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Senate Republicans rebuff Democrats over transportation safety
Senate Republicans on Wednesday gave oversight approval to a measure intended to facilitate multi-year highway funding efforts in Congress but came under fire from Democrats who said the measure rolled back key rail and highway safety provisions. The Senate Commerce Committee voted 13-11 along party lines to send the "Comprehensive Transportation and Consumer Protection Act of 2015" to the floor of the Senate, where it is expected to form part of new long-term infrastructure investment legislation. Senator John Thune, the panel's Republican chairman, told a hearing that the legislation includes important port, rail and auto safety reforms for what could be a six-year funding bill. But Democrats warned that the hearing's partisan debate could make it hard to reach full Senate agreement on a larger infrastructure package. "There's no reason why we have to pass a surface transportation bill that basically is more about rolling back the safeguards of current law in the areas of automobiles and trains," said Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington state. Republicans rejected Democratic initiatives that sought to eliminate language that would repeal a new oil train safety regulation [ID: L2N0ZT0VW], extend the current end-2015 deadline for railroads to adopt new safety equipment known as positive train control and allow trucking companies to begin using drivers as young as 18 on interstate runs from the current minimum age of 21. With some help from Democrats, Republicans also defeated auto safety amendments that would have enhanced funding for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, bolstered civil and criminal penalties for automakers that resist recalling defective vehicles and required auto regulators to share early warning defect information with the public. NHTSA has come under fire from lawmakers and administration officials in recent years for internal failures that prevented the agency from moving quickly to protect the public from deadly defects including faulty General Motors Co ignition switches and Takata Corp air bag inflators. Among other things, Democrats sought to do away with a $35 million civil penalty cap for automakers and require used car dealers to repair defects before reselling recalled vehicles. In the underlying bill Republicans support a doubling of the maximum penalty that NHTSA can impose on automakers, from $35 million to $70 million, but only after the agency meets performance standards set by government auditors. California motor vehicle employees took bribes to grant licenses: FBI
Three employees of the California Department of Motor Vehicles have been indicted for accepting bribes to grant commercial driving licenses, and the owners of three trucking schools indicted for offering the bribes, federal officials said on Tuesday. The scheme involved payments of up to $5,000 to middlemen who then passed money to DMV employees to grant licenses to drivers who had not taken or passed the tests required to drive big-rig commercial trucks, according to documents released by the Benjamin Wagner, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California. "The brokers use the individual's money to bribe DMV employees to circumvent or falsely enter informatino into the DMV computer systems," FBI investigators said in a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Sacramento. Those accused in the case include DMV employees Andrew Kimura, Emma Klem and Robert Turchin, as well as truck-driving school owners Pavitar Dosangh Singh, Kulwinder Dosanjh Singh and Mangal Gill, according to the indictment by a federal grand jury made public on Tuesday as well as other court documents. The driving schools had operations in several northern and central California cities, including Sacramento, Salinas and Fresno, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Charges included conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit identity fraud, fraud and bribery.
