Wednesday, August 21, 2002

Nebraska truck firm ordered to pay trucker's widow $2 million

A Nebraska-based trucking firm has been ordered to pay an employee $2.176 million in a wrongful termination lawsuit. Paula J. Breedlove sued Transwood of Omaha, NE, on behalf of her late husband, Billy Breedlove, a trucker who worked out of the company's Pryor, OK, terminal.

Paula Breedlove works for the firm as an office assistant and part-time driver. She alleged the company fired her husband because he filed for workers' compensation in 1997.

She said the company then "engaged in other activities designed to destroy (his) professional reputation and make it impossible for him to work as a truckdriver."

Steven Holden, an attorney representing Paula Breedlove, said Billy Breedlove wasn't perfect and "was known to have a few beers when he wasn't on the road," but he "never had an alcohol-related accident or failed a DOT alcohol screening."

"Innuendo is a vicious and dangerous tool, and Transwood used that information as a means of character assassination of the deceased," Holden said.

Billy Breedlove worked at odd jobs earning $3,000 to $4,000 before dying of cancer.

"Billy was a very good driver, but they set out to make an example of him," Paula Breedlove said in a news release. "They made it impossible for him to work at his trade."

Samaritan not so good to stranded motorist

Kentucky State Police are looking for a truckdriver suspected of trying to abduct a woman stranded by the side of the road Aug. 15 on I-75 in Grant County.

The 21-year-old woman's vehicle had a flat tire about 10 a.m. Thursday in the southbound lanes of I-75 near mile marker 150. She pulled onto the shoulder and was attempting to change the tire when a tractor-trailer stopped and the driver offered to help.

KSP Detective David Jude said the trucker lured the woman to his cab by saying he had a tool that would help change the tire. The man grabbed the woman by the arm and neck and tried to force her into the truck. The woman was able to get away only after striking the man several times in the head with a ratchet wrench.

The man drove off as she ran toward her car waving for help from passing motorists. Jude said two other truckdrivers pulled to the side of the road to offer assistance.

The assailant is described as a short black man in his early 30s, 150 pounds, with short black hair and an "unkept" goatee, said Jude. He was wearing a blue T-shirt, blue shorts, black gloves with the fingers cut out of them and several gold chains. The woman said the man's most notable feature was his large teeth that needed cleaning.

Jude said the man was driving a tractor-trailer with a red cab and a white trailer. One witness described the cab as "not having a sleeper" and pulling a single tandem trailer. Hospitals in the Tristate have been told to watch for the man. Police have alerted weigh stations along I-75 and have posted information at truckstops.

Anyone with information about the truck or driver should call the state police's Dry Ridge post at (859) 428-1212.
--Keith Goble, staff writer

Oklahoma troopers step up patrols on I-35

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has increased patrols on I-35 after a string of fatality accidents in recent weeks. A "zero tolerance" policy will be enforced by officers.

Trooper presence jumped 50 percent last week on I-35 from Norman to Purcell. Seven people have died on the 10-mile stretch of roadway in the past month.

Accidents are occurring near two different construction zones on the stretch of road between Norman and Purcell. Troopers will be patrolling the construction zones full time.

Officers will be paying closer attention to people driving over the speed limit or following too close behind other vehicles. Fines in construction zones are more than double.

Colorado grapples with identity crisis

Hundreds of Colorado residents were advised to guard their credit after burglars stole driver's licenses and personal information in two recent burglaries at state motor vehicles offices, the Rocky Mountain News reports.

The break-ins, a week apart, happened at the Evergreen and Castle Rock offices and followed two similar thefts last year. From 1992 to 1997, reported incidents of identity theft increased nationwide from 35,000 to more than 520,000, according to the Colorado Attorney General's Office.

As a prevention measure, the state has ordered equipment that will allow clerks to punch the word "void" into old licenses. Officials will then return the cards to the license holders for disposal.

Wyoming looks for ways to avoid I-80 backups

The Wyoming Department of Transportation is brainstorming for ideas to keep a section of I-80 in the state's southeast corner open during some winter storms or in the event of vehicle crashes. WYDOT personnel have met to exchange ideas and status reports as more monthly meetings are planned in the future.

