TheTrucker.com

Diesel prices rise for the first time in more than two months

The streak is over. After nine straight weeks of national decline, diesel prices rose, even if slightly, from a national average of $3.526 to $3.539 per gallon. The major culprit was the Midwest region who had been dropping along with the trends, rose by three cents per gallon from $3.481 to $3.511. Meanwhile the Gulf Coast rose two cents from $3.172 to $3.191 The New England region fell  again this week from $3.818 to $3.797. The East Coast and Central Atlantic saw little change. The Lower Atlantic also fell slightly from $3.479 to $3.467 The Rocky Mountain region started going up last week and went up again this week rising from $3.588 to $3.608

Video systems and telematics have changed the job of truck driving forever

Professional truck drivers have long been known for their independence. In decades past, the practice was to just give a driver the keys, a truck and a dispatch and turn them loose with instructions to call if there was a problem. Most of the time, the job got done. For the most part, those days are over. In-cab video systems, combined with vehicle telematics and the availability of more data than ever before, have virtually made the “cowboy of the highway” image of trucking obsolete. Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is helping guide that process. Perhaps the beginning of the end was when pagers became widely available in the ’80s and ’90s. At any time, dispatchers or other carrier personnel could send a page to a driver; the receipt of that page meant, “stop and call in.” As technology improved, the message delivered by pagers included a phone number, making it possible for more people (anyone with the pager’s number) to contact the driver. Clever users made up numeric codes to convey messages or indicate the priority of the page. Some might say the real demise of trucker independence came with the introduction of satellite tracking and messaging. Dispatchers could pinpoint a driver’s location within a few feet and could send and receive messages nearly at will. These devices communicated other data, too. Carriers not only knew where drivers were, but how fast they were going, how many times they hit the brakes hard, when they idled their trucks and more — all recorded by the truck’s electronic systems and sent directly to dispatch. Of course, cellphones took everything further. Drivers could be contacted almost any time by carrier representatives — and by the folks back at home, too. As cellphones morphed into smartphones — basically handheld computers that “also made phone calls” — apps like FaceTime used video to create the next best thing to actually being there. This actually helped many drivers feel more connected to their family, friends and loved ones (in addition to dispatch). It was only a matter of time until advances in technology led to dash cameras. Like the evolution from cellphones to smartphones, dash cams have evolved into something more. These cameras don’t just take pictures or record video; the devices can also “decide” what video is worth sharing and who should see it. Many of these systems include multiple lenses that record the view to the sides of the vehicle and even inside the cab. Many drivers rebelled, at least at first. After all, no independently minded truck driver wanted the dispatcher or safety staff to be able to look in at will! It didn’t take long, however, for drivers to become more comfortable with the systems. Perhaps the largest benefit of dash cams, many drivers discovered, was exoneration in the event of a collision. Finally, the carrier’s safety department could actually SEE what happened instead of depending on the driver’s story and the police report. In addition, dash cam vendors and motor carriers made convincing arguments that videos showing a driver’s actions would be used for training purposes, providing an opportunity for drivers to improve their skills and safety records. Still, concerns persisted about drivers’ privacy. After all, a camera facing the cab and driver could also record the driver in the sleeper. Drivers could be videoed in stages of undress or while scratching a rather personal spot on their bodies. They might be harassed if a video showed them yawning or not checking a mirror often enough. Those with excellent driving records without crashes or tickets were offended that the carrier wanted more proof of their reliability. Some drivers quit. Most simply adapted. Some carriers compromised by only using data from forward-facing cameras, but many of them, about 25% or so, went with 360-degree systems. AI has improved the process (or made it more invasive, depending on your point of view). Today’s camera systems are designed to record video continuously while the vehicle is in motion; however, all of that video isn’t saved. Obviously, a carrier representative isn’t going to sit and watch hours and hours of video for each driver every day, especially when the driving might occur outside office hours. Video system vendors responded by using vehicle telematics to determine which segments of video to save. If an accelerometer built into the camera detects a sudden slowdown, such as a collision for example, video of the event is saved for review. Telematics send data about hard stops or swerving, which is matched with video for a closer look. Today, AI can read road signs in the video and detect less obvious dangers, including driver behavior. Use of a cellphone while behind the wheel triggers video recording. Some systems combine biometrics and are able to detect driver fatigue based on nodding, yawning or other input. Speed limit data can now be obtained through GPS or routing systems, but AI can detect construction zones or areas where speed limits are reduced. This enables carriers to coach drivers on speeding even when limits are much lower than a company’s maximum speed. Vendors of video systems don’t publicize everything their cameras detect, but AI is used to monitor “unsafe driving behavior” or actions. Not wearing your seat belt? It’ll be on video. Reading a text? Got it. Driving with a drink in one hand and a burger in the other? You’re dining with the safety director. Spending too much time watching the accident across the median, and not enough watching the road? Yep — so is the team back home. These systems now allow service providers and carriers to create a “driver report card.” The newest systems come with a driver interface that alerts the driver, giving them a chance to correct their actions. Views from different cameras are used, so that a lane departure or following too closely will result in a visual and audio warning. These alerts help the driver understand what’s being monitored and recorded so that the behavior can be corrected right away instead of waiting for a discussion with safety. The trucking industry has tried to put together a driver “report card” for many years, with varying degrees of success. Now that more behaviors are observable than ever before, video system vendors are offering their own versions of scoring systems that carriers can use to evaluate drivers — and that drivers can use to evaluate themselves. There’s no stopping progress, as they say. Hopefully, drivers losing part of their independence on the job is balanced by improved safety and efficiency.

Trump says, if he loses, 2024 run will be his last

Former President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he doesn’t “think” he’d run again for president in 2028 if he falls short in his bid to return to the White House in 2024. “No, I don’t. I think that will be, that will be it,” Trump said when journalist Sharyl Attkisson asked him if he’d run again. The comment was notable both because Trump seemed to rule out a fourth bid for the White House and because he rarely admits the possibility he could legitimately lose an election. Trump normally insists that could only happen if there were widespread cheating, a false allegation he made in 2020 and he’s preemptively made again during his 2024 presidential campaign. Trump would be 82 in 2028, a year older than President Joe Biden is now. Biden bowed out of the race in July following his disastrous debate performance and months of being hammered by Trump and other conservatives as being too old and erratic for the job. Attkisson interviewed Trump for her show “Full Measure.” Also during the 22-minute interview, Trump defended his record on the coronavirus pandemic. He took credit for the development of the COVID-19 vaccines developed during his presidency while also saying “they’re doing studies on the vaccines and we’re going to find out” if they are safe. Trump said Republicans have become skeptical about the vaccines even as Democrats trust them. The statement about 2028 came at the very end of the interview, which also included a question about how Trump stays in good health. “I try and eat properly,” the former president said, drawing an incredulous reaction from Attkisson, who noted that Trump has become infamous for his fondness for hamburgers. “Proper hamburgers,” Trump said.

