N.Y. Thruway Toll Increase Could Have 'Damaging Effects,' State Official Says

A proposed 45% increase in truck tolls on the New York State Thruway could have “damaging effects” on consumers and businesses struggling to recover from the recession, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said.

In an analysis of the proposed toll increase released last week, DiNapoli said that instead of increasing truck tolls, the thruway authority should cut costs and find other ways to raise revenue.

Under the proposed toll rate schedule unveiled in May, a five-axle truck now paying $68.95 to run the length of the road would pay almost $100.

Meanwhile, a $5.4 billion plan to build a new Tappan Zee bridge in New York was approved Monday by a New York State transportation board, the Associated Press reported.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a letter of intent to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, after the vote to formally apply for the funds to build the new bridge, according to the governor’s website.

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Trees of every state: In an Oregon rest stop and Washington DC

Sometimes on the road there is a gem of discovery along the way. Stop at Baldock Rest Area in Oregon along southbound I-5 between Portland and Salem for a hidden “Grove of the States” trail, with a tree representing every state. It is a meandering delightful walk along a short path through the trees. What a perfect rejuvenating travel experience, especially on a long haul.

Around the back is more parking and a colorful flower garden too. It would be wonderful if every rest stop could have a place to walk and a special feature like this one for truckers and travelers alike. It is restful, educational, and especially nice in the spring, when the trees are blooming. Travel through Oregon along I-5 is greatly enhanced by large and beautiful trees along the way. Oregon has some of my favorite rest stops.

DIRECTIONS:
From the north – Portland, OR
Take I-5 southbound 17 miles
(Between milepost 281-282)
Signs mark the exit for the Rest Area

From the south – Salem OR
Take I-5 north for 28 miles
Exit 282 at Canby and cross over the bridge
Get on I-5 south back towards Salem
Baldock Rest Area is 1/4 mile

If you are not driving on the west coast and would like to see the trees of every state too, it appears that the east coast has a large National Arboretum that was established by Congress in 1927. It contains a sample of each state tree. Each of the 50 states has a designated official tree and a flower displayed there. Interestingly, many of the state flowers are actually trees too.

The National Arboretum is located in the northeast section of Washington, DC, approximately ten minutes from the Capitol Building. There are two entrances: one at 3501 New York Avenue, NE, and the other at 24th & R Streets, NE, off of Bladensburg Road. Free parking is available in large lots located near the Grove of State Trees, by the R Street entrance, and at the New York Avenue entrance as well.

I don’t suppose there is parking for a big-rig, but maybe if they have bus parking- you could call and ask. I think I was near there when I was lost in DC. It seems like a hard place to get around in; maybe you east coast drivers could comment about that. I always seem to get lost, and last time I was there I was sure someone would call the police about a large semi-truck wandering around near the capitol building. Not fun!

The arboretum takes up 446 acres with 9.5 miles of winding roadways that about half a million people stop to visit each year. They say you can tour it by car, bus, or bicycle or ride the tram. The tram is professionally driven with a 35-minute taped tour highlights all of the U.S. National Arboretum’s gardens, collections and natural foliage areas. During the non-stop ride, passengers hear the narration about the Arboretum, its history, mission, and collections. It sounds like a tree lover’s delight.

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Nascar Is Now North Carolina’s State Sport. Really?

North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue signed a bill Tuesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway that makes NASCAR the state’s official sport. The bill was an idea that came from North Carolina elementary school students, who discovered that their state lacked an official sport. Really? Did it take this long to figure this out because they thought that there was something else going on in North Carolina? I wonder what the “Tar Heels” think about this? Or how about Duke basketball? Don’t get me wrong, I think its great that Nascar is now the official sport of the state that held its racing roots. I am just shocked that they didn’t have an official sport. As a matter of fact I wonder how many states have an official sport. I live in Illinois now and according to Wikipedia there doesn’t seem to be an official sport for my state. If I had to guess it would be “Attempting to put Governors is prison”. Just sayin.

Among those on hand for the signing were 2011 Hall of Fame inductees Bobby Allison and Ned Jarrett, current Sprint Cup Series driver David Ragan, and the students who originated the bill. “Sometimes it takes really bright kids to tell all of us grown-ups what we ought to be doing,” Perdue said. “And that’s what these students are about today.” The students had worked over a year to get the bill passed. According to a Charlotte Motor Speedway release, the motorsports industry employs nearly 20,000 people in the Charlotte, N.C. region.

            in other news Dover Motorsports Group announced that it is going to move it’s spring race back to it’s original June setting due to soft attendance at it’s recent spring race. I have news for them, it had nothing to do with the date and everything to do with the poor way they manage their race track properties. Dover Motorsports Group has not dropped ticket prices on any races that I know of and in light of this awful economy that is just plain stupidity. They have lost touch with the fan bases at their only two remaining facilities, Dover and Nashville, and fans are trying to tell them about it through lack of ticket sales. I don’t know who is in charge up in there but they must be completely ignorant or just so in debt that they have no choice. They already had to sell Memphis Motorsports park and last year shut down Gateway in my back yard, what is next to get the axe? Nashville? Dover itself? Somebody up there in Dover needs to wake up and smell the coffee because they truly are not getting the message. They can try all they want to blame the rain or lack of it, on the weathermen up there but I’ll tell you this much had there been no threat of rain at all you would have still seen the same empty grandstands.