Wagner was set to release more details of the case on Tuesday afternoon, his office said
Truck driver tested positive for meth after crashUPDATE: Sources tell Channel 3 the truck driver tested positive for crystal meth at the time of the crash. In May 2015, Brewer tested positive for controlled substances following a court-order controlled substances test. MORE: Trucker in I-75 crash that killed 6 in Chattanooga indicted PREVIOUS STORY:: A warrant has been issued for the truck driver involved in the fatal I-75 crash back in June. The Chattanooga Police Department has released the list of 13 charges Benjamin Brewer will face. Those charges are:
Laurel County, KY law enforcement is in the process of serving the warrant. PREVIOUS STORY: Earlier Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board reported that the driver in the fatal June crash on Interstate 75 near the Ooltewah exit had been on duty for 50 consecutive hours. The driver, Benjamin Brewer, was driving north on I-75 on June 26, 2015 when he failed to slow down and stop for congested traffic in a construction zone. His 2007 Peterbilt tractor-trailer slammed into eight cars, killing six people and injuring several others. The impact of the truck dragged one vehicle 453 feet before coming to a rest, according to the NTSB. Brewer's truck had experienced several mechanical issues the days before the crash, including one that prevented the truck's air compressor from generating enough air pressure to properly operate the truck's braking system. He also side-swiped a vehicle in Wildwood Fl, and was cited for the traffic violation that caused the crash. That crash caused Brewer to be delayed for an additional 3-4 hours on his return trip to London, KY. The NTSB determined that the driver had exceeded the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations hours-of-service when the crash occurred. Man found dead in truck where sexual assault was reported earlierThe truck where a woman reported being sexually assaulted was tracked from North Bend to Fife, where police found a dead man inside the cab. A female reported being sexually assaulted by a truck driver in the cab of a parked semitruck at a North Bend truck stop Tuesday, according to Snoqualmie police. After tracking the truck via GPS to a truck stop in Fife, police found a 44-year-old man from Kentucky dead inside, a news release says. Fife police are investigating. The age of the female was not released. The North Bend truck stop is near the 46600 block of Southeast North Bend Way. Cross Border Trucking Costs Jump Since U.S. 9/11OTTAWA -- Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S. it has become more expensive to move goods by truck across the Canada–U.S. border, according to Canada’s national statistical agency. The recent study from Statistics Canada is based on the first data produced to estimate the costs associated with trucking goods across the border before and after 9/11. In the wake of 9/11, a new security regime was implemented to regulate the movements of goods across the Canada–U.S. border, raising concerns that the cost of moving goods across the border would rise. From 1994 to 2000, it cost, on average, 16% more to move goods across the Canada-U.S. border by truck than to move the same goods the same distance domestically. After 2000, the premium paid to cross the border rose steadily to 25% in 2005 and remained at about that level until 2009. The two main factors in cross-border trucking costs are fixed costs per shipment of moving goods across the border and higher line-haul costs of trucking cargo over longer distances. Delays at the border and other border compliance costs add to the fixed costs per shipment incurred by trucking firms, according to the study. These fixed costs include facilities cost, insurance and terminal costs, that is, loading and unloading. Differences in fuel prices or difficulties finding backhauls can also add to the line-haul costs of shipping to and from the United States. Whether these additional costs are imposed on the export or import leg of the cross-border journey depends on the balance of cross-border trips. The export leg bore these costs until about 2005 and, increasingly, the import leg thereafter. In 2005, the premium on the export leg was 30%, while the premium on the import leg was 20.3%. By 2009, the premium on the export leg had fallen to 17.1% and risen on the import leg to 25.6%. The extra cost associated with cross-border trucking added about 0.3% to the value of exported and imported goods, on average, from 1994 to 2000. From 2005 to 2009, the extra costs of cross-border trucking added about 0.6%, on average, to the value of goods crossing the border. According to Statistics Canada, while these additional costs are relatively small on a percentage basis, their effect is larger for goods such as autos and auto parts that pass over the border several times as they move through the various stages of the production process. What does an Expediter do?An expediter has three primary responsibilities: reviewing purchasing contracts related to the delivery of goods, arranging for just in time delivery, and meeting strict deadlines. Expediters are responsible for controlling the shipment