Trucks World News

STOLEN TRAILER WITH DRUGS GROWING SET-UP * Australia -

* Queensland - A mobile hydroponic drug growing set-up run from a stolen truck trailer has been found hiding in plain sight

--- Officers from the Sunshine Coast District Tactical Crime Squad acted on a public tip-off when they went to a property in Landsborough about 1pm Wednesday... The trailer, about 20m long, was parked among trees but visible from the road. Checks of the trailer revealed it had been stolen from Toowoomba in October 2014... Sergeant Wade Lee said, a hydroponic growing room had been set up inside, complete with growing lights, exhaust fans, transformers and chemicals... A 49-year-old man has been charged with drug offences and a property offence in regards to the stolen trailer...
(Photo by John McCutcheon: Police have seized a stolen semi trailer with an elaborate drug set up inside) -- Landsborough. QLD, Australia - Big Rigs, by Stuart Cumming - 8th Dec 2016

Labels: drugs and truckers

TRUCKERS' & DRUGS * Philippines

* Manila - Truck drivers, porters under watch for drug use

--- Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno, ordered yesterday the Philippine National Police (PNP) to strictly monitor cargo truck drivers and porters following reports that some of them are using illegal drugs to keep them awake in their long trips... Sueno also directed concerned local government units (LGU) and their police forces to monitor the activities inside roadside eateries which are long used as drug dens or fronts for drug transactions... The DILG chief said he got information that some truck drivers reportedly buy marijuana and shabu from small-time drug pushers in roadside eateries where they usually stop over to take their meals... Sueno said drivers who are applying for a license to drive trucks should be subjected to regular drug tests to minimize the incidence of road accidents...
(Photo) -- Manila, Philippines - Tempo Online - July 19, 2016

Labels: drugs and truckers, trucking industry news worldwide

TRUCKERS & DRUGS * Australia: "A small portion of the industry was taking drugs regularly"

* Victoria - Heavy-vehicle drivers are supposed to drive for a maximum of 12 hours a day. Police admitted that truckies were driving for more than 16 hours and some were using ice and speed to stay awake

-- Truck drivers dealing drugs over cab radio, caught high behind the wheel, are running organised drug syndicates, dealing ice and speed to other big-rig drivers while on the job... Victoria Police figures obtained by the Herald Sun reveal record numbers of truck drivers are high while behind the wheel, and 156 drivers tested positive last year... Drug-bingeing drivers are racking up lines on log books and others are smoking ice while driving... Trucking industry insiders say deals are being organised using code over the radio and drugs are then handed out... VicRoads has stripped 11,704 heavy vehicle licences from truck drivers for road offences including drugs and speeding... Detective Inspector Bernie Rankin, head of Victoria Police’s transport investigations unit, said some truck drivers were being charged with not only drug-driving but also drug trafficking and possession... A Melbourne truck driver said a small portion of the industry was taking drugs regularly... Police recently admitted that truckies were driving for more than 16 hours a day and some were using ice and speed to stay awake... In 2014, fatal accidents involving heavy vehicles jumped by 90 per cent to 59. Over the last three years, 350 truckies have been charged with 410 offences. The number of drivers charged jumped to 156 drivers last year from 86 in 2013...
(Image: A truck on the Hume Highway) -- Melbourne, VIC, Australia - The Herald Sun, by ALEKS DEVIC & ALEX WHITE - April 7, 2015

Labels: drugs and truckers

TRUCKERS & DRUGS * Australia

* Drug test blitz nabs 20 NSW truckies

(Video from You Tube, by Rocketboy: The BIGGEST trucks in the world. A selection of clips from my road train and truck videos. Nothing here with less than three trailers.And yes I know there are bigger ones but not out on the highways. Oct 29, 2009)
Sydney,NSW,USA -AAP/The Australian News -December 10, 2012: -- Twenty truck drivers have tested positive for drugs during a weekend operation on NSW roads, police say... None tested positive for alcohol... The operation was conducted at the Marulan Heavy Vehicle Inspection Station near Goulburn over the weekend... Operations Commander of the Traffic and Highway Patrol, Superintendent Stuart Smith, said police were disappointed by the results... The 20 truck drivers have been suspended from driving for 24 hours and will be issued with a court attendance notice and charged if the results are confirmed within a fortnight...

