Security & Safety Briefs — June 7 - June 14
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The Latest Headlines:
- Texas Lane Restrictions Working Well, Officials Say
- Florida Driving School Officials Charged
- New Mexico Road-Widening Planned
- Tropical Storm Alberto Leaves Little Damage
- Florida Driving School Officials Charged
Texas Lane Restrictions Working Well, Officials Say
Lane restrictions on big rigs on two North Texas highways have worked well so far, officials said, the Dallas Morning News reported Sunday.Engineers have found that traffic speeds are 1 to 3 mph greater and that accidents have not increased since the restrictions took effect in November, the Morning News reported.
Passenger vehicles cause seven out of 10 highway crashes, and a many experts support separating automobiles and heavy-duty trucks because they usually travel at different speeds, the Morning News reported.
Transportation officials could set formal guidelines for truck lane restrictions next year and suggest additional locations, the paper said. Transport Topics
Florida Driving School Officials Charged
Two officials of an Orange County, Fla., trucking school were arrested after an investigation revealed that they potentially put thousands of commercial truck drivers on the road with little or no training, the Associated Press reported, citing the Florida Highway Patrol.The officials of C&L Solutions were charged Thursday with defrauding students who sought licenses required to drive trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles, AP reported.
The arrests came after an investigation by state officials who became suspicious when an auditor noticed that the school had not failed a student in the last 18 months of driving tests. Most driving schools statewide fail about 20% of their applicants, according to the FHP, AP said.
The FHP did not know where any of the more than 2,000 license-holders certified by the school were employed because they are not required to report such information, AP reported. Transport Topics
New Mexico Road-Widening Planned
A $45-million project to widen the two-lane U.S. 62-180 to four lanes between Carlsbad, N. Mex., and the Texas state line could begin as early as next year, the Associated Press reported.An official with the state’s Department of Transportation said the project could go out to bid in November, AP reported. The two-lane highway has no shoulders or passing lanes.
A traffic study found that on average, 2,300 vehicles a day use the highway, AP said.
Carlsbad residents and civic leaders told state officials that many heavy trucks travel the highway, which also is a route for oil exploration and natural gas crews and a link to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, AP reported. Transport Topics
Tropical Storm Alberto Leaves Little Damage
The first tropical storm of the season pelted northern Florida with rain and wind gusts Tuesday but did not turn into a hurricane and caused minimal damage and flooding to roads, news services reported.One barge crashed into a bridge between Tampa and St. Petersburg but no significant road damage was reported from Tropical Storm Alberto, news reports said.
The storm made landfall southeast of Tallahassee before moving inland; a flood and tornado watch was issued for southeastern South Carolina, where more than 5 inches of rain was possible, the Associated Press reported.
The storm’s top sustained winds were 50 mph, well below the 74 mph threshold for a hurricane, and its rain was helping to battle lingering wildfires in Florida, AP said. Transport Topics
