Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024:
I-70 down to one lane in Colorado after truck crash, U.S. 40 closed for rockslide
An incident that occurred Tuesday morning in Glenwood Canyon, Colorado, along I-70 has the eastbound lanes of the interstate down to one lane.
The interstate was fully closed for about 12 hours Tuesday before one lane was reopened around 9 p.m. The closure was due to a tractor-trailer traveling westbound that crashed through the guardrail and landed on the eastbound lanes of the lower deck of a bridge.
The Colorado DOT said “crews hauled away several dumpsters filled with damaged freight and crash material” before reopening the single eastbound lane, but additional cleanup was needed to fully reopen the interstate.
That work was planned for 11 a.m. local time Wednesday, which would have required another full closure of the eastbound lanes. That cleanup effort was postponed, however, after a rockslide along U.S. 40 Wednesday morning that required CDOT maintenance crews to respond. It’s currently unknown when the I-70 cleanup will occur.
U.S. 40 in the area of the rockslide was part of CDOT’s suggested detour around the I-70 closure, which called for drivers to take the northern alternate route at the town of Rifle, exit 87, then north along CO 13 to Craig. The route continues on U.S. 40 to Steamboat, then south on Colorado Highway 9 to Silverthorne where travelers may access I-70 again.
Daimler recalls nearly 17K trucks over brake light issue
Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) is recalling nearly 17,000 Freightliner and Western Star trucks due to an issue that could cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brakes are automatically applied during an Active Brake Assist (ABA) event.
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents, the affected trucks may have or could be upfitted with an optional body lighting interface controller and replacement brake lights. The recall population was determined based on a review of production records for trucks built with the applicable option codes. Vehicles without all of the applicable option codes are not affected by this issue.
In total, DTNA is recalling approximately 16,889 of the following models:
- 2024-‘25 Freightliner 108SD
- 2022-‘25 Freightliner 114SD
- 2022-‘25 Freightliner Business Class M2
- 2025 Freightliner eM2
- 2020-‘25 Western Star 49X
- 2021-‘25 Western Star 47X
- 2022-‘25 Western Star 57X
Dealers will update the ABA software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed Nov. 9. Owners can contact DTNA customer service at 800-745-8000 with recall number F1009. NHTSA’s recall number is 24V-668.
Used-truck warranty provider NTP gets new leadership
Wade Bontrager, who has served as president of extended truck warranty company National Truck Protection since 2018, is stepping down from his role, NTP parent company JM&A Group announced this week. Bontrager will continue to support NTP as a key advisor while remaining on the board of directors.
Kevin HullNTP
“We look forward to seeing all Kevin and the team will accomplish together at NTP,” said Scott Gunnell, president of JM&A Group. “JM&A Group has been in the automotive industry for 46 years, so we are excited to leverage our experiences and help accelerate the growth of the trucking protection space. There is a true synergy between these businesses, and we see lots of opportunities to better support our dealer partners by leveraging our investments in both companies.”
In his role, Hull will be responsible for the direction and execution of NTP’s strategy and daily operations. Prior to his promotion, Hull joined JM&A Group in 2019 as the manager of Dealer Talent Services before he advanced to director of Sales and Training. His most recent role was as director of Strategic Planning. There, he guided the senior leadership team and supported the ongoing execution of the company’s long-term strategic plan.
[Related: Digging into the changing dynamics of used-truck warranties]