The growing use of "just-in-time delivery" by businesses to cut their inventory costs has made it more important than ever to keep traffic moving, Director Sleeter Dover said in a released statement. Policies and procedures are being worked out to balance that need with the state patrol's concern for the safety of drivers and investigators at crash sites. Increasing maintenance and highway patrol personnel in the area and upgrading equipment are among the steps being considered.

One change already agreed upon as a likely improvement is setting a time limit for removing crash wreckage from the highway. If the wreckage isn't removed with the time limit WYDOT would use its equipment to push the wreckage off the highway, Dover said. One other proposal for getting traffic around storms and wreckage is using a section of U.S. 30 as an alternate route.

One recommendation to help prevent crashes is more widespread use of message signs at strategic locations to alert drivers to conditions ahead and recommend safe speeds. Adding flashing lights to call attention to signs advising drivers to tune their radios to 1610 to hear updated road conditions and closure information via highway advisory radio stations also is recommended.

Rhode Island: A fine state of affairs

One of the Rhode Island General Assembly's moves to balance the state budget -- the decision in June to raise fines for numerous traffic offenses -- is making itself known, the Providence Journal reports.

The new fines went into effect July 1, raising the basic penalties for traffic violations by $25, in many cases bringing the penalties up to $75.

The speeding ticket went from $50 to $75. In addition, the fines rise faster for higher speeds: whereas 16 mph over the speed limit used to trigger a $160 fine, now 11 mph over the limit triggers a $185 fine. Other violations including driving with an expired registration, seat-belt violations, and running a red light, also went from $50 to $75. In addition, the fine for hitchhiking went from $15 to $40, and for driving or bicycling while wearing a headset or earphones went from $35 to $60.

Trucker to be pardoned by Virginia governor

Virginia Gov. Mark Warner will grant an unconditional pardon Wednesday to a man who served 15 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, the Washington Post reports. DNA tests last year ruled out trucker Marvin Lamont Anderson as the source of genetic evidence at the crime scene.

Anderson, who is black, was 18 when a white Hanover County, VA, woman was abducted from a wooded area and sexually assaulted by a black man. Sheriff's deputies reportedly focused on him in part because the assailant talked about having a white girlfriend and Anderson was dating a white woman.

Anderson was picked out of a lineup by the victim and subsequently convicted by an all-white jury and sentenced to 210 years in prison based on the testimony from the victim. He served 15 years before his parole in 1997 and has been a trucker since.

At an evidentiary hearing during a 1988 appeal, another man confessed to the crime. But the original judge in the case ruled that the man, who had been linked to a bicycle seen in the area the day of the crime, wasn't credible.

The pardon allows Anderson to petition the Hanover Circuit Court to remove all police and court records relating to his conviction.

ArvinMeritor and Randon join to offer original equipment in South America

ArvinMeritor, headquartered in Troy, MI, has announced a joint venture agreement with Randon Participacoes, Caxias do Sul, Brazil, to develop, manufacture and sell truck and trailer components to be marketed in South America. Under the agreement, Suspensys, previously a division of Randon, will become a 50/50 partnership between ArvinMeritor and Randon.

Since 1986, ArvinMeritor and Randon have been joint venture partners in Master Sistemas Automotivos Limitada. Master, also based in Caxias do Sul, is chartered to manufacture, assemble, and market on-highway heavy-duty brakes. Randon specializes in the manufacturing of road equipment and specialty vehicles, as well as automotive systems and components.

The new joint venture, Suspensys, will focus on truck suspensions, trailer axles and suspensions, and related wheel-end equipment. The joint venture will combine ArvinMeritor product technology with Randon manufacturing and operations expertise. Suspensys will have its own sales and marketing organization to interface with OEM customers and provide service and aftermarket support.

Currently, a 174,000 sq.-ft. manufacturing facility in Caxias do Sul is under construction specifically for the Suspensys products, and will be completed by November 2002.