            This weekend Nascar heads out to wine country. Running at Infinion raceway, a road course that,,well I think is a wasted race date. I’ll make no bones about it, I think road course racing in Nascar is just plain boring and I will be looking at something else to do besides watch a freight train of stock cars chase each other around a road course. I would however love to go out there to see wine country and all that it entails. I imagine there are some really nice places to eat up there as well as the great vineyards. As far as stock car racing goes up there it might be cool to see it live, sort of walk the course and watch it from different turns but it is really boring to watch it on television. If I had to pick a driver to win out there this weekend it would be Carl Edwards. Maybe I would go with Juan Pablo Montoya or Jeff Gordon. Carl seems to take to road courses like a duck to water and Juan came to Nascar from a racing dicipline that predominantly ran road courses. I would however stay away from the road course ringers like Patrick Carpentier and Boris Said due to the fact that these so called road course ringers have not done well for the most part when it comes to Nascar. I hope you all enjoy the racing this weekend including the Nationwide race at Road America in Elkhart Lake Wisconson. I will be working in my garden or watching a movie. its just not my cup of tea.

Stay safe out there.

TW

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Where is the Outrage – Mexican Trucks are coming to a State Near you

I have written on this subject several times – but where is the outrage? Mexican trucks are coming to the U.S. very soon – quite likely before the end of the month. Calls, and or letters/faxes need to be sent to your lawmakers – they need to hear from their constituents, this does not just affect certain states, but this will effect all of the United States. Why you ask?

“U.S. truck-drivers and carriers must contend with ever-increasing safety, homeland security and environmental regulations that dramatically affect their costs of operations as well as their ability to make a living at their chosen profession,” said Todd Spencer, Executive Vice President of OOIDA. “Mexico does not have an even remotely equivalent regulatory regime for its trucking industry and should not be given de facto exemptions.”

In 1995 the U.S. and Mexico started a pilot program to allow Mexican trucks to travel throughout the US delivering loads brought in from Mexico. The US trucks were allowed to do the same in Mexico, but environmental issues, safety and security concerns spurred the United States to bar Mexican trucks from being on U.S. roadways.

There has been no indication from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) or the Department of Transportation (DOT) or from Mexico that any of these environmental issues or safety and security concerns have been addressed. 16 years later the environmental issues and safety and security concerns still exist, but Obama agreed to allow the Mexican trucks back into the US and at a price too. These Mexican trucks are to be fitted with Electronic on-board recorders (EOBR) that taxpayers in the U.S. are to pay for.

An electronic on-board recorder (EOBR) is an electronic device attached to a commercial motor vehicle, which is used to record the amount of time a vehicle is being driven.

The driving hours of commercial drivers – truck and bus drivers – are regulated by a set of rules known as the hours-of-service (HOS). The HOS are rules intended to prevent driver fatigue, by limiting the amount of time drivers spend operating commercial vehicles.

The prior pilot program only allowed 100 Mexican carriers to do business beyond the border zone in the United States. This time around the program has no set limit on the number of carriers or number of trucks to be allowed into the U.S. – provided they can pass an inspection of their trucks and the accreditation of their operators.

The new cross-border trucking plan will happen in three stages: The first stage will be the application and inspection of the Mexican trucks and the accreditation of their operators. The second stage starts with a three-month period of thorough inspections of the vehicles crossing the border, checks that will decrease starting the fourth month. The final stage involves the Mexican companies being notified of their permanent authorization, which can be granted after 18 months of successful operations. This authorization can only be revoked if a safety regulation is broken.

Here is a kicker, Mexico reserves the right to re-introduce its illegal tariffs if any parts of the agreement are violated by the United States. Strong arm tatics, and the U.S. does not have the guts to stand up to them.

The fact that a cross-border program is in any stage of development does not sit well with the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) leadership. “With all the talk about the need for every initiative to create jobs, it’s absolutely shocking,” said OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer. “The only jobs this ill-conceived idea can create are for non-citizens who will take jobs away from U.S. citizens.”

Coupled with the fact that the program would threaten U.S. trucking jobs, Spencer is equally concerned about the safety and security of truckers and U.S. highway users alike. “It’s a pipe dream that the safety and security issues can be resolved, given the general state of disarray or war that exists in Mexico,” he said.

So guess what needs to be done now? Yes, that’s right get on the phones and call your senators and representatives and demand them to kill this deal now. You can call the United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 provide the operator with your home zip code and they will connect you directly with the Senate office you request.

If you as a U.S. truck-driver value your job or any concerned motorist on the highways – then you must contact your Senators and Representatives and explain to them why this is not a good idea. It is ironic that the DOT is always talking about how their number one priority is Safety – then they do this.

There are many different reasons why a trucking program with Mexico is a bad idea. The following are just a few things that public officials need to know:

The burden should be on Mexico to raise the regulatory standards of their trucking industry, not on the U.S. to lower ours or find ways to accommodate their trucking companies and drivers.Every year, US truckers are burdened with new safety, security and environmental regulations. Those regulations come with considerable compliance costs. Mexico-domiciled trucking companies and drivers do not contend with a similar regulatory regime in their home country nor must they contend with the corresponding regulatory compliance costs that burden U.S. truckers.To date Mexico has failed to institute regulations and enforcement programs that are even remotely similar to those in the United States.To ensure the safety and security of U.S. citizens, Mexico-domiciled trucking companies and truck drivers must be required to comply with the same level of safety, security and environmental standards that already apply to U.S.-based companies and drivers, NOT ONLY WHILE OPERATING IN THE U.S. BUT ALSO IN THEIR HOME COUNTRY.Without a level playing field with Mexico, thousands of U.S. jobs will be lost if a cross-border trucking program is initiated at this time.

CALL NOW AND KEEP CALLING UNTIL LAWMAKERS REALIZE JUST HOW BAD AN IDEA THIS REALLY IS!

This article also appears on Conservative Daily News

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