A.M. Executive Briefing - Jan. 14
The A.M. and P.M. Executive Briefings will not run on Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. The briefings will resume on Tuesday.
This Morning's Headlines:
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Whitman Signs Bill Setting Fines for Those Breaking Her Big Rig Ban
New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman Thursday signed into law a system of fines for violators of the state ban on interstate trucks using roads not on the National Truck Network. The maximum fines are $400 for a first-time offender, $700 for a second violation, and $1,000 per violation after that. The ban does not cover trucks from New Jersey carriers. New Jersey Online (01/13/00)
Proposed Rule on Diesel Engines Fuels Debate
Opposition from the California Trucking Association and bus agencies arose Wednesday to the South Coast Air Quality Management District's proposal that public agencies and their contractors purchase alternative-fuel vehicles and not diesel vehicles. The idea is to reduce diesel soot pollution in Southern California, which a controversial November AQMD study said causes 71% of the air pollution cancer risk in the area.The bus agencies want to know where the money will come from to buy compressed-natural-gas vehicles, which are $35,000 more expensive than diesel buses with lower fuel economy and higher maintenance expenses. All the agencies' needs could exceed the federal, state, and local funding the AQMD suggested, the agencies said.
The trucking association said trucking companies holding government contracts might also need to comply unless they divided into companies with fewer than 15 vehicles, since the proposal exempts such small firms. The AQMD is still working on the definition of a contractor, said district Executive Director Barry Wallerstein.
Also on Wednesday, a Navistar International-backed Harvard University study was released, saying natural gas creates more greenhouse gases than diesel does and also creates more ultra-fine particulates. Chung Liu, the deputy executive officer at AQMD, said researchers need to determine whether the particulates come from the natural gas or from lubricants, which can be changed. Riverside (Calif.) Press-Enterprise (01/13/00) P. A3; Steele, Jeanette
Trucking Industry Plans to Offer Free Safety Seminars
The Texas Motor Transportation Association this month will begin working to improve industry safety by holding a series of free "Truck Safety 101" seminars and making a video about hazardous interchanges and speeding in greater Houston. Any Houston area carrier or truck driver can attend the seminars Jan. 20 and 27 at Houston Community College.The state Public Safety Department says the number of commercial-vehicle crashes in Texas rose from 15,245 to 16,317 between 1996 and 1998, during which time fatalities were steady at close to 500.
While TMTA President Bill Webb noted the increase in trucks and vehicle miles traveled in Texas, he added that the association's priority is to keep things from worsening. The TMTA is also backing the Houston Police Department's new truck safety unit, which started up in October. Houston Chronicle Online (01/13/00) ; Asher, Ed
Trucking Company Files for Bankruptcy Protection
Bush Leasing on Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Dayton, Ohio, U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The company had attempted to alter the terms of $310 million worth of secured debt, but negotiations broke down because some lenders refused, said Chairman George F. Bush. Bush Leasing is considering selling all or a portion of its lease portfolio, said Bush. Among the 20 top unsecured creditors named in the bankruptcy filing were RPS, Nissan Diesel America, Fleetmasters, and Western Ohio Freightliner. Associated Press (01/13/00)Patrol Merger Faces Roadblocks
Nebraska state legislators have begun questioning a proposal from Gov. Mike Johanns to integrate the state's truck enforcement unit into the Nebraska State Patrol. State Sen. Bob Wickersham predicted that doing so would make truck enforcement a low priority with too few officers to perform the function. If that happens, he said, the state would just have to create a new truck enforcement unit alongside the expanded State Patrol.State Sen. Ernie Chambers pointed to the legislature's controversial 1994 vote to arm the inspectors and said the current proposal shows that vote was part of a "scam" to expand the State Patrol. This was the governor's way to repay State Patrol Superintendent Col. Tom Nesbitt for his campaign help, Chambers charged.
The truck enforcement division's efficacy has long been at issue; there was a 39% decrease in inspections between 1996 and 1999. This drop was the result of high turnover cutting the amount of veteran inspectors in the division, said Nesbitt, who added that the inspectors try to become state troopers.
The governor's plan aims to address this by allowing the inspectors to be promoted within the State Patrol as regular troopers are and by earmarking $272,000 for raising inspector salaries. Currently, the starting salary for state troopers is more than $2,500 higher than that of truck inspectors. Omaha World-Herald (01/13/00) P. 13; Tysver, Robynn
Fast Ferry to Be Replaced by More Reliable C-Class Vessel
Trucks headed to Vancouver Island in British Columbia will once again be able to use the Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay ferry route starting Feb. 1, when B.C. Ferries will resume running a conventional ferry in place of one of the new fast ferries.The fast ferries, which last week were given exclusive use of the route, have suffered several breakdowns and raised complaints from island residents because they could not carry trucks and tour buses. The trucking industry also complained of the additional time it took to get to the island because of truckers' inability to go through Horseshoe Bay. But Horseshoe Bay residents had also been critical of the truck traffic there. Vancouver Sun (01/13/00) P. B3; Fong, Petti
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