The Nation

WALCOTT, Iowa — The 2020 Walcott Truckers Jamboree kicked off today (July 9) in a new online format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event would normally held at the Iowa 80 truck stop in Walcott, Iowa, which is touted as the “world’s largest truck stop, but in compliance with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynold’s orders, organizers have moved the entire event online. “The good news is we will most definitely continue with our long-standing tradition of celebrating America’s truckers,” said Heather DeBaille, vice president of marketing. “While we can’t host 45,000 people at Iowa 80 to celebrate, we will take the jamboree virtual and still celebrate the important job of the professional driver.” Many events, including the Antique Truck Display, Super Truck Beauty Contest, Trucker’s Best Friend Pet Contest and more have been revamped to fit an online format. All concerts will be rescheduled for the 2021 Jamboree. The antique truck display features photos from entrants, along with information about their antique vehicles. Voting for the Super Truck Beauty Contest and the Trucker’s Best Friend Pet contest continues until 5 p.m. central time July 9; the beauty contest winner will be announced July 11 and the pet contest winner will be announced July 10. Click here to vote in the Super Truck Beauty Contest; click here to vote in the Trucker’s Best Friend contest. On Friday, July 10, the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum will celebrate the 100th birthday one of its exhibits, a 1920 GMC, with a video event that will be posted on the museum’s Facebook page. Even though this year’s jamboree cannot be held on site, all professional truck drivers with a commercial driver’s license who stop at the Iowa 80 July 9, 10 or 11 can receive a free meal in the Iowa 80 Kitchen restaurant. Meal certificates will be available at the fuel center, service center, truck wash and Super Truck Showroom. “We want drivers to know who much we appreciate the hard work they do. This certainly isn’t the way we thought our 41st jamboree would play out, but we care about drivers and their families, and we still want to celebrate them,” said Delia Moon Meier, senior vice president. “We truly hope everyone understands, and we hope that you will join us in spirit and online in celebration of trucking,” she continued. “We look forward to seeing everyone in person in 2021.” To join in the fun of this year’s Walcott Trucking Jamboree, click here.

WESTLAKE, Ohio — As states reach various stages of reopening and cases of COVID-19 continue to increase across the nation, TA and Petro travel centers are working to provide vital services for truckers and other motorists. All TA Petro Stopping Centers and TA Express locations are now open, with each facility following local, state and federal directives, as well as guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In a July 6 statement, the company reassured the public, “At TA and Petro, we are focused on taking proactive and appropriate steps to deal with the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation.” All fuel lanes are open at every location, and there is no fuel rationing, the statement continued. In addition, all TA Truck Service centers are open and RoadSquad 24-hour roadside assistance is available. Showers and restrooms are available, and all truck parking is available, including reservable spots. Fitness centers, driver lounges and game rooms remain closed. State mandates are being followed regarding dining areas in both full- and quick-service restaurants, as well as in casinos, where applicable. Restaurant reopenings continue at TA and Petro locations around the U.S. A list of current restaurant hours is available through the TruckSmart app or through an interactive map on the company’s website. In addition, hot and cold prepackaged items are available in the travel stores, including deli sandwiches, burgers, burritos and more. Other options that vary based on site include homestyle cooked meals located in the fuel buildings and travel stores, quick-service restaurants and carry-out from full-service restaurants. Food products such as hot dogs, pretzels, apples, doughnuts and pastries are individually wrapped, and in locations where self-serve is not permitted, coffee and other beverages are available at in-store restaurants. While drivers cannot use refillable mugs right now, they can still qualify for the “refill” price by telling the cashier that they participate in the refillable mug program. All locations are following enhanced cleaning guidelines and safety measures both at the fuel pumps and inside, including more frequent cleaning and sanitization of showers, restrooms, door knobs, light switches countertops and more. State and locale mandates are being followed regarding the wearing of face masks; if a mask is required, a sign will be posted on the door. In addition, customers are encouraged to practice social distancing (at least 6 feet apart). Employees at TA and Petro travel centers restaurants and truck-service centers have been advices to follow best practices, including wearing face masks, frequent hand-washing, social distancing and staying home when ill. Service technicians must wear safety glasses and bump caps while working or when in the shop bays. As an additional precaution, employees have been instructed to avoid entering the truck cab unless the needed work or repair is actually in the cab; in this case, technicians must wear disposable gloves. For more information about TA and Petro travel centers, click here.

