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

May 26, 2017

SPEED LIMITS FOR TRUCKS * Australia: Association said "would not work well"

* Victoria - Monash Freeway truck speed limits dumped after tailgating and weaving increases

--- Speed limits to slow trucks on the Monash Freeway –introduced by Roads Minister Luke Donnellan​ to increase safety– have been dumped after VicRoads said they had made traffic conditions worse and increased aggression between car and freight drivers... The trial had encouraged tailgating and led to cars weaving, VicRoads found... But after six months, VicRoads called off the trial after an independent evaluation found it was causing problems, particularly between car drivers and trucks... Mr Donnellan said a second stage of the speed trial on the Monash, banning trucks from the right lane, would commence later this year... Peter Anderson, chief executive of trucking group the Victorian Transport Association, said the trial had been worth trying... But his association had always believed different speed limits for trucks and cars would not work well... 
(Photo, by Joe Armao: Heavy traffic on the Monash Freeway)  --  Melbourne, VIC, Australia - The Age, by Clay Lucas - May 22 2017

Labels: ,

posted by Unknown @ 4:12 AM  0 comments

Sep 4, 2015

SPEED LIMITS * Canada - Truck speed limiters unconstitutional, justice rules. But, Court rejects truckers' bid to go faster on Ontario highways

* Ontario - A court judge ruled that the province's legislation limiting the speed of transport trucks doesn't violate human rights

-- An Ontario law that limits large trucks to a speed of 105 km/h is unconstitutional, a justice of the peace has ruled,.. Truck driver Gene Michaud of St. Catharines, Ont., was charged with not having a working speed limiter. He argued in court the device compromised his safety... Michaud argued being forced to keep a speed limiter on his truck violated his charter rights... In his ruling released in Welland, Ont., Justice of the Peace Brett Kelly agreed. Some truckers do, too... But, in a landmark case for Ontario's highways, the provincial court of appeal has upheld provincial legislation that prevents big rigs from going faster than 105 kilometres per hour... In an email, MTO spokesperson Ajay Woozageer said the government is pleased with the latest decision. .. "From 2003 to 2012, the number of fatalities in large truck collisions declined 35 per cent despite an increase of 20 percent in the number of large trucks registered in Ontario," Woozageer said... The OOIDA now has 60 days to appeal the case to the supreme court...
(Photo by Lee Pitts/CBC) - ONT, CAN - CBC News, by Samantha Craggs - Sep 03, 2015

Labels: ,

posted by Unknown @ 6:39 AM  0 comments

Jul 14, 2015

BILL * USA: To limit truck speed

* DC - So, it'll ease work pressure on truckers


-- Truckers would have to carry more insurance and be paid by hours worked rather than miles traveled under legislation introduced Friday by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker... The Truck Safety Act also would require the government to develop new rules requiring commercial vehicles to have systems to help avoid collisions and to limit their speeds... The American Trucking Associations, the trade group for the trucking industry, applauded some elements of the legislation and objected to others... 
Washington, DC, USA - NJ.com by Jonathan D. Salant - July 10, 2015

Labels: ,

posted by Unknown @ 3:01 AM  0 comments

May 11, 2015

SPEED LIMIT * New Zealand - Calls from 100 to 60/70 km/hour limit

* Calls for lower speed limit as 10 die on roads

-- The national head of road policing has thrown his weight behind calls to reduce the speed limit on rural roads, after a "horror" weekend in which 10 people died in crashes... The default 100kmh speed limit on most of New Zealand's rural roading network was too high, Assistant Commissioner Dave Cliff told Radio New Zealand... Best international practice dictated a 70-80kmh limit. "It means if people crash, it's survivable," Cliff told... Cliff said the weekend's carnage reminded him of the "really bad old days" of the 1970s and 80s, when road death levels were at their highest... Notwithstanding that New Zealand's road toll was still twice as high, per 100,000 people, as low-toll countries such as Netherlands and Sweden... Cliff adds, "Worse was yet to come if the toll continued at its current level for the rest of the year"... 
 Wellington, New Zealand - Stuff, by TALIA SHADWELL - May 11 2015

