Security & Safety Briefs — March 30 - April 5

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The Latest Headlines:

• Heavy Trucks Warned About I-10 Bridge Speeding
• DHS Wants Private Firms’ Cooperation on Containers
• Prime Inc. to Make Lane-Warning System Standard

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Heavy Trucks Warned About I-10 Bridge Speeding

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development warned that tractor-trailers could be banned from the westbound Interstate 10 bridge between New Orleans and Slidell, La., if truckers do not obey speed limits, the Associated Press reported.

The agency said the speed limit on that span will be changed to 45 mph for all drivers, rather than 40 mph for trucks and 50 mph for cars, the AP reported.

peeders — especially heavier trucks — are damaging the temporary panels used to repair the westbound bridge after Hurricane Katrina tore both spans apart last year, department officials said.

State troopers have stepped up traffic enforcement, but if that does not work, big rigs will be kept off the bridge, AP said. Transport Topics

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DHS Wants Private Firms’ Cooperation on Containers

Private companies can speed up delivery time of containers bound for U.S. ports if they invest in screening measures designed to prevent terrorism, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said last week in Singapore, the Associated Press reported.

Chertoff said the U.S. government needs the cooperation of private companies in compiling information on containers, such as the shipper, consignee and method of payment, in order to determine if goods are high-risk items, AP reported.

“The name of the game here is to essentially profile the containers,” he said.

In a visit to Japan, Chertoff said that government should implement a system to screen U.S.-bound shipping containers for radiation to guard against so-called “dirty bombs” and other potential terrorist means of attack, AP reported. Transport Topics

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Prime Inc. to Make Lane-Warning System Standard

Prime Inc., the nation’s largest refrigerated motor carrier, has made Iteris Inc.’s lane-departure warning systems standard on its 2,600 leased and company-owned trucks, Iteris said Thursday.

Prime has already installed more than 100 Iteris LDW systems and expects to have its company-owned trucks fully outfitted this year, Iteris said in a statement.

The systems will be made available to drivers of leased trucks at no additional cost and will be installed at Prime Inc.’s headquarters in Springfield, Mo.

Prime Inc. is ranked No. 38 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire motor carriers. Transport Topics

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