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Toledo Mother Murders 6-Month-Old Baby NBC24 / August 13, 2015 Toledo mother Ariana Cannon has been charged with murder in connection to the death of her six-month-old son. The judge set her bond at $1 million. Officers from the Toledo Police Department responded to Toledo Hospital on a report of an injured child on Sunday, Aug. 9. The infant, Carsyn Cannon, succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday, Aug. 11. After police investigated the incident, a search warrant was executed and the infant's mother, Ariana Cannon, 20, was taken into custody on Wednesday. She has been charged with aggravated murder after investigators consulted with the Lucas County Prosecutor's Office and the Lucas County Coroner's Office. Investigators say Carsyn died from a fractured skull. The baby also had a fractured leg. The injuries were not believed to be caused by an accident. Cannon is expected to be arraigned Thursday morning in Toledo Municipal Court. .

Arizona Mother Drowns Baby Daily News / September 9, 2015 A Phoenix mother allowed her 1-year-old baby to drown and blamed the death on her 3-year-old toddler daughter. Brenda Ramirez, 21, was arrested on child abuse charges for the death of her baby Melani and charged with two counts of felony child abuse. After discovering the baby in the bathtub, the mother reportedly sent a text message to a friend which read, “Dude i think [toddler daughter] drowned Melani.” Ramirez followed up with a second text which said, “Shes not breathing,” followed by four crying emoticons. The friend then thought to call 911 to try and get help for the baby. Ramirez reportedly deleted the texts from her phone and could not explain to the police why she had done so. During questioning, the police report indicates that the mother of the drowning victim said, “This sucks, but oh well, you have to move on.” When asked what she meant, Ramirez reportedly said that she was not referring to her dead baby but was talking about money. Exactly what “money” she was referencing remains unclear. Brenda Ramirez initially blamed the death on her 3-year-old daughter, stating that the toddler must have pushed the baby under water. She first told police that the bathtub only had three inches of water in it when she walked away. When she returned about two minutes later, the tub had significantly more water in it. She claimed that she left the baby and the toddler alone to get some pajamas and then she came back. It was this point she saw her older daughter holding Melani under the water. First responders attempted CPR, but Melani was declared dead at a local hospital shortly after she was placed in the ambulance. The toddler girl has been removed from the home and placed in the custody of the state. When investigators asked why her clothing was not wet from getting the children out of the tub or trying to rescue the baby, Ramirez did not have an answer. Arizona police stated that Brenda Ramirez “changed her story” multiple times after the death of Melani. The law enforcement officials also noted that the mother said she “felt guilty” about what had happened. A representative from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said that Ramirez had been granted bond and released from jail on Tuesday. Ramirez also claimed that the drowning death of the baby would not have happened if Miguel Contreras had not been arrested several hours earlier. The Arizona father had been spotted standing on a ladder attempting to get into an apartment bedroom window while holding two guns, ABC 15 Arizona reports. The couple had gotten into a physical altercation, and Ramirez reportedly locked the father of her children out of the home. He was arrested and booked on disorderly conduct charges. .

Missouri Infant Murdered KCTV5 / September 1, 2015 ST. JOSEPH, MO - A St. Joseph man and a mother have been charged in connection with Thursday's death of an 12-month-old infant inside a drug house. The boy's mother, 28-year-old Sasha Joann Lizar is charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Roy Kenneth Miller Jr., 59, is charged with felony abuse of a child resulting in death. Neighbors didn't even know the child was staying in the boarded up mobile home near South 36th and Monterey streets until they heard screams for help last Monday and tried to save the baby. John Miller, who is not related to the suspect, said he was doing yard work when he heard Lizar's screams for help. "She was screaming for help. She was holding something and I looked over and she kind of turned to me and she's holding that little boy," John Miller said. "The mom was hysterical. I've never seen her or her son before." Miller says his military training kicked in and he began CPR. "His heart would race and then stop so I'd do a chest compression," Miller recalled. "He wasn't breathing. Every so often he'd gasp for air." Court records state that Miller assaulted the baby by violently shaking him, causing substantial brain trauma resulting in his death. Police said Miller had care custody and control of the child at the time of the injury. Police said Lizar would bring her baby to the trailer to use methamphetamine and others there were also using drugs around the child. .

