HARDSTOFT – BRITAIN’S FIRST OIL FIELD

Steel was the most common material of construction until the early 1950s when the industry began switching to aluminum trailers which were lighter and could haul more product. However, some local rules mandated the use of steel, including in New York City where petroleum could only be transported in steel tanks mounted on straight trucks. Trucks hauling gasoline had to be painted red and those hauling combustibles were green. The New York City equipment ordinances were overturned in the early 1980s. In the 1990s, four Fiberglas Reinforced Plastic (RFP) trailers manufactured by a British company were tested in the United States, but FRP never caught on here. One of the most significant operational changes occurred in the late 1970s when the petroleum industry moved from top loading gasoline into tankers to bottom-loading through the trailer unloading lines. The change was not mandated by the Department of Transportation, but was rather part of the gasoline producers’ efforts to comply with emission regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency. One safety benefit of that move was that drivers spent less time on the top of tankers. However, the change to bottom-loading raised concerns about product being transported in the lines outside of the cargo tank and resulted in proposed banning of such a practice that is still being fought by the petroleum and tank truck industries today. Throughout most of the years of tank truck equipment safety and productivity development, engineers and safety directors from major oil companies were a driving force. Major oil companies operated large private fleets to service their customers and relied on common carriers to handle the balance. Today, many majors have totally gotten out of private fleet operation, primarily as a result of deregulation of the trucking industry.