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 6:53 AM  0 comments

Apr 30, 2015

TRUCKS SPEED LIMIT DISPUTE * USA: ATA vs. NMA & OOIDA

* Wiscosin - NMA and OOIDA dispute split-speed limit safety claims by American Trucking Associations

 -- The National Motorists Association (NMA) and Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association (OOIDA) issued a joint statement questioning claims made by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) that all trucks need speed limiters programmed to 65 mph. The ATA has called upon the U.S.A. Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMSCA) to not only cap the speed of large trucks, but to also reduce speed limits for all traffic... "The ATA is searching for a solution to a problem that doesn't exist," noted NMA President Gary Biller. "They want to turn back the clock from today's speed limits at a time when U.S.A. highways are statistically safer than at any time in the past. Much safer, in fact, than when the federal government regulated the maximum speed of all vehicles to 55 mph between 1974 and 1995. It makes you wonder why" ... In an April 2015 study, the FMCSA reported (see Figure 1) that from 2011 to 2013, 80 percent of fatal crashes involving large trucks occurred at speed limits posted no higher than 65 mph. Nearly 60 percent of the crashes were on roads posted at 55 mph or lower...



The ATA has been lobbying for speed limiters on trucks for several years. In comments presented to federal transportation officials in March 2007, OOIDA opposed the ATA call for large truck speed limiters... Todd Spencer, OOIDA Executive Vice President, said, "While the big carrier executives who are proponents of speed limiters talk about improved safety, when you talk to professional drivers, the first thing they mention is how speed limiters compromise safety and increase risk of accidents between trucks and cars" ... Spencer added, "When trucks operate slower they burn less fuel. However the trade-off is the driver's time. Since virtually all over-the-road carriers pay only for miles driven and nothing for the driver's time, it's easy to see who wins and who loses economically. Nearly all of the big truckload motor carriers work tirelessly to grow regulations and mandates that they claim will improve safety. However crash numbers show just the opposite" ... 
Waunakee, WIS, USA - MMD Newswire - April 28, 2015

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 8:14 AM  0 comments

Mar 3, 2015

TRUCKS' SPEED & WEIGHT LIMITS * USA: Minnesota's - Wiscosin's

* Current limits put Minnesota at a competitive disadvantage

-- As our region’s economy grows, the trucking economy grows with it. Dedicated men and women crisscross Minnesota every day, putting in countless miles to move the goods that mean job growth here and nationwide... But Minnesota, by law, is at a competitive disadvantage with all four of our bordering states: Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas. Minnesota is, in fact, alone among Midwestern states with its ultra-restrictive laws covering truck weights. While trucks in Minnesota are limited to a maximum load of 80,000 pounds, truckers in some other nearby states can haul literally twice as much product... This costs Minnesota’s economy dearly, as trucks bound for our state sometimes have to stop at the border to lighten their loads... So the state Legislature each year considers exceptions and exemptions and special provisions for individual industries and certain goods — timber and agricultural products, most notably. While these efforts are noble by nature, the result is a patchwork of contradictory and confusing laws governing how much of which products can be hauled in various parts of the state... By giving local and state officials full discretion to grant annual permits for trucks to operate on roads within their jurisdiction, the state could garner increased permit revenue and use those resources for much-needed inspection of roads and bridges and better signage to help make our roads safer... The end result would be a much-needed boost to the Minnesota economy. And the driving public wouldn’t see any larger trucks on their safer roads, just fewer trucks with more efficient loads... (Photo: A truck crosses over the Lester River bridge in January. Lawmakers and others are debating a proposal to increase Minnesota’s weight limits on trucks) - Duluth, MINN, USA - Duluth News Tribune, by Paul Hawkinson -Feb 28, 2015 


