Wednesday, March 6, 2002

Cannon Express responds to Michael Doty article

On Feb. 22, the web site's daily news featured "Family denied last hours with dad" describing the death of OOIDA member Michael Doty from an aneurysm. Doty was an owner-operator leased to Cannon Express.

Details were provided to Land Line by members of the Doty family and were attributed to them. The article also appears in LL's print edition for March/April.

Land Line attempted to telephone Cannon more than two weeks before deadline to verify certain details and obtain their side of the story, but was unsuccessful. A week after deadline and just hours before the magazine went to press, writer Keith Goble was able to reach Cannon's director of operations, Bill Elliot. A brief comment from Elliot was included in the story. Elliot said "our policy's not to notify family because we don't know what's going on."

Land Line received no further commentary from anyone at Cannon Express until Feb. 27, when LL was contacted by a representative of Cannon Express who stated the company had received many negative comments from drivers as a result of the story on both the LL and OOIDA websites. In a subsequent conversation on Feb. 28, Cannon requested it be afforded the opportunity to respond with its version of the facts relating to this unfortunate incident.

Here is Cannon's version of the events that transpired Jan. 1:

An article was published in Land Line on Feb 22, 2001. The article dealt, regrettably, with the last few hours of life and the death of an owner operator who was contracted to our company and who was a fine representative of our industry. We have received many e-mails with questions and comments about the article from the OOIDA, and after further research felt an obligation to respond. Following is what we know happened on New Year's morning in 2002.

At approximately 1:15 am ET, we received a phone call from Mr. Doty indicating that he was not feeling well. He indicated that he was having stomach and chest pains, and was stopping for the night. Our dispatcher told Mike that he should go to the hospital if he needed to. Mr. Doty indicated that he thought he would be ok with a "couple hours of rest."

At around 2:15 am ET January 1st Cannon Express received a call from someone at the truck stop telling us the driver of truck 4116 was being transported to the hospital. We received a call from the hospital confirming this information at approximately 6:48 am ET. Our dispatcher could hear Mr. Doty in the background reciting his wife's telephone number to the caller who relayed that number to our dispatcher. The caller from the hospital indicated to our dispatcher that Mr. Doty would be "fine." Our dispatcher called the number for Mrs. Doty, but only reached an answering machine. This phone call is on our MCI telephone bill. Our dispatcher is retired from the military and has had to relay bad news to families in the past. His preference would have been to make personal contact, but he decided to leave a message and the hospital's phone number on the family's answering machine. This message was left within minutes of the phone call from the hospital.

After looking at everything we knew and when we knew it, it is fair to say that we could have left a message approximately 4 1/2 hours sooner than we did. During those 4 1/2 hours, no information came to us indicating that Mr. Doty's life was in peril. In fact, everything we knew indicated nothing serious. It is Cannon Express' policy to obtain as much information as possible from the hospital, police, etc. in cases like this in order to relay the most accurate information possible and to avoid unduly alarming our drivers' loved ones. We were unable to obtain confirmation from the time the truck stop called at 2:15 am and the hospital called at approximately 6:48 am. It it clear that we did not delay twelve hours as implied in the article. It is also clear, from our research, that the most accurate information should have been relayed by the hospital.

Unfortunately neither the family nor Cannon Express knew how little time Michael Doty had. The family started the approximately 983 miles or 16 hour drive from Oklahoma to South Carolina. Mr. Doty passed away at approximately 4pm ET while his family was on the road.

The article mentioned that Cannon Express had a truck there to pick up the load two hours after Mr. Doty was taken to the hospital. This is not true. A truck was not dispatched to pick up the load until 9:22am ET well after the family had been called by Cannon Express and the hospital. The truck arrived on location at 12:40pm ET almost twelve hours after Mr. Doty was taken to the hospital.

If you have any comments or questions please contact comments@cannonexpress.com.

