Category: Trucker News

The estate and parents of a sunbather who died after being run over by a city Parks truck in May have filed claims against the city and city employees totaling $750,000.The claims by the estate of the victim, Karen Remington, and her parents, Ron and Rose Remington, are a precursor to a lawsuit, and each represents the maximum $250,000 under state law that can be sought against a municipality or employees from an incident involving a motor vehicle.The claims, dated Aug. 28, name the city, Parks Director Kevin Briski, the driver and two others in the truck that struck Remington, and the direct supervisor of those in the truck.The city has 120 days to accept the claims, negotiate a settlement or deny them. If the city denies the claims, the Remington’s have six months to file a lawsuit, said attorney Erik Monson, who is representing the estate and family.

Monson declined comment on specifics due to possible litigation.City Attorney Michael May could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Madison police are still investigating the incident, spokesman Joel DeSpain said. The Parks Division is awaiting the police investigation to complete an internal review to see if safety protocols need revision, spokeswoman Laura Whitmore said.Karen Remington, 38, of Windsor, was run over by the truck around noon on May 23 while she was sunbathing at James Madison Park on the south shore of Lake Mendota.Remington spent nine days at UW Hospital and expressed fear to family she would die, be paralyzed or be unable to have children. She died on June 1 as the result of a complication of two surgeries made necessary by the accident.

Remington was lying face down sunbathing along with many others sunbathing or napping in the grass at the parkThe city truck was parked on the east side of the park, and around noon three employees who had been working there used it to drive to the other side of the park to eat lunch in a parking lot.Rather than walk or use Gorham Street, the road near the park, the employees drove the truck across the grass where people were sunbathing, napping, eating lunch or playing. No one got out of the truck or walked ahead to ensure the path was clear.The driver, Kelsey Johnson, never got training in the safe handling, control or operation of a large dump truck. Ashley Marshall was a passenger and William Simmons rode in the bed.

Looking for Loads to Haul?http://findfreightloads.com/

Michigan-based company driver Valerie Weise is the woman behind TruckerPetition.org, which among other things seeks to direct Congress to consider a “driver sovereignty” bill, giving truckers the same protections in their cabs that they would get in their place of residence.

Weise responded to news of FMCSA’s desire to conduct more effective public outreach with their regulatory review procedures with this top 10 list for the agency to consider. The Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee was tasked in August with providing guidance on regulatory review to FMCSA, which will be finalized at their meeting in December in Alexandria, Va.

“There needs to be a return to common sense and American rights in truck regulation,” says Weise. “DOT/FMCSA have too much power. They exist only to make up rules for us, [many of which] are frivolous and petty. The whole thing is more about generating revenue than real safety. We’re not respected as American citizens anymore, it’s like we’re unruly children who need to be minded. We shouldn’t need a bunch of laws to tell us to be safe. We should learn that going in.”

Weise’s top 10

CSA needs to go. There is already a points system on our CDLs. CSA serves only insurance companies and driver mills.

Hands-free law should be flexible: there are already laws against driving erratically. This is an educational issue, not a legal one. Hours of service need to be more flexible.
Keep most existing vehicle codes but do inspections at designated weigh stations, not on the roadside where it’s dangerous.

It is not necessary to drug test (demoralize) a driver if there is an accident that’s not the driver’s fault.Closed weigh stations should allow parking. More ramp parking in general would help with fatigued driving.

Dis-allow speed/engine governors. They are unsafe. Even in Ontario, Canada, where all trucks must be governed, a judge recently ruled that the practice is unsafe and violates the trucker’s right to personal safety.

Make a prerequisite to entering CDL school — a year’s paid driving driving experience such as pizza delivery, taxicab or newspaper route, where they must drive in all weather.

FMSCA should stand against many anti-idling laws — if the driver doesn’t sleep well he can be fatigued.

FMCSA should encourage states to review their split-speed-limit policies as interfering with interstate commerce when there is no clear safety reason for the split or lower speed limit. The lost time adds up over days, weeks, and years to a lot of lost productivity. But the states make a lot of ticket revenue with the current policies.

Looking for loads to Haul? http://findfreightloads.com/

Many leased owner-operators who’ve noticed the post-recession demand in trucking are no doubt looking to get their own operating authority so they can keep a bigger share of the revenue they generate.

That can be a great move for many truck owners. It’s also one fraught with miles of red tape. The required planning and financial management skills are considerably more than what it takes to run a leased operation, which is no cakewalk.

Now the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has added another wrinkle: new entrant regulations that took effect July 20. Frisco, Texas, regulatory consultant Leon Feazell reviewed those regs during a seminar at The Great American Trucking Show in Dallas in August.

The biggest challenge is the new entrant audit. If FMCSA finds any deficiency, the entrant has only 15 days to submit a plan of correction, not up to 60 days, as used to be allowed. “If they don’t respond in 15 days, they’re put out of business,” Feazell says.

Part 385 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations lists 16 items for the audit, such as having a drug program, hours compliance, etc. Failing one starts the 15-day clock, Feazell says. With that much at stake, he recommends deficient new entrants use registered mail and keep copies of all correspondence.