Labels: drugs and truckers

TRUCKERS & DRUGS * USA

* New Jersey - More truckers and other ‘safety sensitive’ workers testing positive for drugs

Madison,NJ,USA -Fleet Owner, by Deborah Whistler -Mar. 27, 2012: -- Truck drivers, pilots, rail operators and bus drivers federally mandated to be randomly drug and alcohol tested are testing positive for drugs more often, especially cocaine and amphetamines, according to a recently released survey from Quest Diagnostics... The study found a 33% jump in testing positive for cocaine during 2011 among “safety -sensitive workers.” The data, collected from 1.6 million drug tests done last year, also show a nearly 26% increase in positive tests for amphetamines...

Labels: drugs and truckers

DRUGS on TRUCKS * USA - Police seizing more than 5 tons of marijuana and $4.3 million in cash

* Indiana - Drug seizure reveals Mexican cartels’ infiltration in states

Indianapolis,IND,USA -Land Line, by Charlie Morasch -October 25, 2011: ... A man told Efren Gonzalez-Perez drive his truck to Indianapolis and pick up $500,000 cash before returning to the southwest border. He delivered the money to a truck stop in McAllen, TX, off of Interstate 83, using a hidden compartment in his trailer... In March, Gonzalez-Perez became the first of at least four defendants charged in a large-scale drug-running operation last week originating from drug cartels along the U.S.-Mexico border... The police conducting a traffic stop at a west Indianapolis truck stop used a canine to determine drugs were present in Gonzalez-Perez’s Freightliner. Gonzalez-Perez had been pulled over in west Indianapolis... Police found $500,000 in a hidden compartment in the trailer’s ceiling. Later, nearly another $4 million in cash was found in related searches at an Indianapolis warehouse last week and in a truck pulled over in Arkansas in late September... The investigation resulted in police seizing more than 5 tons of marijuana and $4.3 million in cash and drug proceeds... U.S. Attorney Joseph Hogsett said the drug bust was the largest in Marion County history and possibly the largest in Indiana history...

Labels: drugs and truckers

TRUCKERS' HEALTH * USA - Can drugs help drivers stay alert ?

Stimulant drugs have serious side effects that after long-term use might include insomnia and addiction

New York,NY,USA -Fleet Owner, by Jim Mele -May 11, 2010: -- When it comes to staying alert behind the driver’s wheel, “caffeine is a very useful tool,” according to Todd Dawson, vp of the fatigue management company Circadian... The stimulant effect of the caffeine in two cups of coffee lasts five to seven hours, he said... Gerald Krueger, a well-known researcher who is currently putting together a report on stimulants, hypnotics and nutritional supplements for the Transportation Research Board said, his concerns are the “energy boost” products and other nutritional supplements commonly marketed to drivers at truckstops ... Prescription stimulant drugs have much stronger effects than caffeine, but most of the well-known ones such as amphetamines have serious side effects that after long-term use might include insomnia and addiction. However lately there’s been a good deal of attention focused on a new stimulant compound known as modafinil, does boost alertness much like caffeine... (Photo from 3.bp.blogspot.com: truckers health)

* Safety board wants sleep apnea screening for drivers

Baltimore,MAR,USA -Fleet Owner, by Sean Kilcarr -May 12, 2010: -- The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) renewed its campaign this week to broaden the use of sleep disorder screening across all modes of transportation – air, rail, marine, and trucking – as part of long-term effort to significantly reduce the negative effects of fatigue... “Last summer we recommended that all modes begin identifying people with high risk for sleep disorders and guide them to medical treatment,” Christopher Hart, NTSB’s vice chairman, said in a speech here at the Sleep Apnea and Trucking Conference. The two-day event is being hosted by the American Sleep Apnea Assn. and co-sponsored by the American Trucking Assns. (ATA) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)... Hart said, “The good news is that those suffering from sleep apnea can be treated and then return to work. But it’s important that we find better ways to diagnose and treat such sleep disorders” ...

Labels: drugs and truckers, sleep apnea, Truckers' Health

TRUCKERS' RULES * USA - ATA rallies behind tougher drug test

Washington,DC,USA -Today's Trucking (CAN) -22 May 2009: -- New legislation introduced in the Senate will help close loopholes that allow drug and alcohol users to slip by trucking companies' driver hiring checks... The bill was praised by American Trucking Associations, which has been pushing for improvements to mandatory drug testing programs for drivers... The proposed legislation, the Safe Roads Act, would establish a database of drug-testing information for commercial drivers. It would employ $5 million a year to develop and distribute the database, requiring medical review officers, employers and other service agents to report positive results to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration... Employers would have to check the database before bringing on drivers. The bill would also provide for privacy protections and employee rights of actions...