* Wiscosin - Truckers: There's no need for speed

-- Central Wisconsin-area trucking firms and drivers aren't too eager to see the passage of a bill to increase the speed limit in some parts of the state to 70 mph... The bill would allow the state Department of Transportation to increase the speed limit in approved areas. State Rep. John Spiros, R-Marshfield, has proposed an amendment to set a lower speed for commercial vehicles... The Assembly transportation committee conducted a hearing where there was little opposition to the bill. The committee is expected to vote on the bill in March... (Photo: Megan McCormick/Central Wisconsin Sunday - CWS Speed Limit. A semi-trailer heads west on Highway 10 outside of Marshfield on Feb. 19) - Marshfield, WIS, USA -The News-Herald, by Liz Welter -February 28, 2015

Labels: ,

posted by Unknown @ 3:52 PM  0 comments

Jul 12, 2010

SURVEY * Australia - Union blames truck speeding on customers

The Transport Workers Union claiming, financial pressure is forcing truck drivers to break speed limits

Sydney,NSW,Australia -The Sydney Morning Herald/ATN -July 12, 2010: ... A Roads and Traffic Authority survey published today claims 37.7 percent of heavy vehicles exceeded 100km/h limits in NSW last year, an increase of more than nine percent from 2008... The NSW Injury Risk Management Research Centre told the paper crash rates are up by 25 percent due in most part to incentives and pressure to drive faster... He says drivers have no control over pay conditions and are forced to make ends meet by unsafe practices... TWU National Secretary Tony Sheldon, has repeated his call for the establishment of a federal tribunal to ensure drivers and companies are paid enough to get the job done safely... A policy paper is due to be released soon by the Federal Government outlining how it plans to reform the pay system in the trucking industry...The government paper is in response to the findings of a 2008 report that found a demonstrable link between low rates of pay and poor safety in the heavy vehicle industry...

Labels: , ,

posted by Unknown @ 10:01 AM  0 comments

Apr 8, 2010

SPEED LIMIT * USA - Speeding 'cushion' may dwindle due to recession

The recession may be claiming a new victim: the 5-10-mph "cushion" police and state troopers across the USA have routinely given motorists exceeding the speed limit

McLean,VIR,USA -USA TODAY, by Larry Copeland -31 March 2010: ... As cities and states scramble to fill budget gaps with revenue from traffic citations, "not only are the (speeding) tolerances much lower, but the frequency of a warning instead of a ticket is way down," says James Baxter, president of the National Motorists Association, a Wisconsin-based drivers' rights group that helps its members fight speeding tickets... A study published last year in the Journal of Law and Economics found that police issue more traffic citations during recessions. From 1990 to 2003, counties in North Carolina issued significantly more tickets in the year following a decline in general tax revenue... Researchers from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the University of Arkansas-Little Rock found that a 10% decrease in revenue growth caused a 6.4% increase the following year in the growth rate of traffic tickets... Troy Green, national spokesman for auto club AAA, says he's unaware of increasing complaints from members about being stopped at slower speeds... (By Dan Koeck, for USA TODAY. The Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety offices, issued a report in 2005 stating that police in 42 states routinely let drivers exceed speed limits)


* UK - SPEED LIMITNG: A3 Guildford, safety signs

Guilford,Surrey,UK -HGV UK - April 7, 2010: -- Vehicle-activated speed limit signs will soon be operating as a safety measure on the A3 at Guildford. Signs reminding drivers of the 50mph speed limit will come on when they exceed the limit... The signs installed on both carriageways between the A31 junction and Middleton Road are planned to be operating from 23 April... The installation, which has already started, will take place at night between 9pm and 6am, and will involve some inside lane closures...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 9:14 AM  0 comments

Jan 28, 2010

SPEED LIMITS * USA - Knowing the speed limit wherever you are

So the question becomes, how do you know a speed limit on a roadway if it is not posted? The answer is you can’t

