Showing posts with label Drivers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drivers. Show all posts
Sunday, 31 March 2013
Q&A: Hours of Service: Putting the Drive Back in Drivers
Jump to navigation Colin Barrett | Mar 20, 2013 10:56AM EDT The hours-of-service rules proposed by the Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will be a disaster for the motor carrier industry. We already have enough trouble attracting qualified drivers, and the rules will hammer us further by requiring all kinds of additional “rest” times before drivers can get on the road after a shift.
Sunday, 2 September 2012
3% of Fatal Crashes Involved Alcohol-Impaired Truck Drivers in 2010
Drivers of large trucks made up the smallest percentage of alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2010, according to recently released data by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
According to the report, 3% of fatal crashes involved drivers in large trucks with a blood-alcohol content above zero, and 2% were caused by drivers with BACs above the U.S. legal limit of .08.
Most drunk drivers causing fatal crashes in the United States have consumed about twice as much alcohol as laws allow, the top U.S. auto-safety regulator said.
More than 70% of deaths in crashes involving drunk drivers in 2010 involved a driver with blood-alcohol content of .15 or higher, NHTSA said.
In 2010, 10,228 people died in the U.S. in alcohol-related accidents, meaning there was one such death every 51 minutes, according to NHTSA.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has estimated about 7,000 lives could be saved annually in the U.S. if no one drove with a blood-alcohol content higher than .08., Bloomberg reported.
Tuesday, 28 August 2012
Port of Virginia Signs Up Drivers for Chassis Rental Program
The Port of Virginia is signing up truck drivers for an online chassis rental program as ocean carriers move away from providing the equipment.
The voluntary program will be fully operational in October, according to the Port of Virginia and the site will manage chassis rental functions and integrate with an insurance compliance clearinghouse.
Currently ship lines are the only providers of chassis, the program is designed to transition away from that model towards third-party ownership.
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
Heavy rescue tow truck drivers go through 'hell' on new TV series
TORONTO, Ont. -- The treacherous kilometres of B.C.’s Coquihalla Highway will be getting their close-up starting next month when the Discover Channel premieres its new “Highway Thru Hell” TV series.
The new show follows the team of heavy rescue tow truck drivers at Jamie Davis Heavy Rescue as they fight to keep open the 100-kilometre stretch of highway running through B.C.’s Cascade Mountains – touted as one of the most inhospitable trucking routes in North America.
The series premiere, titled “Death on the Coq,” features Jamie Davis Heavy Rescue’s “A” team, Adam Gazzola and Kevin Ritchie, spending a busy morning clearing spun-out semis off the road when word comes that a multi vehicle pile-up has closed down both northbound lanes. While Gazzola scrambles to get the highway open, Davis tries to free a semi from a steep, icy off-ramp. By sundown the crew is exhausted, but the Coq isn’t done with them yet. At 3 a.m., a five-semi wreck at the top of the mountain sends Davis and his 16-year-old son Brandon fighting their way through the traffic backup. This is Brandon’s first night wreck – and the hard reality of heavy rescue towing is driven home when he discovers a driver under one of the trucks, dead.
In addition to the men of Jamie Davis Heavy Rescue, the show’s producers are calling the team’s vehicles the “undisputed co-stars” of “Highway Thru Hell.” One such vehicle, Rescue 52, features a fixed 30-tonne crane, and two powerful winches which extends the reach of the truck for hundreds of metres. “It would take eight standard tow trucks to match the capacity of this single heavy wreck mover – a vital part of the rescue arsenal when a jack-knifed rig is dangling from a 120-metre cliff,” said a recent release from the show.
The original eight-part Canadian series is produced by Vancouver’s Great Pacific TV and will premiere Sept. 4 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on the Discovery Channel.
For more information, visit www.discoverychannel.ca or follow @DiscoveryCanada and @HwyThruHell on Twitter.
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Fairness at last, for senior drivers in Ontario?
TORONTO, Ont. -- The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) says it's encouraged by comments from Ontario Transport Minister Bob Chiarelli that acknowledge the licence renewal process for senior drivers in Ontario could be less onerous.
Chiarelli said that "commercial driver licence renewal can be made less onerous for senior drivers (drivers 65 years of age and older) without compromising safety" and has asked his parliamentary assistant Vic Dhillon to determine what amendments to the renewal requirements are needed and to develop a plan to implement them, according to the OTA.