Man murders 7-month old infant WBNS / September 2, 2015 A man is in jail in connection with the death of a baby and neighbors say it's something they feared would happen. The Ross County Prosecutor charged 37-year-old Daniel Gilbert following the death of a 7-month-old baby at a home in Waverly last Sunday. Gilbert is the mother’s boyfriend. Neighbors say they’ve called authorities before, worried for the safety of the six children who lived in the home. Ross County Sheriff’s deputies went to their home on August 30th for a report on an unresponsive infant. Authorities determined the small child died from blunt force trauma to the back of the head. Deputies arrested Gilbert and charged him with child endangerment, saying he knew about the injuries and did nothing. He is being held at the Ross County Jail under a $50,000 bond. Three other children living in the home were removed as a precaution. Children’s services and local law enforcement have been called to the home before. Neighbors say they’ve seen toddlers out in the middle of the road and trucks would have to stop. The Ross County Prosecutor said 3 children have since been removed from the home. A judge set Gilbert’s bond at $50,000. He is expected to be back in court on Friday. .

Pontiac woman, 18, charged in baby’s ’14 scalding death The Detroit News / August 14, 2015 An 18-year-old Pontiac, Michigan woman was charged Friday with intentionally scalding her infant cousin, just over a year after the baby died of severe burns. Breeze Macha Henke was babysitting for 12-month-old Samaria Chambers on July 26, 2014, in a home in the 200 block of South Sanford when Oakland County sheriff’s investigators say she held the baby down in a tub of scalding water because she was angry the child’s diaper was soiled. Henke initially told investigators she started to draw a bath for the child when she was distracted and a 3-year child entered the bathroom and turned up the hot water, according to investigators. Samaria suffered second-degree burns on the lower half of her body and died of the burns and multiple infections on Aug. 9, 2014, at DMC Detroit Children’s Hospital. The Wayne County Medical Examiner ruled the baby’s death a homicide on Sept. 15, 2014. A burn expert at Detroit Children’s Hospital said the baby’s burns were consistent with her being held down in the tub. Henke was arrested Thursday in Pontiac by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Apprehension Team. Detectives determined from testing that the bath water reached a temperature of 158 degrees within 10 seconds, and held that temperature for almost one minute. The baby was burned from the stomach down. Asked why it took a year to bring charges against Henke, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the case crossed jurisdictional lines because the baby died in Wayne County, and was complicated by the lack of an adult witness other than the suspect. As a result, detectives had to rely on forensics to determine burns suffered by the child occurred deliberately or by accident. “It’s a sad reminder that some people don’t have the patience, or I guess the love, to interact with children, especially children of this age,” Bouchard said Friday. “It’s incredible sad and tragic.” Henke was arraigned Friday on charges of homicide/manslaughter, a 15-year felony, and second-degree child abuse, a 10-year felony. Judge Cynthia Walker of 50th District Court set Henke’s bond at $250,000. Henke, who is being held in the Oakland County Jail, is scheduled to appear at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 25 in 50th District Court. .

Infant Dies After Being Left In Hot Car News 9 / September 31, 2015 Del City, Oklahoma, police are investigating the death of an infant after the baby was left in a hot car. The case is considered a homicide. “When the officers arrived, they found the mother standing in the street with the child,” Del City police Maj. Jody Suit said. It happened about 3 p.m. Saturday outside a home in the 4600 block of SE 19 Street. The baby was already dead when help arrived. Police are not sure yet how long the baby was left in the car, but they believe the mother was in charge of the child at the time. The mother's friends identified the baby girl as Ashanti.

