The Nation

OKLAHOMA CITY — Love’s Travel Stops now has 14 locations in Arizona. The Love’s Travel Stop, off Interstate 17 in Cordes Junction, Arizona, opened Oct. 15, bringing 65 jobs and 57 parking spaces to Yavapai County. “We’re excited to open our 14th location in Arizona and add 65 jobs to Yavapai County,” said Tom Love, founder and executive chairman of Love’s. “Cordes Junction is a great town to add another easy-to-access location for professional truck drivers and four-wheel customers. We look forward to providing them with amenities like gas, diesel and fresh food and coffee and to get them back on the road safely and quickly.” The Cordes Junction location is open 24/7 and offers the following: More than 12,000 square feet; Arby’s and Godfather’s Pizza; 57 truck parking spaces; 85 car parking spaces; Three RV parking spaces; Eight diesel bays; Eight showers; Love’s Truck Care with on-site Speedco; Laundry facilities; Bean-to-cup gourmet coffee; Brand-name snacks; Fresh Kitchen concept; Mobile to Go Zone with the latest electronics; CAT scale; and Dog park. In honor of the grand opening, Love’s is donating $2,000 to be divided between the Mayer Elementary School’s Parent Teacher Organization and the Mayer Area Meals on Wheels program.

LAKE CHARLES, La. — The town of Lake Charles, Louisiana, has been hard-hit this hurricane season, first by Hurricane Laura, a Category 4 storm, in late August and then again, just 43 days later, by Hurricane Delta, a Category 2. Laura made headlines as the fifth-strongest storm ever to hit the U.S. coast. Both storms resulted in heavy damage and flooding. Lake Charles Truck Equipment, a business that has served the Lake Charles area for nearly five decades, was in the path of both storms, according to a news release from HDA Truck Pride, a supplier of aftermarket parts and service for the commercial-vehicle market. As owner Don Kelley and the staff of Lake Charles Truck Equipment braced for impact from both Laura and Delta, employees secured everything possible at the business before heading home to secure their own residences. Once the storms cleared, the damage was evident. Kelley said the results of Hurricane Laura were catastrophic; but more importantly, the damage to his team members’ homes was unimaginable. They spent four weeks without power and phone lines; both services were restored just days before Delta hit. A member of HDA Truck Pride, Lake Charles Truck Equipment relied on assistance from other distributor members and suppliers in the aftermath of the storms. Employees from Houston Truck Parts, R. Kelly’s Truck Parts, East Texas Truck Center, Trico, LLC and Northeast Truck and Trailer all showed up to help move debris, salvage inventory and provide support. Houston Truck Parts also brought a generator, drums of fuel, a pallet of plywood and a pallet of drinking water. Supplier representatives from Dorman, Heavy Duty Marketing, Phillips Industries and US Tarps also helped with recovery efforts for the business. In addition, through individual donations and a GoFundMe page, parts distributors and suppliers raised more than $20,000 to help the employees of Lake Charles Truck Equipment. “We cannot begin to express our gratitude for the donations of time, resources and financial contributions in the wake of these storms,” Kelley said. “We always say the heavy-duty industry is like family, but this just proves it. I do not what to think about where we would be without all the help,” he said. “We are overwhelmed by the generosity of our fellow members and supplier companies.” The donation site will remain open for a few more weeks as employees of Lake Charles Truck Equipment recover from both storms. For more information, click here.

ALEXANDRIA BAY, N.Y. — October started off with a “bong” at the Alexandria Bay Port of Entry between the U.S. and Canada when officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized more than 2,400 glass smoking pipes, classified as drug paraphernalia, worth more than $156,000. On Oct. 4, CBP officers encountered a commercial truck that contained shipments manifested as “smoking glass ball water pipe.” The truck was first sent for a nonintrusive inspection and then to the warehouse for a physical exam. During the secondary inspection, CBP officers discovered eight pallets of glass smoking pipes and an unlawful importation of drug paraphernalia. Further investigation revealed that information regarding the shipment’s country of origin contained marking errors and inaccuracies. A CBP import specialist further inspected the shipment, reviewed the manifest and determined that all 2,412 glass pipes were drug paraphernalia. “Keen awareness by our CBP officers led to the discovery of this contraband,” said Wendy Ruttan, assistant port director of trade. “These officers take pride in continuing to prevent drug related items from entering our community.” The entire shipment was seized for import violations.