Florida deputy dies in crash with semi on the way home from shift

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida sheriff’s department is mourning the loss of a deputy. In statement on social media, the Hilsborough County Sheriff’s Department confirmed the death. “It is with profound sadness and deep sympathy that Sheriff Chad Chronister and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announce the loss of a deputy following a fatal crash,” the post stated. Deputy Darell Brown, 40, was killed on Thursday, September 19, 2024, at approximately 7:45 a.m., Chronister stated, “after a collision involving a semi-truck on U.S. Highway 301 just north of Stacy Road in Thonotosassa.” Brown joined HCSO in January 2015 and served as a detention deputy in both detention facilities. Most recently, he served in the booking U\unit at the Orient Road Jail. The father of five was heading home from a shift at the booking unit at the time of the crash. Sheriff Chad Chronister says that the trucker “did everything he could” to avoid hitting Brown’s F150, but the two vehicles collided anyway, killing Brown “instantly.” Chronister told local media outlets that the force of the crash pushed Brown’s pickup about 100 yards down the road as the semi truck jacknifed. The truck driver was reportedly also hurt in the crash, but sustained injuries that were non life threatening. “Our hearts break for the family, friends, and loved ones of Deputy Brown as they navigate this incomprehensible loss,” said Sheriff Chronister. “This tragedy comes at an incredibly difficult time, as our Sheriff’s Office still grieves the loss of Deputy White. I humbly ask the community to pray for all those impacted by these painful losses. Deputy Brown was more than just a colleague; he was a friend, a mentor, and a source of inspiration to many. His genuine warmth, commitment, and compassionate spirit left a lasting impact on everyone fortunate enough to know him.” Deputy Brown was off-duty driving his personal vehicle at the time of the crash. The Florida Highway Patrol will conduct the crash investigation.

Overturned rig shuts down California highway

A predawn crash where a big rig overturned causing a big mess near Santa Paula, Calif. on  Thursday morning caused a minor injury and shut down traffic for nearly 12 hours according to a report from KVTA. The crash reportedly happened around 4:20 a.m on the eastbound 126 Freeway at 10th Street in downtown Santa Paula. Not only did the overturned rig cause issues for commuters, but the load of produce spilled as well blocking the entire eastbound freeway. According to the KVTA report, eastbound commuters were forced off the freeway at Palm and then diverted using Harvard Boulevard in Santa Paula to 10th Street where they got back on the freeway impacting not only freeway traffic, but also surface street traffic in Santa Paula. The driver of the big rig suffered a minor injury. The roadway was reopened at 5:17 p.m.

What’s in your PSP report? What you don’t know could hurt your chances of employment

For many years, the Federal Motor Carrier Safey Administration (FMCSA) required carriers to perform background checks on all drivers that were hired or leased on with the company. That requirement listed a few specifics about what was to be checked — but few details were provided about who must be contacted, what questions the would-be employer must ask, and what happened if the contact couldn’t (or wouldn’t) provide information. Some carriers had thick personnel files for each driver, while others had very little information available. Because communication between individual states and between states and the FMCSA was haphazard, the process of requesting background information was often also. For example, an accident report in one state might never make it back to the state that issued the driver’s CDL; therefore, the incident wouldn’t show up on the driver’s motor vehicle record (MVR). The FMCSA’s Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) was created to streamline that process and provide a centralized source for carriers to find records of any accidents or incidents in which a driver had been involved, as well as inspection records. What’s in your PSP? The PSP has accomplished its intended purpose in making more information available — but it’s still far from a perfect system. Many drivers still don’t know what their PSP record shows, and the carriers who receive the information may look at it in entirely different ways. The PSP report shows any FMCSA “reportable” crashes in which you have been involved while driving a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) during the past five years. Reportable crashes are those in which there is a fatality, an injury that requires transport for medical care (ambulance), or in which one or both vehicles can’t be driven and must be towed. The PSP also shows the results of any driver or vehicle inspections you have had in the past three years. Any citations you receive as a result of either an accident or an inspection can be included in your PSP report. What the PSP report does NOT show are accidents that happen in your personal vehicle or tickets you receive outside of your CMV. However, a ticket you receive in your work truck could end up on both your PSP report and your state’s (MVR) … or not. Some jurisdictions don’t report to the PSP at all, while a local officer who performed a brief vehicle inspection might. That’s why it’s important for every driver to know what their PSP report contains. Further, if you receive a citation and you later are found not guilty in court or the charge is dismissed, you may need to file a request for a review of your record so it can be corrected. How do carriers use the PSP? As the name implies, the PSP is used by carriers as a part of the screening process for drivers they want to hire. The FMCSA does not assign a score of any kind to the PSP. Although the information can be identical to data in the carrier’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA)v record, the two programs are not the same. One big issue with the PSP report is that carriers interpret the information it contains differently. Some use their own scoring process, assigning “points” to each crash or violation and using a total score when making their hiring decisions. Other carriers may look for particular violations, such as excessive speeding, failure to use seat belts and so on. In addition, since use of the PSP is voluntary, some carriers don’t use it at all. Some carriers look for patterns of behavior in a driver’s PSP. If, for example, if you have multiple violations for failure to secure cargo, a carrier may believe you haven’t learned from those violations and will also fail to secure their cargo. Many vehicle violations could be interpreted as being caused by a driver not inspecting equipment — or possibly that you worked for a carrier that provided older, poorly maintained equipment. How do I know if my PSP record is good? Since the PSP contains information that can keep you from getting a job you want, it’s important that you know what’s in it. Start by going to psp.fmcsa.dot.gov/psp/home and sign up. You can review what’s in your PSP for free. You can also sign up for a free notification service to receive an email whenever there’s a change to your record so you can make sure it’s accurate. Knowing what’s on your PSP allows you to be sure the employment application you fill out matches your actual record. If a crash was relatively minor, remembering dates, locations and details might be difficult … but if you leave it off your application and it turns up on your PSP report, it could be considered a falsification. What if I find a mistake on my record? If you find something on your PSP record that isn’t true, or if something has changed — for example, you’ve been acquitted of a violation for which you received a violation — you can request a review at dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov. If you submit a request, along with the paperwork showing the acquittal, the violation will be removed from your record. If you are convicted of a lesser charge, your record will reflect that too; however, you may have to request a review and provide documentation. Some charges are dealt with by adjudication, such as a court supervision agreement that removes a violation from your record if you attend classes or don’t get another ticket during a specified time period. If you’ve met the requirements, the original violation can be removed from your PSP also, if you request a review and submit the paperwork. Violations issued to drivers who are part of a team sometimes end up on the PSP record of both drivers. Filing a request for review can start the process of getting your record corrected, but you may need to send copies of your record of duty status or other documentation. Even if you aren’t successful getting information removed from your PSP record, knowing what’s on it can help you prepare to answer any questions asked by a prospective employer. If you have a reasonable explanation about a reported violation, the carrier may be more comfortable making a decision to hire you than if you didn’t know it was on your record.