OAKLAND, Calif. — More than 50 minority truckers are planning to file a petition in support of a lawsuit against the Oakland Police Department (OPD) and the City of Oakland. The taxpayer lawsuit filed by Steven Fajardo, a retired Hispanic police officer, seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent the expenditure and waste of public funds in the unauthorized process used by the OPD, alleging that the department favors Dreisbach Enterprises, a single, large trucking partner of the Port of Oakland. The OPD allegedly issued Dreisbach secret, noncompliant permits needed for the operation of heavyweight trucks on the streets of West Oakland and within the Port of Oakland. The lawsuit, filed in the Alameda Superior Court, is before Judge James Reilly in Case No. RG 20061840. According to the lawsuit, a former OPD police officer, who is Caucasian, violated Oakland city ordinances when he unilaterally changed critical “trailer safety requirements” from four tires per axle to only two tires per axle, even though neither the current chief of police or any predecessor had formally established any new or additional safety and equipment criteria for use in determining whether an operator’s overweight truck satisfies the safety requirements mandated by law. The lawsuit further alleges that neither the public or any independent truck driver was notified of this potential or actual change, and that the change was not posted on the Port of Oakland’s website until four years after the fact. According to the filing, the “secret” change occurred after the Port of Oakland entered into a lucrative arrangement for the construction of a cold-storage facility at the port through a joint venture between Dreisbach and conglomerate Lineage Logistics. These changes, made without public hearings and comment, allegedly allowed Dreisbach alone to receive special permits from the OPD to use specialized chassis, giving Dreisbach a disproportionate economic advantage over African American, Mexican American and other racial minority truckers at the port. Ignacio De La Fuente, a former member of the Oakland City Council and a trucking-industry expert, summed up the concerns of the more than 50 independent minority truckers supporting the lawsuit as follows: “As if local law-enforcement agencies have not done enough damage to the African-American, Mexican-American and minority communities, the OPD has clandestinely and unfairly rigged the system in favor of the city’s partner (Dreisbach) at the expense of small, minority, independent truckers trying to get by in this already economically challenging time.” Fajardo is represented by Eduardo G. Roy, a Bay Area attorney. “It is time for the Oakland City mayor and acting police chief to immediately put the brakes on the Dreisbach’s illegal special permits and the improper favoritism, and investigate the systemic unfairness and disproportionate impact these illegal and unsafe policies and practices are having on our African American, Mexican American, and minority communities,” Roy said. “We have uncovered much evidence to show the city before any further changes or policies are considered by the acting police chief.” Roy is also representing a Dreisbach competitor, PCC Logistics/Pacific Transload Systems, in a separate lawsuit against Dreisbach that has been pending since December 2018 and is set for trial in February 2021 in the Alameda Superior Court, Case No. RG18931876.

PHOENIX — Since its installment in 2018, the Arizona Department of Transportation’s (ADOT) Interstate 17 thermal-camera system in Phoenix has proven to be a reliable way to detect wrong-way vehicles, alert law enforcement and warn other drivers to reduce the risk of crashes involving often-impaired wrong-way drivers. The Arizona Department of Transportation has already expanded use of the technology, with plans to do more as time and funding allow. Those are among the key findings in an assessment of ADOT’s first-in-the-nation wrong-way vehicle detection and warning system along I-17. The report includes recommendations for components to be added at urban and rural locations as funding becomes available. Compared to waiting for 911 calls from other drivers, the immediate alerts provided by thermal-camera detections result in faster response times by law enforcement, a finding borne out by ADOT’s assessment of the I-17 system. “The I-17 pilot system has delivered positive results and helped provide a road map for expanding use of technology to reduce the risk from wrong-way drivers,” said Dallas Hammit, ADOT’s state engineer and deputy director for transportation. “We’re using the thermal camera technology elsewhere and have established plans for other areas, including rural locations,” Hammit continued. “I want to stress that thermal cameras can’t stop someone from being a wrong-way driver. But they are a big part of our efforts to reduce the risks associated with often-impaired wrong-way drivers.” The thermal camera detection technology that’s key to the I-17 system has now been installed at most interchanges along the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway. Installations