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Nearly a month after Hurricane Sally devastated parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast region, demolition and recovery efforts continue on the Pensacola Bay Bridge, popularly known as “Three-Mile Bridge.” The bridge has been closed to traffic since mid-September. At the end of September, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) released an update about the department’s efforts to prepare the bridge for reconstruction. The design for permanent repairs and reestablishment of four lanes of traffic on the bridge with a focus on substructure repairs, which includes the piers, is in development. According to FDOT, the primary concern is ensuring durability and that the repairs do not cause a reduction in the bridge’s strength. According to an Oct. 15 update from FDOT, progress at the bridge continues. One damaged span of the bridge has been removed while crews continue to carefully remove damaged portions from additional spans in order to minimize impacts to the existing structure. Two of the three barges under the bridge have also been removed, accelerating demolition efforts. To date, 15 of the 27 barges have been removed from the area. As work on the bridge progresses, FDOT has worked to improve the traffic flow along the Pensacola Bay Bridge detour routes. To date, FDOT has: Installed a new temporary traffic signal at the Interstate 10 westbound ramps at State Road 281; Installed delineators to provide a free flow southbound movement from the Interstate 10 eastbound ramp onto southbound State Road 281; Installed additional temporary traffic cameras to help improve travel time; Relocated the Road Ranger service that was previously on the Pensacola Bay Bridge to the Garcon Point Bridge to help with minor incidents and to keep traffic flowing as much as possible; Developed plans to temporarily widen 2,000 feet of northbound and southbound State Road 281 south of the Interstate 10 interchange; and Made plans to temporarily widen the eastbound Interstate 10 off ramp at eastbound State Road 281 to two lanes to better facilitate traffic movement leaving the interstate. FDOT is assessing the final total number of the spans and piers that will ultimately need to be replaced. The contractor has already fabricated 25 beams and the piers needed to begin repairs; in addition to constructing more replacement beams and piers at its offsite yard, the contractor has reached out to other facilities to assist in production. Updated preliminary inspection findings include: To date, FDOT divers have inspected 202 underwater footings, while top-side inspection teams have assessed 105 spans, 202 piers and 525 beams. The number of spans requiring full replacement remains at five, and FDOT has identified an additional two that will require partial replacement. A minimum of 12 pedestrian spans have been identified for replacement. FDOT will have to replace a number of beams and is still determining the specific number needing replacement. The U.S. Coast Guard has established a 500-yard buffer zone for all Pensacola Bay/Three-Mile Bridge construction activities. Vessels may use only low or idle speeds within the buffer zone. Due to the potential for underwater hazards, boaters are advised to use caution near the bridge. The navigational channel has been inspected and is free of hazards. For this reason, crossing beneath the bridge should be done only at the navigational channel. Motorists should continue to use all available detour routes, which include the Garcon Point Bridge and State Road 87. At this time, tolls on the Garcon Point Bridge have been suspended through 6 a.m., Friday, October 23. To keep the public apprised of details about the detour routes, including graphics, FAQs and the reconstruction process, FDOT has created a Pensacola Bay update page. The Pensacola Bay Bridge has a targeted reopening date of early March 2021. Once repairs are complete, all four lanes will be open with no load restrictions.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A U.S. appellate panel on Wednesday, Oct. 14, tossed convictions for the former president of Pilot Flying J and two of his former employees related to a rebate scheme to cheat trucking companies out of millions of dollars. A split three-judge panel of the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reasoned that jurors should not have been played recordings of racist language by the former president, Mark Hazelwood. “The district court admitted the recordings on the theory that if the defendant was reckless enough to use language that could risk public outrage against the company, he was a ‘bad businessman,’ and as a bad businessman, he was also reckless enough to commit fraud,” Judge Richard Suhrheinrich wrote for the majority. “This is vintage bad character evidence — and precisely the type of reasoning the Federal Rules of Evidence forbid.” The jury heard secret recordings of Hazelwood using racial slurs and profanely criticizing his board of directors and his boss’s football team and fans. Hazelwood later apologized for his language. Hazelwood was convicted in 2018 of conspiracy, wire fraud and witness tampering. Former company vice president Scott “Scooter” Wombold was convicted of wire fraud, and former account representative Heather Jones was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Hazelwood received a 12 ½-year prison sentence in connection with the scheme to shortchange trucking customers on diesel rebates. Wombold was sentenced to six years and Jones to more than 2 ½ years. Fourteen former Pilot Flying J employees pleaded guilty earlier. Pilot Flying J is controlled by the family of Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. The Haslams haven’t been charged with any wrongdoing. The former governor hasn’t been involved with the company in recent years. The company earlier agreed to pay an $85 million settlement to defrauded customers and a $92 million penalty to the government. In the dissenting opinion, Judge Bernice Bouie Donald wrote the recordings were admissible in rebuttal to the argument that Hazelwood was a “good businessman.” Written by Jonathan Mattise

