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Fire destroyed two tractor-trailers at the TCA truck stop in Lenwood, California Monday afternoon. (Photos by Anthony Riley)

The investigation continues into a fire Monday afternoon that appears to have destroyed two tractor-trailers and three fuel pumps and damaged the metal awning at a truck stop in southcentral California.

The Victorville Daily Press reports the fire broke out about 1:20 p.m. at the Travel Centers of America truck stop on Lenwood Road off of I-15. It appears a fuel pump caught fire. Two trucks, including one loaded with glass, were at the pump at the time of the blaze.

Anthony Riley, public information officer for the City of Barstow said it took firefighters about 45 minutes to control the blaze. Two fire engines from the Barstow Fire Protection District were on hand, and one engine from the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Barstow.

Riley said there were no injuries reported.

He added, “Truck fueling on the backside of TA is down for an undetermined timeframe.”

Source of article click here : Truckers News

Deputies are looking for someone who stole 19 truck tires worth nearly $16,000 from two trucks parked at Santoyo Truck Parts in south Fort Myers.

A report from the Lee County Sheriff's Office says entry was made into the business sometime between Friday night and Monday morning by cutting five holes through fencing at two adjacent businesses.

The tires were then walked through the fence holes to a spot on Brothers Court, the sheriff's report says.

About $1,500 damage was done to the fence, the report says.

Once at Santoyo the thieves removed 12 tires from one truck, six from each side, and seven from a second truck, three on one side and four from another.

The tires are worth $15,720.

Source of article click here : News Press

Transport truck driver Jaskirat Sidhu walks out of provincial court after after a hearing in Melfort, Saskatchewan, Tuesday. AP

A Canadian truck driver charged in connection to a horrific bus crash that left 16 people dead was allowed to walk free Tuesday — on $1,000 bail.

“I’d prefer he be kept in jail, but we don’t have a choice in that,” said Russell Herold, whose son Adam died in the crash. “The process is what it is.”

Speaking to CBC News on Tuesday after the bail hearing, Herold was joined by other grief-stricken parents and family members who also lost loved ones in the April 6 bus accident in Melfort, Saskatchewan.

Many of the deceased were members of the local Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team, whose players range in age from 16 to 21.

In spite of this, a judge released Jaskirat Singh Sidhu — the 29-year-old truck driver — on bail thanks to an agreement between his defense lawyers and prosecutors. The young man is accused of causing the fatal bus crash by failing to stop at a flashing stop sign.

“This prevents unnecessary delays in court proceedings,” explained defense attorney and legal expert Brian Pfefferle.

While defendants are typically granted bail in Canada, a judge can deny their release depending on the circumstances surrounding their case.

“At least they put some conditions on it,” Herold said, in reference to Sidhu’s release. “The bail seems low, but I guess if you go by the law — he doesn’t have a prior record and hasn’t tried to flee so I guess this is common.”

Sidhu may be a free man at the moment, but he must abide by a number of rules while his case is being heard. His bail conditions require that he stay at his home in Calgary and follow a curfew. He must also surrender his passport — and his banned from driving.

The victims’ families believe Sidhu was not properly trained to drive, and they’re now suing both him and the trucking company he worked for. He is due back in court on Aug. 21.

Source of article click here : New York Post

He was suffering from heat exposure when he was found and was so dehydrated he couldn’t communicate with rescuers

VIDEO

San Diego law enforcement officials are trying to unravel the bizarre story of a missing big rig driver found incoherent at the bottom of a ravine in Alpine.

The trucker, who has not been identified, had been there for 24 hours stuck and unable to call for help, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (SDSO) said.

Deputies received a request from a trucking company to check on their driver who was overdue for a scheduled arrival at around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The GPS on the driver's truck showed it was parked in a viewpoint parking lot along Interstate 8 in Alpine.

Deputies found the truck running with the headlights on and discovered the driver’s phone and wallet inside the cabin.

