A.M. Executive Briefing - Dec. 1
This Morning's Headlines:
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OMCS Grants More Vision Waivers
An additional 33 truckers will be given federal vision exemptions by the Office of Motor Carrier Safety, although OMCS stresses that it "has no power to require motor carriers to hire drivers with vision exemptions."According to regulations, carriers can have stricter standards for safety, said the agency, and the Supreme Court lately ruled that OMCS vision exemptions do not take the place of carriers' standards.
New Highway Rules Take Effect
New rules allowing authorities to levy fines to truckers for equipment violations, increasing construction-zone speeding fines, and forbidding open or closed alcohol containers in truck cabs are effective as of Wednesday in North Carolina. Representatives from the Department of Motor Vehicles went to rest stops and weigh stations Tuesday to fill truckers in on the changes. ABC NewsWire (12/01/99)Employees Unloading Truck Treated For Respiratory Problems
Nine Vitron Express employees were hospitalized with respiratory problems Tuesday due to exposure to a chemical, possibly a cleaning agent whose container was discovered punctured in the truck they were unloading. There was concern at the outset that the irritation was due to sodium cyanide, which is poisonous, but the sodium cyanide box was not damaged.As of Tuesday, three employees had been released from one of the two hospitals, but the condition of the other six was not yet available. Minneapolis Star Tribune Online (11/30/99)
American Freightways Anticipates No Significant Impact From Recent Increases In Crude Oil Prices
American Freightways does not expect that crude oil price rises will have a substantial effect on fourth quarter earnings. In the past, the cost of fuel aside from taxes has been under 3% of revenues, and the fuel surcharge compensates almost completely for fuel price rises. PR Newswire (11/30/99)Cannon Express Announces Pay Increase for Drivers
Cannon Express said Tuesday it will be hiking driver pay at the beginning of the year.Drivers with up to six months' experience will be paid 28 cents a mile, while those with between six and twelve months' experience will get 29 cents a mile. The wage per mile will be 30 cents for one to two years' experience, 31 cents for two to three years' experience, 32 cents for three to four years' experience, 33 cents for four to five years' experience, and 34 cents for drivers with at least five years' experience.
n addition, each half-year pay will go up half a cent per mile until the per-mile wage reaches 39 cents, and truckers will get a $1,000 yearly bonus for no chargeable accidents, pro-rated for truckers with less than a year of employment. Layover.com (11/30/99)
Volvo Trucks Receives 'Designs of the Decade' Award
The Industrial Designers Society of America honored Volvo Trucks North America's VN Series highway tractors by presenting the company with a Silver "Designs of the Decade" award at a Nov. 19 ceremony in Washington, D.C. Thirty-six companies in seven different categories received awards in the program, which Business Week magazine sponsored.Owners of the VN Series tractors gave it top marks for overall quality, driver comfort, interior design, and other categories in a Louis Harris & Associates study. Trucker input figured prominently in the design of the tractors, said company product design manager Ruben Perfetti. PR Newswire (11/30/99)
G.I. Trucking Adds New Features To GI-Line Computer Link With Customers
G.I. Trucking customers can now receive faxes of bills of lading and proofs of delivery via GI-Line, which enables customers to link to the company's computer. Various other features, including express tracing and routing and rate information, are also available to customers on GI-Line, which can be accessed around the clock at (800) 330-6650. Business Wire (11/30/99)© copyright 1999 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
