Security & Safety Briefs - March 3 - March 9
The Latest Headlines:
- Alabama DOT to Use Sensors to Prevent Accidents
- Homeland Security Department to Undergo Review
- CSX Settles $1.5 Mln. Rail-Safety Claim With N.Y. State
- Senate Votes to Keep Canadian Cattle Ban
- Colorado Driving School to Resume Testing
- Luis Barker Named Deputy Border Chief
- Homeland Security Department to Undergo Review
Alabama DOT to Use Sensors to Prevent Accidents
Transportation officials will install computer sensors at two intersections in an attempt to avoid runaway-truck accidents on U.S. 280 near Birmingham, Ala., the Associated Press reported.The sensors, which will be buried in the pavement uphill from each intersection, will detect weight and speed of vehicles approaching the intersection and determine whether it will be able to stop at the light, AP said.
If a heavy truck is approaching too fast to stop the sensors will send a signal to the light so the truck can clear the intersection, an Alabama Transportation Department engineer told AP.
Homeland Security Department to Undergo Review
The Homeland Security Department said it would undergo an internal review to ensure its policy and funding decisions were being driven by threat assessments, news services reported.The department is in charge of several agencies involved in transportation including the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Transportation Security Administration.
In testimony to Congress, new Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the review would better enable the department to identify, prevent and respond to any terrorist attacks.
The review was also expected to look at the screening processes for people and cargo, news services reported. Transport Topics
CSX Settles $1.5 Mln. Rail-Safety Claim With N.Y. State
CSX Corp. agreed Monday to boost safety measures at hundreds of street crossings in New York State under a $1.5 million settlement, the Associated Press reported.Under the voluntary agreement, the freight rail line will monitor safety and pay for a $500,000 pilot program that would reimburse local police for protecting railroad crossings identified with malfunctioning equipment, New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer said.
Spitzer said CSX agreed to pay $1 million to the state to end the investigation, AP reported.
“CSX will undertake a number of reforms that will produce the quickest response possible to any potential crossing safety problems,” Spitzer said in a statement. Transport Topics
Senate Votes to Keep Canadian Cattle Ban
The U.S. Senate voted March 3 to overturn the Bush administration’s decision to allow Canadian cattle into the country again, nearly two years after they were banned because of mad cow disease, news services reported.Agriculture officials had planned to reopen the border March 7, but a federal judge on March 2 granted a temporary injunction sought by Western ranchers who wanted to keep the ban in place.
The Senate’s vote was to reject the USDA’s decision to resume imports of Canadian cows under 30 months of age. A similar measure was introduced in the House, but leaders there have not scheduled a vote on it, the Associated Press reported
The White House has said Bush would veto the measure. Transport Topics
Colorado Driving School to Resume Testing
A Colorado trucking school that had its testing privileges revoked after being charged with issuing fraudulent commercial driver licenses will regain its right to test applicants Tuesday, the Denver Post reported.Careers World Wide, had appealed a Colorado Department of Revenue ruling against it in January after seven men obtained CDLs with fraudulent forms that appeared to have signatures of a company tester, the paper said.
state hearing officer ruled that Careers World Wide should have reported missing forms and imposed a six-week retroactive suspension, which means the company can resume testing truck drivers Tuesday, the Post said. Transport Topics
(Click here for previous coverage.)
Luis Barker Named Deputy Border Chief
Luis Barker was named deputy chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert Bonner said Thursday.“Luis Barker is an experienced law enforcement professional and a proven leader,” Bonner said in a statement.
Barker, a former Jersey City, N.J., police officer and detective, joined the Border Patrol in 1978.
He becomes the nation’s second highest-ranking Border Patrol agent, responsible for assisting in the direction more than 11,000 Border Patrol agents who patrol U.S. borders between official ports of entry. Transport Topics
