|
October 11, 2005
Note:
To print this newsletter in its entirety, simply press the print button
on your web browser.
CLICK
HERE to send us your comments about this newsletter.
Headline
News
Chuck Mosqueda Leaves Wichita Tech for Hurricane Relief
Chuck Mosqueda, Director of Applied & Engineering Technologies – Seneca Center , Wichita Tech tendered his resignation to the college. He has decided to answer a strong call he feels to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Chuck's last day with WATC was Wednesday, September 21, 2005.
On behalf of the college, Chuck made three trips, twice with triples, and hauled a total of 100 tons of relief supplies from Wichita to Louisiana . In addition, he loaded and hauled another 100 tons on our trucks, taking supplies from the relief centers to small towns and parishes also devastated by the storm. Finally, he used his abilities as a diesel mechanic to help start several large pieces of construction equipment that would otherwise remain idle, and he operated a crane to load and unload barges on the Mississippi .
Chuck, who was active in PTDI and recently elected to the Board, found his work in Louisiana to be a life changing experience. He went to the Super Dome and the New Orleans Convention center and delivered to St. Bernard and to churches in Slidell , which were some of the hardest hit areas. Chuck purchased a 1994 Peterbilt Dump truck and is renting a tracked skid loader. In the days he will work to rebuild and in the evenings he will work with churches in the Slidell and St. Bernard Areas. He plans to work as long as his savings will allow. PTDI thanks Chuck for the work he did on behalf of trucking schools and wishing him well in his continued important work of hurricane relief. Top
Congress Passes Appropriations Continuing Resolution through November 18
Although the Reauthorization bill is now in place, failure of the Congress to complete work on the 2006 DOT Appropriations bill will delay the spending increases and new programs provided for in the Reauthorization bill.
On Friday, September 30, the Congress approved a Continuing Resolution that will set the level of spending through November 18 of this year. It provides that spending limits through this period will be determined by either the House-passed FY 2006 Appropriations bill funding DOT or the completed FY 2005 Appropriations bill funding DOT, whichever is lower.
For example, in the case of MCSAP, the 2005 bill determines the level which in this case is $169 million, not the House-passed 2006 bill that funds MCSAP at $188 million, which is the new reauthorization level for 2006. Other state grant programs such as the CDL improvement and border grant programs may be similarly affected. Of the 2005 funding levels, only a prorated amount through November 18 will be allocated to the states.
FMCSA reports that no new programs are being funded. It recommends that a state with a unique or special request should contact the FMCSA State Programs Office.
Top
Judges Hear Challenge to 10-hour, No-Drive Training
U.S. Appeals Court judges heard arguments on Sept. 13 on a new national rule for commercial drivers that sets minimum training requirements at 10 hours, none of which must be behind a wheel.
In May 2004, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a rule stipulating that driver training must include topics such as driver wellness, hours-of-service and rules on whistleblower protection. It does not demand road experience.
The petitioner's brief was filed April 22 by Public Citizen on behalf of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. The AHAS petition was consolidated with petitions filed by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and the United Motorcoach Association.
A three-judge panel in Washington heard the case against the FMCSA, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association reported on its website.
“The government says its rule does meet driver training needs,” said OOIDA attorney Paul Cullen Jr., but OOIDA argued there was no connection “between what the government provided in its final rule and any of the information that it developed in its earlier study.”
In 1991, Congress ordered the creation of a training rule after a number of truck crashes in which poorly trained commercial drivers were faulted.
An earlier model curriculum from the FMCSA's predecessor, the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Motor Carriers, advised 320 instructional hours for truckers.
The court does not have a deadline to file its ruling in the case, but the judges may issue their ruling by the end of this year. Top
FMCSA to Establish Medical Review Board
As called for in the new highway law, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Monday, Oct. 3 announced it would establish an FMCSA Medical Review Board, which will provide scientific advice to the Department of Transportation and FMCSA on medical issues, including the physical qualification requirements for commercial drivers, CCJ reported.
The Medical Review Board will provide FMCSA with ongoing medical expertise to shape research on and decisions about the health and wellness of CMV drivers, including physical qualifications, medical advisory criteria and safety research. The board also will advise the agency on the development of uniform driver physical qualification standards and CMV driver health and wellness, and will provide advice and recommendations for the development of a functional capacity test for individuals with certain impairments.
Another role for the Medical Review Board will be to advise FMCSA on the establishment and maintenance of medical examiner training and certification processes. In a recent related action, FMCSA announced that it planned to survey medical examiners on the proper role of an examiner as the agency develops its National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners.
DOT will appoint five physicians to the board, which will begin work during the current fiscal year. Applications for board positions are due Oct. 30. For more information on the Medical Review Board, visit http://dms.dot.gov/search and search Docket No. 20105.Top
Dept. of Energy Financial Aid Website
The U.S. Dept. of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has launched a website that consolidates funding information for various interests, including businesses. In fiscal year 2004, EERE awarded $506 million in financial assistance. Its most recent solicitations cover small business research and technology programs spanning topics such as biofuels, lightweight materials, electric energy storage for vehicles, power electronics, sensors and controls.
The website is: www.eere.energy.gov/financing/ .
Top
Are You a Good Listener?