"The minister is sending the signal that the government is willing to make some changes and given the discussions we have had with the ministry to date, we don't think we are very far apart in terms of what should and can be done," said OTA president David Bradley. "We are eager to work with Mr. Dhillon early in the New Year to help establish the policy. We recognize there will be a regulatory process that has to be followed and that implementation will require system changes and the like, but we hope that by this time next year senior truck drivers in Ontario will be subject to a much fairer and less burdensome licence renewal process."
Ontario is the only jurisdiction in North America that requires commercial drivers aged 65 years and older to take an annual road test to retain their A/Z licence. Over the years, the policy has caused many experienced professional drivers to leave the industry in frustration. It is also a major cost for owner/operators who must take their truck off the road to undergo the road test or for company drivers who in some cases have to rent a truck in which to take their test.
Industry associations including the OTA, Private Motor Truck Council of Canada and Owner-Operators Business Association of Canada have been unanimous in their criticism of the current requirements.
Monday, 2 January 2012
OBAC calls for moratorium on yearly road tests for senior A/Z drivers
OTTAWA, Ont. -- The Owner-Operator's Business Association of Canada (OBAC) says it is pleased Ontario Transport Minister Bob Chiarelli is seemingly willing to put an end to the discriminatory licensing requirements for senior commercial drivers.
OBAC also lauded the MTO for taking immediate steps to make the annual licensing requirements for drivers aged 65 and over less onerous. OBAC, along with other trucking organizations, has been appealing for change to the requirements for several years. Ontario is the only jurisdiction in North America that requires senior drivers to take a road test every year after the age of 65 in order to retain their A/Z licence.
"Through a succession of ministers, OBAC has gone to MTO recommending it does away with the road test for senior drivers, replacing it with a more suitable means of evaluating driver skills, cognitive ability, and regulatory knowledge," says OBAC executive director, Joanne Ritchie. "Forcing a driver with perhaps 30 or 40 years of experience to complete the entry-level driver's exam does nothing to test for conditions that could be associated with aging."
Chiarelli has directed his deputy minister to examine the issue and determine how to proceed with changing the licensing requirements. In the meantime, the MTO has made some small changes to the licensing procedure, which will be welcomed by commercial drivers.
Road test fees for senior drivers have been reduced to $14 from $75. Senior drivers will be able to use an automated transmission for their road tests. And the air brake portion of the practical test has been amended so that senior drivers can use diagrams to describe the process and demonstrate their comprehension of the air brake test.
OBAC has called for an immediate moratorium on the road test requirement until new legislation comes into effect.
"This would be a step toward righting the blatant double standard of age-based testing, and it can be done quickly, as was done with extending the expiry date for licenses that expired during the 2009 labour dispute with SERCO drive test examiners," Ritchie says. "The road test is the most costly and inconvenient element of retesting for senior drivers, and does nothing to test for conditions that could be associated with the effects of aging."
Saturday, 10 December 2011
Yanke seeking team drivers at open house next week
BRAMPTON, Ont. -- Yanke Group of Companies will be holding an open house at its Brampton Terminal next week.
The carrier is seeking team drivers and is encouraging attendees to bring their abstracts, resume and FAST card or passport for expedited processing.
David Brown, fleet recruiter for Yanke, says the company offers the "best pay package I have ever seen for team drivers, companies or owner/operators, since I started in the recruiting business."
The free two-day event will be held at 27 Automatic Road in Brampton, Ont. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 14-15.
For more information, contact Brown at 905-791-1369 ext. 3747 or david.brown@yanke.ca.
Friday, 25 November 2011
B.C. suggests drivers practice chaining up now
VICTORIA, B.C. -- The province of B.C. is reminding truck drivers to chain up when conditions dictate and recommending they practice chaining up before having to do so on the side of the road.
Chaining is often required along the Coquihalla Highway at the Box Canyon chain-up zone. "This area receives some of the most unpredictable weather in the province and is close to a number of avalance zones," the province reported in a truckers' bulletin. "This chain-up zone becomes congested quickly and ensuring the safety of all highway users by keeping the avalanche zones clear of stopped traffic is a top priority."
The provinces says drivers who do not immediately begin chaining up when stopped there will be either turned around or towed away. "There is to be no parking in the chain-up zones, aside from the time taken to actively install chains," the bulletin warned.
The province also warns that learning on the job can be hazardous, especially during heavy snowfall. It advises drivers to practice chaining up in favourable conditions. Tips are provided here. The province has also created a useful video on how to chain up, which you can view here.
Saturday, 5 November 2011
Recruiters Must Mull Generational Differences When Seeking New Drivers, MCE Is Told
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