are underway along Loop 303 in the West Valley, and the technology will be added as part of Loop 101 expansion projects that are under construction east of I-17 and also south of US 60. ADOT also has converted thermal cameras already used on traffic signals at more than a dozen interchanges in the West Valley to send alerts to the traffic operations center and the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) when wrong-way vehicles are detected. Those include four locations along the Loop 101 Agua Fria Freeway (59th, 67th, 75th and Northern avenues), in addition to I-17 at 19th Avenue and Jomax Road, I-10 at 27th and 91st avenues, and multiple intersections along State Route 347 between I-10 and Maricopa. The $4 million I-17 pilot system was funded by Proposition 400, the dedicated sales tax for transportation improvements approved by Maricopa County voters in 2004. Since the system began operating in January 2018 between the I-10 “Stack” interchange and Loop 101, it has detected more than 100 vehicles traveling the wrong way, mostly on exit ramps and frontage roads along the Black Canyon Freeway. Drivers of most of those vehicles either turned around on exit ramps or pulled into driveways or parking lots without entering I-17 in the wrong direction. The alert system also features specialized internally illuminated wrong-way signs with flashing LED lights along I-17 off-ramps, designed to get the attention of a wrong-way driver. The system’s 90 thermal cameras are positioned to detect wrong-way vehicles entering off-ramps or traveling along the freeway in areas between the I-10 “Stack” interchange near downtown Phoenix and the Loop 101 interchange in north Phoenix. Through a computerized decision-support system, the system also triggers the internally illuminated “Wrong Way” signs with flashing red lights aimed at getting the attention of wrong-way drivers. At the same time, the system immediately alerts the AZDPS and ADOT, allowing law enforcement to respond immediately and ADOT to immediately alert other freeway drivers with “Wrong Way Driver/Ahead/Exit Freeway” warnings on overhead message boards. In addition to installations that have already been completed or planned, ADOT is prepared to work with regional planners to add wrong-way vehicle-alert technology elsewhere as funding becomes available. The priority will be locations with the greatest incidence of wrong-way incursions. “We’re working on determining locations in greater Arizona where thermal cameras could be added for example on overhead message signs or at strategically identified interchanges along rural highways,” Hammit said. “Locations along I-17 between Phoenix and Flagstaff are planned if and when funding is identified.” One example of the technology’s performance was in summer 2018, when thermal cameras on I-17 detected a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction south from Loop 101. State troopers stopped the driver, who exited the freeway and re-entered going the right way in the northbound lanes. In early 2019, a thermal camera detection at I-17 and Camelback Road led to state troopers stopping a wrong-way pickup in the travel lanes. There have been successes beyond the I-17 pilot area as well. In August 2019, a thermal camera at I-10 and 27th Avenue alerted ADOT and the AZDPS to a commercial truck entering the freeway in the wrong direction. Law enforcement stopped the driver on I-17 near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. In 2017, a thermal camera being tested at the Loop 101 Agua Freeway interchange at 75th Avenue detected a wrong-way vehicle on an off-ramp, helping state troopers stop the vehicle near Grand Avenue. Longer-term and subject to funding availability, ADOT’s assessment of the I-17 pilot system also recommends installing the internally illuminated, flashing “Wrong Way” sign at urban locations with thermal camera detection. ADOT’s overhead message boards could be used as locations for additional thermal cameras above the roadway in urban and rural areas.

  LAROSE, La. — A Louisiana pilot experiencing engine trouble made a safe emergency landing on a highway. WWL-TV reported that longtime pilot Howie Guidry was about an hour into his flight and 2,000 feet in the air when his plane experienced engine trouble on a Thursday morning flight. He knew he couldn’t make it back to an airport and remembered the advice of his training instructor to land on the biggest highway he could find. “I had to make fast decisions to get on the ground safely. Through my years of training, my flight instructors always told me ‘Fly the plane until you get on the ground. Fly it, fly it. Don’t give up,’” Guidry told the TV station. The pilot landed on Louisiana Highway 3235 near Larose in Lafourche Parish. The landing was caught on camera by an astonished truck driver. “I didn’t hear anything until he came into my line of sight and then I just couldn’t believe it,” driver Keith Gros said. To make the landing, the pilot had to fly under some power lines. After landing, Guidry and a mechanic who was flying with him quickly pushed the plane off the highway.