Washington,DC,USA -The Trucker News Services, by JIM KLEPPER -president of Interstate Trucker Ltd.- 28 Jan 2010: ... Every state road and highway has a designated speed limit assigned to it by the state... Ensuring that everyone is informed of that speed is the duty of the state Department of Transportation... Knowing the posted speed limit is important under the new CDL laws. Any moving violation will go on your CDL MVR plus it will also increase your personal auto insurance. Starting with the fine and court costs you pay, you should also consider the increase in insurance premiums for three to five years... The most important thing you have to consider is not the expense of that ticket, but the impact it may have on your future earnings. That single ticket may cost you your job, depending upon your company; it will certainly influence any future employers that might consider hiring you... Today is the time for you to consider fighting any and all traffic violations you receive...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 9:50 AM  0 comments

Dec 10, 2009

Speed Limit * USA - Changes in, tinted windows to affect people driving on Illinois highways

Springfield,ILL,USA -Herald-Whig, by DOUG WILSON -12 Dec 2009: -- Some of the rules for driving on Illinois highways are changing... A new law allowing tinted windows took effect Oct. 30, and the 55 mph speed limit for large trucks on rural interstates will climb to 65 mph on Jan. 1... Trucks weighing more than four tons currently are limited to 55 mph on Illinois interstates, while most other vehicles could travel 65 mph. The legislature voted to eliminated the divided speed limit in all except Chicago and the collar counties... It took educational efforts for proponents of tinted windows to reach an agreement with Illinois lawmakers and State Police... In most cases, the law will allow 35 percent visible light transmission for window film. The new law has different standards depending on whether privacy class is used on the rear of the vehicle... (H-W Photo/Michael Kipley - A truck passes a 55 miles per hour speed sign on Ill. 172 north of Broadway Monday. Beginning Jan. 1, 2010, large semi trucks on rural interstates will be allowed to travel at 65 mph)

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 12:01 PM  0 comments

Sep 12, 2009

Half-Fast * Canada - Toronto, Ontario, ponders a plan

First. a Toronto Councillor wanted to ban all delivery trucks from the downtown core. Now, another wants to slash speeds limits by as much as 25%

Toronto,ONT,CAN -Today's Trucking -11 Sept 2009: ... As if this city -- already the scene of some of the worst gridlock in North America -- needed another reason to make commercial drivers hate it... In light of a series of recent collisions involving pedestrians in Toronto, a prominent City Councillor named Bill Saundercook thinks that drivers are too speedy, so he is proposing that all of the city's posted speed limits get reduced by 10 km/h with a bottom limit of 30 km/h... He also thinks it'd be a swell idea to knock the speed limit on all streets around Union Station to 30 km/h and remove all the pedestrian-crossing systems so that pedestrians and vehicles would be able to, umm, negotiate crossings and rights of way on a one-by-one basis. Brill... The Toronto Sun reports that Saundercook, who co-chairs something called the Pedestrian Committee, will be bringing his notions to that committee's next meeting and even if they do pass muster with that group, the ideas would still need City Council's green light... Councillor, Doug Holyday, told the newspaper the idea doesn't make any sense, but he wouldn't be surprised if council adopted it anyway...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 8:07 AM  0 comments

Aug 19, 2009

Speed Limits * USA - Truckers earn equality on Illinois highways

Springfield,Ill,USA -Today's Trucking -18 Aug 2009: -- Going with the flow of traffic will finally be a reality for truckers after years of contending with split speeds on Illinois highways... Members of the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), which represents professional truckers, are glad the Illinois governor signed a new law to raise the speed limit for trucks to 65 mph... The Illinois Senate voted in May 2009 to approve a bill that exempts the five surrounding “collar” counties from the rule change. House lawmakers approved the bill in early spring. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn on Aug. 14 and goes into effect January 2010... (Images: interstate-guide: Northern Terminus - Interstate 94 - Chicago, Illinois)

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 10:01 AM  0 comments

Aug 16, 2009

Speed Limit * USA - For trucks, increases on major highways

Chicago,ILL,USA -Associated Press/The Chicago Tribune -August 14, 2009: -- Gov. Pat Quinn has signed a new law increasing the speed limit for large trucks on major highways in Illinois outside the six-county Chicago area to 65 mph... Under the bill signed into law Friday, the increase applies to trucks carrying a gross weight of 8,001 pounds or more on interstates and other highways with at least four lanes and dividing medians.,, Within Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties, however, the speed limit for such trucks will be 55 mph... The speed limit for trucks carrying a gross weight of 8,000 pounds or less will also be 65 mph, which also applies on the Illinois State Tollway system outside urban areas... (Images interstate-guide.com: Illinois State highways)

