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Anti-ELD protests to begin Dec. 4
HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA – A Mount Crawford based trucking company that formerly hauled United States mail and it holding company, as well as four of its most senior officers, the President, Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, were all sentenced this week in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Harrisonburg for conspiring to commit federal crimes, United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle announced.They were also sentenced to pay approximately $1,000,000 in restitution to drivers who were defrauded of their pay.
Beam Holding previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in that the company knowingly and willfully defrauded its driver employees of almost $1,000,000 dollars of their pay. In specific, Beam Holding caused their driver-employees to falsify their time sheets so that they would report fewer hours worked than they actually worked in direct violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act. Beam Trucking previously pled guilty to conspiracy to falsify safety records and pay records in that the company falsely reported the hours their truck driver employees worked and were on duty with intent to obstruct the government’s investigation.
In specific, Beam Trucking conspired to falsify drivers’ records of duty status and their time sheets. Beam Trucking and Beam Holding President, Gerald Wayne Beam and Vice President, Garland Crawford Beam were each sentenced to serve six months of home confinement followed by three years of supervised release. Beam Trucking Chief Operations Officer, Shaun Crawford Beam and Chief Financial Officer, Nickolas Gene Kozel were each sentenced to serve three months of home confinement followed by three years of supervised release. The FMCSA highway safety regulations are designed to protect the driving public and truck drivers from injury or death caused by truck crashes resulting from driver fatigue.
According to evidence presented during the sentencing hearings by Assistant United States Attorneys Stephen J. Pfleger and Christopher Kavanaugh, between 1999 and 2017 the leaders of the conspiracy, Gerald Wayne Beam, Garland Crawford Beam and Shaun Crawford Beam created routes and then instructed Beam Trucking drivers to drive routes that were grossly illegal. Beam Trucking drivers were instructed to drive routes that were so long that they barely got any sleep between trips for weeks at a time over a course of years. Drivers became so fatigued that they could hardly stay awake. Drivers were so fatigued that they barely avoided crashes when they momentarily fell asleep while driving trucks on public highways. One driver was so fatigued that he took drugs every few hours to stay awake. After three months of taking drugs, the driver found during one of his trips that he could no longer physically drive a truck and had to call for a medical rescue.
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Source:http://www.nbc29.com/
Clearing agents and freight forwarders have accused the foreign shipping companies of exploiting and extorting Nigerian importers through the introduction of arbitrary charges on a yearly basis. This is even as the agents expressed fear of a new shipping levy come 2018. Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune exclusively, a customs agent Izuchukwu Obasi, explained that some importers have joined the bandwagon and moved their cargoes to neighboring countries due to unnecessary shipping charges shipping lines slam on Nigerian bound cargoes. “According to Obasi,”In 2016, the shipping lines first came with a new charges called government and port taxes.
They were imposing the charges on importers, and many had no choice other than to pay, even though some of our clients complained to us. “The year is coming to a close now and the shipping lines are still collecting the PAD charges plus the 2016 government and port taxes, alongside other normal charges importers pay before 2016. Many importers are already looking at a new levy in 2018 because it is fast becoming a yearly ritual. New year comes with new shipping charges for Nigerian importers. The situation is that bad.”.
Also speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, the Spokesman of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Kayode Farinto confirmed that the PAD charges are still being collected. In his words, “Importers are still paying the levy and nobody seems to be talking about it again. We just hope the government does something about this.”
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Source: http://www.tribuneonlineng.com/
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Blockchain Group Expands
The group formerly known as the Blockchain in Trucking Alliance has expanded its mission and been renamed the Blockchain in Transport Alliance, reflecting its widened focus on all forms of transportation.
BiTA is dedicated to setting standards for blockchain applications developed for transportation. The alliance was formed by tech and transportation executives to create a forum for promotion and education, and to encourage development and adaptation of blockchain applications within the transportation and logistics industries. While initially focused on bringing blockchain technologies to trucking, the group includes several members that have business interests in several transportation modes, including air, maritime, intermodal, pipeline, and rail.
“These organizations wanted an organization to further their interests in blockchain standards, working on the same framework, regardless of mode.” BiTA has also opened offices in London and Singapore because of their importance in global transportation and commerce. Blockchain is a digital database using blocks of secure data that can be used to keep records of information or assets. “Expanding our focus and footprint is a reflection of a broader mission, but blockchain standards in trucking and road freight are still enormously important,” said Burruss.
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Source: https://globenewswire.com/
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Obama-era trucking regulation
AUSTIN – Come mid-December, commercial truckers will be required to use a software system to log driving time, but despite claims that it will save lives, a Texas congressman wants to delay implementation. U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Woodville, argues that implementing the Electronic Logging Device mandate will cost truckers $2 billion annually and that claims of increased safety are dubious. “Millions of hard-working American truckers, farmers and small businesses need you to take immediate and decisive action to protect them from a massive new regulation,” Babin wrote. “I request that you issue an executive order as soon as possible, instructing the Secretary of Transportation to provide an immediate waiver for all trucking sectors and operations subject to this mandate …”. At least one national organization – the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association – says small-business truckers shouldn’t be subject to buying the devices and wants a five-year exemption, but the man at the wheel of the Texas Trucking Association says it’s time to move ahead with the change.