of parcels within a specific time frame. In general, expediters work for a company with a large amount of materials moving in and out. These materials are either perishable or delivery needs to be coordinated due to space limitations. Expediters are commonly found in the construction and food preparation industries. People who enjoy a challenge, are naturally outgoing and enjoy a significant amount of social interaction in their work report the greatest satisfaction as an expediter. As an expediter, you will meet with clients, suppliers, and delivery firms. The ability to interact with others while communicating clearly and effectively is very important. Regardless of the type of firm, the expediter is responsible for managing the timing of delivery. This is crucial to the smooth operation of the firm, as well as the ability to keep costs low. They are usually involved in the purchasing contract process, adding clauses and requirements surrounding the delivery of goods and any penalties for failure to perform as contracted. Arranging just in time delivery is a complex process. Although the requirement may be included in the contract, it is necessary to actually schedule the delivery closer to the date the product is required. Information regarding the loading dock, delivery time window, any documentation required, and the contact person on site must all be communicated as part of the process. An error in timing will result in overcrowding on the site, and delivery trucks waiting to offload their goods. These delays will increase costs and may delay work. An expediter typically works for a large company, with multiple simultaneous projects. In this line of work, timing is everything. A network of connections is a huge help, allowing the expediter to use the most efficient method to deliver the materials. For example, if a shipment of windows must arrive on the job site on a specific date, but the firm is unable to arrange it, the expediter must make alternate arrangements to ensure the delivery occurs on schedule. The ability to quickly access this network and make the required arrangements is critical in this job. The expediter is also responsible for managing the delivery aspect of the project. This may require following up with suppliers in advance of delivery dates, meeting with site supervisors, and talking with the project management. Any issues, delays, or concerns must be addressed immediately. Managing the contract, keeping track of issues, ensuring that costs do not increase unexpectedly, and following up on complaints are all an important part of an expediter's job. |
Insurance dongle security hole let hackers remotely cut a Corvette's brakesIt's common knowledge nowadays that any computer can be hacked, and any wireless connection can be compromised. In other words, any “smart” device is vulnerable, including smartphones, smart TVs, and smart cars (which are basically computers on wheels). Indeed, in February a Senate committee report determined that almost every new car sold on the American market was vulnerable to hackers in some way or other. Hackable car exploitsIn just the past two weeks, dangerously hackable exploits have been uncovered in cars from three different manufacturers. On July 24, Fiat/Chrysler USA recalled 1.4 million vehicles from model year 2013 and later, to fix a massive software flaw allowing hackers to remotely seize control of a vehicle's major operating systems, including steering, brakes, and transmission. A week later, another security researcher discovered a way to remotely seize control of the OnStar systems used in various General Motors vehicles. Five days ago, Tesla Motors issued a software patch to fix a security hole that allowed hackers to take control of a Tesla Model S and abruptly turn it off. And today, security researchers from the University of California at San Diego found yet another hackable-car threat with the potential to affect almost all makes and models of modern cars – although the specific brand hacked in this security test was a 2013 Corvette. Common gadgetWired reports that a team of researchers from UC San Diego discovered that a commonplace gadget which trucking companies and insurance firms use to remotely monitor vehicles' location, speed, and other factors also leaves those vehicles vulnerable to hackers: “By sending carefully crafted SMS messages to one of those cheap dongles connected to the dashboard of a Corvette, the researchers were able to transmit commands to the car’s CAN bus—the internal network that controls its physical driving components—turning on the Corvette’s windshield wipers and even enabling or disabling its brakes.” A dongle is essentially a small piece of hardware that attaches to a computerized or electronic device in order to allow additional functions – such as remote speed and location monitoring, when a dongle is attached to the computer in a car. The specific device in this instance is an OBD (on-board diagnostics) dongle made by French firm Mobile Devices and distributed by American corporate customers such as Metromile, a San Francisco-based insurer which uses the dongles to charge per-mile rates for insurance. Not that the use of such devices is limited to insurance