Trucking and the environment,environment, papers and trucking,trucking Invoices

The trucking industry is growing by leaps and bounds; naturally, the number of trucks plying the highways today has also risen. In turn, the atmosphere is getting more and more polluted due to the spreading of exhaust fumes.

It is a vicious circle indeed, as the people of California will testify. There are thousands of trucks that ferry cargo to and fro along the Long Beach Freeway. This 18-mile stretch passes through the cities of South Gate, Compton and Bell Gardens, causing great discomfort to the residents settled there. The trucks keep moving between inland ports and rail yards (Los Angeles and Commerce). They also travel to the warehouses of the Inland Empire. And guess how many trucks travel on this Freeway? A staggering 70,000; the number is of course, expected to go up by 2010!

This problem could have been avoided if the diesel engines had enough torque to keep up a steady speed, but unfortunately they do not. The heavy trucks labor up steep hills and spew black exhaust fumes on passing motorists, as well as into the atmosphere. Now it is not that there is no solution to this issue; technology has advanced enough to provide the necessary help. The snag is the lack of interest shown by the authorities in implementing remedial measures that have actually been around for decades.

(1) Auxiliary electric motors with overhead power collectors can be installed in the trucks. This allows for saving on gas, as well as keeps the environment much cleaner. Truckers and truck manufacturers shy away from this idea because of the expenses involved. If the governmental authorities would introduce a tax credit scheme, it would serve as an incentive for mass production of these power systems. They work equally well for old and new vehicles.

(2) The auxiliary electric engine will require a back-up storage battery; so this would have to be fitted to the truck too. The engine and battery can be connected to a couple of overhead wires that are horizontally parallel to each other. The overhead wires will receive support from roadside poles. Rigid trolley poles that are spring loaded to hold them up will provide the connection between engine and overhead wires. Thus, this arrangement would facilitate easy movement on steep hills.

(3) In the case that the truck lost contact with the overhead wires, the back-up battery would provide the necessary power till a re-connection was made.

(4) Imagine this sort of a power system in operation in densely populated areas where there is heavy movement of traffic too! Yes, the installation costs would be huge, but it would still be a good investment; and costs can always be recovered. It is far easier to prevent pollution than to clean up a dirtied environment!

(5) Another alternative to diesel engines is the temporary traction system utilized by electric trolley buses. The electric motors allow for temporary operation on steep hills by producing more torque for the trucks. An example of this system can be seen in the dual-mode buses running in Boston. The buses use regular engines on the streets where overhead power lines are not available, and switch over to electricity when they are available. There are around 300+ buses operating this way on the new Silver Line, and it is working out well for everybody concerned.

(6) With more advancement in technology, it is now even possible for the bus driver to engage or disengage the overhead collector arms without leaving his seat or getting down from the bus.

(7) The latest proposal made by the authorities is the introduction of the Hybrid Diesel Electric Overhead Power System (HDEOPS) for the movement of heavy trucks along congested Freeways and Port areas. Of course, the costs of launching such a system are huge—around $500 million. If more truckers were to use these lanes, then the cost of electricity would come down—about 50 cents per mile—since more people would be utilizing the power lines at the same time. This way, truckers would be paying less than what they would pay for diesel.

(8) It is only when vehicles use specific fuel sources that the environment falls prey to pollution. If there is a single-source supply such as centrally-produced power, harmful emissions would definitely be reduced.

(9) And if nuclear power could be utilized to supply the huge amount of electric power required for so many trucks, the USA would find itself saving money spent on oil. To illustrate, the 70,000 trucks traveling in and out of California would be responsible for saving around three million barrels of oil annually! What if this system was adopted across all the states?