A.M. Executive Briefing - Dec. 6
This Morning's Headlines:
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Ministry of Transportation Report Shows Car Drivers More Likely to Be Cause of Accidents Involving Tractor-Trailers
According to the Ontario Transportation Ministry's yearly safety report, which concerns 1997 road-safety data for the province, Class A-licensed truckers were not to blame in 71.6% of deadly truck crashes that year, while the percentage was 45.4% for motorists in fatal car-truck crashes.Only 1% of truckers in fatal deadly crashes had been drinking, while the percentage for motorists in deadly car-truck crashes was 24%. Equipment problems were fingered in 1% of deadly 1997 truck crashes. Three percent of vehicles in reportable crashes that year were tractor-trailers, with injury and property-damage crashes down 1.7% between 1996 and 1997, although truck-crash deaths held steady at 91. These results have led the Ontario Trucking Association to create a campaign to teach motorists how to drive safely around trucks.
Portable Computers Aid Truck Safety Enforcement
Starting in 2000, some officers on the West Virginia Public Service Commission will be able to use laptop computers with U.S. Transportation Department software to access data on truckers, their trucks, and their companies without going through the state police.The officers will be able to call up information from a nationwide database simply by entering the DOT identification number of the truck. Officers will be able to learn if the truck had a violation in its last inspection and check whether the problem has been fixed.
In addition, said PSC Officer Mark Porter, the system "can also figure up the mileage and hours for these drivers to take to get from city to city and I will know if they're falsifying their records."
According to PSC Motor Carrier Section manager Bob Brooks, the database uses accident, death, and violation information to assign ratings to carriers. He said the commission wants to reduce accidents in three areas in the state where they are common: the Charleston-Huntington stretch of Interstate 64, the Charleston-Beckley stretch of the West Virginia Turnpike, and U.S. Route 33 and Interstate 79 in the north. Associated Press (12/05/99) ; Ramsey, Pam
Two Stolen Tractor-Trailers Retrieved
Two stolen trucks worth $150,000 were found Thursday by a deputy with the Charlotte County (Fla.) Sheriff's Department, which will now try to get warrants to arrest two suspects believed to have taken the trailers. About $500,000 worth of fish was taken from one of the trailers, while the other one was hauling about $10,000 worth of batteries.The deputy who found the trailers let the two suspects go Thursday after getting their pictures, fingerprints, and addresses because there was insufficient evidence for an arrest then. Sarasota Herald-Tribune (12/05/99) P. 1B; Carroll, Scott
Reward Offered in Truck Driver's Death
Schneider National has set a reward of $10,000 for the person responsible for the West Memphis, Ark., shooting death of 31-year-old trucker Charles Ellison, who was roughly 300 feet from his destination, the Temple Inland plant. The $10,000, joined by rewards of $1,000 each from Crittenden County Crimestoppers and Temple Inland, is for an arrest and conviction.According to police, the shooter was a motorist, who took several shots at the trucker, who had spent five years at Schneider. West Memphis police had no motive for the killing, but police Lt. Mike Allen said it could have been road rage. Associated Press (12/04/99)
Bilingual Training Tool For Truckers Carrying Hazardous Materials
A free CD-ROM hazmat training application in English and Spanish is available from the Transportation Department Office of Motor Carrier Safety.The prosperous economy has seen an increase in hazmat shipments from Mexico to the border commercial zones. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater said the program "will make it easier for Spanish-speaking carriers and their drivers to become familiar with U.S. federal hazardous materials regulations." Layover.com (12/03/99)
Western Part of Expressway Inaugurated as Interstate 86
Officials in Allegany County, N.Y., expect businesses to gain from more truck traffic along the Southern Tier Expressway, since the stretch of the expressway between Corning, N.Y., and the Pennsylvania border was officially designated Interstate 86 on Friday.County historian Craig Braack said the Belvidere truck stop should feel the effects right away; he expected truck volume to go up 15% immediately as the new designation showed up on Internet mapping programs.
Since the new interstate designation was proposed a couple of years back by an intern for U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, supporters of the effort lobbied counties and municipalities to back the new I-86 and each month updated state lawmakers on the efforts' success. Gov. Pataki and others were won over to the cause and brought pressure to bear on the U.S. and New York departments of transportation. Buffalo News (12/04/99) P. 5C; Weigand, Bob
Trucking Company Opens New Terminal
The debut of Heartland Express' new Atlanta-area terminal was set for Saturday. The terminal, which serves the carrier's southeast region, includes truck and trailer bays as well as an inspection bay; truckers will also benefit from around-the-clock restrooms and showers as well as laundry and other amenities. Eventually, the terminal will also offer fuel. The carrier's old area terminal was in Forest Park, Ga. Layover.com (12/03/99)© copyright 1999 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