Sincerely,

Duane Wormington
Vice President
Cannon Express

Colorado Legislators square off over transportation plan

On Monday, Senate Democrats presented details of an $18.8 billion, 20-year transportation plan they say is a tax-free answer to Colorado's transportation problems. Voters will be asked to approve or vote down a tax increase for mass transit this year.

Tolling is a key part of the Democrats' plan. SB179, sponsored by Senate President Stan Matsunaka (D-Loveland), is described as a way to raise needed dollars for roads without raising taxes. Funding also is slated to come from sources such as $1.2 billion in federal transportation dollars and $885 million they say is due to Colorado because of the federal government underestimating state population growth over past decade.

Other details in the plan include:
Carving out $10 million in federal funds annually over the next six years for transportation projects in rural areas and allowing the Regional Transportation District to bypass the legislature and go directly to metro Denver voters in 2002 for a sales tax increase. Under the plan, tolls will be lifted as soon as the road construction is paid off.

The measure would allow a tolling authority to collect money from motorists to pay for new highways -- taxpayers would eventually pick up the tab to maintain the new roads after they are paid off.

Gov. Bill Owens previously had asked for a statewide tolling authority, but last week members of the House removed it and passed the rest of Owens' package onto the Senate. Owens plan, HB1310, has not yet been debated.

Reportedly, Republicans also say they have a major problem with how Democrat lawmakers are already highlighting specific projects. Democrats say they want to improve roads such as Interstate 25 in northern Colorado, U.S. 50 between Pueblo and Kansas, I-70 to the Kansas border, and projects in southwestern Colorado including improvements to U.S. 160 at Wolf Creek Pass, and U.S. 550 between Durango and New Mexico.

As of Mar. 4, both bills have been assigned to the Government, Veterans and Military Relations, and Transportation Committee.

Louisville puts drivers under the 'gun'

Authorities are cracking down on speeders on the Greenbelt Highway near Louisville, KY, to reduce accidents. The campaign is expected to expand to other areas in the county.

Jefferson County police plan to step up patrols on the Greenbelt and prosecutors have vowed to be especially tough on violators. A spokesperson for the county attorney said the office plans to be vigilant about ensuring officers are present for the court dates and that there are no grounds for amending the charges or dismissing the cases.

Two "smart radar" devices, which will display drivers' speeds as they approach, will be used to remind drivers to watch their speed. Since January 2001, 30 accidents reportedly have occurred on the road, in southwestern Jefferson County, including three fatalities.

New CDL study guide

A new book about trucking has hit the market to teach the future trucker "everything you need to know to pass the CDL exam." The easy-to-follow guide, from Delmar Learning is filled with tips and information from industry leaders across the nation.

The book, co-written by Van O'Neal and Alice Adams, is more than a study guide, it is a window into the transportation industry, offering up-to-date information and insight into the "real world" a prospective trucker might expect.

"Pass the CDL Exam: Everything You Need to Know" is filled with strategies and testing tips to help you pass the exam the first time. O'Neal and Adams are the director of a commercial truckdriving center and a driver-training specialist, respectively. The writers give the reader a first-hand look at prospects in today's industry as well as thorough preparation for each test a student must complete in order to get a CDL.

The book also includes easy-to-use periodic self-checks, NAFTA regulations, handy web sites to reinforce learning and information on the high-tech tools used in today's industry.

Caterpillar heavy-duty on-highway engines honored

Cat heavy-duty on-highway diesel engines has received two awards for customer satisfaction. J.D. Power and Associates recognized Cat for the second straight year with the awards for highest customer satisfaction heavy-duty over-the-road engine and highest customer satisfaction heavy-duty vocational engine.

The awards were given based on the results of J.D. Power and Associates 2001 Heavy-Duty Truck Engine and Transmission Satisfaction Study. The study, based on interviews with more than 2,800 owners of Class 8 trucks, measures customer satisfaction with product quality and performance. In addition to the overall satisfaction measurement, the Cat 3406E was ranked highest in five individual engine satisfaction measures.