Source: boston.com/lifestyle/health/2012/06/24/
older-americans-feel-less-stressed-than-the-young
/UMy8cHPxHyu0FqwsvzmW2M/story.html

Graduated drivers license programs may be successful in keeping young drivers who have been drinking from getting behind the wheel, according to research at Washington University in St. Louis.

Car accidents are the leading cause of death among teens aged 13 to 19, according to the study, and some states, including Massachusetts, have adopted graduated licensing laws that allow suspension of a teenager’s driver’s license for any alcohol-related charge.

The researchers used 1999 to 2009 national survey data for 220,000 teenagers ages 16 to 17 from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System to see whether a state’s driving laws correlated with teens’ drinking and driving behavior.

Teens who lived in states considered to have a strong graduated license program were nearly four times more likely than teens from states with a weak program to report not driving after drinking any alcohol and to report not being a passenger in a car with a driver who had been drinking.

BOTTOM LINE: Teens from states with strong graduated drivers license programs are less likely to report drinking and driving or getting in the car with a driver who had been drinking.

CAUTIONS: The survey relied on self-reports by the teens, so it is likely that some underreported their potentially stigmatizing behavior.

WHERE TO FIND IT: Alcoholism:

Clinical and Experimental Research, June

Older Americans tend not to be as stressed as younger people, according to a series of surveys over nearly three decades. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University used data from telephone surveys of more than 2,000 people in 1983, and results of two online surveys of 2,000 people each from 2006 and 2009 to see how stress levels changed over time... Continue reading.

Source: boston.com/lifestyle/health/2012/06/24/older-americans-feel-less-stressed-than-the-young/UMy8cHPxHyu0FqwsvzmW2M/story.html

Source: prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/6/prweb9655037.htm

Dock-N-Lock LLC is set to release their patented distracted driving solution during the 2012 American Trucking Associations Management Conference and Convention in Las Vegas this October. It's an electronic device that prevents texting and driving by restricting any vehicle from starting until the driver secures their phone inside of a locker.

Over two years in the making, Dock-N-Lock LLC is in the final stretch to bring their highly anticipated solution to prevent distracted driving to market. They will launch their product at the 2012 American Trucking Associations Convention at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas October 7-10. This announcement is coming on the heels of a landmark case earlier this month in which a Massachusetts teen was convicted of vehicular homicide as a result of texting while driving, and will serve one year in prison and loss of license for 15 years.

Here's how the solution, trademarked Surge'ON, works: A non-removable chip gets placed on the driver's phone that is recognized by a locker installed near the driver seat. The driver must place the phone inside a universal locker, which then recognizes the phone. Once the locker is closed, it self-locks and the vehicle is able to start. Without the driver's phone secure in the locker, the vehicle will not start. The benefits of such a device are clear. No more texting and driving, no more hands-on calling, and no more distracted driving caused by a hand-held device. Another benefit is that the solution is also an anti-theft device. The vehicle will not start without the driver's cell phone secure inside the locker. According to Dock-N-Lock, the device works with all phone makes and models including Apple's iPhone, which has been incompatible with several other solutions offered... Continue reading.

Source: prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/6/prweb9655037.htm

Source: njtoday.net/2012/06/28/22-charged-in-multi-state-
scheme-to-obtain-drivers-licenses-with-fake-documents/

NEWARK– Charges against 22 individuals were unsealed Wednesday and arrests were made in six states in connection with an alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain driver’s licenses for illegal aliens and other ineligible individuals, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman and FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward announced.

Federal agents have made 17 arrests in New Jersey, New York, California, Nevada, Virginia, and Georgia – including a contract employee of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) charged with stealing and providing forms used to aid in the scheme. The charged criminal operation allegedly provided a suite of unlawful services to individuals illegally residing in the United States, including fraudulently obtaining driver’s licenses, and investor and student visas.

“Today’s charged conspiracy included brokers across the country who recruited and served customers looking for a valid driver’s license to legitimize their illegal presence in the United States,” said Fishman. “By allegedly shepherding illegal aliens through the application process and providing them with counterfeit documentation, the defendants enabled their customers to gain access to all the credibility that a driver’s license affords. Strong immigration enforcement includes guarding against those who subvert the safeguards designed to keep us secure.”

“By gaining access to protected, blank government immigration forms, the subjects in this case were able to utilize sophisticated computer software to create false identity documents and subsequently move to receive legitimate driver’s licenses,” said Ward. “In doing so, they were able to circumvent established safeguards and proper vetting put into place post 9/11... Continue reading.

