Security & Safety Briefs — June 1 - June 7
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The Latest Headlines:
- Three-Day ‘Roadcheck’ Runs Through Thursday
- Canadian Terrorist Suspects Planned Truck Bomb
- Schneider Cleared in Firing of Fainting Driver
- Iteris’ Fourth-Quarter Earnings Improve
- Celadon's Drivers All Trained in Highway Watch Program
- DHS Inspector General to Audit Customs’ Agency
- Canadian Terrorist Suspects Planned Truck Bomb
Three-Day ‘Roadcheck’ Runs Through Thursday
The three-day Roadcheck 2006, which will take place all over North America and involve about 10,000 enforcement and safety officers checking trucks for safety compliance, started Tuesday and will run through Thursday.The 72-hour, round-the-clock annual program is coordinated by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, which represents law enforcement and safety officials in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
As has been the case the past few years, Roadcheck 2006 will include special focus on enforcement and education of safety belt use among commercial drivers, CVSA said. Transport Topics
Canadian Terrorist Suspects Planned Truck Bomb
Suspected Canadian terrorists arrested in a foiled plot planned to use a truck bomb to attack the country’s political leadership, Canada's National Post newspaper reported Wednesday.They had been plotting to use a truck bomb to destroy a “significant building,” using fertilizer and diesel fuel, similar to what was used in the 1994 Oklahoma City terrorist bombing in the United States, the National Post reported.
Seventeen people, including several juveniles, were arrested Friday and charged with plotting terrorist attacks in Ontario, news reports said.
The suspects faced charges in court Tuesday that they had planned to storm a communications center and kill or take hostage the country’s political leaders, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Associated Press reported. Transport Topics
Schneider Cleared in Firing of Fainting Driver
Truckload company Schneider National did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act when it fired a truck driver who had fainted in a non-driving incident, a federal judge ruled last week, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper reported.ederal District Judge William Griesbach dismissed the case brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, saying Schneider could adopt safety standards that disqualify people for medical reasons, the newspaper reported Saturday.
t issue was the firing of a Schneider veteran driver who had safely driven more than 1 million miles in company trucks. After fainting while off duty in October 2002, he was diagnosed with neurocardiogenic syncope, a condition that causes fainting, the paper said.
“The EEOC claims that Schneider’s excessive, even irrational, concern for safety led it to ignore its obligations under the ADA,” the judge wrote. “Employers, such as Schneider, however, are allowed to adopt safety standards even when those standards disqualify people for medical reasons.”
Schneider is ranked No. 9 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of for-hire U.S. and Canadian carriers. Transport Topics
Iteris’ Fourth-Quarter Earnings Improve
Iteris Inc. said it earned $825,000 or 3 cents a share during its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, even though the lane departure warning systems manufacturer said sales in its truck unit fell for the quarterThe latest results represented a significant improvement from the fourth quarter of 2005, when Iteris lost $57,000 or less than 1 cent per share.
Iteris said sales of LDW systems to the heavy-duty truck sector declined 10% during the quarter, though the Anaheim, Calif., company said sales of its LDW system to the North American heavy-duty truck market for the year were 35.6% higher than a year ago. Aftermarket sales of the LDW system soared 475% during the year.
The company released its latest LDW system on March 21. Iteris said 30 carriers with a combined 13,700 trucks are using the system. Iteris is testing the system with 52 fleets that have a combined 106,000 vehicles, the company said. Transport Topics
Celadon's Drivers All Trained in Highway Watch Program
Celadon Trucking Services said Thursday it has trained 100% of its drivers in the Highway Watch program.The truckload carrier said it became the second among the industry’s top 100 trucking companies to reach that milestone. The first was Overnite Corp., now part of UPS Inc., which said last October it had trained 100% of its drivers in the program.
Highway Watch is a safety and security program that utilizes the skills, experience, and “road smarts” of U.S. transportation workers to help prevent the use of trucks or hazardous cargoes by terrorists. It is administered by American Trucking Associations under an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security.
Celadon is ranked No. 55 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers. Transport Topics
DHS Inspector General to Audit Customs’ Agency
The Department of Homeland Security inspector general’s office plans to audit the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agency’s recruitment, hiring and training practices, the New York Times reported Sunday.The review of CBP — which is part of DHS and has increased to 11,000 agents from 4,000 in 1991 — could begin as soon as this month, the Times reported.
President Bush has proposed adding 6,000 more agents to oversee the Mexican border by 2008.
Several members of the border patrol have been charged with smuggling, while others have been convicted of assaulting border-crossers and other abuses, the Times reported. Transport Topics