customers looking for discounted rates. In March, the White House issued an executive order mandating the use of similar OBD monitoring systems by federal agencies with fleets of 20 or more vehicles. Moving too fast?Metromile says it has already issued a wireless patch for that particular security hole. However, as The Verge dryly noted, the Metromile Dongle hack is “the newest in a recent rash of security vulnerabilities in cars that is raising questions about whether automakers and suppliers … should be moving as quickly as they are to connect their products to the Internet.” One could raise similar questions regarding whether the U.S. government, which over the past year has developed the annoying habit of having its sensitive computer systems and databases breached by Chinese or Russian hackers every few weeks, should be in such a rush to add its automobile fleet to that ever-growing list of hackable things. No one injured in wreck between train and tractor trailer truckTrain hits semi
A steel beam crashed through the train windshield, just missing the engineer, during a Wednesday afternoon collision with an 18-wheeler, Rome police said. No one was injured in the crash that happened about 2:45 p.m. on Second Avenue, near Riverbend Drive. It closed the road and snarled traffic, sending vehicles onto Turner McCall Boulevard. An Averitt Express transfer truck driven by William Kopeck, 72, of Marietta, was stopped at the red light at Riverbend Drive and Second Avenue. Kopeck’s truck straddled the railroad track, Rome Police Office Hank Jackson said. Witnesses said the rail crossing alarms went off, and Kopeck began blowing his horn to try to get traffic moving, but there was nowhere for him to go. A Norfolk Southern train coming from North Rome toward Atlanta collided with the transfer truck and pushed it across Second Avenue, breaking the trailer open and scattering boxes and paper around the area. A steel beam smashed through the train’s windshield, though no one involved was hurt, Pfc. Mike Simmons said. “It could have been bad,” he added. Rome police cited Kopeck with failure to stop at a railroad crossing, Simmons said. Arely Gomez, driving a 2007 silver Honda Odyssey, was stopped at the railroad crossing on the southbound side of Second Avenue. She tried to reverse when she saw the train approach the truck, backing into a black Kia Sorento driven by Regina Launar. “I was on the phone with my mother,” Launar said. “The car in front of me tried to back up to get out of the way and bumped me and I looked at the driver stopped beside me and thought ‘Oh, gosh, is this going to happen?’ and then the truck just exploded everywhere.” The wreck closed Second Avenue for about two hours. Norfolk Southern workers were at the scene about 5 p.m. repairing the crossing guard arm, Simmons said. Truck company owners say Thruway tolls unconstitutionally pay for canal systemA national trade group's lawsuit against the state Thruway Authority is on the road again. The American Trucking Associations' 2013 legal action had been dismissed on a technicality, but a federal appellate court has restored the suit. The plaintiffs contend the Thruway shouldn't be subsidizing the state canal system with toll money. "We want to stop the Thruway from using a significant portion of its toll revenues from motorists who use the system and spending it on things other than the Thruway,'' said Rich Pianka, deputy general counsel for the trade group. The organization said $100 million per year as of 2012 went toward the canal system, which has evolved over the years from a transportation route to a recreational venue. The canal system generates about $2 million annually in user fees. The latest court decision, released this week, recapped part of the associations' argument. While the 524-mile canal system, which stretches from Albany to Buffalo, was a major shipping route in the19th century, its commercial use has "faded into obsolescence," according to the decision from the federal 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. Now the canal is lined with bikeways, hiking paths and parks. The lawsuit argues that while these improvements benefit the local communities along the canal, truckers — including many from out of state — shouldn't have to subsidize them. "We don't care about the canals," Pianka said. Specifically, the suit alleges that using tolls to support the canal system violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. That's because the toll, considered a user fee, isn't going strictly for the purposes of roadway maintenance. The association is seeking a refund on the percentage of truck tolls that has gone to the canal system dating back to 2010. Thruway Authority has spent $1.1 billion on the canal system since the state Legislature placed it under the authority's control in 1992, the lawsuit said. "Maintaining the Canal System comes at a steep price," reads part of the complaint. "The New York State Thruway Authority ... drastically overcharges commercial truckers for the use of the roads that it administers." Thruway officials declined to comment, citing pending litigation. The state Legislature originally approved putting canal operations under Thruway control, but