Source: njtoday.net/2012/06/28/22-charged-in-multi-state-scheme-to-obtain-drivers-licenses-with-fake-documents/

Source: secure2.sglc.com/DMSImage
/16820120626060859472/0.htm

Through the Troops to Trucks program, the Virginia DMV is helping the men and women of the Armed Forces obtain tools for future employment in the transportation industry.

Beginning July 1, implementation of a new federal regulation will allow the roads skills test to be waived for qualified military personnel applying for a CDL. Under the Troops to Trucks program, these applicants will be required to pass only one DMV-issued test - the written knowledge exam, and they will not be required to take the road skills test, also called the behind-the-wheel exam.

"We fully support Governor Bod McDonnell's goal of making government services more easily accessible for our veterans," said DMV Commissioner Richard D. Holcomb. "This new program streamlines the CDL application process for our military, and eliminates the need for them to provide a commericial motor vehicle for the test, which can be tough."

Active duty personnel including current National Guard and Reserve members, or those discharged in the last 90 days are eligible for the Troops to Trucks' road skills test waiver. Applicants must be a Virginia resident, and have a Virginia driver's license or be eligible for one. In addition, an applicant's commanding officer or designee must certify he or she has held a military operator's permit and has driving experience, for the past two years, operating the same type of vehicle driven while in the military that he or she plans to drive with a Virginia CDL... Continue reading.

Source: secure2.sglc.com/DMSImage/16820120626060859472/0.htm

DOT Safety Regulation Update Fast-Fax™
Week of June 25, 2012
Foley Services Your Single Source for DOT Compliance

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced changes to way it calculates and publicizes out of service rates for the purpose of issuing hazardous materials safety permits (HMSP).

In a move that will affect any carrier that requires a Hazardous Materials Safety Permit, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will change the way it calculates and publicizes the crash rates and out of service rates for hazardous materials, drivers and vehicles.

Currently, this information is pulled from two years worth of inspection data collected by the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). If a motor carrier falls within the worst-performing 30% of motor carriers, their HMSP will be denied; meaning they can no longer haul hazmats.

What is Changing?

The new methodology presents a much broader spectrum of compliance history for FMCSA to review before making a decision to let a carrier haul hazardous materials. Instead of two years worth of data, the new system will look at eight years (from 2003 to 2010) to determine a more accurate national average for eligible crash and OOS thresholds.

In addition, these rates will remain, static rather than change every two years. FMCSA argues that this, “will improve safety by providing a clearly identifiable standard for industry compliance and minimize the burden on motor carriers and the HM industry by allowing more appropriate measures that ensure eligibility for the HMSP.”

How Will New Decisions be Made?

The 30% threshold remains as it does today, but FMCSA hopes that by calculating that threshold from a much broader picture, it will be able to make more accurate, and therefore more safety-focused, decisions. When a carrier applies for an HMSP, FMCSA will examine the last 12 months of the carrier’s safety history. To determine the OOS rate, the number of OOS inspections is divided by the number of inspections, for each category, from the last twelve months. Likewise, the crash rate is determined by dividing the number of crashes by the number of power units owned in the last 12 months.

What will the New Rates Be?

We have included FMCSA’s new threshold rates in the table below. As you will see, the agency has included the Crash and Out-of-Service rates from the last eight years, broken into blocks of two-year increments. The ‘Fixed Rate’, at the bottom of the table is the rate against which motor carriers will be judged.

When is This Changing?

It already has. The change became effective on the day it was published in the Federal Register on June 27.

Notes:
1. Rates for registration cycles 2005-2006, 2007-2008, and 2009-2010 were calculated on Calendar Year MCMIS data. For instance, the 2005-2006 rates were based on CY 2003-2004 data and issued on December 31, 2004, for implementation on January 1, 2005.
2. Rates for registration cycle 2011-2012 were calculated using MCMIS Fiscal Year 2009-2010 data and issued on September 30, 2010, 90 days prior to implementation on January 1, 2011

Editor: Roxanne Swidrak, Vice President, Operations • 1-800-253-5506 • www.FoleyServices.com • Vol. 111, No. 744 • © Foley Carrier Services, LLC. 2012

Congress has passed a massive measure that will salvage some 2.8 million jobs and shield college students from sharply higher interest rates on college loans. The bill would also shore up the federal flood insurance program.

