through these “highly ranked” cities.

I’m far from the brightest guy in the world, but even I know what a “Caution: Low Clearance” sign indicates.

My assumption would be that truck drivers have this knowledge as well.

Such isn’t the case, as evidenced by a video I came across while doing some research online. The video focuses on an underpass that flattens the tops of a number of trucks as they barrel through.

Could it be that the drivers are distracted and don’t see the low clearance signs? Do they not understand what such signs indicate?

Perhaps they don’t believe that all signage is correct?

This wondrous video can be found by clicking here.

This is one of those things that will have you shaking your head in amazement.

The other evening I was visiting with a bunch of trucking industry veterans. Among other things, we took an historical “talk” through the industry’s history, commenting on milestones and highlights.

After a while, one of the vets said: “Let’s have a little contest to see who knows the most trucking history and trivia.” We all thought that was a splendid idea. “And to make things interesting,” he suggested, “let’s throw a couple of bucks into the pot. The brightest one among us takes it all.”

We all chipped in (never mind how many of us there were, or how much we anted up), and the contest was on.

It was a lot more interesting, educational, and challenging than I expected. I’m proud to state: I ranked in the top three.

How would you do? Here are a few of the questions. The answers follow.

1. What are “idiot buttons?”

2. Who purchased Detroit Diesel in 1987?

3. Where and when did Ford open its Kentucky Truck Plant?

4. What did truckers nickname Peterbilt’s aerodynamic Model 372 cabover? Bonus-point question: When was the tractor introduced?

5. Oscar Mayer placed its first Wienermobile - a hot dog shaped vehicle - into service in what year?

Answers:

1. Driver slang for those raised markers that rumble when run over to alert drivers to hazards, crossing lanes, and so forth.

2. Roger Penske.

3. Louisville, 1969.

4. “Winnebago” and “Football Helmet,” 1988.

5. 1936.

The refrigerated trucking industry understands that health and safety in the workplace benefits everyone. A safe work environment means that companies can operate effectively and successfully while increasing worker performance and morale, and reducing operational costs.

Business use a number of methods for promoting accident prevention, the most typical of which are holding safety training sessions and distributing safety information.

What I have seen over the years is an increase in the use of visual reinforcement to drive home high-impact safety messages. Companies are installing signs with safety messages at the entrance and exits of facilities, and using safety bulletin boards with posters and material.

Some fleets place safety decals inside and outside their trucks to enhance safety awareness and to remind drivers to follow certain safety procedures.

Just last week I came across a very clever - and effective - safety decal while passing a rig on an Interstate. The decal, placed right above the driver’s door handle, read: “Safety starts here.”

I know of a carrier that places photographs of trucks that have been involved in an accident on a bulletin board in the driver’s room. Above the pictures is the headline: “How much did this cost the company?” The answer is hidden under a flap. The idea is for a driver to try and guess the dollar amount, and then check to see the actual amount.

That’s a great idea. Very few drivers actually know how much damage can be caused to a vehicle.

An even more effective way to help prevent accidents is what another major fleet does. It puts wrecked vehicles on display behind a large sign that reads: “Don’t let this happen to you.”

As you might imagine, this display gets everybody’s attention. The intent is to let drivers see firsthand the consequences of their risk taking.

Using visuals helps communicate safety ideas and concept. The fleets with the best safety records incorporate this into their ongoing safety training.