FMCSA wants to link medical certificate with CDL

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is moving ahead with its proposal to link information from truckers' medical certificates into the CDL process. After announcing yesterday he'd signed off on the proposal, the agency's new administrator, John Hill, posted the proposal Nov. 17 in the Federal Register.

This proposed change to the regs is not a new deal, but old business that first drew official comments from OOIDA 10 years ago. What it means is that interstate truckers subject to the physical qualification requirements of the federal regulations would need to provide an original or copy of their medical card to their state licensing agency. That agency would then be required to marry the medical certification to the database that holds all the commercial driver's license information.

While the feds feel this would ensure accurate and timely medical info be maintained, some industry stakeholders have concerns. OOIDA's concerns are that the net effect will simply build more bureaucracy with greater cost overall. The Association also points out that the overall effort will lead to certification of medical providers which may inadvertently exclude a driver's family physician from doing the driver physicals.

"The significance of this is that it's often the family doctor who really knows the health condition of the patient," said OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer.

In order to implement this plan, the FMCSA must go through an official process. The agency is requesting comments by Feb. 14, 2007.

All submissions must include the agency name and docket number, FMCSA-1997-22101, and the Regulatory Identification Number -- RIN 2126-AA10.

Comments may be submitted by personal delivery, fax, postal or e-mail delivery. Fax your completed comments to (202) 493-2251. Online, go to the federal eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting.

If you are mailing your comments, use this address:

Docket Management Facility

U.S. Department of Transportation

400 Seventh St. SW, Nassif Building Room PL-401

Washington, DC 20590-0001.

- By Sandi Soendker, managing editor
sandi_soendker@landlinemag.com

Chemical spill closes I-65 in Indiana

Interstate 65 near Lowell, IN, was shut down Thursday, Nov. 16, because of a chemical leak at a nearby Pilot Truck Stop that injured several people.

According to WTHR-TV, a tanker truck that was parked in the lot apparently leaked sodium hydrosulfite, a chemical used in film, paper and leather products that can cause skin and eye irritation.

A sheriff's officer said five people were treated for respiratory problems. The highway was expected to reopen by 4 p.m. Thursday.

Virginia counties decide on bond use for roads

Voters in three Virginia counties cast ballots on Election Day that included questions about whether to use taxpayer-backed bonds to fund transportation work.

Ballots in Loudoun County had two questions about bond usage. Question 3 asked whether to authorize bonds worth $38 million for projects that include construction of state Route 7/Loudoun County Parkway Interchange and a portion of the Russell Branch Parkway.

Question 4 asked about authorization for a $13.3 million bond issue to design transportation projects throughout the county.

Voters approved Question 3 by a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent. Question 4 received 64 percent approval from voters while 36 percent were against it.

In Loudoun County, general obligation bonds will be sold to pay for the projects and taxpayer money will be used to pay the debt service on those bonds.

Prince William County voters decided whether to use $300 million in bonds for projects that cover both sides of the county.

With nearly 82 percent support, voters authorized widening along two stretches of U.S. Route 1, widening along Virginia 28 and several other roads.

While voters in Loudoun and Prince William counties were willing to tap into bonds for roadwork, voters in Stafford County went the other way.

Fifty-two percent of voters rejected $161.2 million in bonds to be issued for various road projects in Stafford County.

The list of bond projects included engineering a fix for the intersection of U.S. 1 and U.S. 17 and paving dirt roads. Most projects were to be done in the northern part of the county.

California city to ban smoking almost everywhere

If you're a smoker, you might want to avoid traveling through Belmont, CA.

The city of 25,000 people, which is located near Interstate 280 south of San Francisco, plans to ban smoking everywhere except inside single-family detached homes. That means no smoking outdoors areas or inside your vehicle.

According to the San Mateo Daily Journal, the ban will apply to sidewalks, parks and apartment complexes - as well as trucks and cars passing through town.

Pennsylvania governor vetoes small business bill

For the second time in as many sessions Gov. Ed Rendell has vetoed a bill intended to aid small businesses in Pennsylvania, including trucking operations.

The bill - HB236 - would have required that prior to the adoption of any proposed regulation that could adversely affect small businesses, each state agency notify the Independent Regulatory Review Commission of its intent to adopt the rule.

Rep. Tina Pickett, R-Wysox, said the bill would have allowed small businesses that were adversely affected or aggrieved by any regulatory mandate to seek judicial review. The review period would have extended for 18 months after the implementation of the specific regulation.

The protection would have applied to businesses with up to 100 full-time employees or gross annual sales of less than $6 million.

"There is something wrong in the administration when legislation passes both the House and Senate overwhelming and it is not supported by the governor," Pickett said in a written statement. "Small businesses are the lifeblood of our state's economy, and I am very disappointed that the governor has once again chosen to derail economic development by vetoing this important legislation.

Rendell said in his veto message that the legislation would have increased the cost of operating the government unnecessarily. He said estimates from the state suggest that the cost of processing the more than 200 regulations that are proposed or revised annually could have increased by as much as $1 million as a result of the bill.

"The bill purports to protect small businesses, but, in fact, it will place new burdens on our agencies and commissions and, thus, will drive up the cost of their regulatory duties as well as further drag out an already long process unnecessarily," Rendell wrote.

