Security & Safety Briefs — July 27 - Aug. 2
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The Latest Headlines:
- Truckers Warned on N.J. Left-Lane Enforcement
- FAST Rules Start Aug. 10 for Canadian, Mexican Drivers
- Port of Virginia Sets Container-Security System
- DHS Launches Electronic Manifest Test
- Conn. Dump-Truck Owner Charged in Crash
- FAST Rules Start Aug. 10 for Canadian, Mexican Drivers
Truckers Warned on N.J. Left-Lane Enforcement
New Jersey law enforcement will be aggressively enforcing the law on Route 17 to keep trucks out of the left lane, the New Jersey Motor Truck Association advised Monday.Enforcement on a three–lane stretch of Route 17 in Paramus, N.J., is the result of complaints that an excessive amount of trucks have been utilizing the left lane in violation of the law, NJMTA said.
Signs will be posted along the highway to remind truck drivers approaching the designated area that they are to stay out of the left lane, the group said. Transport Topics
FAST Rules Start Aug. 10 for Canadian, Mexican Drivers
Starting Aug. 10, drivers from Canada and Mexico transporting placarded amounts of hazardous materials in the United States will be required to undergo the Free and Secure Trade screening process and obtain a FAST card, American Trucking Associations said.The cards are to comply with the screening requirements established by the Transportation Security Administration as required by the Patriot Act, TSA said late last month.
The transportation reauthorization law passed last year required TSA to establish a system to screen Canadian and Mexican drivers hauling hazmat in the United States.
ATA said it supports the plan for Canadian and Mexican drivers to be in compliance with the screening requirement. FAST cards cost $50, versus $94 TSA charges for screening a driver to get a hazmat endorsement. Transport Topics
Port of Virginia Sets Container-Security System
The Virginia Port Authority has joined with General Electric to install fixed readers at Norfolk International Terminals and Portsmouth Marine Terminal.The readers will communicate with container-security devices mounted on ocean-going cargo containers as they pass through the terminal, according to American Trucking Associations.
Implementation of the system will make VPA-owned terminals the first U.S. commercial cargo facilities in a worldwide “Secure Cargo Corridors” network, being built by CommerceGuard, a joint venture of Siemens, GE and Mitsubishi.
This network will comprise the infrastructure to provide alerts regarding the unauthorized openings of containers and store and communicate information about which ports containers have traveled through, said ATA’s Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference. Transport Topics
DHS Launches Electronic Manifest Test
The Department of Homeland Security said it had begun expanded testing of the electronic truck-manifest system as part of its Automated Commercial Environment for cross-border trucks.The program is part of the department’s effort to speed border crossings by requiring carriers to submit electronic manifests to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials prior to a truck’s arrival at the border.
According to Customs, ACE is currently in place at 44 ports along the northern and southern borders.
The test, announced July 25, will examine automating the process of submitting truck manifest data at several ports of entry in New York state, including the Peace Bridge and the Lewiston Bridge, near Buffalo. Transport Topics
Conn. Dump-Truck Owner Charged in Crash
The owner of a dump truck that slammed into a group of cars in Avon, Conn., last year, killing four people and injuring 19 others, was arrested on manslaughter charges and other counts, the Associated Press reported.David Wilcox, 71, faces four counts of manslaughter and was charged with assault, tampering with evidence, fabricating evidence, interfering with police, and 23 motor vehicle violations, AP said.
The latter include defective brake parts on the truck, which went out of control as it was coming down Avon Mountain on July 29, 2005. The driver of the truck died in the fiery crash.
Wilcox’s attorney, Hubert Santos, did not return a call seeking comment. Wilcox’s 25-year-old son, Shaun, was also arrested and charged with evidence tampering, AP reported. Transport Topics