Once you’ve passed the new entrant audit, congratulations – but don’t let your guard down. While the Compliance, Safety, Accountability program has not increased fine amounts, it has drawn more attention to violations, and they can really add up.

Feazell noted one carrier charged with about six violations, typical things like a driver without a valid medical certificate and driving after 14 hours. The total hit: $23,830. A midsize fleet could swallow this, but this carrier had only four drivers. When FMCSA weighs the amount of fines relative to the scale of your operation, he said, “They’re not interested in whether you’re making money or not.”

The best way to avoid an audit is to avoid accidents and complaints and keep your CSA record as unblemished as possible, Feazell says. That can be an unending hassle, but it’s less painful than the alternative.

Looking for loads to Haul? http://findfreightloads.com/

If you’re a leased owner-operator and manage your own base plates, your registrant-only DOT number will expire in mid-October as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration attempts to plug yet another data-quality hole in the inspection and crash information well that the Compliance, Safety, Accountability safety ranking system is based upon. Senior agency officials Thursday presented plans for eliminating so-called “Registrant-only” DOT numbers from state-federal collaborative efforts in registration procedures for truck equipment.

The practice for valid registrant-only companies – rental and leasing companies as well as leased owner-operators – to be issued such a number during the vehicle registration process was eliminated on September 1, and the registrant-only option on MCS-150 filing forms was removed September 15. Remaining active registrant-only DOT numbers are scheduled to be automatically removed on October 13.

The existence of these numbers had contributed to poor data quality in the Motor Carrier Management and Information System database, where inspectors somewhat regularly erroneously filed violations under carriers’ or equipment-providers’ registrant-only numbers rather than the correct operating authority. This allowed those violations to be left out of the CSA metric and the associated motor carrier to “evade enforcement,” FMCSA said, by flying under the agency’s radar.

Looking for loads to Haul? http://findfreightloads.com/

The Port Huron City Council heard an update from the Economic Development Alliance of St. Clair County on Sept. 10.

Dan Casey, executive director of the alliance, gave a presentation to the council on the group’s progress in 2012. While Casey had some positive news to deliver, one project that the EDA has had a hand in drew criticism from area residents and a council member.

During the presentation, Casey referred to the development of a company called Stafford Trucking and their selection of a piece of property located in a residential neighborhood in Port Huron Township. According to Casey, the business would operate semi trucks used to haul garbage and the trucks would be cleaned and stored at the location.

Councilmember Alan Lewandowski was adamant in his displeasure with the council as he asked Casey a series of questions about the business development.

Did you ever once try to talk them out of putting 175 garbage trucks in a residential neighborhood?” Lewandowski said.

Lewandowski pressed Casey on other aspects of the project, including whose trash would be hauled inside these trucks. Casey told the council that a majority of the trash would be Canadian.

City resident Sharon Bender also spoke out against the project during the public audience segment of the meeting, stating she felt the public should have been notified about such a company moving into a residential neighborhood.

“I am very concerned about the environmental impact of the cleaning process of the trucks and this issue should have been made public so people could comment on it,” Bender said. “Out of courtesy, the township should have notified the city and the people that it affects. I am appalled at this situation.”

Casey also discussed other aspects of the EDA’s focus, like business retention and attraction. According to Casey, the EDA currently has 15 active prospects in attracting business and if all 15 of those prospects became commitments, it would lead to the potential creation of approximately 1,252 jobs and over $736 million in potential investment to the city. Dealing with business retention, the EDA has met with 79 St. Clair County businesses this year, with 24 of those businesses located within the city of Port Huron. Casey said the group’s goal is to meet with 120 businesses by the end of December. The EDA has also assisted 49 small-business clients this year with the creation of one entrepreneurial job.

Looking for loads to Haul? http://findfreightloads.com/

– The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Transportation and Logistics Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This special feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs, Equity Analysts and Money Managers.

Topics covered: FMCSA CSA Regulations – Regulatory Issues in the Trucking Industry – Trucking Pricing & Capacity Dynamics – Retail and Industrial Transportation Demand – Truckload, LTL, Parcel, Rail and Intermodal – Capacity Constraints Result in Pricing Power

Companies include: Werner Enterprises (WERN) and many others.

In the following excerpt from the Transportation and Logistics Report.

Looking for loads to Haul? http://findfreightloads.com/

Tough economic times are forcing many people to consider new job opportunities.And for some that means leaving the walls of an office or factory behind and hitting the open road.On Thursday night the John Wood truck driver training program held an informational meeting to explain the requirements of getting into the school’s program.Tom Patton of Quincy retired early and has been working part time, but is considering getting back into full time employment.

He says there are several reasons, besides the travel, why truck driving is an attractive option to him.Patton says, ” I’ve always worked with my hands in one form of mechanics or another. And it just seems something different and something I can get my arms around and hopefully I’ll like this.”Teacher Phil Steinkamp says that truck driving is such a great field to get into because there are always opportunities available,, whether you are looking at long hauling trips or shorter ones.