For years after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect on Jan. 1, 1994, the trucking industry in the U.S. worried about one particular provision. The agreement called for the lifting of restrictions prohibiting Mexican carriers to operate in the U.S. Canadian carriers were already allowed to deliver loads originating in Canada to points within the U.S and pick up loads returning to Canada. Mexican carriers, on the other hand, were allowed to operate in clearly defined “commercial zones” near U.S.-Mexico border crossings. Freight from Mexico that was bound for destinations outside of the commercial zones had to be transferred to a U.S.-based carrier for delivery, a process that is cumbersome and expensive. Since NAFTA was designed to lift trade barriers between the participating countries, it was a given that Mexican trucks would soon be granted the same privileges in the U.S. as Canadian trucks. The treaty provided time, specifying access to Mexican trucks by the year 2000. It didn’t happen. For Mexican carriers to move goods inside the U.S., they needed to meet the same requirements as U.S. carriers. This included things like obtaining authority, meeting insurance requirements, a driver-licensing system comparable to the CDL system in the U.S., adequate drug-testing and accident-reporting programs, environmental standards and more. Canadian laws governing these areas were already similar to those in the U.S. Since Mexico is a primary destination for older used trucks when traded by U.S. carriers, there were also concerns about vehicle safety. Critics pointed to the absence of an inspection and grading system in Mexico that was similar to U.S. programs. Then there was the language barrier. Most Canadians speak English and would have no difficulty reading U.S. road signs or understanding instructions from an enforcement official. A smaller percentage of Mexican drivers speak English fluently, potentially in conflict with a federal regulation requiring a degree of fluency with the language. Reciprocation was also a possible issue. If Mexican trucks could make deliveries in the U.S., could U.S. carriers make deliveries in Mexico? The problem wasn’t having the authority to do so; the trucking infrastructure in Mexico is simply inadequate for U.S. carriers to operate there. The network of fueling, parking and repair facilities in the country is inconsistent with such services in the U.S. There was opposition from trucking groups, too, such as the Teamsters Union and the Owner- Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), which were concerned about loss of U.S. driving jobs. Environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and safety advocates like Public Citizen also opposed allowing Mexican trucks on U.S. highways, resulting in an odd confederation of enemies on the same side of the issue. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) struggled to comply with the provisions of NAFTA while ensuring that Mexican carriers met the same safety standards as U.S. carriers. Data was inconsistent, as record-keeping requirements in Mexico did not provide adequate information to guarantee authority approval. One year after NAFTA went into effect, the U.S. refused to lift restrictions on Mexican trucks, angering Mexico’s government and threatening the NAFTA agreement. Despite this point of friction between the countries, NAFTA remained in effect while the dispute was argued. In 2001, a NAFTA dispute settlement panel found the U.S. to be in violation of the NAFTA agreement. The following year, the FMCSA put in place an interim final rule allowing cross-border operation. Opponents took to the courts to have the FMCSA rule set aside. Lower courts upheld the rule, but upon appeal the rule was set aside by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; then U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Circuit court, and the rule was back in effect. The issue moved to Congress, which required in 2007 that a pilot program be implemented to ascertain safety and compliance levels of Mexican carriers before they were permitted to conduct long-haul operations in the U.S. However, two years later Congress voted to remove funding for the pilot program, effectively ending it. Mexico retaliated by placing tariffs on more than $2 billion in U.S. goods. In 2011, with a new Congress and president in place, another pilot program began, prompting Mexico to suspend its tariffs on American goods. Finally, in 2015, the data accumulated through the pilot program was reported to Congress, which gave the go-ahead for FMCSA to begin issuing operating authority to Mexican carriers. The U.S. Inspector General reported that the program results were invalid due to the low number of participating carriers, but the carriers that did participate had safety records comparable to U.S. carriers. The numbers were underwhelming, with only a few dozen Mexico-based carriers receiving authority to operate in the U.S. Finally, after two-and-a-half decades and the involvement of five U.S. presidents, NAFTA was replaced by the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which has been characterized as “NAFTA 2.0.” The USMCA fulfills a campaign promise by President Donald Trump to reform NAFTA and is the result of a renegotiation of the original agreement that took place in 2017 and 2018. It was signed on Nov. 30, 2018, by leaders of all three participating countries, and the final ratification took place in Canada on March 13, 2020. The USMCA continues the NAFTA provision to allow Mexican carriers to obtain operating authority in the U.S. but allows the U.S. to cap the number of Mexican carriers that are given authority and to halt granting of such authority if it is determined the practice is causing material harm to U.S. interests. As it stands, the issue of Mexico-based drivers sharing the highways with U.S. drivers has quietly subsided from public discussion. The drivers are still here in small numbers. Cabotage rules prohibit hauling loads between points in the U.S. Predictions of a Mexican force of drivers putting Americans out of work have not come to pass, while the removal of Mexican tariffs on U.S. goods has had a positive effect on U.S. workers. Safety concerns have proven to be largely unfounded, as well, although close monitoring will continue. Like the trade agreements that authorized cross-border trucking, the rules under which Mexican truckers can operate within the U.S. will change over time. For now, more pressing issues are getting public attention.

