Charges Dropped Against Fleet in Fatal Georgia Crash

Criminal charges have been dropped against Total Transportation of Mississippi in relation to a fatal accident involving one of its drivers that killed five people in April 2015.

Five Georgia Southern University nursing students were killed in the seven-vehicle crash on Interstate 16 when the truck driver, John Wayne Johnson, failed to stop in time, careening into traffic slowed on the interstate. In addition to the five deaths, three other students were injured in the crash.

The District Attorney General of Georgia Atlantic Judicial Circuit decided against pursuing criminal charges after Total Transportation agreed to spend $200,000 to set up a nonprofit group to offer nursing students financial aid, according to a report in the Savannah Morning News.

The company has already settled wrongful death lawsuits related to the case, with at least one victim receiving $14 million.

Johnson was indicted on multiple charges of vehicular homicide as well as a slew of other counts, including reckless driving.

In depositions from the civil suits, it was revealed that Johnson was hired by Total Transportation after he disclosed to the company that he had been fired for falling asleep at the wheel.

Related: Murder Indictments for Driver, Fleet in Fatal Georgia Crash

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Your July 7 Pre-Trip: Charges dropped against carrier in fatal GA crash

Here are five things worth knowing today:

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GPS-tracking device led police to stolen truck, cargo thieves

A GPS-tracking device led Canadian police to arrest four men who allegedly attempted to steal a tractor-trailer and its cargo over the holiday weekend (Canada Day was Friday, July 1).

According to South Simcoe Police, on July 3 just before 6 p.m. officers responded to a call of a stolen tractor-trailer on Reagen's Industrial Parkway in Bradford. The owners of the truck had tracked its location on GPS, and responding officers spotted the truck heading south.

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Stoneridge to enter ELD market

Stoneridge announced it is leveraging its expertise in drivers' hours of service (HOS) technology solutions to help North American fleet operators and drivers comply with the forthcoming Electronic Logging Device, or ELD, legislation.

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Nominations Are Open for FTX Sustainability and Efficiency Awards

Nominations are open until Friday, Aug 12 for the all-new Fleet Technology Expo awards, which will recognize fleets for their sustainability and efficiency practices.

The awards will be presented at the Fleet Technology Expo at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center in Schaumburg, Ill., prior to the closing reception on Wednesday, Oct. 19.

The Fleet Technology Expo is looking for nominees who have made significant contributions to environmental sustainability and fleet efficiencies in the light- to medium-duty and heavy-duty industries.

Nominees mayhave focused on either alternative fuels to improve sustainability and/or the use of technology, software and training to gain efficiency. However it happens, the contribution to austainability and efficiency is what matters.

Categories are broken down by vehicle size into Light & Medium Duty Fleets and Heavy Duty Fleets. Within those categories, fleets are separated into two subcategories, depending on the fleet's focus and methods used to increase sustainability and efficiency.

The top 10 fleets in the four categories will receive awards, with extra recognition given to the top three fleets in each category.

The winners will be recognized at the 2016 Fleet Technology Expo, hosted by Automotive Fleet, Green Fleet and Heavy Duty Trucking magazines. The second annual FTX runs from Oct. 17-19.

All nominees must work as a fleet professional — supplier nominees will not be accepted. (Note: Suppliers may nominatet fleet customers). To submit your nomination, simply fill out the form here.

For more information on the Fleet Technology Expo please visit the FTX website. You can check out the schedule here.

If you have any questions about the awards please contact Stephane Babcock at [email protected].

Related: 2015 Fleet Technology Awards Winners Announced

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Department of Commerce Recommends Tariffs on Chinese Tires

Photo by Jim Park

Commercial truck and bus tires imported from China are benefitting from subsidies from the Chinese government, and as a result the U.S. Department of Commerce says those tires should be subject to tariffs up to 23.38%.

The DOC issued its preliminary determination June 28. It studied data from two importers: Double Coin Holdings and Guizhou Tyre Co. Data from those companies then is used to calculate one tariff rate for all the other companies that ship products from China to the U.S.

For Double Coin the DOC is levying a tariff of 17.06%. The rate is 23.38% for Guizhou. All other importers will be assessed a rate of 20.22%.

These figures represent only one half of the overall tariff equation. The DOC also is investigating whether the imported products are being dumped in the U.S. at prices below the cost of manufacturing. The dumping investigation continues, and ultimately an anti-dumping tariff will be added to these preliminary countervailing rates. A preliminary decision in the anti-dumping case is due Aug. 26.

Final rulings in both the countervailing and anti-dumping investigations are due Nov. 10, 2016.

The DOC also found that critical circumstances exist “with respect to one exporter of truck and bus tires from China.” As a result, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will collect the duties retroactively for Guizhou dating back to 90 days prior to the publication of this ruling in the Federal Register.

Related: SmartWay List Swells with Cheap Chinese Tires

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TMW Launches Cloud-Based Business Intelligence Solutions

TMW Systems has launched software-as-a-service versions of its Data Warehouse, Data Warehouse Explorer and Visual Analytics solutions that offer business intelligence and analytics for for-hire and private fleets.

The cloud-based solutions are now available on a subscription basis to businesses using select TMW transportation management software and will be available to new customers in the coming months, according to TMW.

Data Warehouse and Data Warehouse Explorer were previously available as on-premises solutions only. These allow fleets to access operational data and answer critical questions regarding multiple areas of a business. The solutions can blend and analyze data from multiple areas such as operations, maintenance, finance and mobile communications to uncover actionable intelligence.

TMW's Visual Analytics allows for drag-and-drop creation of useful visuals and dashboards as well as preconfigured dashboard displays for better visibility and enhanced understanding of the interdependent factors that drive business performance. Users can then drill down to isolate specific issues and identify appropriate corrective actions.

“Big Data can help virtually any transportation business identify and eliminate deeply hidden operational constraints and other issues,” said David W. Wangler, TMW Systems president. “Our new and growing portfolio of SaaS products brings these capabilities to a much larger audience of transportation businesses, including those that might not have the internal IT resources or budget to support an on-premise model.”

TMW is a transportation software provider to fleets, brokerage and 3PL organizations in North America.

For more information, click here.

Related: TMW Report: Carriers Face Declining Utilization

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