One of the concerns about electric vehicles is the range. That is certainly true of the most popular commercial vehicle to date – the Newton, from Smith Electric Vehicles, which has an effective range of 100 mi. on a single charge.

But what if range was not part of equation? Certainly electric vehicles provide many benefits over their gas and diesel counterparts – fewer emissions and quieter to name just two. But with a limited range, the market for such vehicles is restricted to routes such as pickup and delivery where the vehicle returns to a fixed charging station each night.

Federal Express and UPS have been deploying the vehicles in city environments with great success. Many other companies are as well. But the market for electric vehicles could mushroom if only there was a way to charge a vehicle en route. more

The U.S. Tolling Coalition has called on Congress to give states more flexibility to install tolls on Interstate highways as a way to raise revenues for highway improvement projects.

Now it’s not surprising the U.S. Tolling Coalition is in favor of making it easier to install tolls, after all, the organization supports tolling as a way around Washington gridlock.

Along I-95 alone, Virginia has been given approval to place tolls. Rhode Island has asked for permission to toll 95 in that state and each year the idea of tolling 95 in Connecticut gains ground. Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Alabama, and North Carolina are among the other states that have either started, or are looking to toll their highways. more

The state of Rhode Island has formally asked the Federal Highway Administration for the right to toll Interstate 95 near the Connecticut border, according to the Providence Journal.

The idea is to use the money to help pay for repairs to I-95 in Providence, as well as expanding a connector road with I-95 and Route 4 that funnels traffic into the Quonset Business Park area in North Kingstown. The state estimates those two projects at $205 million. Additional revenue would be used to pay for general highway repair in the state.

The announcement of the formal application drew harsh criticism from local legislators, including Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy (D-Hopkinton), who said the Rhode Island Dept. of Transportation (RIDOT) was merely trying to pay for road work in other parts of the state on the backs of residents in his district. more

Say goodbye to underinflated tires robbing fuel economy. That day could be coming soon if a new technology that Goodyear is testing pays off.

Goodyear is developing a technology called Air Maintenance Technology (AMT) that not only monitors the inflation pressure inside a tire, but also inflates the tire when needed. All without the external pumps and electronics that are needed by today’s automatic tire inflation systems. more

In what some believe is becoming a more common problem as cities and states use ever-more powerful road deicing chemicals for snow and ice removal, concern grows over the impact those chemicals have on vehicles.

The latest example is the announcement Monday that Ford Motor Co.is recalling more than 1 million F-150 and F-250 trucks, and Lincoln Blackwater vehicles because the straps holding the fuel tanks in place can corrode and break off, increasing the risk of fire. The recall affects vehicles in 22 states. more

Chrysler Group is recalling nearly 250,000 Ram Trucks due to a tie-rod issue that could cause drivers to lose control of the vehicle. The recall affects a variety of model years, ranging from 2003-2011.

According to the recall notice, the “left tie rod ball stud may fracture,” occurring most often during low speed maneuvers, typically of those occurring in parking lots, when the driver is making a tight turn. If it breaks, drivers could experience a loss of control in the left front wheel. more

Electric trucks are starting to catch on. It only took 100 or so years. Many would be shocked to learn that at the dawn of the 20th Century, it was not gas or diesel power that delivered America’s goods, it was electricity.

The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum is inviting the public to a birthday celebration for its 100-year-old, 1911 Walker Electric Truck. The Walker Electric Truck was built by the Walker Vehicle Co. in Chicago, IL. The company continued to produce electric vehicles until 1941.

“Many people think that electric vehicles are a recent invention, when in fact they were in production over 100 years ago,” says Dave Meier, museum curator. more

UPDATE: Just hours after posting this blog criticizing the state of Connecticut for closing the state’s non-commercial rest areas along Interstates 84, 91, and 95, I received a call from Michael Riley, president of the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut, to say that a deal has just been reached today with the administration of Gov. Dannel Malloy to keep all seven of the rest areas open.

“The administration has made assurances to the transportation committee chairman that they will all remain open,” Riley told me. “The outrage that was expressed by this was phenomenal. People who hadn’t called their legislators in 50 years (were calling).”

So Connecticut has reversed course, despite a Malloy adminstration spokesman telling the Hartford Courant on Monday that the closings would not be reconsidered. The trucking industry has won this battle, but there is a still a war to be fought for safe truck parking in the U.S.

The state of Connecticut, in an effort to close a budget gap, will be closing all seven of its non-commercial rest areas in the state, and with those closures will come a significant decrease in the number of available parking spaces for truckers.

(UPDATE at 1:40 p.m.: A deal has been reached to keep the rest areas open.)

The first two areas, in Willington, CT, along Interstate 84 (the main highway crossing from New York to Massachusetts, will close on July 1. The remaining five – in Danbury and Southington along 84, Middletown and Wallingford along I-91 (which runs from the shoreline to Massachusetts), and North Stonington, on I-95 (the route from New York to Rhode Island toward Boston), will all close within a year, the state said.

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U.S. Reps. Geoff Davis (R-KY) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) along with four co-sponsors have introduced a bill that would provide incentive for commercial fleets to install advanced safety technologies such as stability control systems. The bill, H.R. 1706, has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

(Photo at right: Meritor Wabco SmartTrac stability control system)

“Each year, there are over 384,000 crashes involving trucks, buses, and other heavy vehicles,” Thompson said. “Many of these accidents could have been prevented if advanced safety technologies had been in place. I was proud to work with Congressman Davis to introduce this legislation, which would make safety systems more affordable for the folks who need them.” more