House Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) asked the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to adopt a policy of levying maximum fines against carriers that repeatedly violate safety regulations. A recent Government Accountability Office report concluded that FMCSA should levy maximum fines more often. Oberstar asked FMCSA chief John Hill to outline within 30 days his specific plans to levy maximum fines on high-risk carriers.
Connecticut’s trucking industry endorsed a state transportation plan to build a runaway-truck ramp on Avon Mountain following a second truck crash in as many years. The state is looking for permanent truck safety improvements on the Avon side of Route 44, the site of 190 accidents and 99 injuries between 1999 and 2004.
Tennessee law enforcement officials announced a crackdown on truck speed limits, especially in the Nashville metropolitan area. The increased enforcement comes on the heels of 14 tractor-trailer rollover accidents, 13 of which were believed to be a result of
excessive speeds.
UPS inducted 785 drivers into its Circle of Honor, raising the total number of active drivers who have steered clear of accidents for at least 25 years to 4,451. Of the Circle of Honor members, 137 have been accident-free for 35 or more years, with six of those having driven more than 40 years without an accident.
The American Trucking Associations has honored Peter Dannecker, director of loss prevention for A. Duie Pyle Companies, with its 2007 National Safety Director Award. The announcement came at the ATA Safety & Loss Prevention Management Council’s Fall Conference in Pittsburgh.
Dannecker is responsible for his company’s safety programs governing almost 2,000 employees, 14 terminals and six warehouses throughout the Northeast. He was selected by a committee that included past award winners, representatives of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and law enforcement professionals.
Under Dannecker’s leadership, A. Duie Pyle Companies reduced its preventable accident rate by 49 percent from 2000 to 2006. In addition, the carrier’s safety program has earned safety awards from the New York State Motor Truck Association, the New Jersey Motor Truck Association and the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association, as well as the ATA President’s Trophy in 2005.
