A.M. Executive Briefing - Aug. 10
This Morning's Headlines:
ul>
Trucking Crackdown Urged on 401
As Ontario Premier Mike Harris requested a review into the increasing fatalities on a 41-mile portion of Highway 401, a public meeting in Chatham-Kent saw attendees fingering truck traffic and roadwork as culprits."I got an earlier report that said up until 1995, it was one of the safest stretches of highway. Today, clearly, it is not," Harris said Monday.
Bus driver Don Smith, who said perhaps truck speed limits should be lowered, charged that truckers drive too close behind other vehicles.
Others said the highway was poorly constructed, prompting Bob Nichol, who said he was one of 401's builders, to pin the blame instead on "the people who use" the highway, not the highway itself.
Bill Scott of the Ontario Provincial Police began the meeting by saying that deadly crashes are not much different from merely injurious ones.
On Friday and Saturday, police cracked down on drivers exceeding the highway's speed limit, charging 199 of them, some of whom said they disregarded the crackdown even though they knew about it ahead of time.
Among the recommendations made by the meeting's attendees was keeping truck drivers from the United States from using Ontario's highways to get from one U.S. location to another.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union recommended an independent investigator to determine whether the problem may be due in part to the Conservative Party government privatizing road maintenance and cutting back on construction-safety inspectors. London (Ontario) Free Press Online (08/10/99); Miner, John
GE's TIP Intermodal Unit Buys 11,473 Intermodal Trailers
TIP Intermodal Services, a division of General Electric's Transport International Pool, purchased 11,473 intermodal trailers for an undisclosed amount from Redon of Jacksonville, Fla. The fleet of TIP Intermodal has reached 26,000 intermodal trailers as a result of the acquisition.Additionally, TIP named Redon President Ralph Chambers head of the intermodal trailer division of TIP Intermodal. Dow Jones News (08/09/99); Rossa, Jennifer
For The Record: Navistar International Corp.
Navistar International is pouring $100 million into increasing its Brazilian manufacturing, according to O Estado de S. Paulo. The company recently appointed Dennis Webb to replace Steve Keate as its heavy vehicle center's group vice president and general manager. Keate was promoted to president of the company's truck group. Crain's Chicago Business (08/02/99) Vol. 22, No. 31; P. 46; Lyon, PaulaF.Y.I.: Freightliner Corp.
Freightliner is moving its $10 million advertising account from Young & Roehr to the Dallas-based Richards Group. Advertising Age (08/02/99) Vol. 70, No. 32; P. 50© copyright 1999 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