DAT: Truckload volumes and rates diverged in August

BEAVERTON, Ore. — Truckload freight volumes and rates continued on divergent paths in August, with shipments rising and prices falling for the third straight month, according to information released by DAT Freight & Analytics. The DAT Truckload Volume Index (TVI), an indicator of loads moved in a given month, increased month over month for all three equipment types in August: Van TVI: 289, up 2.8% Refrigerated TVI: 220, up 4.3% Flatbed TVI: 287, up 0.3% Year over year, the TVI was higher for both van and refrigerated freight, with van TVI up 6.3% and refrigerated up 17.6%. The flatbed TVI dipped 0.7% from August 2023. Meanwhile, August lived up to its reputation as a tough month for truckload rates. “Linehaul rates were year-over-year positive for the first time since March 2022, a trend that should continue into the fall shipping season,” said Ken Adamo, DAT’s chief of analytics. “However, year-over-year comparisons are little consolation for truckers looking for better pricing now.” Spot and contract rates declined in August. National average spot truckload rates declined for all three equipment types compared to July: Spot van: $2.01 per mile (down 5 cents) Spot reefer: $2.41 a mile (down 4 cents) Spot flatbed: $2.41 a mile (down 7 cents) The average van linehaul rate was $1.60 a mile, down 3 cents month over month but 3 cents higher than August 2023. The refrigerated rate fell 2 cents to $1.96, 1 cent higher year over year. The flatbed rate tumbled 5 cents to $1.92, still 2 cents higher year over year. Linehaul rates subtract an amount equal to an average fuel surcharge. National average rates for freight moving under long-term contracts also dropped compared to July: Contract van rate: $2.40 per mile, down 3 cents Contract reefer rate: $2.74 a mile, down 7 cents Contract flatbed rate: $3.08 a mile, down 3 cents Monthly average contract rates for all three equipment types have been year-over-year negative since August 2022, reinforcing the protracted pricing challenges of truckload carriers. Approximately 85% of all truckload freight moves under contract. Load-to-truck ratios fell. National average load-to-truck ratios turned lower for all three equipment types: Van ratio: 3.6, down from 4.2 in July, meaning there were 3.6 loads for every van truck on the DAT One marketplace Reefer ratio: 6.0, down from 6.5 Flatbed ratio: 9.8, down from 11.9 Load-to-truck ratios reflect truckload supply and demand on the DAT One marketplace and indicate the pricing environment for spot truckload freight.

Search for suspect in Kentucky highway shooting ends with discovery of body believed to be his

FRANKFORT, Ky.  — A body found in rural southeastern Kentucky is believed to be the man suspected of shooting and wounding five people on an interstate highway, authorities said Wednesday night, Sept. 18. Kentucky State Police Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr. said at a news briefing that the body discovered earlier in the day is believed to be Joseph Couch, of Woodbine. Authorities hoped the discovery would end an intense, nearly two-week search that had area residents on edge. “People have been in fear,” Laurel County Sheriff John Root said. “That’s not the normal here in Laurel County. So now that this has been discovered, I hope that our county can get back to what’s normal.” Burnett said accessories found with the body led authorities to conclude it is him. He had no details on the cause of death, saying that will be confirmed in an autopsy, but he said a weapon was found at the site. “I don’t think nobody on this stage wished that we would have found him in the condition that we found,” Rood said at the news conference. “I’d rather he’d been alive, and he could have paid for what he’s done.” Authorities said the body was found following a lengthy search of the rugged and hilly terrain in the area where the Sept. 7 attack happened. Investigators were working to identify it, state police Master Trooper Scottie Pennington said earlier in a social media post. It was located in the vicinity of the Interstate 75 exit near London, a city of about 8,000 people about 75 miles south of Lexington. The highway shootings led some schools to shut down and shift to virtual learning for several days as authorities warned area residents to be vigilant. Schools reopened Tuesday with extra police security in the county where the shooting happened. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has called the shootings an “act of violence and evil.” A dozen vehicles were struck as the shooter fired 20 to 30 rounds near an interstate exit, creating a chaotic scene. Authorities rushed to the scene after being alerted at about 5:30 p.m. The five victims survived the attack but some suffered serious injuries. After sending the text message vowing to “kill a lot of people” before the attack, Couch sent another saying, “I’ll kill myself afterwards,” investigators said in an affidavit. The document did not describe the relationship between Couch and the woman who received the texts. However, Couch and the woman have a child together but were never married, according to an attorney who handled the custody arrangement for the couple and their son born in 2016. Searchers found Couch’s abandoned vehicle near the crime scene and a semi-automatic weapon that investigators believe was used in the shooting. An Army-style duffel bag that was found had “Couch” hand-written in marker, and a phone believed to be Couch’s also was found but the battery had been taken out. Authorities said he purchased the AR-15 weapon and about 1,000 rounds of ammunition at a London gun store hours before the shooting. Couch had a military background in the Army Reserve. The U.S. Army said he served from 2013 to 2019 as a combat engineer. He was a private when he left and had no deployments. The search focused on a densely wooded area about 8 miles north of London that a state police official described as “walking in a jungle.” Aided by helicopters and drones, search teams on the ground contended with cliffs, sinkholes, caves, waterways and thick brush. Authorities were inundated with tips from the public and followed up on each one. When the ground search was suspended at night, specially trained officers were deployed in strategic locations in the woods to prevent the gunman from slipping out of the area. On Tuesday, authorities said they were pulling searchers from the woods to bolster patrols in nearby communities in hopes of calming fears among residents. Police received more than 400 tips since the shooting, with most pointing to areas outside the sprawling forest that was the focus of the search.

Federal Reserve cuts key rate by sizable half-point for the first time in 4 years, signaling end to its inflation fight

WASHINGTON  — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large half-point, a dramatic shift after more than two years of high rates that helped tame inflation but also made borrowing painfully expensive for American consumers. The rate cut, the Fed’s first in more than four years, reflects its new focus on bolstering the job market, which has shown clear signs of slowing. Coming just weeks before the presidential election, the Fed’s move also has the potential to scramble the economic landscape just as Americans prepare to vote. The central bank’s action lowered its key rate to roughly 4.8%, down from a two-decade high of 5.3%, where it had stood for 14 months as it struggled to curb the worst inflation streak in four decades. Inflation has tumbled from a peak of 9.1% in mid-2022 to a three-year low of 2.5% in August, not far above the Fed’s 2% target. The Fed’s policymakers also signaled that they expect to cut their key rate by an additional half-point in their final two meetings this year, in November and December. And they envision four more rate cuts in 2025 and two in 2026.

Justice Department sues over Baltimore bridge collapse, seeks $100M in cleanup costs

BALTIMORE — The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday, Sept. 18, sued the owner and manager of the cargo ship that caused the Baltimore bridge collapse, seeking to recover more than $100 million that the government spent to clear the underwater debris and reopen the city’s port. The lawsuit filed in Maryland alleges that the electrical and mechanical systems on the ship, the Dali, were improperly maintained, causing it to lose power and veer off course before striking a support column on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March. “This tragedy was entirely avoidable,” according to the lawsuit. The collapse snarled commercial shipping traffic through the Port of Baltimore for months before the channel was fully opened in June. “With this civil claim, the Justice Department is working to ensure that the costs of clearing the channel and reopening the Port of Baltimore are borne by the companies that caused the crash, not by the American taxpayer,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in written statement. The case was filed against Dali owner Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and manager Synergy Marine Group, both of Singapore. The companies filed a court petition days after the collapse seeking to limit their legal liability in what could become the most expensive marine casualty case in history. The ship was leaving Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka when its steering failed because of the power loss. Six members of a road work crew on the bridge were killed in the collapse. The men were working an overnight shift filling potholes on the bridge deck when it suddenly crumbled beneath them, sending them tumbling into the water. “This accident happened because of the careless and grossly negligent decisions made by Grace Ocean and Synergy, who recklessly chose to send an unseaworthy vessel to navigate a critical waterway and ignored the risks to American lives and the nation’s infrastructure,” said Chetan Patil, the acting deputy assistant attorney general. On Tuesday, the victims’ families declared their intent to file a claim seeking to hold the ship’s owner and manager fully liable for the disaster. Several other interested parties, including city officials and local businesses, have filed opposing claims accusing the companies of negligence. The families are also calling for more robust workplace protections, especially for immigrant workers. All the victims were Latino immigrants who came to the United States in search of better-paying jobs and opportunities. By Lea Skene and Alanna Durkin Richer, The Associated Press. Richer reported from Washington.