Father Kills and Sexually Assaultd Newborn Daughter KTLA / September 2, 2015 A Newhall father who was alleged to have killed his 19-day-old daughter before hiding her body and claiming she had been kidnapped pleaded no contest on Wednesday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. Matthew Warner, 30, entered the plea on a first-degree murder charge, the DA’s office said in a news release. Warner was accused of killing his daughter Ellorah Rose Warner on Jan. 23 while the baby’s mother was working, according to prosecutors. Initially, the DA’s office stated the girl had been drowned, but they later issued a correction saying she had died from blunt force trauma. After the girl died, Warner led authorities to the newborn’s body, which had been wrapped in towels and bags, and was discovered in the cab of a pickup truck, the release stated. In addition to murder, he had also been charged earlier for assault on a child causing death, torture, oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child 10 years or younger, and aggravated sexual assault of a child, according to the DA’s Office. Warner is expected to be sentenced to 50-years-to-life in state prison when he appears in court at a hearing scheduled for Oct. 6, prosecutors said. .

Baltimore County police investigate death of child left in car The Baltimore Sun / August 31, 2015 Baltimore County police said Monday they are investigating the death of a toddler who was left by her foster mother in a car outside an Edgemere church earlier this month. No one has been charged, police said. Police found the 13-month-old girl around noon Aug. 21 outside Shiloh Baptist Church on Sycamore Avenue. A woman who worked at the church had planned to take the girl, who was her foster child, to a daycare center next to the church, police said. She started talking to someone in the parking lot, and then walked into the church, leaving the girl in the car. When the woman returned, she found the child in cardiac arrest and immediately called 911 and started CPR, police said. The child was identified as Paris Bena Hall of Randallstown. She was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and pronounced dead later that day. The length of time the girl was left in the car is still under investigation, said police spokeswoman Elise Armacost. All sudden deaths of children are investigated by the department's homicide unit, police said.

Aunt suffocates toddler to death with baby wipe Associated Press / August 30, 2015 HASTINGS, Neb. — A 19-month-old is dead and her great-aunt has been arrested in her death after authorities say a baby wipe was found lodged in the toddler’s throat. An arrest affidavit says the toddler, Aliyana, was dropped off at the home of her 33-year-old aunt Azudany Serrano-Contreras on March 12. EMS responded to the home in Hastings to the report of a child who couldn’t breathe. The child was transported to the Children’s Hospital in Colorado where she died, KOLN reported. A baby wipe was found in her throat. Investigators said Contreras’ story kept changing about what she was doing when she claimed Aliyana swallowed the wipe. KOLN reported that testimony from Contreras’ own children said she would cover Aliyana’s mouth to stop her from crying. Eventually investigators said over the course of a few months it became clear Aliyana didn’t suffocate herself. “Officers from our agency continued to investigate the case look in to the death to see what was going on, and have referred that investigative packet to the Adams County Attorney’s Office,” said Sgt. Brian Hessler, with the Hastings Police Department A warrant was issued for Contreras on July 29, and a few weeks later she was arrested in Laredo, Texas. Contreras is being held on a $1 million bond and faces multiple charges, including intentionally committing child abuse resulting in death.

Georgia toddler dies after being left in car ABC News / September 7, 2015 The death of a northwest Georgia infant is under investigation after he was left in a vehicle. The 11-month-old boy's death occurred Saturday in Chickamauga, which is about 115 miles northwest of Atlanta, according to the Walker County Sheriff's Department. 11-month-old Jaxon Taylor died after his grandparents and aunt, Kyle and Meta Hendershot, left him in the car following a church service Saturday afternoon. The boy's mother, who works at night as a hospital emergency room nurse, was asleep. When the mother woke, she asked about the child. "At that point she runs toward the car finds the child strapped in the car seat and administers CPR. She brings the child back in the house the adults put him in cold water, trying to revive him, bring him back," said Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson. The child was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. No charges have been filed, but the death is being investigated by the Walker County Sheriff's Office, the sheriff said. This is the 19th case of an infant dying in a hot car in the United States this year.

Infant left in hot car dies KRIS-TV / September 8, 2015 CORPUS CHRISTI - Medics rushed an infant to Spohn Memorial Hospital Tuesday afternoon after the 4-month old boy was found in a hot car outside a home on Presa Street. The baby did not survive. Corpus Christi police say the father of two small children left a 16-month old girl and a 4-month-old boy in the family car. He reportedly came back out later to find the children. The youngest infant was unconscious. Police detained both parents at the beginning of the investigation. No arrests have been announced.