Labels: drugs and truckers

Arkansas * USA - Goes online with drug, alcohol testing results

A new law kicked into effect the first of 2008 that requires Arkansas trucking companies not only to search the database before hiring a driver, but also to report any positive or refused drug or alcohol test results to the state

ARK,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Jami Jones -August 27, 2008: -- No matter if you’re from Arkansas or not, chances are if you have any sort of connection with an Arkansas-based trucking company, your drug and alcohol test results will be reported to the state’s new online database... The new online system went live on the state’s official Web site earlier this week and provides employers access in real time to alcohol and drug test results for commercial drivers... In addition to the reporting responsibilities, the Arkansas law enacted in 2007 requires employers to search the online database before hiring commercial drivers. If a commercial driver is found to have a positive or refused drug or alcohol test result on their record, the employer cannot hire the driver...

Labels: drugs and truckers

ILLEGAL DRUGS * USA - Truck drivers taking illegal drugs get hired

Washington,DC,USA -AP, by HOPE YEN -29 July 2008: -- Tractor-trailer and bus drivers who tested positive for illegal drugs have flouted federal regulations by returning to work without the required treatment, in some cases transporting hazardous materials for many months, congressional investigators say... The study by the Government Accountability Office, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, is the latest to detail problems involving unfit commercial drivers who can operate vehicles weighing 40 tons or more. The GAO found that 19 out of 37 commercial drivers who had a positive drug test in the last two years were hired elsewhere less than a month later — keeping quiet about their previous test result... These tractor-trailer or bus drivers, who had tested positive for cocaine, amphetamines or marijuana, passed a new pre-employment drug test either by quickly going clean or using products such as synthetic urine to mask drug use. They subsequently operated commercial vehicles for periods ranging from one month to over a year, GAO said...

Labels: drugs and truckers

Blitz * Australia - Will target drug use

Bendigo,Victoria,Australia -The Bendigo Advertiser - 26 February 2008: -- Bendigo police will increase operations on a number of local highways in a bid to alleviate truck drivers using drugs... Victoria Police statistics show 144 out of the 4123 truck drivers screened for drugs last year tested positive - that’s one in every 29... The truck drivers had taken methamphetamines (such as speed and ice), ecstasy or marijuana, or a combination of the drugs... Senior Sergeant Ryan Irwin, of the Bendigo Traffic Management Unit, said the figure increase was a result of police tackling the issue more seriously... (Photo - CRACKDOWN: Police will increase drug testing of truck drivers on highways in the region)

Labels: drugs and truckers

* USA - ATA Asks Congress to OK Drug, Alcohol Clearinghouse

The American Trucking Associations urged Congress to help the trucking industry keep drug and alcohol abusers off the road by supporting efforts to enhance drug and alcohol testing for the nation's 3.4 million truck drivers

USA -Layover -2 Nov 2007: -- ... Testifying on behalf of ATA before the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Greer Woodruff, senior vice president of corporate safety and security for J.B. Hunt Transport Services, made five recommendations for improving drug and alcohol testing programs for commercial motor vehicle drivers... Recommendations further included banning the manufacture, sale and distribution of products that help drivers evade drug tests and penalizing those who use them; directing the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the U.S. DOT to initiate a rulemaking that allows the testing of hair as an alternative to urine, and improving oversight of specimen collection facilities and practices... According to government reports, drug abuse in the trucking industry, as measured by a percentage of positive test results, is less than half of that found in the general work force.

Labels: drugs and truckers

Drug Testing of Truckers * USA - Undercover feds report problems in

The U.S. government says it’s relatively easy for truckers to cheat on random drug tests and get away with it

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine -November 1, 2007: -- ... According to MSNBC, undercover federal investigators posed as truckers at 24 drug-testing sites and found that 75 percent of the time, the testers didn’t restrict access to items like water or soap that could be used to alter the test’s outcome... The investigators were also able to take drug-masking products that are available over the Internet into test sites without being caught...

Labels: drugs and truckers

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Dec 9, 2016

STOLEN TRAILER WITH DRUGS GROWING SET-UP * Australia -