A Bakersfield, California based firm, KS Industries, has been fined $230,250 for failing to update its diesel trucks to meet the California emissions laws. California Air Resources Board investigators reported that the company failed to maintain acceptable harmful emissions levels that are currently required in the state.
“The [California] Air Resources Board is committed to improving air quality and educating business owners about how to comply with the regulations that were created to help achieve this goal,” said CARB Enforcement Chief Jim Ryden. “All businesses that depend on their vehicle fleets need to pay attention to the specific deadlines of the State Truck and Bus Regulation, and understand that ignoring or forgetting them can result in a hefty fine.”
The terms of the fine will force KS industries to split the payment of the fine between two recipients. Of the $230,250 fine, only $172,688 will be paid to the California Air Pollution Control Fund which goes towards funding air pollution research. The other $57,562 will go to funding a school bus retrofitting project in the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution district.
In order to avoid additional fines, KS Industries must become CARB compliant by Nov. 15th 2013.
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Source: truckinginfo
I will not personally take or loads to California. They are a big tire trap!C.s.a.point giving creeps!
And this would be why trucks that are outside of California need to stay out of California. Truckers can’t afford the retrofit for their trucks that California requires. I know the big companies will continue but the smaller companies are just not going to California. I hope they feel the dent in their highway funds.
And you are right!
That is why I refused to register my truck for California, Oregon and Washington back in August.
Their ridiculous speed limits, requirements for rolling resistance on tires, useless expensive particulate filter, unproven trailer skirts, punitive fines for the slightest infraction and and and caused them to lose all my tax / reg money.
I’ll never go there again. I can make a very good living in the remaining 45 states – no problem.
Actually the low rolling resistance tires and trailer skirts are not a California thing, but federal. California will not enforce the federal epa laws, they will enforce the state emissions laws. Here is a link:
http://www.epa.gov/smartway/technology/tires.htm
There won’t be any dent in the income. Larger fleets will pick up the slack, probably get higher rates since the independents and smaller fleets will largely be gone and the competion thus will be less.
In the rest of the country these trucks that leave the California market will grovel for the loads, increasing competition and more than likely lessening rates.
Well it is true the larger fleets will take up the slack but I won’t be ‘groveling’ for anything I have dedicated accounts. No problem.
Federal epa states fleets of three trucks or less are emission exempt. Fed over rides states.
Try explaining that to a over zealous state trooper! Ticket now and let the courts figure it out is their motto. Good luck on that one.
Puddle jumper- do you have a link to the federal epa statement? It is my understanding that in fleets of one to three trucks, at least one must be compliant by the end of this year. If you own two trucks, one of them must still be compliant. If you own one truck, it must be compliant by year’s end. I have an ’06 Pete and am trading it in on a 2014 next month. After crunching the numbers I was surprised that my bottom line was far better with new equipment than keeping the old. Because I’m based in Reno, and run mostly the northwest, it is not feasible to boycott California.
Well good luck Lisa on that $2300 per month note,(Its gonna bite right into your profits)..
Im not too sure its “Feesable” to do that. Keep the paid assets and FIGHT the corruption
Just a little advice from a 23 year veteran…….New equipment is good if its PAID IN FULL
The addede stress of a large payment will make your workweek a tinge harder……..Just the facts..Best of Luck to you guys
@Staying Back – appreciate the advice, I do not have your 23 years of experience although I started driving in ’98, have ran solo 48 reefer/van/flat. Started dispatching & brokering in ’05, then worked as operation’s manager and later safety & payroll manager. The owner of the company I’ve been with for 9+ years taught me the detailed accounting skills I needed.
I bought my first truck (an ’06 379) from the owners because I loved to drive. I have a chronic illness (RA) and although many people told me “you’ll never drive again” I’ve proved them wrong. Because I do not work on my own truck the ’06 has been very costly to maintain and repair. For the 2 years that I’ve had it I’ve spent around 3k per month in repairs/maintenance & tires, not to mention the down time for lengthy repairs. Although I’ve been given a good trade in value it doesn’t come close to what I’ve put into the truck.
