Technology Briefs - Feb. 3 - Feb. 9
The Latest Headlines:
- Minorplanet Files for Bankruptcy Protection
- Washington Removes Laser-Alert System From I-5
- Study: Drivers Ignore N.Y. Ban on Handheld Cell Phones
- Washington Removes Laser-Alert System From I-5
Minorplanet Files for Bankruptcy Protection
Minorplanet Systems USA Inc., a maker of tracking devices for fleet vehicles, filed for bankruptcy protection Monday and named Dennis Casey new chief executive officer.he company listed assets of $49.2 million and debts of $31.5 million in Chapter 11 papers filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas, Bloomberg reported. It said in a statement it filed for protection to restructure $14.3 million in note debt.
Casey said no staff reductions were planned. For its fiscal first quarter ended Nov. 30, the company's net loss was $3.3 million or 34 cents per share on revenue of $6.8 million. Transport Topics
Washington Removes Laser-Alert System From I-5
A laser-activated highway warning system designed to detour tall trucks around an Interstate 5 bridge-construction project was scrapped because too many drivers ignored the warnings, the Seattle Times reported Tuesday.The Washington state Department of Transportation said about 40% of overheight trucks failed to follow detour signs on southbound I-5 south of Everett, the article said. I-5 is the main north-south route on the West Coast.
The system was introduced in January. Trucks over 14 feet, 2 inches tripped an infrared beam aimed across the freeway, which in turn activated electronic exit signs and an audible alarm.
DOT now plans to build the scaffolding two feet higher above the freeway than originally planned and to lower it onto support piers with jacks when the bridge deck is finished, the article said. Transport Topics
Study: Drivers Ignore N.Y. Ban on Handheld Cell Phones
A new study found that although New York drivers hung up their cell phones when the state banned them three years ago, they are back to using them at nearly the same rate they were before the ban, the Associated Press reported.In 2001, New York became the first state to prohibit drivers from talking on handheld devices while operating a motor vehicle.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said the rate of New York drivers chatting on cell phones declined to 1.1% from from 2.3% in the first few months after the law was passed. However, by March 2003, a year after the law took full effect, the rate had risen to 2.1%.
Assemblyman Felix Ortiz said the state should do more to promote the law, such as putting signs on all highways telling people not to drive while using a handheld cell phone. Transport Topics
