In this episode, we cover big-rig cops on patrol in Florida and a tractor-trailer nearly crashed into a Pennsylvania high school. Plus, Sandia labs launched its largest test crashes in 20 years with the crash of a new nuclear weapons transport truck along with the CAT Scale Rig of the week.
Tucker Russ: Hey, truckers. I’m Tucker. Big rig cops are on patrol in Florida and a tractor trailer nearly crashed into a Pennsylvania high school. Plus Sandia Labs launched its largest test crashes in 20 years with the crash of a new nuclear weapons transport truck. That’s just a quick look at the stories recovering along with our CAT Scale Rig of the Week on this edition of The Trucker News Channel.
Tucker Russ: Recently, photos of a big rig with police lights and Florida Highway Patrol markings went viral on social media. “Is this a real thing?” Folks ask? Yep, it’s a real thing. The rig is used by Florida Highway Patrol’s Commercial Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division. In fact, some of those photos were even on the patrols own social media pages. Florida, however, isn’t the first state to have a police rig. In 2013, Tennessee state troopers were seen pulling drivers over using a truck that was originally seized in a drug bust. The moral of the story, however, don’t be rude to that big rig, it might just pull you over!
Tucker Russ: Students at Delaware Valley High School in Pennsylvania were a bit surprised to see a big truck in the front of their school, especially since it wasn’t there for a pleasant visit. The truck had careened down a 60 foot embankment off of Interstate 84 and right up to the fence of the school. Even though the truck took out a guard rail and cross two lanes of traffic, the only injury was a cut on the driver’s knee. Police believed the driver may have lost control of the truck because of a medical problem and he was taken to the hospital. Unfortunately for the students, school wasn’t dismissed early.
CAT Scale: Time is money, and CAT Scale can help your drivers save time weighing. Drivers know their axle and gross weights before pulling off the scale and CAT Scale weights are always guaranteed. Drivers get back on the road faster with the Weigh My Truck app from CAT scale.
Tucker Russ: That’s a nice rig! That’s why it’s the Rig of the Week. CAT Scale Rig of the Week. Jeremy Hoffman believes a truck is a tool to achieve your goals, but just because it is a means to an end doesn’t mean it can’t be nice to look at. That’s definitely the case for his newest addition to his Ford truck company, a blue 20 Peterbilt 379 glider kit, equipped with a Caterpillar C16 engine, paired with an 18 speed even transmission. Nice rig! Jeremy says he realizes that the 18 speed transmission is a bit much for the work he does daily, but he went for the higher torque anyway. Jeremy does much of his own maintenance and enjoys going to a truck show every now and then, all of which he does for the love of trucks. That’s a nice rig! If you have a rig you’d like to profile here on the CAT Scale Rig of the Week, send us a video at [email protected]. Nice rig!
Tucker Russ: When you’re transporting a piece of the US nuclear arsenal, you have to be sure it’s protected. That’s when Sandia National Laboratories had in mind with their largest transporter crash test in over 20 years. The lab used rockets to propel a tractor trailer at highway speeds into its prototype of a new weapon transport vehicle called the Mobile Guardian Transporter. Data from the test will be used to understand how to keep the cargo safe in the event of an unexpected crash. Eventually, these new transporters will replace the current fleet that moves nuclear assets within the United States.
Tucker Russ: Well, that’s it for this edition. If you’re watching this on YouTube, make sure to click that little red subscribe button below. You can also go to thetrucker.com for all the latest news stories, just for truckers. On behalf of everyone here at The Trucker News Channel, thanks for watching, and we’ll see you next time!
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.