Toddler dies after being left in 200 degree heat inside car KFOR / August 13, 2015 PECOS, Texas – A 17-month-old child is dead after being left inside a hot car in Texas. The mother admitted to investigators that she forgot to take the toddler out of the car in the heat of the day. “Her, the infant that passed away, two other kids, and the father left the residence so she could take the father to work. When she dropped the father off and came back to the residence, her and the two other children got out of the car,” said Chief Clay McKinney, with the Pecos Police Department. However, 17-month-old Avrian Villalobos was left inside the car. Police say the child’s mother, 21-year-old Annabelle Millan, realized her mistake about an hour later. When she found Avrian, he was unconscious and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The police chief told KWES that when officers tested the car, it registered at 200 degrees. So far, no charges have been filed in the case.

Woman chained mentally disabled adults to basement boiler to collect social security checks New York Daily News / September 9, 2015 A woman who chained mentally disabled adults to a boiler in her squalid basement so she could steal $212,000 in social security checks has pleaded guilty to avoid a death sentence. Linda Weston, 55, admitted to 196 counts including murder, kidnapping, hate crimes and sex trafficking over 10 years, with two of her victims dying. In exchange for pleading guilty, prosecutors will recommend Weston - a convicted killer in the 1980s - is handed a life jail term plus 80 years when she is sentenced in November. Weston is accused of using 'cunning, trickery, force and coercion' to persuade mentally disabled men and women to choose her as her caretaker. This allowed her to illegally claim around $212,000 in disability checks while her victims were kept locked in her basement in Philadelphia. Weston was arrested in 2011 after her landlord found four suffering adults locked in the accused's boiler room, with the authorities saying Weston, her daughter and three others of treating the victims like 'zoo animals'. From 2001 until 2011, six disabled adults and four children were kept in the dark basement, often given drugs in their food and drink to sedate them and made to use a bucket for a toilet. Two of the women were allowed outside, but only to bring in more money for the family as prostitutes. Prosecutors claimed the victims were punished 'by slapping, punching, kicking, stabbing, burning and hitting them with closed hands, belts, sticks, bats and hammers or other objects, including the butt of a pistol'. Prosecutors initially planned to seek the death penalty but scaled back after Weston agreed to admit to all of the charges. The case came to light in October 2011 after a landlord discovered four malnourished victims locked in the 13-by-7ft pitch-black room in the basement of a Philadelphia apartment building. One of them was chained to a boiler. Authorities soon began untangling a complicated web of relationships among victims and their alleged captors in an investigation that spanned several states, including Texas and Florida. A 150-page grand jury indictment describes Weston as the ringleader of a 'family' that included her daughter and three men who prosecutors say helped control and subjugate the victims. The victims' diminished mental capacity, coupled with the fact that Weston continually moved the family to elude law enforcement, meant that 'escape for these individuals seemed impossible,' U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger said. Weston forced two female victims into prostitution, including her niece, to earn more money for the family when they lived in Texas and Florida, authorities said. Two other women died while living with Weston, leading to murder charges that make her eligible for the death penalty. Memeger said prosecutors are weighing whether to pursue it. Maxine Lee, a disabled Philadelphia woman, died of meningitis and starvation while living with Weston in Virginia in 2008, authorities said. Another woman identified in court papers as D.S. died in Philadelphia in 2005 after prosecutors said Weston fed her drug-laced food while keeping her captive in a laundry room. Weston staged the death to look like an overdose, authorities said. Weston has already served time after a man she locked in her Philadelphia apartment died of starvation in 1981. Others charged in the indictment Weston's daughter, Jean McIntosh, 33, of Philadelphia; Thomas Gregory Sr., 49, of Philadelphia; Eddie Wright, 52, of Killeen, Texas; and Nicklaus Woodard, 26, of West Palm Beach, Florida. .

