Smith says more than 30,000 units have been deployed and undergone extensive testing. The technology has been proven to deliver fuel savings of over 5%, or 9 to 12 percent when combined with ATDynamics trailer skirts in an AeroTrailer package, he said.
During the American Trucking Associations’ annual MC&E conference, held in San Diego, Oct. 4-7, Smith announced a new development that will make his goal to retrofit two million trailers in North America get closer to reality.
The company’s full length, maximum efficiency TrailerTails will now be permitted to operate within all Canadian Provinces.
The approval came on Oct. 1 from Canada’s Ministers of Transportation and Highway Safety as an amendment to the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Memorandum of Understanding on Interprovincial Weights and Dimensions (MOU).
The MOU serves to harmonize vehicle weight and dimension regulations within the Canadian Provinces. ATDynamics has worked with Canadian and cross-border trucking fleet customers since 2007 to update vehicle length exemptions and regulations.
The next step is for each Province to issue permits or defer enforcement in the short term until legislation is changed to align with the Federal allowance for full length TrailerTail devices. The Province of Ontario began a deferred enforcement policy for the longer TrailerTails on August 11, 2014, ahead of this amendment. It is expected that the remaining Provinces will now quickly follow with interim measures to allow trucking fleets to operate TrailerTails immediately throughout all Provinces in Canada.
Ontario based ERB Group began the rapid deployment of 350 TrailerTails immediately after the deferred enforcement policy was instituted in Ontario this year. ERB’s TrailerTail program will reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions equivalent to taking over 300 passenger vehicles off the road.
ATDynamics’ AutoDeploy System, which uses speed sensing radar technology to automatically open TrailerTails at 35 miles per hour has further accelerated TrailerTail adoption. The company says that approximately 20 percent of all new installments utilize the technology which costs an approximate $325 premium from the standard system.
