P.M. Executive Briefing - Dec. 22
This Afternoon's Headlines:
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Driver Gets Vision Exemption After Delays, Court Battle
The Office of Motor Carrier Safety will grant a vision exemption to Tennessee driver James F. Durham, whose vision in one eye is very poor due to an injury in 1992.That year, a study at the Federal Highway Administration involved exempting over 2,000 monocular truckers; although this program was stopped due to a suit from the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the exemptions remain in force subject to certain criteria. But Durham was not one of the truckers in the study.
FHWA decided that the appeals court's decision only applied to the 8th Circuit, which is not where Durham lives. The fact that Durham lost his job for a year and a half starting in 1996 also seemed to count against him, since the OMCS required the driver have three recent years behind the wheel with the vision impairment. But OMCS eventually decided to grant the exemption because of Durham's 1992-1996 experience and his speed at getting back behind the wheel of a truck.
Durham's lawyer, Gerald Von Korff, is now helping a monocular trucker with one limb try to get an exemption. Heavy Duty Trucking Online (12/22/99) ; Smith, Pat
Truckers Take Reckless Driver Off the Road
An apparently intoxicated woman whose car was veering along Interstate 30 in Clark County, Ark., was removed from the highway by four truck drivers, who boxed her in before slowing down, taking her off the road at the Gurdon exit. State Police Cpl. Mark Batson said the truck drivers likely saved the life of the driver, who "definitely had a wreck in her future."He said he has seen such actions by truckers before, adding that most likely many troopers on I-30 have as well, although truckers usually do not do it unless the driver seems very intoxicated. It is usually independent drivers who do so, since sometimes companies forbid it, he said.
J.B. Hunt public safety director Greer Woodruff expressed concern with truckers trapping cars, since the behavior of impaired drivers is not always predictable, and said drivers should stay away while letting authorities know about the problem.
Arkansas Trucking Association President Lane Kidd applauded the four truckers and noted the American Trucking Associations' Highway watch program, designed to get truckers to report unsafe drivers to police. Colorado saw highway police's time to respond to calls cut in half after it became the first state to join Highway Watch, said spokesman Mike Russell of the national trucking group. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Online (12/22/99) ; Bowers, Rodney
Cops Nab 9 Truckers in Drug Sting Near Food Center
Philadelphia police cracked down on the vicinity of the Food Distribution Center on the city's south side, where certain truck drivers have gone in the past to find drugs and prostitutes, with a sting operation that netted nine truckers.While the trailers and their contents go back to their owners, the tractors could be forfeited. Police Capt. David Testa said a big-rig driver under the influence of drugs would be a public safety disaster.
Police also picked up six people for allegedly selling drugs and two alleged prostitutes in the sting, in which dealers were arrested first, after which undercover officers peddling fake drugs caught the truckers. Some of the dealers used the CB to advertise their goods. Police have to go after the drug addicts among truck drivers, but the action should not be considered a put-down of all truckers, said Testa. Philadelphia Daily News Online (12/22/99) ; Flander, Scott
AAA Study Indentifies Fatigue Crash Factors
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center have put out a study associating certain lifestyle factors with fatigue-related accidents. According to AAA, this research differed from others on the same topic because real-life accidents were used.A group of 1,400 drivers were divided into four categories: those who fell asleep, those who experienced fatigue, those whose accidents were not sleep-related, and, as a control, those who had gone three years without a crash. This was determined from driving records and police reports.
Using driver questionnaires, researchers discovered that drivers who got less than six hours' sleep each night, spent at least 20 hours awake, worked nights or at multiple jobs, or drove often between midnight and 6 a.m. were more at risk. Only about 50% of drivers whose accidents were fatigue related said they felt any fatigue prior to the accident. TruckingInfo.com (12/22/99)
Free Christmas Calls for Truckers
Truckers who are members of PNV will be able to make all their local and long-distance calls within the United States and Canada for free on Christmas Day by plugging into truck-stop Park 'N View connections. This holiday service is being offered by PNV and PACCAR. Overdrive Online (12/22/99)Georgia to Change Exit Numbering
Next month, Georgia will unveil the signs along Interstate 75 in the state using the new exit numbering system. The exits will now go by the mile instead of being numbered consecutively. The signs themselves have also been improved, and they will be posted along Georgia's other interstate highways between January and June. TruckingInfo.com (12/22/99)Driver Honored for Heroism
Trucker Mickey Munn, of Marysville, Calif., has been chosen for this year's California Goodyear Highway Hero Award. Munn helped a woman experiencing breathing problems at a rest stop in Texas by calling 911 then giving her CPR while a rescue unit was on its way.Munn, who drives for Vancouver, Wash.-based Portland Freight Service, is among 24 winners from different states and provinces, said Rob Whitehouse, spokesman for Goodyear Tire and Rubber. Four of the winners will be finalists for the 1999 North American Highway Hero competition in March. Sacramento Bee (12/21/99) P. B2; Wiley, Walt
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