Newborn baby given formula mixed with vodka instead of water WISN / September 9, 2015 A baby was raced to hospital after her mother accidentally mixed her formula with vodka instead of water. The one-month-old girl had a blood alcohol level of almost 0.294 - almost four times the 0.08 driving limit - when she was admitted to the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. Her mother, from Kenosha, Wisconsin, said after she gave the girl her bottle on Monday night, her hands and toes became red and her legs started shaking. The 20-year-old mother told police that a man staying with her had emptied out a bottle of water on the kitchen counter and replaced it with the strong liquor without telling her. After she realized what had happened, the man is alleged to have pushed, choked and hit her with the bottle. Police were called and man - later identified as Brian Jones, 22 - was arrested. He was charged with strangulation and battery, disorderly conduct and resisting an officer and could face ten years in jail if convicted. The baby was placed in intensive care. According to the police report, she drank around two ounces of vodka mixed with baby formula. Her mom told officers she and Jones were at home when he asked if the child had been fed. He then became furious when the mom told him she had used the bottle that unbeknownst to her was filled with vodka. Jones is said to have yelled at the woman, telling her he had planned to take the alcohol out with him, before throwing the bottle at her and grabbing her by the neck. When officers arrived, Jones swore at them and came towards them with clenched fists.

Girl, 2, dies after being raped by mother's boyfriend' KFOR / September 8, 2015 A two-year-old girl in Oklahoma City has died after she was allegedly raped by her mother's 22-year-old boyfriend. Shaleah Cudjo was pronounced dead shortly after she was taken to the hospital following a welfare check at about 10.13am on September 3, when police received a call saying the girl was not breathing. EMSA officials immediately rendered aid to two-year-old Shaleah Cudjo and transported her to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. Medical staff found that the toddler had lost a large amount of blood after sustaining internal injuries and other injuries that displayed evidence of sexual assault. Justin Lawson, 22, was arrested on complaints of first-degree murder and rape shortly after the incident. Investigators later learned the suspect, Justin Lawson, 22, had been home with Shaleah and left the home shortly after police were called. Shaleah's mother, Keah Cudjo, told police that her boyfriend, Lawson, told her that the girl was sick and not doing well. 'They told me by the time I got here, she was already dead and there was nothing I could do. She had lost too much blood.' .

Father stabs three sons to death Reuters / September 9, 2015 A father repeatedly stabbed his three young sons to death with a knife in the back seat of their car outside a South Los Angeles elementary school Wednesday before turning the blade on himself, police say. The father, in his 30s, was found in his car bleeding from stab wounds to the chest, his dead sons in the back and a knife in the passenger seat. The boys, ages 8 to 12, were pronounced dead at the scene. The father is the only suspect in the killings, police said. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition and will be arrested if he survives his wounds, Los Angeles Police Officer Matthew Ludwig said. "These are horrific incidents," police Chief Charlie Beck said. "These are incidents that have scarred not only a community but the first responders that have to handle them. It is a sad day in LA." John Sorrentino, whose furniture store is next to the crime scene, said he was the one who first spotted the bloody scene and called 911. "I saw this man behind the steering wheel covered in blood," he said. "I got a little bit closer, and I saw a young child in the back seat and his eyes were half open and he was covered in blood. Sorrentino said he then saw another motionless boy bent over a seat, and in the back, a leg of the third boy lying upright. That's when he ran inside his store and called 911. Beck said the boys' mother is deceased and that their stepmother was safe and being interviewed by detectives. It was unclear whether the boys lived with their father. The deaths come as homicides are on the rise in Los Angeles. In August, 39 killings drove a year-to-date uptick in murders in the nation's second-largest city. The 39 killings in August are compared with 22 the previous month and 19 last August. .