SAN DIEGO — More than 3,100 pounds of methamphetamine, fentanyl powder and pills, and heroin were seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at California’s Otay Mesa commercial facility on Oct. 9. The seizure was the second-largest methamphetamine bust along the nation’s southwest border in the history of the CBP, according to information from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “Smugglers will try every way possible to try and get their product across the border and because of the partnership between CBP, Homeland Security investigations and DEA, this significant seizure occurred and we stopped them,” said Anne Maricich, acting CBP director of field operations in San Diego. “I’m proud of the CBP officers’ dedication to our mission; they continue to stop dangerous drugs from entering our communities.” At about 9:45 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 9, a driver arrived at the cargo border crossing with a tractor-trailer shipment that was manifested as medical supplies; the vehicle was referred for a more intensive inspection. CBP officers screened the truck using the port’s nonintrusive imaging system and found anomalies in the rear of the trailer. The conveyance was sent to the dock and a canine alerted to the boxes inside the trailer. Officers offloaded the shipment and discovered 1,816 packages of narcotics mingled with the medical supplies, which primarily consisted of clear plastic pipette tips, spray bottles of surface decontaminate, and calibrated pipette tools (used for sampling and dispensing liquid). CBP officers extracted approximately 3,014 pounds of methamphetamine, 64 pounds of heroin, 29 pounds of fentanyl powder and almost 37 pounds of fentanyl pills — in total, worth an estimated $7.2 million. CBP officers seized the narcotics and conveyance. “This massive seizure is testament of what law-enforcement agencies can do when we combine forces — prevent over $7 million worth of deadly drugs from entering our country; thus saving countless lives from addiction and overdose deaths,” said John Callery, DEA special agent in charge. “DEA cherishes our great law-enforcement partners in San Diego, especially those who work tirelessly to protect our nation’s borders. We will continue to work together to disrupt drug trafficking organizations at every opportunity we are given.” The driver, a 47–year-old male Mexican citizen, was arrested and turned over the custody of the joint investigative team from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), HSI and DEA pending; he will face criminal charges. (Criminal charges are merely allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.) “This significant seizure is a prime example of how a successful partnership between HSI, CBP and DEA results in the disruption of transnational criminal organizations while protecting our country from dangerous illicit drugs,” said Juan Munoz, acting special agent in charge of HSI in San Diego. “We will continue to work tirelessly to bring those responsible to justice.”

WASHINGTON — Public input is requested on a proposal to expand the military occupational specialties (MOS) that qualify under-21 drivers to participate in an interstate pilot program, according to a notice published in the Federal Register Oct. 9 by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The pilot program allows drivers aged 18, 19 and 20 who received training in the operation of heavy-duty vehicles under certain MOS classifications while serving in the military to drive commercial vehicles for interstate commerce. FMCSA says qualifying additional MOS for the program will help additional military service members transition to commercial driving jobs. Four branches of the U.S. military — the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps — include a motor transport operations MOS that includes specific training in the operation of heavy-duty vehicles. There are three additional MOS classifications that include training for heavy-duty specialty vehicles, such as gasoline haulers, construction vehicles and military equipment transport oversize/overweight vehicles. Currently, the seven MOS specialties approved for the pilot program include: Army: 88M Motor Transport Operator and 92F Fueler. Marine Corps: 3531 Motor Vehicle Operator. Navy: E.O. Equipment Operator. Air Force: 2TI Vehicle Operator; 2FO Fueler; and 3E2 Pavement and Construction Equipment Operator. FMCSA’s proposal would add eight additional MOS classifications that require heavy-vehicle training and operation: Army: 12B Combat Engineer; 13B Field Artillery; 13P MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System); 88H Transportation Cargo; and 14T Patriot Launching Station Operator. Marine Corps: 3537 After 3531 achieves the rank of SSgt; 0811 Field Artillery Cannoneer; 1371 Combat Engineer; and 1345 Engineer Equipment Operator. The comment period ends Nov. 9, 2020. Click here to review the details of the proposal and make online comments.

PHOENIX — Beginning at 6 a.m. Monday, Oct. 12, and continuing through Friday, Nov. 13, northbound Interstate 15 through the Virgin River Gorge will be reduced to one lane as crews repair a bridge that was damaged by an accident involving a semi truck in August. The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) advises wide-load haulers and other drivers to allow extra travel time and plan for the following around-the-clock restrictions beginning next week as crews perform bridge repair work on northbound I-15 through the Virgin River Gorge: All vehicles wider than 10 feet must use a 224-mile detour route. Signs will direct wide-load traffic to the detour route: U.S. 93, Nevada State Route 319 and Utah State Route 56 between Las Vegas and Cedar City, Utah. Northbound I-15 will be narrowed to one lane at milepost 22 (between Cedar Pocket Road and Black Rock Road).  Southbound I-15 will not be impacted by this work. In August, a semi-truck heading northbound on I-15 crashed and caught fire while crossing Bridge No. 7. Crews will be repairing the guardrail, concrete barrier wall and bridge deck, all of which were damaged in the crash. Drivers not affected by the load-width limit should proceed through the work zone with caution, slow down and watch for construction personnel and equipment.

