A.M. Executive Briefing - May 4
This Morning's Headlines:
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Caterpillar Buys Bitelli
Caterpillar says its place in the road-construction industry in Europe will be strengthened by its purchase of Italian heavy-equipment manufacturer Bitelli as well as the firm's consultancy and distribution and service agreements. Financial Times (05/04/00) P. 20; Bowe, ChristopherTrucker Eluded Us, State Police Say
About three months prior to the deaths of two young children in an accident involving a truck driver with a suspended license, Louisiana State Police had stopped trying to take away suspended drivers' licenses and tags because there were too many cases to handle, police said this week.
Police in Gretna, La., are waiting for a Florida accident expert to arrive and reconstruct the wreck, in which Dean Blanchard Seafood driver Derrick Williams' semi ran over the two girls' stroller as he turned a corner onto the West Bank Expressway.
Williams continued to drive even though, according to records, he was ticketed four times for speeding after his license was suspended. This was the sixth time the trucker's license had been suspended, and all the suspensions had been for speeding, according to records.
Robert Myers, attorney for the family of the girls who were killed, said his own experts have looked into the accident and decided that the rear wheels of the semi must have gone up onto the curb.
Witnesses disagreed on whether the stroller had been hit on the curb or in the street, according to Arthur Lawson, Gretna Deputy Police Chief. New Orleans Times-Picayune (05/03/00) P. B1; Sine, Richard
Leaders Outline $17.1 Billion Transportation Plan
New York state leaders Wednesday unveiled a new five-year transportation plan that includes the upgrade of the remainder of Route 17, the Southern Tier Expressway, to interstate-highway standards.The portion of Route 17 west of Corning recently met the qualifications to be christened Interstate 86; the $17.1 billion road and bridge construction plan would bring the 160-mile stretch between Corning and Harriman up to those standards as well.
The state will put roughly $425 million into the Southern Tier Expressway upgrade, which should take no longer than roughly seven years, with $125 million in federal and other funding as well.
Other projects in the transportation plan include improvements to a portion of the Cross Westchester Expressway, rebuilding I-684 in Putnam and Westchester counties, and reconstructing Nassau County's Roslyn Viaduct. Associated Press (05/03/00); Stashenko, Joel
Shipping Yard Site Opposed
The San Bernardino County (Calif.) Planning Commission is to decide Thursday whether to allow Roadway Express to build a new regional freight terminal which, after its completion in 2015, would replace three of the carrier's current San Bernardino County facilities.Officials for the Colton Joint Unified School District are opposing the plans, mostly out of concern for the safety of area students; the 50-acre site is across the street from a middle school and close to three other schools. The school district, as well as some area residents and two nearby cities, is also worried about the traffic it will bring – according to an impact analysis, the terminal will add 1,668 truck round trips and 1,153 passenger-vehicle round trips daily.
Other concerns that have been raised include noise, pollution, and the possibility that other businesses could locate near the terminal, which could cause other problems. Riverside Press-Enterprise (05/03/00) P. B3; Perez, Jennifer
Philly Police Arrest Truck Driver for Stealing Beer
Philadelphia police have arrested trucker Dorie D. Daniels and accused him with stealing $45,000 worth of Bud Lite beer from his truck and selling it in the city. The trucker had told police hijackers had taken his truck Sunday and abducted him with it.The truck was found, still containing about 200 cases of beer, with 1,200 more cases found in two locations in the city; police did not give the names of those they say assisted the theft. Associated Press (05/03/00)
Finding Graphics Design and Manufacturing
Computers and digital imaging have transformed truck and trailer decoration from an expensive and time-consuming operation into a faster and less expensive business.Instead of paint, designs are now produced on computers and printed on a high-speed printing press that produces durable vinyl decals, which take mere hours to put in place. Several companies that work on fleet design are Truxign, Signature Graphics, Modagrafics, and Metromedia Technologies.
Truxign (www.truxign.com) makes decals on Scotch Print film, vinyl, or reflective material within five days, and they may be applied by 3M installers or with a do-it-yourself kit.
Signature Graphics (www.signaturegraph.com) will provide decal storage and distribution, so third-party fulfillment houses are not needed.
Modagrafics (www.modagrafics.com) serves customers by researching and designing customized graphics and warehouses printed material in an environmentally controlled facility.
Outdoor-advertising producer Metromedia Technologies (www.mmtglobal.com) makes ordinary adhesive decals as well as a product called Flex-Fleet - seamless, single-sheet graphics suitable for years of installation or for alternating among many trailers. Refrigerated Transporter (04/00) Vol. 37, No. 11; P. 43; Macklin, Gary
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