Four former EPA administrators appointed by Republican presidents who testified in favor of the agency’s proposed power plant regulations at a Senate subcommittee hearing last week did not respond when asked if they agreed with President Obama that global warming was accelerating. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) asked former EPA heads William Ruckelshaus, Christine Todd Whitman, William Reilly and Lee Thomas whether they agreed with Obama’s previous statements that the Earth is warming faster than previous predictions. “The president, on Nov. 14, 2012, said, ‘The temperature around the globe is increasing faster than was predicted even 10 years ago’,” Sessions said at a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee’s “Climate Change: The Need to Act Now” hearing held on Capitol Hill last Wednesday. “And then on May 29th last year, he said, ‘We also know that the climate is warming faster than anybody anticipated five or ten years ago’,” Sessions said. “So I would ask each of our former administrators if any of you agree that that’s an accurate statement on the climate. So if you do, raise your hand.” None of the former EPA heads did so. “Well, thank you,” Sessions said. “The record will reflect no one raised their hands.” Video - http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/barbara-hollingsworth/former-epa-heads-mum-when-asked-if-global-warming-accelerating

Administrator Start End Gina McCarthy 07/19/13 present Bob Perciasepe (Acting) 02/15/13 07/18/13 Lisa P. Jackson 01/26/09 02/14/13 Stephen L. Johnson 05/02/05 01/25/09 Stephen L. Johnson (Acting) 01/26/05 05/01/05 Michael O. Leavitt 11/06/03 01/25/05 Marianne L. Horinko (Acting) 07/12/03 11/05/03 Linda J. Fisher (Acting) 06/28/03 07/11/03 Christine Todd Whitman 01/31/01 06/27/03 W. Michael McCabe (Acting) 01/20/01 01/30/01 Carol M. Browner 01/22/93 01/19/01 William K. Reilly 02/06/89 01/20/93 John Moore (Acting) 01/21/89 02/05/89 Lee M. Thomas 02/08/85 01/20/89 Lee M. Thomas (Acting) 01/04/85 02/07/85 William D. Ruckelshaus 05/18/83 01/04/85 Lee Verstandig (Acting) 03/10/83 05/17/83 Anne M. Gorsuch [burford] 05/20/81 03/09/83 Walter Barber, Jr. (Acting) 01/26/81 05/19/81 Steve Jellinek (Acting) 01/21/81 01/25/81 Douglas M. Costle 03/07/77 01/20/81 John Quarles, Jr. (Acting) 01/21/77 03/06/77 Russell E. Train 09/13/73 01/20/77 Robert Fri (Acting) 04/30/73 09/12/73 William D. Ruckelshaus 12/04/70 04/30/73 If one takes the time to review the appointed heads of the EPA over the years, and management of this agency, any ordinarily prudent individual should be shocked. The previous head for example, Lisa Jackson, was just was unqualified as McCarthy. As in any professionally run business, becoming head of the EPA should be based on qualifications and experience. However, it is in fact a political circus...........and the negative results clearly reflect that. The rapid tightening of commercial truck exhaust emissions regulations over the 2000 thru 2010 period was reckless and irresponsible, forcing the truck manufacturing industry to produce vehicles so unreliable that they were little more than advanced science experiments in mass production. During this time frame, truck operators of all types and size lost millions of dollars because the EPA demanded tighter emissions before viable, reliable technology existed for its smooth implementation. Another point, if the EPA had qualified leadership, it would have moved for the United States to adopt the Euro emissions regulations from year 2000, putting the US on the same page as the rest of the world, and saving vehicle manufacturers millions of dollars by no longer forcing them to design and produce two separate engine line-ups.

The removal of the incompetent and ignorant EPA head Gina McCarthy would be in the best interest of America............and therefore I assume it won't happen.

Fleet Owner / September 9, 2015 When master photographer Roger Snider gets together with Carl Carstens of Rockwood Products to put together their annual show truck calendar dubbed Chrome & Elegance, the results are often stunning – and their impending 2016 edition looks to be just as eye-popping as their previous three efforts. Snider gave Fleet Owner a behind-the-scenes look at some of the rigs and location shoots displayed in the 2016 Chrome & Elegance calendar, the theme of which is "California Dreaming." Photo gallery - http://fleetowner.com/equipment/chrome-elegance-2016#slide-0-field_images-170811