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 12:47 AM  0 comments

Jul 13, 2009

Speed-limiting * USA - Truckers' group backs devices

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Los Angeles Times, by Richard Simon -Jul 12, 2009: -- Stephen Owings, whose 22-year-old son died when his car was rear-ended, is fighting to have the federal government require the use of speed-limiting devices on all big rigs, saying: “We’re not against truckers; we’re pro-highway safety”... Most often, citizen-crusaders find themselves in unequal struggles against industry groups and lobbyists. But this time, David and Goliath seem to be on the same side... Owings has drawn support from the American Trucking Associations, or ATA, in his effort to get the U.S. Department of Transportation to require the use of the speed-inhibiting devices on big trucks -- or get Congress to mandate them in a highway bill soon to be drafted... On the other side are conservatives who oppose government regulation of business as a matter of principle, truckers who own their own big rigs and owners of smaller fleets represented by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association... These include drivers such as Julia Scott, who said that from the cab of her 18-wheeler she sees passenger cars doing a lot more dangerous things than big trucks. If the government is going to require governors on trucks, she said, “they need to put speed-limiting devices in the cars”... Proponents and opponents of such regulation defend their positions in terms of public safety... (Photo from 1.bp.blogspot

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 9:23 AM  0 comments

Jul 2, 2009

Speed Limit * USA - Trucks get even speed with cars in new interstate sl change

Stark County,OH,USA -CantonRep, by Lori Monsewicz -July 1, 2009: -- Trucks no longer have to go 10 mph slower than other vehicles on I-77 and other Ohio interstates... A change in the law Wednesday prompted the Ohio Department of Transportation to remove eight truck speed limit signs along the Stark County sections of the interstate... The speed limit for trucks moving through the city of Canton on the interstate remained unchanged...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 4:53 AM  0 comments

Jul 1, 2009

SPEED LIMITS * USA - New truck speed limits start July 1

ODOT changes road signs Weds. and Thurs.

OH,USA -abclocal/WTVG -June 30, 2009: -- A change in state law will allow most trucks to go 65 miles-per-hour on many of Ohio's interstates starting July 1. The change applies only to interstates - not U.S. routes, state routes or other multi-lane divided highways - where currently the speed limits are split between 65 mph and 55 mph... Ohio Department of Transportation crews will update hundreds of speed limit signs across the state... At locations where signs are already separated - one sign for 65 mph and another for 55 mph for vehicles weighing more than 4 tons empty - outdated signs and posts will be removed... (Image from imgres?imgurl: The beginning of OH 4 South)


* Truck safety advocates push to mandate speed-limiting devices

The American Truckers Assns. support the effort, and the Obama administration may be willing to consider the move. Independent truckers and conservatives are opposed

Washington,DC,USA -Los Angeles Times, by Richard Simon -July 1, 2009: -- Stephen Owings, whose 22-year-old son died when his car was rear-ended, is fighting to have the federal government require the use of speed-limiting devices on all big rigs, saying: "We're not against truckers; we're pro-highway safety."... Most often, citizen-crusaders find themselves in lonely, unequal struggles against industry groups and lobbyists. But this time, David and Goliath seem to be on the same side... Owings has drawn support from the American Trucking Assns., or ATA, in his effort to get the U.S. Department of Transportation to require the use of the speed-inhibiting devices on big trucks -- or get Congress to mandate them in a highway bill soon to be drafted... On the other side are conservatives who oppose government regulation of business as a matter of principle, truckers who own their own big rigs, and owners of smaller fleets represented by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn.... These include drivers such as Julia Scott, who said that from the cab of her 18-wheeler she sees passenger cars doing a lot more dangerous things than big trucks. If the government is going to require governors on trucks, she said, "they need to put speed-limiting devices in the cars."... Both proponents and opponents of such regulation defend their positions in terms of public safety... (Photo from autoevolution: the female truck drivers of the road)

