Security & Safety Briefs — May 25 - May 31
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The Latest Headlines:
- Conn. Governor to Sign Truck-Safety Bill
- Texas OK’s 80-mph Speed Limit; Trucks' Limits Still 65 mph
- Senate Confirms New Border Protection Chief
- Minnesota’s Roads Getting Bumpier, Officials Say
- Forecaster Sees Active Hurricane Season
- Reminder: CVSA’s Roadcheck Program Begins Tuesday
- Texas OK’s 80-mph Speed Limit; Trucks' Limits Still 65 mph
Conn. Governor to Sign Truck-Safety Bill
Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R) plans to sign a truck safety bill that will require written certification of drivers’ skills, capability and fitness.Rell will sign the bill within the next few weeks, which requires truck companies to sign a document vouching for their drivers’ ability to operate assigned equipment, spokesman Judd Everhart told Transport Topics.
The truck driver, who died in the crash, was working for a new employer after having been fired from another job for mishandling trucks. Staff and Wire Reports
Texas OK’s 80-mph Speed Limit; Trucks' Limits Still 65 mph
The Texas Transportation Commission Thursday approved raising the speed limit to 80 mph on Interstates 10 and 20 in west Texas, though heavy trucks’ speed limits would remain at 65 mph.The speed limit change would apply to a 432-mile stretch of I-10 and an 88-mile stretch of I-20.
The speed limit change was made possible by legislation passed last year making 10 counties in west Texas eligible for higher speeds, starting in Kerr County and stretching to the El Paso county line.
The group Public Citizen, which has challenged federal commercial driver hours-of-service regulations, issued a statement against the rule. Transport Topics
Senate Confirms New Border Protection Chief
The Senate on Friday confirmed former Secret Service director Ralph Basham to be commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff called Basham “an incredibly experienced law enforcement professional who is uniquely qualified to lead the 41,000 employees of this vital agency.”
Basham served with the Secret Service for 29 years, DHS said in a statement. Transport Topics
Minnesota’s Roads Getting Bumpier, Officials Say
The Minnesota Department of Transportation said state roads have become bumpier as money is used to get rid of bottlenecks and make safety improvements instead of keeping the pavement smooth.MnDOT said only 67% of the state’s highway miles provided a smooth ride last year, down from 81% in 2000 when the state spent more than $1.2 billion on bottlenecks and safety improvements.
“The expectation that came along with that money is that it would deliver some expansion projects,” said Bob Winter, director of district services for MnDOT. “The public likes to see new projects and maybe we should have, in retrospect, spent more money on pavement to keep up.”
MnDOT officials said they do not consider the bumpy roads to be a safety concern, but for three straight years the department has missed its target of having a smooth surface for 70% or more of its highways. Transport Topics
Forecaster Sees Active Hurricane Season
The Atlantic hurricane season that starts Thursday will be active, but not as destructive as last year’s record-setting season, one of the nation’s top hurricane forecasters said Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.The latest forecast from William Gray’s forecasting team at Colorado State University calls for 17 named storms for the 2006 season. Nine are expected to become hurricanes, and five of those are expected to have winds of 111 mph or greater, the forecasters said.
Last year’s hurricane season was the most destructive in recorded history, with 28 named storms, 15 hurricanes and seven intense hurricanes, including Katrina, which devastated Louisiana and Mississippi and killed more than 1,300 people.
The forecast says there an 82% chance that at least one major hurricane will make U.S. landfall this year. There is a 69% chance a major hurricane will strike the East Coast, including Florida, and a 38% chance one will strike the Gulf Coast, according to the forecast, AP reported. Transport Topics
Reminder: CVSA’s Roadcheck Program Begins Tuesday
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s annual Roadcheck program, which targets commercial vehicles’ safety with stepped-up spot inspections, begins Tuesday, June 6.The three-day Roadcheck 2006 program will focus on enforcement and education of safety belt use among commercial drivers, the group said. (Click here for previous coverage.)
CVSA represents safety enforcement officials, including police inspectors, in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Transport Topics