Worried he might have fallen down the steep ravine below the lot, they called in an SDSO search and rescue team as well as the department's ASTREA helicopter.

Nearly 30 minutes later, the search chopper spotted the driver, a 43-year-old man, at the bottom of the ravine near a creek bed.

He was suffering from heat exposure and was so dehydrated he couldn’t communicate with rescuers about how or why he ended up in the ravine.

Deputies say he was stranded in sweltering heat with no way out or means to call for help, leaving fellow truckers and investigators alike wondering how he got down there.

"There’s nothing here. No water, no restroom,” trucker driver Gregg Carter said. “Maybe he didn't want to do it out in public. Maybe he wanted to go down and then when he was down there something happened."

Rescuers say the trucker didn't suffer any injuries associated with a fall down a 1,000-foot ravine.

The truck had Ohio plates.

At last check, the driver was being treated at Sharp Grossmont Hospital.

Source of article click here : NBC San Diego

Iowa-based carrier Heartland Express has raised driver pay for its mileage drivers, owner-operators, hourly drivers, salaried drivers, and teams. Drivers will receive 40 to 49 cents per mile, based on division, on the Household Goods mileage scale for drivers with at least six months to a year of over the road experience.

Drivers with up to 10 years of experience may receive 45.5 to 53.5 cents per mile on the HHG miles. The fleet said its safest, most experienced drivers may earn up to 67.5 cents per mile in certain areas of the country.

Heartland’s other forms of compensation, such as safety bonuses, remain unchanged.

“Heartland has always strived to take a leadership position for driver pay. This pay increase, along with our existing benefits package, is going to offer the compensation that our drivers truly deserve,” the fleet’s President and CEO Mike Gerdin said. “Their service to our customers and their professionalism is the reason we can offer an improved pay package. It’s designed to both thank them and to let them know we are always looking to do more for our drivers and owner-operators.”

The pay raise went into effect July 7.

Source of article click here : Truckers News

ARLINGTON, Va. — The American Trucking Associations (ATA) and three motor carriers are suing the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation in a U.S. Federal Court.

The suit, filed in U.S. district court in Rhode Island July 10, names director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation Peter Alviti Jr. specifically, and calls tolls leveled against heavy trucks discriminatory.

According to the complaint (which has not yet been proven in court), the tolls were applied on heavy trucks operating on Highway I-95 as part of the state’s “Rhodeworks” program, but not on other types of vehicles.

The toll program was implemented to help pay for road maintenance and repairs after it was revealed that Rhode Island is at the bottom of all 50 states in bridge condition and repair, with about 22% of the state’s bridges in “structurally deficient” condition.

The ATA, Cumberland Farms, M&M Transport Services, and New England Motor Freight are seeking an injunction from the Federal Court by claiming the tolls are inhibiting interstate commerce and discriminating against out-of-state fleets and drivers, which puts them in violation of the commerce clause in Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.

ATA president and CEO Chris Spear says the trucking industry has been against the tolls since they were proposed in 2015, advocating for the truck-only tolls to be rolled back.

“It is unfortunate that Governor Raimondo and her administration did not heed those warnings, but now we will see them in court.”

The complaint says the tolling program also limits the tolls collected from trucks that make multiple trips on a single day, providing disproportionate benefits to Rhode Island operators, while placing the burden on interstate commercial road users.

Rhode Island has yet to respond directly to the suit, however the department of transportation website says the state is the only one in the U.S. north east that does not charge user fees for large commercial vehicles, citing the U.S. $182 trucks must pay on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the U.S. $114 trucks pay to cross the George Washington Bridge from New Jersey to New York as examples. Both of those routes require vehicles other than heavy trucks to pay the tolls as well.

Chris Maxwell, president of the Rhode Island Trucking Association says industry groups are willing to work with the state to address funding options for the crumbling infrastructure but calls the current method “unlawful.”

The full complaint can be read here.

Source of article click here : Truck News