Trucking through a camera lens: Professional photographer captures the essence of women truckers in ‘Sisters of the Road’

She had it all. Award-winning photographer Anne-Marie Michel was living the life that most in her profession dream of. If there is a spotlight or a celebrity gathering, Michel has likely taken his or her photo or chronicled the event with her camera and lens. “If you can name them, I have probably photographed them,” she told The Trucker. Michel’s career as a photographer has taken her all over the globe covering events such as the Cannes Film Festival. She has worked in Venice, Rome and Los Angeles photographing exclusive events, including film premieres and fashion shows — including 16 straight years of Fashion Week. She has also photographed She has also photographed some of the globe’s most memorable unsung heroines for her award-winning Sisters of the Road collection, which she describes as a tribute to the strength, resilience and dedication of women in the trucking industry. Why did Michel choose to photograph truck drivers, particularly women? It all started when she was 14. “My family broke apart,” she said. “It was all a bit crazy and messy and my housewife mother — we couldn’t afford our house. It was one of those things where we were about to lose everything. She moved us to Ohio. When she started, she didn’t think she would be able to do it.” Her mother packed Michel, her three sisters and Jake the dog into a car and moved the family from Houston, Texas to Ohio. Anchored by their newly empowered mother, the family made its way from Texas to Ohio, with Michel navigating with a paper map. “I remember one of those huge maps spread out in my lap,” Michel recalled. “I remember saying, ‘I don’t know how to do this.’” But she had to do it; she was the navigator for the journey. “That was was my first taste of freedom, I suppose — that I was deciding our route that (our mother) was driving us,” she said. That road trip changed Michel’s life in many ways. Not only did she and her family start a new life in a new state, but the images of the highways, from fellow travelers to scenic sights and — in particular, truckers —inspired what she believes is her most personal expression of art. The decision to memorialize women truck drivers came to Michel while relaxing in her London home. “I sat on the couch with my husband drinking a glass of red wine and I said, ‘I really, really want to take pictures that mean something,’” she said. “I was not shooting real people,” she explained. “There is a difference between shooting a fashion model who knows her angles or a celebrity on the red carpet (and photographing everyday people).” And the concept for Sisters of the Road was born. In order to put herself in position to connect with the women she aspired to photograph, Michel realized that she had to make relationships before she could make pictures. Once she began connecting with these women, she found exactly the art she was looking for in the faces of her subjects. “It was just truth,” she said. “They stared back at me with pure truth. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. There was no facade. They were just there. They told me their life stories. I told them my life story … this is how this whole thing came about.” However, making those initial connections was not easy, she says. After the fateful conversation with her husband, Michel booked a flight to Orlando, Florida, where one of her sisters lived. There, she planned to search for her first subject. “I sat in a truck stop for three days hoping a woman would come in and I could talk to her — hopefully she would say yes, and I could photograph her,” she said. In those first three days, she recalls, she literally saw no women. “I saw lots of men,” she said. “On the third day, I was sitting outside in my car questioning my life choices, and I saw a woman come out of the truck stop.” Michel quickly leaped out of her car and rushed to the truck … but that first potential success story ignored her and drove away. Despite that discouraging encounter, Michel’s first Sisters of the Road driver did eventually materialize. A friend of another sister was a driver out of Youngstown, Ohio, and she agreed to participate in the project. And so, in a twist of irony Michel found herself back in Ohio, not far from the home her family moved to all those years ago. Her first driver was photographed in the parking lot where she had learned how to park her rig. “She was really fun,” Michel said. “It was that same energy of empowerment and rebirth. I remember driving off thinking, ‘There is something here!’” The initial plan was to find and share images and stories of five women truckers — but Michel says that once the first shoot took place, the drive to continue creating such personal art burned in her mind and heart. By the time Sisters of the Road was complete, Michel had photographed 40 women, traveling more than 10,000 miles during just over a year. She took the stories of these 40 women throughout Europe as an art exhibit. In 2020 she decided to compile the exhibit into a book — what she calls her “lockdown project” — which was published in 2022. That was not the end of the road, however: The exhibits have been — and are still — being displayed worldwide. The U.S. tour serves a dual purpose, telling stories and educating the public about truck safety. The exhibit is currently at the Department of Transportation in Washington, the last stop on its U.S. journey, as part of America’s National Truck Driver Appreciation Week celebration. Michel says the success of what started out to be a personal expression of photography as her personal art has been, at the very least, unexpected. “I didn’t even plan on showing (the photographs) to anyone,” she said. “Those were for me.” What began as an artist’s purest creative energy is rapidly progressing into Michel’s greatest personal and professional success.

North Carolina’s coast has been deluged by the fifth historic flood in 25 years

Parts of southeastern North Carolina were still underwater Tuesday after a storm that wasn’t quite organized enough to get a name dropped historic amounts of rain on an area that has suffered floods of a lifetime at least four other times in the past 25 years. The flash flooding closed dozens of roads in Brunswick County, including U.S. Highway 17, which is the main coastal route. Floodwaters swamped the highway at several points for most of the day, trapping some drivers on high ground that became an island. Emergency workers brought food and water to people as they waited for the waters to recede, Brunswick County emergency officials said. No deaths were reported but dozens of roads in the county were damaged and many washed out. Monday’s deluge centered on Carolina Beach south of Wilmington, where more than 18 inches (46 centimeters) of rain fell in 12 hours. That amount of rain in that period of time qualifies as a so-called 1,000-year flood expected only once in a that era, meteorologists at the National Weather Service office in Wilmington said. Several blocks of the coastal town were flooded to the bottom of car doors for hours Monday as the system, known as Potential Tropical Cyclone No. 8, never organized enough to become the eighth named tropical storm of the season, Helene. It’s not the first historic flood in the region by any measure. Hurricane Diana in 1984 brought more than 18 inches (46 centimeters) of rain to the area and forecasters noted that it was the first time a tropical event had dropped a foot (30 centimeters) of rain to the area. Since then, the area just southwest of Wilmington saw 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain in Hurricane Floyd in 1999, which was once the benchmark for heavy rain. An unnamed storm in the wake of Hurricane Matthew in 2010 dropped about 11 inches (28 centimeters) of rain on Brunswick County and a 2015 deluge as Hurricane Joaquin moved well offshore dropped 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain. And in 2018, Hurricane Florence brought what is now the touchstone for historic flooding across the region with 30 inches (72 centimeters) of rain. The blame for recurring floods of a lifetime can be placed on rising temperatures because of climate change, said Tim Armstrong, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington. “The warmer the air, the more moisture it can hold,” Armstrong said Tuesday. As the three massive floods from unnamed storms show, it doesn’t take a powerful hurricane, just the right combination of atmospheric factors to end up with big floods over small areas. “The worst of Monday’s flood was centered over just parts of two counties,” Armstrong said. The rain from the system had moved into southeast Virginia on Tuesday. Along North Carolina’s Outer Banks, the storm closed vulnerable coastal highway North Carolina 12 on Ocracoke Island and threatened several homes in Rodanthe, where erosion and rising sea levels have destroyed more than a half-dozen beachfront homes this decade. The Atlantic hurricane season continues through the end of November. In an updated hurricane outlook last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was still predicting a highly active season thanks to near-record sea surface temperatures and the possibility of La Nina. Emergency management officials have urged people to stay prepared. Elsewhere in the Atlantic, Gordon remained a tropical depression as it swirled through open ocean waters. Gordon could either dissolve in upcoming days or strengthen back into a tropical storm, forecasters said.