WASHINGTON — With Hurricane Delta expected to make landfall along the Louisiana Gulf Coast Friday, Oct. 9, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a regional emergency declaration and extended a temporary waiver that lifts hours-of-service regulations for some commercial drivers in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The waiver, exempts motor carriers and drivers who are providing direct assistance to the anticipated emergency in the affected states from Parts 390-399 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations, with limitations. The waiver went into effect Oct. 7, and will remain in effect until the emergency situation ends or until Nov. 6, whichever comes first. Under the waiver, regulatory relief is available for commercial carriers and drivers while providing direct assistance supporting emergency relief efforts to the affected states when: Transporting supplies, goods, equipment and fuel; Transporting persons into and from the affected states; or Providing other assistance in the form of emergency services during the emergency caused by Hurricane Delta. Direct assistance terminates when a driver or commercial motor vehicle is used in interstate commerce to transport cargo or provide services not in support of emergency relief efforts related to Hurricane Delta, or when the motor carrier dispatches a driver or commercial motor vehicle to another location to begin operations in commerce. Once a motor carrier or driver has completed direct assistance to the emergency relief efforts, the waiver no longer applies; however, drivers may return, without a load, to the terminal or normal reporting site without complying with Parts 390-399. The FMCSA declaration specifies: “When a driver is moving from emergency relief efforts to normal operations, a 10-hour break is required when the total time a driver operates conducting emergency relief efforts, or a combination of emergency relief and normal operation, equals 14 hours.” The emergency declaration does not offer exemption from controlled substances and alcohol use and testing requirements, commercial driver’s license (CDL) requirements, insurance requirements, hazardous-material regulations, size and weight requirements or any other regulations not specifically authorized in 49 CFR § 390.23. In addition, carriers and drivers who are currently subject to an out-of-service order are not eligible for the relief granted by the waiver until the applicable order has been rescinded by FMCSA. According to The Weather Channel, Hurricane Delta is now a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph and is expected to be a “formidable” storm when it makes landfall sometime Friday. The storm is expected to cause “life-threatening storm surge flooding, damaging winds and rainfall flooding,” the Weather Channel said. Hurricane Delta is the ninth hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season.

WASHINGTON — Traffic deaths decreased nationwide during 2019 compared to 2018, according the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In addition, preliminary data for 2020 showed a decrease in traffic fatalities during the year’s second quarter, during the height of the nation’s COVID-19 crisis, the agency noted. On Oct. 1, NHTSA released a preview of 2019 data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and preliminary estimates for the first half of 2020. Alongside the release of the 2019 preview data and 2020 first-half fatality projections, the agency issued two companion reports, Special Report: Examination of the Traffic Safety Environment During the Second Quarter of 2020 and Drug and Alcohol Prevalence in Seriously and Fatally Injured Road Users Before and During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. In 2019, there were 36,096 fatalities in motor-vehicle traffic crashes, a decrease of 739 (down 2%) from the reported 36,835 fatalities in 2018, even though vehicle miles traveled increased by nearly 1%. As a result, the fatality rate for 2019 was 1.10 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) — the lowest rate since 2014, down from 1.14 fatalities per 100 million VMT in 2018. During 2019, fatalities in crashes involving at least one large truck showed relatively no change, decreasing from 5,006 in 2018 to 5,005 in 2019. Large trucks include both commercial and non-commercial trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds. NHTSA’s preliminary fatality estimates for the first half of 2020 showed a slight drop (0.5%) during the year’s first quarter, with a larger drop of 3.3% in the second quarter. During April, May and June, during the height of the COVID-19 public health emergency, there were 8,870 traffic-related deaths compared to 9,172 during the same time period of 2019. As a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the nation’s total traffic volume decreased by more than 16% in the first six months of 2020. Because traffic volumes decreased more significantly than did the number of fatal crashes, the traffic fatality rate per 100 million VMT is projected to increase to 1.25 in the first half of 2020, up from 1.06 in the same period in 2019. “Road safety is always our top priority, and while we are encouraged by today’s reports showing a continued decline in total fatalities in 2019 and into the first half of 2020, we are concerned by the trend since April showing an increased fatality rate,” said James Owens, NHTSA deputy administrator. “Now, more than ever, we should be watching ourselves for safe driving practices and encouraging others to do the same. It’s irresponsible and illegal to drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol, taking risks not only with one’s own life, but with the lives of others.”