Inspector's Alleged Bribery Undermines Trust in Safety Inspections, Northeast Truck Accident Attorney Says

Federal truck inspector's alleged misconduct could have endangered the safety of countless New York motorists, says truck accident attorney Marion Munley.

From Benzinga.comImage via Wikipedia
Scranton, PA (PRWEB) February 21, 2011

An attorney who represents tractor-trailer accident victims throughout the Northeast said today that the public's trust in truck safety inspections has been undermined by an alleged upstate New York bribery scandal.

According to the Buffalo News, federal prosecutors have charged a Buffalo, New York-based Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration supervisor of taking thousands of dollars in bribes from safety consultants for Canadian trucking companies in exchange for giving them improper help with safety inspections.

The inspector, who was arrested in an investigation by the FBI and U.S. Department of Transportation's Inspector General's Office, has pled not guilty, the newspaper said.

According to Land Line Magazine, the inspector's alleged assistance included arranging for “friendly” safety audits that allowed the trucking companies to obtain favorable FMCSA ratings.

“The FMCSA's inspections are intended to make sure that trucking companies are following the rules and to prevent New York truck accidents,” said Marion Munley, an attorney with the Scranton, Pennsylvania-based trucking accident litigation firm of Munley, Munley & Cartwright, P.C. “They must be fairly and consistently enforced at all times.”

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House Reintroduces Safe & Efficient Transportation Act - Truckinginfo.com

From TruckingInfo.com
2/21/11Image via Wikipedia

At the urging of The Coalition for Transportation Productivity, the Safe & Efficient Transportation Act has been reintroduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Mike Michaud (D-Maine) and Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio)as H.R. 763.

SETA would, if passed, increase the federal weight limits on Interstate Highways. The bill's reintroduction comes as Congress considers the first Highway Reauthorization package in more than six years.

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The U.S. federal weight limit has been set at 80,000 pounds since 1982 - forcing shippers that meet this limit with space left in their trailers to use more trucks and fuel than necessary. The goal of SETA is to make truck transportation safer and more sustainable by giving states the ability to adjust federal weight limits on interstates within their borders.

Under SETA, each state would have the option to set interstate weight limits of up to 97,000 pounds -- giving shippers the ability to utilize more truck space. The higher weight limit would only apply to trucks equipped with six axles instead of the typical five. Without making the truck any larger, the additional axle maintains safety specifications, including stopping capability and current weight per tire.

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"SETA provides a critical opportunity for Congress to enact a Highway Reauthorization proposal that modernizes American truck shipping standards in order to protect motorists and the environment, and give U.S. manufacturers and producers a competitive edge," said CTP Executive Director John Runyan. "Many shippers hit the 30-year-old federal weight limit with significant space left in their rigs and must use more truckloads, fuel and vehicle miles than necessary to get products to market. … Six-axle trucks can safely handle more weight, so American companies can utilize more rig space, minimize the trucks they need to meet demand and reduce their dependency on foreign oil."

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According to CTP, the current 80,000-lb weight limit places U.S. industry at a competitive disadvantage when compared to producers in Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

to read the full article click HERE

ATA Tells FMCSA: 'Policy Changes Must be Based on Sound Research and Data'

 From PRnewswire.com

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In today's public listening session  on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's recently released hours-of-service proposal, American Trucking Associations Senior Vice President Dave Osiecki told the agency to put facts and data before politics.

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"Policy changes must be based on sound research and data, not pressure or politics," Osiecki, ATA's senior vice president of policy and regulatory affairs, told FMCSA officials, "and their benefits must outweigh the costs," he said. "The proposed HOS changes do not pass the test on any of these principles."

Osiecki noted that those pillars are at the core of the Obama administration's recent push to improve the regulatory process, yet are ignored by FMCSA in this proposal.

In an attempt to justify one component of its proposal, FMCSA leans on a study of just 12 people conducted at an in-residence laboratory and released just weeks before the agency's proposal.  The study itself recommends "validation of the study findings . . . in a real-world field study," Osiecki said.

FMCSA, Osiecki said, also "relies on a completely different, less sophisticated method" in its regulatory impact analysis than it had in the past in order to calculate the costs and dubious benefits of the proposed changes.

To read the full article click HERE
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OOIDA: DOT’s flurry of new regs needs a hard look

From Land Line Magazine
By Jami Jones, Land Line senior editorImage via Wikipedia
February 14, 2011

Toward the end of 2010, the Department of Transportation kicked into regulatory high gear, targeting the trucking industry with a number of regulatory actions – actions that OOIDA says are without scientific backing or substantiated benefits.