CVSA works to keep drivers and vehicles rolling safely

Many drivers dread entering weigh stations — but not because of the scales. (Hopefully, they’ve already weighed their trucks and made the necessary adjustments so they know they’re running legal.) It’s that lighted arrow pointing to the inspection area, or the words “pull it around back” emanating from a speaker that can generate fear, or at least impatience, in every driver. No driver ever says, “Yes! An inspection!” Keep in mind, though, that these inspections are critical to keeping the trucking industry rolling safely down the road. Inspection data shows the justification for continued inspections. During the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) 2023 Roadcheck inspection blitz, 59,429 vehicles were inspected. Nineteen percent of those vehicles — that’s nearly one in five — were found to have out-of-service (OOS) defects. Another 5.5% of the drivers inspected were found to have OOS violations. It’s important to note that the CVSA’s 72-hour Roadcheck inspection is always announced well in advance, focus areas are publicized, and information about what to check and how to pass an inspection is distributed. The 2023 Roadcheck was not a surprise — yet almost one in five trucks failed. Who’s in charge? Most drivers don’t know who performs these inspections and who sets the rules. While just about any law enforcement officer can check a driver’s paperwork or issue a citation for equipment defects, the CVSA sets the inspection standard. What is CVSA? In a nutshell, it’s a nonprofit organization that includes local, state, provincial, territorial and federal commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety officials and industry representatives. The mission of the group is to prevent CMV crashes, injuries and fatalities by providing guidance and education for the trucking industry and enforcement agencies. This partnership between government and industry helps make sure the same standards are used across North America to determine the safety of CMVs. When CVSA-qualified inspectors check an item, they’re following CVSA guidelines for determining what a defect is and whether it should put the driver or vehicle OOS. The organization determines what gets inspected, how it’s inspected, what constitutes a violation and when the vehicle or driver should be placed out of service. During CVSA’s fiscal year 2023 (Oct. 1, 2022-Sept. 30, 2023), the group says nearly 4 million inspections were conducted in North America, with more than 1.3 million decals indicating “no critical defects found” were issued. More than 16,000 copies were sold of CVSA’s North American Standard Out-Of-Service Criteria books in printed and electronic form. Training is accomplished through in-person events, meetings and conferences and webinars. Inspectors are certified for different levels of inspection. Wait. There are inspection levels? CVSA conducts eight levels of inspection. Which inspection is performed can depend on available inspectors, the cargo and other considerations. Level I is the classic “everything” inspection. Driver documents such as CDL, medical card and Skill Performance Certificate are checked, along with the record of duty status, vehicle inspection reports and seat belt use. A complete vehicle inspection is included. (Note: A Level I inspection includes the items from Level III and Level V inspections.) Level II is a walk-around inspection of the vehicle, checking systems that can be observed without crawling underneath, as well as all of the driver documents. Level III inspections deal with the driver’s credentials. When the driver is instructed to bring paperwork into the weigh station office, it’s often for a Level III inspection. Vehicle documents, such as registration and authority, can be checked. With electronic logs (ELDs), inspectors may go to the vehicle or may request faxed or electronic copies of the driver’s record-of-duty status. Level IV inspections are conducted for special purposes, such as a government study of a particular item or document. Level V inspections are thorough checks of the vehicle. The driver does not need to be present. These can be conducted where the truck is parked or abandoned. Level VI inspections involve radioactive materials classified as waste or route-controlled quantities. Most drivers will never experience this level of inspection. Level VII are jurisdictional in nature, usually specified by a government agency. For example, a county might mandate that all school buses in the county must be checked for broken windshields. A full inspection may not be necessary, and CVSA certified instructors are not required. Level VIII inspections are electronic and could be conducted without the driver being aware. Records such as the driver’s CDL and medical card, registration, duty status and more can be wirelessly checked without stopping the vehicle. If the vehicle portion of a Level I or Level V inspection is passed with no critical violations, a CVSA decal may be placed on the vehicle. The decal must be placed by a certified instructor and is valid for three months. A vehicle bearing the CVSA decal generally won’t be inspected again until the decal expires … but there are no guarantees. If an inspector notices something that should be checked, if the vehicle breaks down or if the jurisdiction is checking trucks that meet specific criteria, an inspection can be conducted regardless of whether the vehicle has a sticker. Is the CVSA out to “get” drivers? While being chosen for an inspection can be inconvenient and anxiety inducing, it’s important to remember that the CVSA is there to look out for the interests of everyone, including you. While it’s true that lives have been saved by removing unsafe trucks from the road, there’s another way to look at it: Inspections often catch problems before they escalate to critical or OOS status, providing the truck owner with the opportunity to make repairs before an expensive breakdown (or a crash) can occur. Inspections also help educate drivers on what to look for in pre-trip inspections and alert them to what they might be missing. That makes everyone safer and, from a business perspective, helps truck owners keep maintenance costs down. In short, the CVSA serves as a partnership that brings together motor carriers, vehicle manufacturers, law enforcement — and, of course, drivers.

