It might be time for ATA’s Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) to amend its name.
The organization’s focus on technology and vehicle maintenance hasn’t changed, but the continuing complexity of medium- and heavy-duty trucks and trailers has forced it to expand its focus.
On Tuesday afternoon during its Annual Meeting in Orlando, TMC again turned its attention toward what could easily be the third pillar of its operation — safety.
Continuing a conversation that started Monday during a service provider study group task force meeting, Tuesday’s technical session on Electric Vehicle Battery Safety Guidelines was a lively, immensely informative panel discussion on just how fundamentally different battery electric vehicles (BEV) are from the diesel trucks North American transportation has relied upon for decades.
Panelists on stage during the discussion from Amazon, Trova, Nikola and the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) admitted there aren’t a ton of BEVs moving loads on American highways yet but believe the increased proliferation of the technology in the Class 8 sector is only a matter of when, not if. Shippers, and by extension the general public, is demanding cleaner vehicles and decarbonization from the transportation industry.
As such, anyone in the business of maintaining or repairing commercial trucks that intends to remain in that business in the decades to come need to take time to understand the danger BEVs can pose.
[RELATED: TMC hitting the gas on EV safety recommended practice]