Today's Trucking / September 9, 2015 The linking of tractor and trailer doesn't get a lot of attention, and maybe that's no surprise. It's a simple operation, after all, and the mechanical bits are themselves something less than complex. Fifth-wheel makers have refined the technology over the years and development is more or less continuous, but most truck buyers don't think too much about it. They don't really have to. And I'd guess they think not at all about the other key part of this equation: the kingpin. What's to improve? Well, if you ask a small but successful company in Quebec, you'll find out that there really is a better mousetrap. Rotavan is that company and its product is the new RG-3 swiveling coupling system, which replaces a standard kingpin affair. As the name suggests, this is a third-generation product, with different configurations for specific applications. And how does it work? Its key feature is a rotating swivel base or turntable, unique in the trucking world, which greatly reduces friction between parts, thereby improving control of the vehicle. It sports a patented, internally lubricated system that allows for smooth rotation. By all accounts drivers love it for the way it improves handling and delivers both more flexibility and better control, not to mention a new precision. Company chief Jacques Marquis, one of the nicest guys you'll meet anywhere, says the swiveling system provides "unmatched maneuverabilty" and "unprecedented driving control". And that translates into improved safety, he adds, because friction between a conventional fifth-wheel-and-kingpin setup can cause a loss of control, skids, and accidents. The Rotavan RG-3 swivel-based system eliminates friction almost entirely and can prevent jackknifing. It also eliminates lateral wear on steer tires, says Marquis, and extends the life of coupling and steering parts. Steer-tire expenses can be cut in half over a 6-year period, he says. Video - http://rotavan.com/en/produits/fonctionnement.html

Ryder Systems Inc. Press Release / September 9, 2015 (A real shame to scratch a Volvo that way)

Fleet Owner / September 9, 2015 John Hart knows hotels. A former Marriot executive, Hart left the hotel business in 2012 to develop an online hotel booking platform called StaySmarter. And over the past year, he has taken his expertise in hotels to the trucking community. StaySmarter for Truckers allows truck drivers to find hotels that are pet friendly and have parking for their trucks, to search all hotel brands, and take advantage of special rates, such as AAA and AARP. When Hart created StaySmarter, his initial focus was predominantly on frequent travelers, not necessarily truckers, he told Fleet Owner. But over time, he said he began to recognize truckers as frequent travelers and realized they needed a designated hotel-booking tool. “We thought, ‘Wow, this is a big market,’” Hart explained. “And when we looked at existing services out there for truckers, we thought, ‘This is embarrassing.’ We felt truckers were ignored. Clearly they’re not getting the attention they need for the role they play in the economy.” According to StaySmarter’s data, about 10,000 hotels in the U.S. and Canada have trucker-friendly parking. Hart mentioned that his platform for truckers shows all hotel chains that accommodate drivers and their trucks. He also explained that rates, available discounts, and any other information truck drivers would need to know about booking a room are all on the one interface. The key benefits for truckers, according to Hart, are: Cost. Hart says the StaySmarter platform is free and ad free, offers the same prices as the hotels, allows truckers to pay after their stay, and earn points every hotel rewards program – something he says no one else offers. Efficiency. Hart points out the app works on every device (PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone) on every operating system (Windows, Android, Apple). Booking is done directly through the site, and allows user to comparison shop, he added. It’s ‘smarter.’ Hart noted that users can get a hotel confirmation number, cancel with one click (no phone call or email required), and call the hotel or StaySmarter directly if needed. “We’re hotel experts, not truck experts,” Hart told Fleet Owner. “We were surprised by how bad the experience was for truckers to book hotels. We looked at all of the websites and tools. Many don’t provide access to hotel data, and if they do, it’s simply location data. When booking services exist, they are slow, cost money, offer questionable deals, and lack features, data, and even clear user interfaces. It is a mess. Yet truckers are an important segment of travelers. They need to book hotel rooms fast.” For Hart, the overall impetus behind StaySmarter is that he believes companies like Priceline and Expedia are hurting hotels and the consumer. And, as a hotel expert, he thought he could do better. In the future, Hart said, the folks at StaySmarter expect to add data sets for truck stops and rest stops to the trucking platform. As developments to the platform pick up, Hart encourages feedback from the industry. The company, he added, is also in the process of setting up incentives for fleet owners and independent owner-operators.