But what many people don’t realize is that a CDL license is needed for a lot of other driving jobs as well.Steinkamp says, ” You need a CDL to deliver for a lumberyard or to make deliveries or to drive a garbage truck. These very people come through the classes also. And these people are home every night and make a very good wage.”Students in the program get access to the latest technology with access to an up to date computer lab, industry standard equipment and professional training from teachers who have been out on the road themselves.

Looking for Loads to Haul? http://findfreightloads.com/

The Alliance for Driver Safety & Security, a coalition of transportation companies that promoted recent federal legislation to require electronic on-board recording devices (EOBRs) in all commercial trucks, says it will expand its scope of work during the next two-year congressional cycle to include other federal issues to improve the safety of commercial truck drivers and the motoring public.These issues will include supporting industry-wide implementation of an EOBR requirement in all commercial trucks, promoting alternate methods for verifying mandated drug and alcohol testing procedures, creating the congressionally mandated drug and alcohol clearinghouse, supporting mandatory speed limiters on trucks, increasing the minimum financial requirements for starting a trucking company and consideration of alternative compliance measurements for determining a trucking companies safety fitness rating.

The Alliance was created in 2010 by five U.S. freight transportation companies — J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc.; Schneider National Corp.; U.S. Xpress, Inc.; Knight Transportation and Maverick USA — with the primary purpose of supporting federal legislation to require EOBRs in all commercial trucks to prevent truck drivers from exceeding the maximum amount of hours allotted behind the wheel. These companies were later joined in the effort by Fikes Truck Line, Boyle Transportation and Dupré Transportation.The Alliance also has named Callie Hoyt its manager of governmental affairs.Hoyt was previously safety and policy coordinator for the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA), where she was responsible for reviewing federal regulatory rulemakings and served as a liaison to the organization’s senior staff and policy committees.

The trucking coalition was the first national industry group to announce support for an EOBR requirement on all trucks. And MAP-21, the federal transportation legislation Congress passed earlier this year, includes a provision requiring the recording devices subject to a one-year rulemaking by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
The Trucking Alliance will continue its affiliation with the Arkansas Trucking Association (ATA) to provide various senior level strategic plans and administrative support services.
“The alliance’s issues are consistent with ours,” said Lane Kidd, ATA president, “and we’ve structured an effective business model for these companies to express their views on Capitol Hill.”

Looking for Loads to Haul? http://findfreightloads.com

Five people have died in two crashes in western Nebraska after mechanical problems forced a truck to stop on Interstate 80.

Cheyenne County Attorney Paul Schaub says the first crash occurred early Sunday morning, when a tractor-trailer rig ran into the stalled truck. The driver who hit the stalled truck died.Traffic backed up on the interstate and the slowdown contributed to another fatal crash.

Schaub says another truck ran into and killed the driver of a 2010 Ford Mustang. The force of that collision pushed a Toyota Corolla underneath another truck, killing the driver of that car and two child passengers.
Schaub said Monday that Josef Slezak, the truck driver in the second crash, faces manslaughter charges. Slezak is from River Grove, Ill.

Looking for Loads to Haul?http://findfreightloads.com/

The driver of a tractor-trailer who was involved in an accident with a car driven by Kerry Kennedy two months ago pleaded not guilty on Friday to leaving the scene of an accident and vowed to fight the charge.“When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose,” the driver, Rocco Scuiletti said, invoking the Bob Dylan song “Like a Rolling Stone” in an interview after a brief traffic court hearing here.Mr. Scuiletti, 47, of Poughkeepsie, was unwittingly thrust into a national spotlight on July 13, when just after 8 a.m., Ms. Kennedy swerved her Lexus into his truck on Interstate 684 in Westchester County. Ms. Kennedy, the former wife of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and a daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, then exited the highway with a flat tire and rolled to a stop on Route 22. Witnesses reported that she was driving erratically and said that she had been slumped over the wheel, the police said.

Blood tests administered nearly five hours after the accident showed that Ms. Kennedy had a low level of zolpidem, the generic name for Ambien, in her system. She has said that she may have inadvertently taken the potent sleep aid instead of her thyroid medication on the morning of the accident. She was arrested and charged with a single misdemeanor charge of driving with ability impaired by drug.After a July 17 court hearing in which she pleaded not guilty, Ms. Kennedy, 52, apologized to Mr. Scuiletti.“I want to apologize to the driver of the truck who I apparently hit and to all those I endangered while driving my car,” she said.

Mr. Scuiletti said Friday that he had no idea that the driver who had sideswiped his truck was a member of the Kennedy family. He said he was surprised when he saw news reports the next day.He was even more surprised to be charged with leaving an accident scene.“As soon as I had a safe opportunity to pull over, I did; I inspected my tractor,” Mr. Scuiletti said Friday. “There was no damage — not even paint exchange — and the person who bounced off of me was long gone. I just continued on my way. I didn’t know what to report.”Mr. Scuiletti said the trucking company he was driving for fired him after the accident. He declined to give the name of the company, which is based in Massachusetts.

Looking for Loads to Haul?http://findfreightloads.com/