User-agent: Mediapartners-Google* Disallow: Trucks World News
Google
 
Loading

Jan 19, 2008

Investigation * USA - Prompts Call For Change In Trucking Industry

Houston,TX,USA -Click 2 Houston.com, by Robert Arnold -January 18, 2008: -- Local 2 Investigates exposed the problem last year. Now massive, nationwide changes to the trucking industry are being proposed. Our hidden camera investigation showed how a person with no experience and little training could still get a license to drive an 18-wheeler. The proposed changes are aimed at making the roads safer for you and your family... Our hidden cameras followed a Local 2 employee last February as he took the state's road test for a class-A commercial driver's license, a license that will allow him to drive any 80,0000 pound commercial truck. .. But before our employee took the state's test, his only experience with commercial trucks consisted of watching videos on truck safety for three hours, studying practice tests for another two hours and a 21-minute, 16-second practice drive. But that practice drive wasn't even in an 18-wheeler. It was in a 14-wheel vehicle with a push button transmission and no container on the back... That was all it took for him to pass all of the state's tests and walk away with a class-A commercial driver's license... Now the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is responding with a proposed rule. It would require all new big rig drivers to undergo a minimum of 120 hours of classroom and behind-the-wheel training at an accredited school before being allowed to take the state's driving test... Interestingly, this is not a new notion to the federal government. Nearly 13 years ago, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration concluded mandatory training is essential to producing safe commercial truck drivers. No word on why it took so long to come up with this rule...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 9:20 AM  0 comments

Jan 18, 2008

RULES OF THE ROAD * USA - Schools, firms say new truck-driving standards would yield better drivers

ew federal rules that would change the standards for truck-driver training would produce better drivers, said officials with trucking companies and driving schools



Harrisburg,PA,USA -The Central Penn Business Journal, by Jim T. Ryan -18 Jan 2008: -- ... But the proposed rules aren’t perfect, and local industry leaders suggested some improvements... On Dec. 26, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) posted its new rules and opened a three-month comment period... The rules would require 44 hours of behind-the-wheel training for new truck drivers before they can complete their training and begin driving... They welcomed the changes FMCSA is proposing because safe, competent drivers are most important to companies, motorists and others... (Photo by Amy Spangler - Fred Crook, left, demonstrates his knowledge of the pre-trip safety inspection for James “Skip” McClellan, lead instructor at the Sage Corp. program at Lebanon County Career School in Lebanon. Crook attended the truck-driving school five years ago and is refreshing his skills to be recertified for re–entry into the truck-driving industry)

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 7:01 AM  0 comments

Sep 28, 2007

Shocking Revelations * Canada - About Truck Driving Schools Leaving Many Concerned

They're sometimes called the knights of the road. But if you believe a new report, some of them may be more like nightmares.

Toronto,Canada -CityNews.ca -September 27, 2007: -- They're improperly trained truck drivers who pilot those big rigs that barrel past you on the highway. And according to the current rules, almost anyone can get a license to drive one without actually stepping behind the wheel of a full-sized tractor trailer to prove their competence... Licensing for big rigs is unregulated in Ontario, and many believe an influx of unskilled drivers is leading to tragic results on the roads... The driver has been charged in that case, although it's not clear where he learned his craft... But just days after the accident comes the revelation that there are a number of 'licensing mills' in the province and that getting a permit to drive one of the rigs can be as easy as taking a test using only a pickup truck hauling a horse trailer...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 8:07 AM  0 comments