Cooler weather in Southern California helps in wildfire battle

LOS ANGELES — Thousands of firefighters aided by cooler weather made progress Saturday, Sept. 14, against three Southern California wildfires, and officials in northern Nevada were hopeful that almost all evacuees from a blaze there could soon be home. Authorities have started scaling back evacuations at the largest blaze. The Bridge Fire east of Los Angeles has burned 81 square miles, torched at least 33 homes and six cabins and forced the evacuation of 10,000 people. Two firefighters have been injured in the blaze, state fire officials said. Operations section chief Don Freguila said Saturday that containment was estimated at 3% and improving, with nearly 2,500 firefighters working the lines. He said Saturday’s focus would be on the fire’s west flank and northern edge near Wrightwood, where airtankers dropped retardant on the flames in steep, rugged areas inaccessible to ground crews. “A lot of good work. We’re really beating this up and starting to make some good progress,” Freguila said. He said a new spot fire broke out Friday night near the Mount Baldy ski area along the blaze’s southern edge, burning only about an acre before crews “buttoned it up.” The Southern California have threatened tens of thousands of homes and other structures since they escalated during a triple-digit heat wave. The Davis Fire in northern Nevada The blaze in Nevada near Lake Tahoe broke out last weekend, destroying 14 homes and burning through nearly 9 square miles of timber and brush along the Sierra Nevada’s eastern slope. Some 20,000 people were forced from their homes early this week. Fire officials said there was a 90% chance the last of the evacuees would be able to return to their homes by the end of Saturday. Containment of the blaze was estimated at 76% Saturday, fire spokeswoman Celeste Prescott said. Some of the 700 crew members should soon be sent off to other fires, she added. Firefighters were mostly mopping up but anticipated winds picking up in the afternoon so stood ready to attack any spots that flare up. “We’re on the verge of big success here,” Truckee Meadows Fire District Chief Charles Moore said. The Line Fire in Southern California Authorities say a delivery driver purposely started the Line Fire in Southern California on Sept. 5. It has charred 59 square miles in the San Bernardino mountains, where people ski in the winter and mountain bike in the summer. It was 25% contained as of Saturday. Cool weather over the next several days should help, fire officials said. It is burning through dense vegetation that grew after two back-to-back wet winters when snowstorms broke tree branches, leaving behind a lot of “dead and down fuel,” Cal Fire Operations Section Chief Jed Gaines said. Three firefighters have been injured in the fire, according to Cal Fire. The Big Bear Zoo said it moved all its animals to a zoo in the city of Palm Desert to protect them from the wildfires and escalating temperatures. Arson-related charges have been filed against Justin Wayne Halstenberg, who is accused of starting the Line Fire. He is due to be arraigned on Monday according to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office. Halstenberg’s mother, Connie Halstenberg, told the Los Angeles Times that her son “did not light that fire.” The full extent of the damage caused by the blaze remains unclear, but San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson said at least one home was destroyed. The Airport Fire in Southern California The Airport Fire in Orange and Riverside counties fire has been difficult to tame because of the steep terrain and dry conditions — and because some areas hadn’t burned in decades. Reportedly sparked by workers using heavy equipment, it has burned more than 37 square miles. It was 9% contained as of Saturday. “Although direct lines have been challenging to build due to rugged terrain, favorable weather conditions have supported their efforts,” the Saturday situation report from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. Eleven firefighters and two residents have been injured in the blaze, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. It destroyed at least 27 cabins in the Holy Jim Canyon area, authorities said.

After storms like Francine, New Orleans rushes to dry out

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Hurricane Francine rapidly strengthened before making landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday, knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of people, flooding a cemetery and dumping rain on New Orleans, a city that relies on a uniquely complicated network of canals and pumps to get the water out. More than 7 inches (18 centimeters) of rain fell in some areas, outpacing its drainage system. Water rose fast in some spots, forcing an emergency room nurse to rescue a pickup truck driver minutes before water covered his vehicle. “Effectively, the swamp of centuries ago comes back to life, and communities built on those drained lowlands get water in their houses and cars” during bad storms, said Richard Campanella, a professor at Tulane University’s School of Architecture and author of the book “Draining New Orleans.” New Orleans was shaped by flooding and has long struggled to keep homes dry and the water out. Residents were cautioned to conserve water to reduce stress on the sewer system, although drinking water was never affected. By Thursday, officials said they had emptied out the rain, but that job requires an immense amount of infrastructure vital to keeping New Orleans habitable. Here is why the city struggles with downpours and how officials fight floodwaters: LEVEES Hurricane Katrina showed how bad it can get. A breach in the levy flooded most of the city, stranding residents on rooftops and killing almost 1,400 people. For weeks, pumps worked to drain the flood. Afterwards, the federal government invested more than $14 billion on a 133-mile massive protection system of levees, pumps and other infrastructure designed to keep the water out. Hurricanes create storm surges that those walls are meant to stop, and Francine didn’t come close to challenging the design. Initial estimates of storm surge at the lakefront of Lake Pontchartrain were about 3 to 5 feet. “The walls at that location were about 16 feet. We had a lot more room to go,” said Ricky Boyett, a spokesperson with the Army Corps of Engineers. But when there is a tight ring of built-up earth, concrete and steel acting as a seal around the city and nearby areas, it keeps rain in, too, and that is a problem. GRAVITY Simply put, a lot of the city is below sea level. Gravity, which helps most city sewer systems’ drain water in nearby wastewater treatment systems, lakes and rivers, is working against it. That requires moving water uphill, mainly into Lake Pontchartrain to the city’s north. New Orleans rests just up the Mississippi River from Louisiana’s marshy southeastern coast. It is a region shaped by the Mississippi River, which deposited sediment that formed strips of higher ground that are surrounded by dense, swampy lowlands. But building New Orleans meant engineering the river and keeping water out. That stopped the river from depositing new sediment, said Boyce Upholt, author of the book “The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi.” Now, the city “sinks under its own weight,” he said. DRAINAGE Francine dumped rain inside the city’s walls. That is when a complex system of pumps and canals are needed. Generally speaking, the system can drain an inch of water in the first hour and a half-inch each hour after that. “When a raindrop falls on the city, it goes into catch basins, the catch basin — a minor drainage system — conveys that water into larger pipes or canals and the canals drain that water to those individual pumping stations,” said Ghassan Korban, the executive director of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans that manages the drainage system. When the system backs up, the streets fill first. But homes and businesses can take on water, too, when the system is overwhelmed — as happened in the Lakeview neighborhood when Francine passed over. Some of the infrastructure the city relies on is old. Some pumps date back as much as a century, although those items have been refurbished over the years. The infrastructure is enormous — some of the canals can fit a bus. There are 24 drainage pumping stations and 99 major pumps. But the aging pumps run on an outmoded electric frequency, requiring extra equipment to adapt them to modern power generation. Campanella said reliable power at the correct frequency is one of the system’s vulnerabilities. “Because they are pumps, they need power, and that’s where it gets a little dicey,” Korban said. When Francine arrived, a few pumps had electrical issues, slowing drainage in some places. The drainage system has undergone various improvements over the years. After severe flooding in 1995, federal projects added new pumping stations and upgraded others while adding miles of canals. A major rainstorm in 2017 sparked significant changes in management at the agency that operates the drainage system. Officials have also constructed ponds to hold stormwater and worked to improve power reliability. At a post-Francine news conference on Friday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said the drainage system had improved over the years, but there was more work to do. The Republican said state and federal emergency officials are working with the city to determine where pumps and power generation are needed. “It’s so we can plug rainfall amounts into a model and more accurately predict what those disasters are going to look like and what resources are going to be needed,” Landry said. A worst-case scenario is when a storm surprises forecasters and stalls over the city, dumping huge amounts of rain. Some of the worst floods the city has seen in recent memory weren’t hurricanes, but major rainstorms. “You just manage the best you can,” Korban said. And climate change means the atmosphere can hold more moisture, which means the potential for big, wet storms. “You’ve seen a number of events in Louisiana since Hurricane Katrina that have really challenged the existing storm water infrastructure,” said Dominic Boyer, a professor at Rice University in Houston who co-directs Center for Coastal Futures and Adaptive Resilience. That’s “only going to be more challenging as time goes on,” he said.