The governor also said there are enough protections for businesses in current laws. This latest effort would only create another layer of red tape, he said.

Pickett said she isn't giving up. She intends to reintroduce the measure when the new legislative session begins in January.

Explosion temporarily closes interstate in Florida

Interstate 75 near Tampa, FL, was shut down for more than four hours Wednesday night after a tanker truck full of fuel exploded.

The Associated Press reports the chain-reaction wreck started with a pickup truck rear-ending a car and the car hitting the side of the passing tanker.

The truck driver got out before the explosion, but the driver of the car was killed, The AP reported.

Reason Foundation touts toll lanes and tunnels in Atlanta

A Libertarian think tank has a few suggestions for easing traffic congestion in Atlanta - a system of toll lanes and tunnels.

A new report from the Reason Foundation is based on an Atlanta Regional Commission document about congestion and commute times. Based on that report, the Reason Foundation figures that by 2030, a 30-minute commute will take 55 minutes and Atlanta's congestion will compare to that in Los Angeles.

The Reason Foundation and the Georgia Public Policy Foundation issued a four-part suggestion for Atlanta that is detailed right down to the $25 billion price tag.

First, 1,132 miles of new toll lanes should be added to all freeways, the foundation says, and existing carpool lanes should become toll lanes - free for buses, of course.

Second, the city should link the Georgia 400 with Interstate 20 with a double-decker tunnel that could later include a link to Interstate 675.

Third, a tolled tunnel could further relieve I-20 to the east, and an upgraded Campbellton Road and Camp Creek Parkway could provide relief to the west.

The fourth suggestion is for a separate toll road for trucks that permits truckers to bypass the city in exchange for a toll.

"A portion of this system would be tunneled below downtown," the report stated.

The Georgia State Road and Tollway Authority called the report "intriguing," and issued a statement to the media.

"It should be read and considered by all who are faced with making critical decisions regarding Atlanta's transportation future," authority officials said. "SRTA is particularly encouraged by the Reason Foundation's endorsement of tolling and user-fee financing as an important component of any effort to provide mobility and funding options to the Atlanta region and the state of Georgia."

The author of the Reason Foundation report is Robert Poole, who founded the think tank. According to the foundation's Web site, Poole is an MIT-trained engineer and has advised the last four presidential administrations on transportation and policy issues.

"For the foreseeable future, toll lanes are Atlanta's best answer," Poole stated in a preamble to the report.

Atlanta and the state of Georgia continue to work on ways to relieve congestion in the long term.

Severe weather takes lives along East Coast

Truckers hauling along the East Coast and in several southern states have seen some violent weather in the past few days.

According to media reports Thursday, Nov. 16, at least six people died when a tornado swept through a mobile home park northwest of Wilmington, NC.

On Wednesday, severe storms killed one person and injured many others as the bad weather moved through Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

In Arkansas, a trucker had to be cut from the cab of his truck after it was blown over on Interstate 40.

Meanwhile, truckers in the Vancouver, Canada, area battled high winds and heavy rains Wednesday. More than 200,000 homes in the province lost their power.

Survivors say reefer unit was turned on

In Houston on Wednesday, four survivors of a botched smuggling operation that left 19 illegal immigrants dead testified that the refrigeration unit was turned on in an overheated trailer toward the end of their trip.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the testimony contradicts earlier accounts by survivors who said the unit was never turned on.

The testimony comes in the re-trial of former trucker Tyrone Williams, who faces a possible death penalty for allegedly abandoning a trailer with as many as one hundred people inside.

Most of the dead died of heat stroke or suffocation.

North Carolina seeks method for collecting tolls

North Carolina Turnpike Authority officials are trying to come up with the best way to collect tolls that are being implemented in the next few years.

Authority members met Tuesday to discuss traditional toll booths, electronic transponder lanes for frequent users, and a system that would take photos of license plates to send bills to customers.

The authority has a few months to work out the plan.

The Wilmington Star reported that one authority board member joked about installing an "Easley Pass" system, like New York's E-ZPass, only with some clever word play with North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley's name.

North Carolina has several road projects to be equipped with tolls, including Wilmington's first toll road, the Cape Fear Expressway.

Officials said the method the authority eventually chooses for collecting revenue from motorists and truckers will be implemented statewide.

Avocado aficionado

A California trucking company owner and two of his employees nearly caused a guacamole dip crisis.

Ventura County authorities told The Associated Press that Castaneda Trucking was supposed to be hauling avocadoes from growers to market, but instead are accused of skimming off $700,000 worth of the product.

Florentino Castaneda and the employees are charged with grand theft and criminal conspiracy, The AP reported.

Authorities baffled by incident that killed man in Texas

Drivers on Houston's Northwest Freeway witnessed a horrifying sight Wednesday night as a man fell to his death after clinging to the side of a moving tractor-trailer.

According to the Houston Chronicle, witnesses said an unnamed man dangled from the side of the truck, then fell off and was hit almost immediately by a pickup truck.

Police are still searching for the tractor-trailer and are trying to determine why the man was hanging onto it. Further details regarding the man's identity or condition were not available.