The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 74-19. The House passed the bill earlier in the day and it now goes to the White House for President Obama's signature.

The bill would spend more than $100 billion on highway and transit programs over two years. The measure would also prevent a doubling of interest rates on new student loans scheduled to go into effect on Sunday.

A requirement that the government approve the contentious Keystone XL pipeline was dropped from the measure.

Source: foxnews.com/politics/2012/06/29/house-passes-highway-jobs-bill-halts-student-loan-rate-hike/

By Transport Topics Staff

This story appears in the June 25 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to susbcribe today.

American Trucking Associations said it will host a first-ever national summit on the growing use of natural gas as a fuel for moving freight across the country.

ATA said the event will be held Nov. 28-30 just outside Washington, D.C., at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Arlington, Va.
Bill Graves, ATA president, called natural gas “a subject of critical importance to trucking. . . . While there has been a great deal of good work done on the subject of natural gas and trucking, I feel that no one has put the whole picture — from suppliers and manufacturers to distributors and users — together, and we intend to do that.”

Federation officials said the agenda is still being finalized but would be released soon. The summit will kick off with an opening reception on Wednesday, Nov. 28, followed by a full day of panels and speakers. On Nov. 30, panels will be held until mid-afternoon, ATA said.

Registration will open for ATA members on July 2, officials said, and for nonmembers four weeks later. The event will cost $199 for ATA members and $499 for nonmembers. Seating is limited.

Natural gas has been gathering increasing momentum as the chief alternative fuel to diesel in recent months, as proponents expand production and distribution around the country. Natural gas prices are now at near-record lows, far below the current level of diesel and other petroleum-based products, as more gas is drilled from shale deposits in the United States.

All North American heavy-duty truck makers are currently offering natural-gas models or have announced that they will soon be doing so.

While the sales level of heavy-duty natural gas trucks is currently tiny, many analysts have predicted that they will become a major factor in the trucking industry.

Natural gas already is a common fuel in municipal bus fleets, and in some regional distribution networks that rely on medium-duty trucks.

Several engine makers say they are now working on larger engines that run on natural gas fuels and are more suitable for over-the-road freight hauling.

ATA said more information was available via e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling (703) 838-1935

By Transport Topics Staff

This story appears in the June 25 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to susbcribe today.

American Trucking Associations Thursday praised the House-Senate conference committee that came to a consensus on a new highway bill, saying it “lays a solid foundation for addressing America’s need for an efficient goods movement network.”

The legislation “makes tremendous strides in the safety arena and puts down a marker for future improvements to our nation’s freight infrastructure,” ATA President Bill Graves said in a statement.

Graves, who urged Congress to quickly pass the legislation — which needs to be done by Saturday, when the current transportation funding extension expires — said ATA supports the bill’s requiring the Department of Transportation to establish regulations mandating electronic logging devices for motor carriers currently required to complete paper logs.
Regulations for electronic onboard recorders must be in place within one year and carriers will have two years to adopt and install EOBRs, ATA said.

Other provisions in the bill of interest to ATA and the trucking industry include:

• Creation of a clearinghouse to track drug and alcohol test results;
• A study of crashworthiness standards for large trucks;
• Establishment of standards for systems to provide employers with timely notifications of drivers’ moving violations; and
• Mandatory testing of new carriers entering the industry to verify their knowledge of safety requirements.

By Transport Topics

From Marlene Dakita, PTDI

John Hancock, Director of Training and Driver Recruiting at Prime Inc., has advised that someone claiming to be Roger or Michael Strickland is posing as a Prime recruiter. The phone number associated with this scam is 786-459-3896.

Source: ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=
29623&t=Congress-Reaches-Agreement-on-Highway-Bill
by Transport Topics

Congressional leaders reached tentative agreement on a highway bill, agreeing to maintain current federal transportation levels for 27 months, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

The measure also drops a Republican-backed provision for approval the Keystone XL oil pipeline, the Associated Press reported. House Republicans had pushed for that but the White House threatened to veto the bill if it was included, AP reported.

“The bill is funded at current levels and will protect and create three million jobs,” Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who chairs the Senate Environment Works and Public Works Committee, said in a statement.

House and Senate conferees are expected to pass the measure before the end of the week, prior to the expiration of the current extension of transportation funding on Saturday, the House Transportation Committee said in a statement... Continue reading.

Source: ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=29623&t=Congress-Reaches-Agreement-on-Highway-Bill