Your Nov. 4 Pre-Trip: Volkswagen under fire again

Nov. 4, 2015
Here are five things worth knowing today:
Here are five things worth knowing today: 1. Volkswagen is under fire yet again. The European Commission announced that the German car manufacturer is now at risk of being fined for understating the levels of carbon-dioxide emissions in its cars, some of which were gasoline-powered, according to a Market Watch report. According to the report, Volkswagen AG said it understated the level of CO2 emissions of up to 800,000 additional cars when providing information to regulators. Some of the cars were gasoline-powered, which moved violations beyond VW’s diesel fleet for the first time, according to Market Watch.2. Volvo Trucks North America has issued two recalls – one affecting approximately 8,103 2009-2015 VN trucks manufactured between April 14, 2008, and Dec. 23, 2014, and the other affecting 101 2012-2014 VNL trucks manufactured between Dec. 1, 2011, and Sept. 1, 2013, equipped with certain electric auxiliary power units – according to a CCJ report. CCJ reports that the affected VN trucks could experience corrosion of the ball joints due to compromised seals. Volvo said it will notify owners and inspect and replace the links for free. Affected APUs for the second recall have metal housings with mounting points that could crack and tear and the mounting bolts of the power units could loosen or fall, according to CCJ. Again, Volvo said it will notify owners and inspect and fix the problem.3. Delaware’s Department of Transportation officials announced that work on the U.S. 301 toll road is expected to begin in January 2016, Delaware Public Media reports. The project will eventually connect the existing 301 highway with S-R 1 to create a “more seamless route” to I-95, DPM said. Officials expect to charge tractor-trailers $11 per trip, and the road is expected to open to drivers in December 2018. 4. A panel exploring the expansion of port operations in Delaware is reviewing a legal request by longshoremen to pay for an environmental assessment of a site for a proposed cargo facility south of the existing port, NBC Philadelphia reports. According to NBC, the longshoremen seek a container facility at Riveredge Industrial Park and believe an environmental study should begin while port officials await a port operations study. NBC has more. 5. Bakken trucking operator James Terry Henrikson, who is facing a life sentence for a murder-for-hire plot that killed two people, withdrew his guilty plea on Tuesday, The Jamestown Sun reports. According to the report, Henrikson, who pleaded guilty in September, withdrew his plea after a Washington U.S. District Court judge informed him that he would be sentenced to life in prison. According to the report, prosecutors planned to ask for a 40-year prison sentence, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. The Sun reports that Henrikson admitted to paying Timothy Suckow $20,000 to kill Kristopher Clarke in February 2012 in North Dakota; he also admitted to paying Suckow to kill Douglas Carlile in December 2013 in Spokane, Wash.
About the Author

Cristina Commendatore

Cristina Commendatore is the Editor in Chief of FleetOwner magazine. She has reported on the transportation industry since 2015, covering topics such as business operational challenges, driver and technician shortages, truck safety, and new vehicle technologies. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.

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