ATA Again Questions How Rhode Island Will Police Truck-Toll Dodgers

Map shows most of the originally proposed truck-only toll locations in Rhode Island. Image: RI DOT

Continuing to battle Rhode Island's truck-only tolling plan, the American Trucking Associations is again questioning how the Ocean State will restrict trucks from avoiding its planned new automated tolls.

The R.I. Dept. of Transportation said on Oct. 5 that it has executed 13 Memoranda of Understanding with the Federal Highway Administration. “These MOUs make clear that the federal government agrees with Rhode Island's program to implement bridge tolls on large commercial vehicles” at the specified locations.

ATA said on Oct. 7 that it has asked Rhode Island to provide information about “outreach the state has done to communities that are likely to be affected by an increase in truck traffic as a result of the state's extortionary” truck-only toll plan.

“According to one such ‘information packet' obtained by the American Trucking Associations, [the Rhode Island Department of Transportation] intends to prevent diversion of tractor-semitrailers to potential alternative routes through signage limiting truck access to ‘local services,' along with a variety of state and local enforcement methods,” ATA said in a letter to R.I. DOT dated September 29.

ATA said it has “serious concerns as to how the contemplated restrictions can be reasonably enforced without imposing an unreasonable burden on motor carriers and their customers, truck drivers, other motorists and the citizens of Rhode Island.”

Along with its federation partner the Rhode Island Trucking Association, ATA has loudly opposed the toll scheme since it was first proposed by Gov. Gina Raimando (D) in 2015.

“We have said from the beginning that the governor and politicians in Providence are attempting to extort revenue from our industry– using the trucks that deliver their state's goods as a piggybank to avoid making the tough choices that are necessary to ...Read the rest of this story

Vocational Profile: Just the facts

The construction market remains volatile, notes Ralph LoPriore, director of fleet assets and processes for Stoneway Concrete and its parent company, Gary Merlino Construction. “Wages are stagnant, and the cost of living is up,” he says. “Also, there isn't a large backlog of jobs, and some projects are delayed waiting for permits and environmental concerns to be addressed.”

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Fleets Online: Out of the Woods

Company: Mistik Management Ltd., Saskatchewan, Canada

Operation: Forest management company is co-owned by NorSask Forest Products and Meadow Lake Mechanical Pulp. With a fleet of 189 trucks, the company manages woodlands and hauls raw materials to its parent companies' mills for processing.

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Truck Hauling Takata Airbags Explodes, FMCSA Orders Fleet to Cease Operations

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has ordered Georgia-based trucking company Industrial Transit to cease all interstate and intrastate operations after a truck hauling Takata airbag components exploded, killing a person and leveling a home.

On Aug. 22, 2016, an Industrial Transit truck traveling in Maverick County, Texas was transporting airbag components from the Japanese company Takata. The truck approached a curb at an unsafe speed and traveled off the roadway, striking a culvert and rolling over.

The truck caught fire and the Takata airbag components in the truck exploded, destroying a nearby home and garage and damaging multiple houses in the area. The occupant of the leveled house was killed in the blast. The Industrial Transit truck's team drivers and a couple in a nearby car were injured.

According to a report by The York Times, the truck was carrying ammonium nitrate, a propellant used to trigger airbag deployment and a very combustible material that's often used in explosives.

An FMCSA investigation determined the company to be in violation of multiple federal safety statutes and regulations and found an egregious lack of standards and oversight of its drivers and vehicle maintenance.

The company completely failed to comply with any driver qualification requirements, including ensuring that its drivers were properly licensed and physically qualified to operate a commercial vehicle. Within the last two and a half months, the company allowed two drivers to operate a vehicle without having a valid CDL.

Industrial Transit also lacked a sufficient drug and alcohol testing program for drivers with FMCSA investigators finding that the company allowed a driver to operate a vehicle containing explosive material despite refusing to submit to random drug testing.

Takata Corporation has been hit hard in recent years for its own airbag safety scandals. While faulty airbags were not indicated as ...Read the rest of this story

Class 8 truck sales hit September slump

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New York to Automate Tolling to Cut Congestion

Governor Cuomo announced a transformational plan to reimagine New York City-area crossings for the 21st century. Photo via office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) has unveiled a plan to reduce traffic congestion by automating tolling of all bridges and tunnels operated by the state's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which is repsonsible for unified mass transportation in the New YorK City metro area,

The New York Crossings Project will encompass all seven bridges and the two tunnels operated by MTA: Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, Queens-Midtown Tunnel, Henry Hudson Bridge, Whitestone Bridge, Throgs Neck Bridge, RFK Triborough Bridge, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, and Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge. The coordinated tolling plan will also take in the George Washington Bridge, which is operated separatley by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The State of New York said it will implement automatic tolling to improve the flow of traffic by using sensors and cameras to automate the tolling process and thereby not require vehicles to come to a stop to pay. The sensors and cameras will be suspended overhead on structures known as gantries.

“This transformational project will revolutionize transportation in New York and ensure that our state is built to lead for generations to come,” said Cuomo. “By investing in New York's transportation network today and equipping it to meet the challenges of tomorrow, we are cementing our state's position as a national leader in 21st century infrastructure and cutting-edge innovation."

A vehicle with an electronic E-ZPass will be charged immediately while a non E-ZPass vehicle will have its license plate recorded and a toll bill will be mailed to the registered owner.

New York drivers currently spend more than 6,400 hours per day waiting to pay tolls and the state estimates that automatic tolling will save commuters up to ...Read the rest of this story