I hadn’t originally planned to sell this truck and buy new- but I must look at the facts as they affect me now and move forward with the best plan.
The best plan for me is to purchase new. My new truck-spec’d for me and how I run- has arrived and my old is turned in. I couldn’t be more happy with my new Pete.
When I crunched my numbers I did not change how hard I will run. I took into consideration that I will not work more than 48 weeks per year and very possibly less, so you saying that my work week will be harder is incorrect.
People on this site are so incredibly negative it just blows my mind! Rather than whine and moan and cry about how their lot in life is so terribly hard and unfair why don’t they get ‘er done and figure out how they’ll make it work- then come on this site and help others do the same. I run CA and that is not going to change. The laws won’t be repealled so I either had to either get a filter on my truck or get a truck that had a filter. This is what I did. What I didn’t do is whine moan b%#tch and complain about how unfair things are….. get a clue- life is unfair. Figure out how to better yourself and move forward or wallow in self pity.
Up grading most of the older engines would be a mistake. Older engines cannot take the added back pressure nor the higher heat generated by the particulate filters.
Is it really worth it to put $15,000 in this particulate filter system on a truck just to go to Ca and have to put up with the BS? Not to me it isn’t.
Why damage the engine to satisfy an organization that has a proven liar doing their figures and designing their plans who has been found to never been a professor nor educated where he stated he was. All bogus, yet CARB likes the revenue his figures bring in and they still use it.
CARB thinks their plan is the best thing since velcro.
It has cost me an average of $12,000 a year in additional fuel due to the drop in fuel mileage. It went from 8+ to a high of 5.9 mpg. CARB is nothing but a scam to generate revenue. They have been shown that it is not the trucks that emit Nox but fast food places,lawn mowers and other small engines and bad air coming in from the jet stream. They can’t fine the jet stream so we the American truckers are going to be the targets for revenue enhancement..
When Jan 2014 rolls around you will see some serious back pedaling from the so called CARB specialists.
They are going to see a high increase of rates to bring in products to Ca and to take it out by the carriers that are going to get a return on their investment of overpriced new trucks and trailers and upgrades to older ones..
The reefer people have the lock on CA but wont use it. I don’t understand why this is when it is obvious they can bring this unnecessary CARB BS to its knees. Ca GNP is it’s produce not manufacturing. Don’t load at chilling houses back to the dock with doors closed and when they begin to plow under crops due to full chilling houses you will see a mad rush to Sacramento by the truck farmers to get things changed.
Until the reefer people get a back bone no change will ever happen.
Californians will pay the piper no later than March 2014.
Mark your calender.
Well said sir absolutely spot on the money. A direct hit. Thank you.
I second that and hope to see shyte hit the fan.
That’s what you wish to happen, but in reality large fleets change their trucks about every 3 years. So, by now they have all CARB compliant trucks and trailers (and reefers). They will bring in as many as necessary to meet the demand. In fact, I predict the CA rates will go down because the big fleets have been getting ready for this for some time and usually this means having more than enough trucks to meet demand. So now the big fleets will compete with each other and that will lead to the price drop.
How wrong you are, much more to it than the OTR trucks.The so called BIG companys do not have either the trucks or the man power to handle it.Not just a wish but if they get away with any of this then, look out for what the money grubbers try next.
Californias journey in american history is remarkable. It would be even more remarkable if it were true.
well, my fellow truckers. the problem is that we all let this happen to us again. CA shmacks can do what ever they want, but its us who say, dont tell me how to run my biz. keep your dirty nose out of my packets. EPA is bogus and we all know it, but what we can do, actually DO, its not to go to CA for few days, I know its most about refer guys, but we all can do a small part. Big companies are not happy with CA stuff as well, dont forget that big companies have not spirit operated steering robots and hose guys are not happy too. So, I would say we can do” DC traffic” thing somewhere in LA or Sacto area. 🙂
you see, they go for those who cant fight back, they made you guilty. laws about trailer skirts and tires are sooooo LAME, its nowhere published that all those EXTRA expenses are do anything, not to you or have any impact on environment!!! but, someone pushed this law to give someone a contract to put those useless stuff on our rigs. I personally saw many of those skirts flapping around broken or loose, that create as they say danger to the environment.
things dont make sense for a long time any more. So its up to us to say what we are not happy with. I say, do DC in CA. Why CA is so special now?