2 critically injured in Idaho fuel station explosion, others presumed dead

BOISE, Idaho — Officials say two people were badly burned and two others are believed to be dead after an explosion and fire destroyed a gas station in a small north-central Idaho town. The explosion at the Atkinson Distributing station in Cardiff was reported just after 3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, the Clearwater County Sheriff’s office said in a news release, and two people with severe burns were flown by air ambulance to a hospital in a nearby city. More people were believed to be inside the building, the sheriff’s office said, but no additional details were released. Another two people were also taken to area hospitals, said Idaho State Fire Marshal Knute Sandahl on Thursday, but the nature of their injuries was not known. “It’s a pretty devastating incident. I believe there have been structures destroyed besides the gas station, and there is a pretty large debris field,” that covers an area roughly the size of two city blocks, Sandahl said. Jeff Adams, a manager with Atkinson Distributing, said Thursday that the people who were flown to a hospital burn center in Seattle are Atkinson employees. Both were in critical condition, he said. “Evidentially there were a couple of customers in the store that did not get out,” Adams said. “We’d like to extend our prayers to everybody, and thank the first responders and everybody who turned out to try to help. We very much appreciate it.” A fuel tanker was offloading fuel at the station when the explosion occurred, Adams said, but it wasn’t yet known what caused the explosion. “We’re just like everybody else — we’re waiting around trying to get information,” Adams said. “When we went up there last night, they wouldn’t let us get anywhere near it.” Sandahl said two of his deputy fire marshals are at the station to investigate, and they are being assisted by a special agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The remote mountain town does not have cell service, and Sandahl did not yet have any details about the explosion. “Unfortunately the flow of information is kind of difficult without any cell service,” Sandahl said. “They’re still sifting through the debris.” The Cardiff gas station is only staffed during the logging season, according to the company’s website, and it includes a small convenience store with snacks and drinks. By Rebecca Boone, The Associated Press

Data for 2023 reveals Texas as most dangerous state for truck crashes

New research by T. Madden & Associates has revealed that Texas is the most dangerous state for truck accidents. The study, which analyzed data from The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Texas Department of Transportation for 2023 found the Lone Star State had 20,510 fatal and non-fatal truck crashes — the highest of all states. The study shows the Top 5 most dangerous states for truck accidents as: Texas, with 20,510 fatal and non-fatal large truck crashes California, with 13,086 fatal and non-fatal large truck crashes Florida, with 10,391 fatal and non-fatal large truck crashes Georgia, with 8,826 fatal and non-fatal large truck crashes Pennsylvania, with 7,524 fatal and non-fatal large truck crashes “Freight trucks and their drivers are a crucial aspect of Texas’s great economy,” said Terance Madden of T. Madden & Associates. “For that reason, the health and safety of the state’s fleets and drivers should be an absolute priority, which is why the figures in our study are so concerning.” Madden also noted that with 20,510 incidents, Texas leads in large truck accidents, in fact, according to the Department of Transportation, at least one person has died on a Texas road since November 2000. “With that in mind, all drivers should take adequate precautions when getting out on the road, especially drivers of commercial vehicles,” Madden said. “In the unfortunate event of an incident, we strongly recommend having a strong insurance policy in place in the case of vehicle damage, and possibly obtaining legal advice in the case of injury or worse.” According to 2023 data from the Texas Department of Transportation, the five cities with the highest number of crashes in the state were: Houston: 67,644 total crashes (274 fatal, 67,370 non-fatal) San Antonio: 40,077 total crashes (160 fatal, 39,917 non-fatal) Dallas: 31,678 total crashes (196 fatal, 31,482 non-fatal) Fort Worth: 13,445 total crashes (111 fatal, 13,334 non-fatal) Austin: 12,138 total crashes (88 fatal, 12,050 non-fatal)

Loose electrical cable found on ship that caused Baltimore bridge collapse

BALTIMORE — Investigators working to pinpoint the cause of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse discovered a loose cable that could have caused electrical issues on the Dali, the massive cargo ship that lost power and disastrously veered off course before striking the bridge. When disconnected, the problematic cable triggered an electrical blackout on the ship similar to what happened as it approached the bridge on March 26, according to new documents released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board. The documents don’t include any analysis or conclusions, which will be released later in the board’s final report. A spokesperson for the board declined to comment as the investigation is ongoing. The Dali was leaving Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka when its steering failed because of the power loss. It crashed into one of the bridge’s supporting columns, destroying the 1.6-mile span and killing six members of a roadwork crew. Safety investigators released a preliminary report earlier this year that documented a series of power issues on the ship before and after its departure from Baltimore. But the new records offer more details about how its electrical system may have failed in the critical moments leading up to the deadly disaster. The Dali first experienced a power outage when it was still docked in Baltimore. That was after a crew member mistakenly closed an exhaust damper while conducting maintenance, causing one of the ship’s diesel engines to stall, according to the earlier report. Crew members then made changes to the ship’s electrical configuration, switching from one transformer and breaker system — which had been in use for several months — to a second that was active upon its departure. That second transformer and breaker system is where investigators found the loose cable, according to investigative reports. Investigators also removed an electrical component from the same system for additional testing, according to a supplemental report released in June. They removed what is called a terminal block, which is used to connect electrical wires. Engineers from Hyundai, the manufacturer of the ship’s electrical system, said the loose cable could create an open circuit and cause a breaker to open, according to a 41-page report detailing tests completed on the Dali in the weeks after the collapse. The engineers disconnected the cable as part of a simulation, which resulted in a blackout on the ship. Hyundai sent engineers from its headquarters in South Korea to help with the investigation in April. The new documents also included various certificates issued after inspections of the Dali pertaining to its general condition and compliance with maritime safety regulations. “It’s pretty clear that they think they’ve found an issue that could cause a blackout,” said Tom Roth-Roffy, a former National Transportation Safety Board investigator who focused on maritime investigations. He said the loose cable was in a critical place within the electrical system. He also noted that investigators have clearly taken a thorough approach and documented their findings well. The new documents suggest they found very few other problems as they combed through the various systems and machinery aboard the Dali. In terms of whether the loose connection suggests inadequate maintenance of the ship or other problems with the crew, Roth-Roffy said it seems like a toss-up. Checking hundreds or thousands of wires is a tedious and time-consuming process, he said, and there are any number of factors that could cause connections to loosen over time, including the constant vibrations on a ship. “To say that this should have been detected is probably true but somewhat unrealistic,” he said. “But the ship’s crew has ultimate responsibility for the proper maintenance and operation of the ship.” The Dali left Baltimore for Virginia in late June. It was scheduled to undergo repairs there, and local media reported last week that it will sail to China, likely sometime later this month.