That’s the message delivered to the leadership House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association in a letter urging the committee to hold a hearing reviewing the DOT’s regulatory practices.

“For the past several months the department has vigorously embarked upon a series of regulatory actions that are certain to have a profound negative impact on small businesses and professional drivers in the trucking industry,” OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer wrote to members of the committee.

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Spencer’s letter requesting the hearings was coupled with an expression of the Association’s gratitude that HR72 had passed the House of Representatives – with support from the T&I leadership.

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The bill calls on certain congressional committees to review existing, pending and proposed regulations with respect to their effect on jobs and economic growth.

With the resolution opening the door to congressional review, Spencer urged the T&I committee to “move swiftly” to review existing regulations as well as the recent rulemaking activities that “have promise to cause undue regulatory compliance and cost burdens.”

 to read the full article click HERE

Forecast: Capacity shortfall into 2013

From Overdrive online
February 10, 2011

A combination of the trucking industry trying to catch up with the economic recovery and adapting to government regulations that are still being developed will extend a capacity shortage through 2013, a trucking economist said at an online seminar Feb. 10.Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The shortfall will peak above 250,000 units in 2012 but continue at about 150,000 units in 2013, predicted Noel Perry, a senior consultant with FTR Associates and principal of Transportation Fundamentals. He said the industry is pursuing productivity increases through greater utilization of existing equipment, and miles per tractor were up more than 10 percent in 2010. Without that productivity improvement, “this crisis could be twice as bad, peaking at around 400,000 units,” he said.

Perry added that capacity utilization has recovered to above 90 percent, but rate increases haven’t kept pace. He said carriers are more productive and profitable, without increasing rates much. “From now on if a [carrier] wants to handle more freight, he is going to have to hire drivers and buy equipment,” he said.
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Small Businesses’ Confidence Hits Three-Year High

From Transport Topics
February 8, 2011

A survey released Tuesday showed that confidence among small businesses hit a three-year high, Bloomberg reported.

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The National Federation of Independent Business optimism index rose to 94.1 in January, the highest since the recession began in December 2007 as the outlook for sales and profits improved, the group said Tuesday.

The reading was lower than the average 100.7 during the last expansion that started in November 2001, Bloomberg reported.

Small businesses are defined as independent enterprises that employ up to 500 people.
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U.S. to inject $53 billion into passenger rail

Reuters

By David WarnerImage via Wikipedia

Wed Feb 9, 2011 
 

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced an ambitious $53 billion program to build new high-speed rail networks and make existing ones faster over the next six years.

Biden, who estimated he has ridden Amtrak between Washington and his home in Wilmington, Delaware, some 7,900 times, made a strong pitch for rail transportation to enable the United States to compete and lead internationally.

"This is about seizing the future," he said, making the announcement at Philadelphia's busy 30th Street station with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Japan and China are already building high-speed rail, and "there's no reason, none," that the United States cannot do the same, Biden said.

"If we do not, you tell me how America is going to be able to lead the world in the 21st century."
Under the initiative, the Department of Transportation will choose corridors for new projects and increase U.S. use of the passenger rails.

President Barack Obama's budget for fiscal year 2012, to be unveiled next week, includes $8 billion for the plan. The rest of the money would be allocated over the six-year time period.

Obama has said he wants to target investments in areas such as infrastructure while reducing spending to tackle the budget deficit.

The announcement comes when some Republicans in Congress are seeking to cut $2.5 trillion from federal spending over the next decade, including steep cuts in transportation.

Biden noted Obama's goal to give 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years, announced during his State of the Union address last month.

To read the full article click HERE

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DOT Issues Proposal for U.S./Mexican Truck Safety Program

February 01, 2011
From Safety.BLR.comImage via Wikipedia

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has shared with Congress and the Mexican government an initial concept document for a long-haul cross-border Mexican trucking program. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) says the program prioritizes safety while satisfying the United States’ international obligations.
A U.S./Mexican safety pilot program was ended in March 2009. The new document moves the process forward and addresses a variety of concerns. Regulatory enhancements include the following:

• Equipping all vehicles with electronic on-board recording devices that allow monitoring of compliance with hours of service and other laws
• Reviewing drivers’ U.S. and Mexican driving records
• Examining the safety records of companies as maintained by the Mexican government
• Requiring verification of drivers’ English language proficiency and knowledge of U.S. traffic laws

To read the full article click HERE


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