Listening is important if you are going to be a good communicator. So, how do you know if you are a good listener? One way to begin to assess your listening skills is to take the following quiz. The questions indicate characteristics, including attitudes and actions, that can help you determine if you are a good listener. If you answer each question honestly, based on the information provided, you will find what you need to work on to improve your listening skills. Plan to work on any areas you mark as “No” or “Sometimes.” Click here for an excerpt from the Professional Truck Driver Institute book, Train the Trainer.
Top
TCA Expresses HOS Split Sleeper Concerns to FMCSA
TCA President Chris Burruss sent a letter last week to FMCSA Administrator Annette Sandburg expressing concerns with the new Hours of Service rule set to go into effect on October 1, 2005. Based on the significant response to TCA's Hours of Service survey Burruss stressed that 70% of the companies surveyed indicated that the new rule will have a large impact on their operations, particularly those utilizing teams and on average, they predicted the new sleeper provision will have a 51% negative impact on their overall operations. He also stressed that the new rule could keep goods from arriving at their destination on time, compromise the safety of drivers, and add to the already prevalent driver shortage. To read the entire letter click here.
Top
House Panel Approves Refinery Bill
The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a measure aimed at increasing construction of oil refineries and pipelines Thursday, Sept. 29.
The measure also includes an amendment that requires the Federal Trade Commission to crack down on price gouging by gasoline and diesel fuel retailers. The amendment includes penalties for violators of up to $11,000 per day.
The bill was introduced by Rep. Joe Barton, R-TX, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and is currently on a fast track through Congress. It includes provisions that would relax Clean Air Act regulations, streamline refinery and pipeline permits and give the Federal Trade Commission new authority to investigate price gouging.
Democrats, meanwhile, are complaining that the bill is getting such a fast push that they have had no time to thoroughly examine it. Critics of the bill claim that it unnecessarily rolls back environmental protections while at the same time promoting the oil industry, which has already posted record profits this year.
No new refineries have been built in the U.S. since 1976, and the number of operating refineries has dropped from 324 in 1981 to 148 today, according to the bill.
The bill is scheduled to go to the House floor by Oct. 9.
Top
I-10 Bridges at Lake Charles, Pascagoula to Open Soon
Road crews are working in Texas and Louisiana to clear downed trees and power lines off bridges and roads, and two I-10 bridges should open within days, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta.
His department is working with state officials to estimate the final cost of clearing Hurricane Rita debris off highways, so that emergency relief funds can be designated to pay for the work, Mineta said. “Our focus is on making sure state and local officials have the resources and support they need to repair, rebuild and reopen for business.”
In a road repair status report, Mineta said:
- The I-10 bridge in Lake Charles , La. , should reopen to traffic this week.
- Repairs are ahead of schedule on the I-10 bridge in Pascagoula , Miss. Repairs should be completed the first week of October.
- Interrupted by Hurricane Rita, work has resumed on the I-10 twin span bridges between New Orleans and Slidell , La.
As of the morning of Sept. 26, the DOT has provided more than 580 relief shipments, including a tanker of diesel fuel, 5,040 rolls of plastic, 43,760 tarps, 540,000 gallons of water, 2.7 million meals ready to eat, 5,000 blankets, 21,000 cots and 73 generators, Mineta said. The department also has provided more than 500 buses to return evacuees to the coast, Mineta said. Top
States Sue Alleged Fuel Price Gougers
Florida, New Jersey and Tennessee have filed price-gouging lawsuits over retail fuel prices, while 44 state attorneys general continue an investigation into price spikes after recent hurricanes.
Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether “forms of illegal behavior have provided a foundation for price manipulation,” John Seesel, an FTC associate general counsel, said Sept. 22.
New Jersey has filed four lawsuits in Mercer County 's state superior court against oil companies Hess, Motiva Shell and Sunoco and against independent gas-station owners selling Citgo, Hess, Shell and Sunoco gasoline, acting Gov. Richard Codey announced Sept. 26.
The state said the businesses' pricing practices, including multiple price changes during a 24-hour period, violated the state Motor Fuels Act and Consumer Fraud Act. Other violations include failure to display fuel price signs, failure to maintain price records and failure to provide access to price records, the state charged.
Tennessee Attorney General Paul Summers has filed a motion in Hamilton County Court against Chattanooga 's Tip Top market, alleging it charged nearly $5 per gallon for gas. The market violated the state's consumer protection and price-gouging acts, the suit alleges.
As of Sept. 13, Alabama Attorney General Troy King had issued a first round of subpoenas to more than 20 gas retailers, requiring that comprehensive fuel pricing information dating to July 1 be provided to King by Sept. 30.
On the federal level, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., introduced a bill Sept. 20 that would ban retail fuel price gouging after natural disasters. The proposed Energy Emergency Consumer Protection Act would give the president authority to declare national energy emergencies, during which price gougers would be subject to new fines and criminal penalties.
Modeled after price-gouging laws that currently exist in 28 states, the act also would allow federal regulators to pursue aftermarket manipulation of oil and gas prices every day. Violations would carry civil penalties of up to $3 million daily and a new criminal penalty of a maximum five-year prison sentence.
The previous day, U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., introduced the Oil and Gas Price Gouging Prevention Act, which would make it a felony to raise oil or gas prices by more than 15 percent during natural disasters and other emergencies. It would give the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general authority to prosecute violators.
Both bills were referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Cantwell's bill already has 25 co-sponsors.
Top
|