Francine weakens and moves inland after lashing Louisiana

MORGAN CITY, La. — Francine weakened Thursday, Sept. 12, after striking Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, sent storm surge rushing into coastal communities, and raised flooding fears in New Orleans and beyond. As heavy rain drenched the northern Gulf Coast, New Orleans awoke to widespread power outages and debris-covered streets. Just before sunrise, large swaths of the city were without power, and home generators roared outside some houses. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries. Up to 6 inches of rain was possible in parts of Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Georgia, with up to 10 inches possible in some parts of Alabama and Florida, forecasters said. Flash flooding threatened cities as far away as Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; and Atlanta. Francine slammed the Louisiana coast Wednesday evening with 100 mph winds in coastal Terrebonne Parish, battering a fragile coastal region that has not fully recovered from a series of devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021. The system then moved at a fast clip toward New Orleans, lashing the city with torrential rain. In New Orleans, rushing water nearly enveloped a pickup truck in an underpass, trapping the driver inside. A 39-year-old emergency room nurse who lived nearby grabbed a hammer, waded into the waist-high water, smashed the window and pulled the driver out. It was all captured on live television by a WDSU news crew. “It’s just second nature I guess, being a nurse, you just go in and get it done, right?” Miles Crawford told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday. “I just had to get to get him out of there.” He said the water was up to the driver’s head and rising. Crawford told the man to move to the back of the truck’s cab, which gave him more room and since the front end of the pickup was angled down, into deeper water. “I wasn’t really questioning whether I should do it — it was just who is going to get it done,” he recalled, adding that he never caught the man’s name. News footage from coastal communities showed waves from lakes, rivers and Gulf waters thrashing seawalls. Water poured into city streets in blinding downpours. Oak and cypress trees leaned in the high winds, and some utility poles swayed. By early Thursday, water was receding in Jefferson Parish, where streets flooded, but canals were still high, parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng said in a social media post. Pumps that operated through the night could not keep up with the storm, causing sewer system problems, she said. She asked residents to give the parish time to clear the streets, noting that the hazards after a storm can sometimes be more dangerous than the storm itself. As the sun rose in Morgan City, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from where Francine made landfall, residents gathered tree branches that were strewn across their yards, where water rose almost to their doors. Pamela Miller, 54, stepped outside to survey the damage after a large tree fell on the roof of her home. “It was a really loud noise, a jolt, and that’s when we realized the tree had come down,” she said. “Luckily it did not go through the roof.” Jeffrey Beadle, 67, emerged from the hotel room where he sheltered for the night. Beadle left his home in low-lying Bayou Louis, about 10 miles outside town, on Wednesday as the rain picked up. He lived there for 30 years without any major damage, but he was worried this time would be different because his home was right in the hurricane’s path. He loaded his car in preparation to check on his home. “There’s nobody over on that end I can call,” he said, explaining that he did not know what he would find. “Hope everything’s good.” Sheriff’s deputies helped evacuate dozens of people, including many small children, who were trapped by rising water Wednesday evening in Thibodaux. Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said deputies also rescued residents in the Kraemer community. The National Hurricane Center downgraded Francine from a tropical storm to a tropical depression with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph as it churned north-northeast over Mississippi. The system was expected to continue weakening and become a post-tropical cyclone later Thursday before slowing down and moving over central and northern Mississippi through early Friday. Power outages in Louisiana topped 390,000 early Thursday in Louisiana, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us, with an additional 46,000 outages reported in Mississippi. The sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Francine drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters. In addition to torrential rains, there was a lingering threat of spinoff tornadoes from the storm Thursday in Florida and Alabama. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said the National Guard would fan out to parishes affected by Francine. The Guard has food, water, nearly 400 high-water vehicles, about 100 boats and 50 helicopters to respond to the storm, including for search-and-rescue operations. By Jack Brook and Sara Cline, The Associated Press. Cline reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Associated Press writers Kevin McGill in New Orleans, Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, Jeff Martin in Atlanta, and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this story.

Warm oceans strengthened Hurricane Francine and could power more fall storms

Warm water in the Gulf of Mexico helped quickly strengthen Hurricane Francine, creating danger for Louisiana residents rushing to buy supplies and secure their homes ahead of the storm’s landfall Wednesday. Warm ocean water is essential for forming and strengthening hurricanes. Heat helps the water evaporate faster, fueling the storm and producing more rainfall. Mid-September is typically the peak of hurricane season and Francine moved through a part of the ocean that held an exceptional amount of energy. As of Wednesday afternoon, Francine had strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of nearly 100 mph (161 kph). Hear’s how high Gulf of Mexico water temperatures are effecting Francine and the hurricane season: HOW HOT IS THE WATER? The Gulf of Mexico doesn’t need record setting temperatures to form hurricanes this time of year. Still, Francine traveled through water that at the surface, was somewhat hotter than average, but not record setting. The storm passed over a patch that was roughly 86 to 88 degrees (30 to 31 Celsius). What’s exceptional is the amount of heat deeper down. Storms churn up the ocean, bringing to the surface cooler water. Recently, however, that deeper layer was record-setting. It held more heat than at any point in the last decade, according to Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science. “This past week was pretty exceptional,” he said. And Francine passed over a patch of water, called an eddy, that was especially hot. Near the coast, however, the water is a bit cooler than average, meaning there’s less energy to strengthen the storm. “It’s window for really intensifying is closed, so that’s good news,” he said. HOW DID FRANCINE REACT? Warmer water lower down matters most for large, strong storms that move slowly — that’s the recipe for churning up a bunch of deeper water. “On the opposite end of that, a weaker, smaller, quicker moving storm will hardly churn up the ocean at all,” said McNoldy. For these storms, the temperature of deeper water matters less. Francine isn’t extremely strong, so the energy stored deeper in the Gulf of Mexico didn’t matter quite as much, according to McNoldy. Still, conditions were favorable enough for the storm to rapidly intensify. On Tuesday afternoon, Tropical Storm Francine had sustained winds of 65 mph (105 kph). A day later it’s nearly 100 mph (161 kph). This type of quick change can make storms more dangerous, fast, surprising those in their path. “Our model projections are telling us this is the type of thing that should become much more common as we go forward into the 21st century, as global warming continues to increase,” according to Gabriel Vecchi, a hurricane researcher at Princeton University who also directs its High Meadows Environmental Institute. But there’s other factors reducing Hurricane Francine’s power, according to Bob Smerbeck, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. Nearby dry air has weakened its growth and as the storm gets closer to the coast, winds will disrupt the shape of the hurricane, further reducing its power. “Once it gets inland, it’ll weaken quickly, but it’s going to do a lot of damage along the way,” said Smerbeck. WHAT ABOUT LONG-TERM TRENDS? Federal forecasters predicted an intense hurricane season. And a big storm came historically early. Hurricane Beryl formed in late June and reached Category 5. But at the mid-point of the season, activity has been pretty average, with just six named storms this Atlantic Hurricane season. August was especially quiet, according to Robert West, a hurricane and climate researcher with the University of Miami and affiliated with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. But the Atlantic Coast is far from out of the woods. “It seems like the tropics are kind of waking up a little bit,” West said. The warm temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico will help, continuing to provide fuel. There are long-term trends at play, too. Climate change is heating up oceans around the world, although experts say it is difficult to connect specific hurricane seasons or storms to a warming planet, West said. And there are global weather patterns. Federal forecasters this summer said La Nina could develop. That’s where parts of the Pacific Ocean have cooler water surface temperatures. When that happens, it can reduce winds that weaken hurricanes. “This could be the beginning of a busy period here,” said Smerbeck.