Just so you know guys 30% from ALL food stamp and EBT recipients ARE IN CA. its 3rd of all America…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I guess we are not working hard enough to feed CA lazy part of population!!! and we get all this stuff up on us on top of it? I think CA lost they sense of reality and they think that they entitled of something!!!
Sorry for too much info guys, but, its getting to the guts already…
drive safe my friends and keep eyes on those 4 wheelers… cuz they dont care…
God Bless!!!
The Federal government and California are out of control.
When about 80% of the refrigerated products is hauled by independents that is way too many trucks for fleets to cover. when you consider that cost of a new truck is about $50 grand more than one 3 years ago and dependability is far less, fleets are reconsidering the growth and truck replacement.
Still CA is going to hurt if the reefer people grow a back bone. There will be a big dent in many things in ca. A good number of trucks that would buy fuel are not. Repairs of same trucks wont be happening. The buffet at the tuck stop is going to have fewer drivers using it. Every thing truckers do , and spend money on will bear some of the financial recovery. Fuel taxes for the state will suffer. It is not a win win situation for CA . The sad part is that the ones still going to Ca will be the ultimate losers that will have to be burdened with additional fees and taxes fewer trucks create.
Many parts of California unemployemnt is still around 12 percent and several large trucking companies have been hiring and training drivers from those areas so my thinking is these companies are getting ready to expand their fleet to gobble up the loads which I/Os won’t be able to fulfill. On one hand they have a good supply of cheap labor/trainees and on the other they will be grabbing loads…just thinking out aloud.
Whats really funny is I drop into this site and see all you winning drivers with all your problems but you do nothing to stop the BS that is happening to you. Grow a set pick a couple day next year and shut the country down. You have the power you just won’t get together for fear you might miss a day or two of pay. The same thing is happening all around you sports tickets to high,no there not cause you keep paying the price. Let the stands actually go empty for 2 or 3 games. please don’t tell me you can’t afford it cause that’s a pile of BS. give up smoking, drinking your favorite beverage, anything you can live without for a couple of months. Wake up Americans we really do rule not them. Unfortunately this will be unlikely to happen.
Give it up ……! drivers only know how to drive….take it from 35 years of this… others with many more. Talk is cheap. CA trumps federal law and the EPA is complicit in the matter. One ball rubs the other.
Wrong to go to DC….. Park it in place and do not go to California. Why burn fuel to get harassed
by local yocals. Just park in place for 2-3 days……Ya know….DOT says can’t drive if ill!
I am glad they got fined we need clean air they had 2+ years to get compliant clean air clean water clean energy ……. the 3 C’s
ha ha ha!
Dang mark toy must work or live in california, LOOK around it is not the trucks killing the air in californis the the millions of cars its a 50 to 1 ratio in LA alone. I lived in cally for a while and people there think their poop dont stink well you can have it. i took their bumper sticker to heart ie WELCOME TO CALIFORNIA NOW GO HOME . Never to return to the god forsaken place again.
I stopped going to California what year ago and it has not hurt my business at all in fact I’m making more money now cause I don’t have to climb those mountains every day every week.I do very well running the Midwest back east.
California needs a strong wake-up call from all truckers/companies. Let them use the railroads or airplanes to get their products to market. When they lose enough money perhaps they’ll realize the value of truck drivers. Too much traffic; too many rules; too many “revenue enhancers”, too expensive and too few truck stops. California suffers from too many excesses.
The loons in California are at it again! Wonder how much railroad stock they own?
The only thing to do is park and be done with it til things change….simple!!!