“We don’t want the delay,” said John Esparza, president, and CEO of the TTA. “It’s too important not to work through this mess.” Commercial truckers are already required to record their driving hours on paper logs. Adrienne Gildea, deputy executive director of the not-for-profit Commercial Vehicle Safety Association, said that ELDs will cut down on cheating and reduce the number of tired truckers on the road. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that drowsiness and/or fatigue are principal, causal factors in about 100,000 police-reported crashes each year. Truckers are responsible for about 135 of the 3,500 fatalities on Texas roads each year, Esparza said. Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the owner-operators organization – OOIDA – said in a recorded statement on the OOIDA website that the mandate “Is not about safety.” Esparza said the “Majority of those who are anti-ELD are those who are more upset with the current federal hours-of-service regulations for drivers.” Property-carrying drivers may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
They may not drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours off duty. Chad Davis is safety manager at Fort Worth-based Raider Express, which runs about 250 trucks, most of which carry refrigerated food. The electronic devices only log information on driving hours that’s already federally mandated. Raider Express trucks already have ELDs and Davis said the company is “Happy” to have made the move. “There’s an awful lot less trying to fudge things and trying to bend the rules,” on driving hours by drivers, Davis said. The cost to install ELDs was “Just a couple of hundred dollars per truck,” Davis said, with objections coming mainly from older drivers, “Who put up quite a fight.” Gildea said that anyone who can use a smartphone can figure out how to use the ELD. Of course, Gildea said, “You’ve got a lot who are older, they’re still on those flip phones.” John Austin covers the Texas Statehouse for CNHI LLC’s newspapers and websites.
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Source:http://www.athensreview.com/
A second man has been charged in connection with an alleged bribery scheme involving state troopers and a Dallas trucking company, according to federal court documents. 16 for allegedly bribing a former Texas Department of Public Safety sergeant, Kevin Gerard Cauley, to sidestep truck inspections, court records show.
Cauley, 51, of Royse City, was a commercial vehicle enforcement officer for DPS who conducted safety inspections of large trucks, court records show. He pleaded guilty to the charge in June, court records show.
Cauley took the money from Cruz, owner of Cruz and Sons Transportation, in exchange for inspection decals he issued for more than three dozen freight trucks, according to court documents.
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Source:https://www.dallasnews.com/
With so much commotion going on for most people this time of year and as we roll into the holiday season, there’s one thing we’ve got to stop to give thanks for-truck drivers, of course! They spend time away from their families so we can spend time with ours. What many take for granted in many professions is having holidays off work that we can enjoy with our loved ones.
For many drivers, this time of year is the craziest and it’s definitely not a time for getting off work. We aren’t the only ones stuck in bumper-to-bumper lines of traffic stretching down the road on our way to grandmother’s house during holiday travel commutes.
Plus, truck drivers are the ones who deliver that fuel for all those holiday travelers to guzzle up to visit their families with.Truck drivers rarely get those home-cooked meals while on the road. While most of us will be stuffing our pie holes with our family’s favorite recipes, drivers have to resort to whatever they can get their hands on that day. Turkeys don’t just “Fly” to our tables. If you’re eating Thanksgiving dinner, I’m willing to bet most of it has traveled by truck to wind up on your plate. 88% of Americans eat turkeys on Thanksgiving which means a “Mind-gobbling” 50 million turkeys were delivered to markets around the nation to prepare for our epic meal times. Essentially, truck drivers are the whole reason you’re able to celebrate with your family and friends each holiday.
Not only would we be starving without drivers who delivered our turkeys, sides and desserts to our nation’s stores-but our favorite tradition wouldn’t happen either. Without the use of helium tankers to fill the approximately 12,000 cubic feet of helium it requires for just one Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons. Other supplies for the parade are also brought by truck. Even if you’re more of a “Cyber Monday” shopper, those goods always still have to be taken from the manufacturer to your house by truck. For all those truck drivers out there reading this, just know that you truly are appreciated.
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Truckers hauling livestock and other agriculture products will have 90 extra days to comply with the DOT’s electronic logging device mandate, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced Monday.
FMCSA will soon publish a public notice in the Federal Register announcing the compliance extension, as well as a notice with fresh guidance for livestock haulers relative to both the ELD mandate and hours of service, said Joe Delorenzo, FMCSA’s director of compliance and enforcement, in a media briefing held Monday afternoon.
Delorenzo said the definition of a livestock hauler will lean on a definition established in the 1980s by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which defines livestock as ” cattle, elk, reindeer, bison, horses, deer, sheep, goats, swine, poultry, fish used for food and other animals designated that are part of a foundation herd or offspring. The waiver’s scope will be broader than that and extend to ag haulers who don’t haul livestock.
A coalition of groups representing livestock haulers petitioned the agency in late October to request a compliance extension. 30 request that livestock haulers will not be prepared to meet the Dec. Its concerns stem from “An incompatibility” between federal hours regs and livestock’ operations – a concern noted by Delorenzo in Monday’s briefing.
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Expect traffic to be heavier than normal for starting Wednesday as a record-number of Americans travel for Thanksgiving. AAA projects 50.9 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more away from home this Thanksgiving, a 3.3 percent increase over last year. Some 89 percent of all travelers – 45.5 million – are planning a Thanksgiving road trip, an increase of 3.2 percent over last year. AAA and INRIX, a transportation analytics company, predict travel times in the most congested cities in the U.S.
Based on historical and recent travel trends, INRIX and AAA predict drivers will experience the greatest amount of congestion during the early evening – as early as Tuesday of Thanksgiving week – as commuters mix with holiday travelers. The Thanksgiving holiday travel period is defined as Wednesday, Nov. “A strong economy and labor market are generating rising incomes and higher consumer confidence, fueling a strong year for the travel industry, which will continue into the holiday season,” said Bill Sutherland, AAA senior vice president, Travel, and Publishing.
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