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 5:28 AM  0 comments

Jun 19, 2009

Speed Violations * USA Arizona bill would raise stakes



Phoenix,AZ,USA -AP/Product Design & Development -June 17, 2009 — A bill advancing in the Legislature would mean that speeding violations captured by state photo enforcement cameras would be reported for possible action against the violator's drivers license... The 2008 law that authorized the Department of Public Safety's photo enforcement program specifically barred courts from reporting violations to the Motor Vehicle Division and prohibited MVD from using the violations to add points to violators' licenses... A lobbyist representing a trucking industry group and an insurance company said both want to know whether applicants for jobs or insurance coverage have speeding violations... (Video from YouTube, by EditWeapon -23 Jan 2009: I was going 67 mph in what had been temporarily changed to a 55 mph zone on Arizona 101 Highway. For anyone who wants to know what it looks like to see the camera, here you go... Btw, the camera tickets in AZ are now considered to be like a parking ticket, and therefore the ticket goes with the car. This means that you don't have to actually be served by a processor server for the ticket to "count". Which is why it says on the ticket, "No court appearance is required and poin ts will not be assessed to your driving record. This Notice of Violation is not subject to dismissal due to defensive driving school attendance." ... Instead, the ticket now travels along with the car, which means that if you have too many "parking tickets", the car can be impounded... This info came from a friend of mine in January of 2008. He's a civil prosecutor for the city of Scottsdale, Arizona)

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 10:44 AM  0 comments

Mar 26, 2009

Higher speed limits * Canada - Announced in Manitoba

Winnipeg,MAN,CAN -Truck News -26 March 2009: -- Speed limits on certain sections of twinned roadways in Manitoba will increase to 110 km/h on July 1 – but so too will speeding fines, the province has announced... Transport Minister, Ron Lemieux, and Attorney General, Dave Chomiak, made the announcement yesterday in hopes of deterring drivers from speeding... The stretches of highway that will see higher speed limits include the PTH 1 from the Saskatchewan border to Virden, Man. The speed on PTH 75 from the Emerson border crossing to St. Jean Baptiste will also increase from 100 km/h to 110...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 5:19 PM  0 comments

Feb 1, 2009

"Slowhio" * USA - Truckers push for uniform 65 mph speed limit in Ohio

Group cites safety of a uniform Ohio speed

Cleveland,OH,USA -Cleveland.com, by Karen Farkas -January 31, 2009: -- Ohio is dubbed "Slowhio" by truckers, and they say it's for good reason... Big rigs must drive 55 on highways, while cars and other smaller vehicles whiz by at 60 or 65 miles an hour. Only the Ohio Turnpike allows truckers to go the same speed as cars... But the push is on for a 65 mph speed limit in the state for all vehicles, including trucks... The Ohio Trucking Association, which had been neutral on raising the limit, wants a uniform speed for the state, similar to what many others already have...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 9:25 PM  0 comments

Oct 14, 2008

SPEED LIMIT * USA - Trucks can't drive 65

ADOT lowers speed limit for 18-wheelers to 50 on west end of Highway 68

Kingman,AZ,USA -The Kingman Daily Miner, by James Chilton -October 13, 2008: -- In an effort to decrease the number of truck accidents and increase motorist safety along State Highway 68 through Golden Valley on the way to Bullhead City, the Arizona Department of Transportation will lower the speed limit for trucks by 15 miles per hour from mile marker 13 to the Davis Dam road... The speed limit along that stretch of the highway will drop from 65 mph to 50 for all trucks weighing more than 26,000 pounds. For all other vehicles, the speed limit will remain 65. The new speed limit takes effect immediately following the installation of new signs on Oct. 29 and 30. ADOT Public Information Officer Michelle Beggs said the new dual speed limit was adopted following the publication of a new study that found an average of 25 truck crashes each year on westbound Highway 68...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 10:56 AM  0 comments