A.M. Executive Briefing - July 23
Editor's Note: Transport Topics Online is proud to offer Executive Briefing - a quick read on the day's trucking news. These summaries are produced by Information, Inc., which scours over 1,200 publications - from local newspapers to trade publications - and summarizes what they dig up. The result is the most complete trucking coverage anywhere. And only TT Online has it!U.S. Increases Inspection Force for Trucks on Mexican Border Celadon Earns Volkswagen Pact to Carry US, Canada Auto Parts Rumble Strip Reminder May Help Tired Drivers Lawmaker Wants Caltrans Permit Procedure Probed Under 25 Driving Crowd Faces an Uphill Battle TravelCenters of America, Freightliner Corporation Sign Agreement Creating Nationwide Truck Service Network Carbon Tax Won't Lead to Greener Pastures
This Morning's Headlines:
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U.S. Increases Inspection Force for Trucks on Mexican Border
Because problems about Mexican truck safety have held the United States back from following NAFTA guarantees of an open border, the U.S. Department of Transportation has added 27 safety inspectors to the border crossings and will heavy up on strict Level 1 inspections. Level 1 is the only level of inspection requiring the safety specialist to scrutinize the truck's undercarriage. The department is also maintaining computer data on every truck that crosses the border. The addition of inspectors more than triples the federal inspection force.Meanwhile, Texas state officials are also upping the number of truck inspectors along the border. Mexico has appealed to a NAFTA arbitration panel for power to sanction the United States for not following the trade agreement.Journal of Commerce Online (07/23/99); Hall, Kevin G.
Celadon Earns Volkswagen Pact to Carry US, Canada Auto Parts
Celadon Group, a U.S. truck line that concentrates on cross-border trade with Mexico, has signed a two-year deal to transport parts for Volkswagen's Mexican subsidiary. Puebla, Mexico, is the site of the sole factory producing the popular new Beetle. Celadon, which in an average week crosses the border about 2,100 times, anticipates reaping $5 million a year from the deal. Journal of Commerce Online (07/23/99); Hall, Kevin G.Rumble Strip Reminder May Help Tired Drivers
A new computerized gizmo called Autovue will be installed in big rigs and eventually high-end cars starting in the summer of 2000. Autovue, which was created by Odetics ITS in association with DaimlerChrysler, mimics the sound of rumble strips when drivers drift out of their lanes. The National Transportation Safety Board has found rumble strips can cut accident rates in half. Susan Coughlin of the American Trucking Associations said Autovue will certainly help drivers stay in lane but might not always realize its intended function of letting drivers know they are falling asleep. Edmonton Sun Online (07/22/99)Lawmaker Wants Caltrans Permit Procedure Probed
After California's transportation department granted a permit for a truck to carry a 15-foot-high tank along a route that went under a 14-foot-10-inch overpass, leading to the death of a motorist after the tank was knocked off the truck and landed on his car, state Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana) wants to investigate the department's permitting procedure."I don't know if this is a recurring problem, but we need to look into the issue," Dunn says. The crash took place on the night of July 16 on the Riverside Freeway in Dunn's district. A department spokesman says such accidents are rare, although the agency is looking into how often they occur.
Meanwhile, the California Highway Patrol is conducting its own investigation and announced Wednesday that the truck seemed to have been exceeding the 55-mph speed limit by approximately 5 mph. The transportation department anticipates a lawsuit on behalf of the killed motorist. Orange County Register Online (07/22/99); Katches, Mark; Weston, Bonnie
Under 25 Driving Crowd Faces an Uphill Battle
One major obstacle to getting young people interested in truck driving is insurance requirements discouraging truck lines from allowing them behind the wheel of a big rig before they turn 25. Operations manager Brad Goett of Gene Orlick Transport in Edmonton says that "no one really likes to hire someone straight out of trucking school and then send that person on a run to Vancouver, which winds through the Rockies." But trucking companies need to help drivers build experience, and a driver shortages are rampant. To make up for the problem, some carriers let young drivers progress from shorter to longer hauls over time, although the prospect of spending years in city traffic before hitting the open road still dissuades some prospective young drivers. Edmonton Sun Online (07/22/99); Sandor, StevenTravelCenters of America, Freightliner Corporation Sign Agreement Creating Nationwide Truck Service Network
TravelCenters of America (TA) and Freightliner inked a deal on Wednesday to grant preferred express Freightliner service status to TA truck-mechanic garages. The program, the first to join a truckmaker with a service center, is underway at two sites in Ohio and should expand to the entire TA full-service chain by September of next year. Freightliner will continue to prefer its dealerships for extensive service. Still, it will add TA truck shops to its 24-hour customer hotline database and supply TA with Freightliner parts. Freightliner President and CEO Jim Hebe comments, "We are doing this to improve the service to our customers for light-duty repairs and preventive maintenance." PRNewswire (07/22/99)Carbon Tax Won't Lead to Greener Pastures
Opposing a tax on carbon emissions intended to meet the structures of the Kyoto Conference, Canadian Trucking Alliance CEO David Bradley says the tax is simply an excuse to make money from truck lines. Bradley also warns that shippers will abandon Canadian carriers for U.S. competitors if the carbon tax goes through. He adds that there is no guarantee that the Liberal party will follow through on vows to earmark the additional tax revenue to budget items that will help the environment. "We have yet to see a tax where the money doesn't get dumped into general revenue," he says, adding that the Alberta economy will suffer if the carbon tax passes because it is too reliant on oil and gas production. Bradley concludes that recent pro-business tax cuts augur failure for the carbon tax as well. Edmonton Sun Online (07/22/99); Sandor, Steven© copyright 1999 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