some lawmakers have from time to time urged ending the relationship. Talk of a change frequently come ups when there is discussion of a possible Thruway toll hike. The Thruway Authority floated the idea of a truck toll hike in 2012, but that drew harsh outcry from upstate lawmakers and business operators, including truckers, who said it would amount to a tax on the entire region. Higher tolls, they said, would simply be passed along to consumers. The protest prompted Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who appoints the Thruway Authority's board members, to drop the plan for increased tolls. To save money, the Thruway Authority cut staff and eliminated what had been a $60 million contract with the State Police to patrol the highway. Police are still on the Thruway, but the funding comes from the public safety budget rather than the Thruway Authority budget. Tolls remain an issue, especially when it comes to talk about paying for the replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge, which spans the Hudson River between Rockland and Westchester counties. Transportation experts have said some kind of toll hike will be needed to pay for the new bridge, a $4 billion addition to the Thruway system. Despite catcalls from lawmakers and other critics, the Thruway Authority and the Cuomo administration have insisted it's impossible to determine what the eventual bridge toll will be until the bridge's costs are more fully known. Crossing the bridge is already costlier for trucks than it is for cars: While passenger cars pay $5, large trucks can pay up to $49.25 to make the crossing. (The toll is charged one way — for those heading east and south into Westchester County or New York City.) Truck crash, fuel leak snarls traffic on I-71 in Gallatin County for hours
Interstate 71 was closed for several hours Thursday near the Gallatin/Boone county line after a truck crash Thursday. Authorities said a UPS tractor-trailer was going northbound near the 69 mile marker when it ran into the median of the highway. The truck took out a length of median cable barrier before coming to rest. One of its two trailers overturned. For a time, the truck was leaking methane gas, forcing the closure of all lanes in both directions. After the leak stopped, all but the left-hand northbound lane reopened. Traffic was still slow in the area at 11 a.m. All lanes reopened around 2:30 p.m. There were no injuries, authorities said. Roadrunner buys El Paso, Texas, trucking firm for $35 millionPurchase will let Cudahy-based Roadrunner operate its own trucks in MexicoContinuing its acquisition strategy, Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc. said Tuesday it has purchased an El Paso, Texas, trucking firm that operates across the Southwest and in Mexico. Roadrunner said it bought Stagecoach Cartage and Distribution for $35 million, plus up to $5 million more based on the unit's future performance. The purchase will let Cudahy-based Roadrunner operate its own trucks in Mexico, an authority the firm hasn't had. It also expands Roadrunner's presence in the Southwest. Stagecoach's revenue totaled about $34 million for the 12 months ended June 30, Roadrunner said. Stagecoach is expected to add to Roadrunner's earnings this year. The purchase is Roadrunner's 34th acquisition since 2005, and the first in 2015. The company made four purchases last year, spending about $230 million. Roadrunner's aggressive acquisition orientation has helped make it one of the country's fastest-growing trucking firms. It has gone from $565 million in revenue in 2008 to $1.87 billion last year. Transport Topics, an industry trade journal, ranks the company as the 17th-largest for-hire carrier in North America in terms of revenue. Roadrunner operates as what the industry calls an "asset-light" carrier, owning relatively few of its own trucks. About 77% of the company's 4,300 drivers as of the end of last year were independent contractors. Ambassador Bridge cocaine bust sees Toronto trucker charged52 kilograms of suspected drugs hidden in rig's storage area, border agency saysThe Canada Border Services Agency said its officers found 52 kilograms of suspected cocaine hidden inside the storage areas of a truck being driven by a Toronto man on July 27. (Canada Border Services Agency) A Toronto trucker faces drug charges after border officers found 52 kilograms of suspected cocaine hidden in his rig this week. The Canada Border Services Agency said a truck was flagged for a secondary inspection at the Ambassador Bridge crossing on Monday. The bridge connects Windsor, Ont. and Detroit, Mich. The CBSA said its officers found the suspected cocaine hidden inside three duffel bags and a tote container, all of which were allegedly hidden in the truck's storage areas. The drugs were seized, the RCMP were called in and charges were laid. The 26-year-old man faces charges of cocaine importation and possession of cocaine for the purposes of trafficking. The accused is due to appear in a Windsor court on Tuesday. The charges have not been proven in court. The CBSA says it has seized some 302 kilograms of cocaine in its southern region over the past year and a half. |
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