WASHINGTON — The Democratic-controlled House approved a $1.5 trillion plan July 1 to rebuild the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into projects to fix roads and bridges, upgrade transit systems, expand interstate railways and dredge harbors, ports and channels in the U.S. The bill also authorizes more than $100 billion to expand internet access for rural and low-income communities and $25 billion to modernize the U.S. Postal Service’s infrastructure and operations, including a fleet of electric vehicles. Lawmakers approved the Moving Forward Act by a 233-188 vote, mostly along party lines. It now goes to the Republican-controlled Senate, where a much narrower bill approved by a key committee has languished for nearly a year. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has not attempted to schedule a floor debate, and none appears forthcoming. The idea of “Infrastructure Week” in the Trump era has become a long-running inside joke in Washington because there was little action to show for it. Still, the July 1 vote represented at least a faint signal of momentum for the kind of program that has traditionally held bipartisan appeal. Democrats hailed the House bill, which goes far beyond transportation to also fund schools, health care facilities, public utilities and affordable housing. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and a sponsor of the legislation, called it a “transformational investment in American infrastructure that will create millions of jobs.” Republicans ridiculed the bill for what they called a Green New Deal-style focus on climate. “Instead of seeking bipartisan solutions, this bill adds $1.5 trillion to the nation’s debt and disguises a heavy-handed and unworkable Green New Deal regime of new requirements as an ‘infrastructure bill,’” said Missouri Rep. Sam Graves, the top Republican on the transportation panel. Graves blamed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats for turning what has traditionally been a bipartisan issue in Congress — infrastructure — into what he called “a partisan wish list.” Republicans scored a rare procedural victory, winning approval of an amendment to block money from the bill going to Chinese state-owned enterprises or companies responsible for building internment camps for the nation’s Uighur minority. The White House promised a veto if the measure reaches the president’s desk. In a statement this week, the White House said the bill “is heavily biased against rural America,’” is based on debt financing and “fails to tackle the issue of unnecessary permitting delays” that have long impeded infrastructure projects. President Donald Trump has frequently declared his support for infrastructure projects and pledged during his 2016 campaign to spend at least $1 trillion to improve infrastructure. Since taking office, Trump has repeatedly called for enactment of an infrastructure package — but those efforts have failed to result in legislation. Hopes were dashed last year when Trump said he wouldn’t deal with Democrats if they continued to investigate him. The House later impeached him. Trump said after signing a $2 trillion coronavirus relief package that low interest rates made it a good time to borrow money to pay for an infrastructure bill. No formal proposal has emerged, although the White House has suggested the next virus response bill could include an infrastructure component. The centerpiece of the House legislation is a nearly $500 billion, five-year surface transportation plan for roads, bridges and railways. The White House said in its veto threat that the proposal is “heavily skewed toward programs that would disproportionately benefit America’s urban areas.” The bill would divert money from the Highway Trust Fund to transit and rail projects that “have seen declining market shares in recent years,” the White House statement said. Democrats countered that the bill would rebuild the nation’s transportation infrastructure, not only by fixing crumbling roads and bridges, but also by investing in public transit and the national rail network, boosting low- and zero-emission vehicles and cutting carbon pollution that contributes to climate change. The bill also authorizes $130 billion in school infrastructure targeted at high-poverty schools with facilities that endanger the health and safety of students and educators, Democrats said. The schools portion alone could create more than 2 million jobs, they said. The bill would spend more than $100 billion to create or preserve at least 1.8 million affordable homes. “These investments will help reduce housing inequality, create jobs and stimulate the broader economy,” Democrats said in a “fact sheet” promoting the bill. The measure would also upgrade child care facilities and protect access to safe drinking water by investing $25 billion in a state revolving fund that ensures communities have clean drinking water and remove dangerous contaminants from local water systems. Written by Andrew Daly, Associated Press, with contributions by Andrew Taylor, Associated Press.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Peace Bridge Cargo Facility in Buffalo, New York, made a northern border record seizure of 9,472 pounds of marijuana that was discovered within a commercial shipment manifested as storage containers. On June 25, CBP officers referred a tractor trailer being driven by a 26-year-old male who is a citizen of India and permanent resident of Canada. During a nonintrusive inspection scan of the truck, CBP officers noticed anomalies within the storage bins, performed a tailgate exam and discovered vacuum-sealed packages filled with what appeared to be marijuana. A complete physical examination of the rig revealed 55 wooden pallet boxes containing vacuum-sealed packages of marijuana. In total, officers seized 9,472 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of more than $20 million. This is the largest narcotics seizure recorded on the northern border and ranks 23rd in the U.S. during the past 5 years. “This was an excellent job by our officers from start to finish,” said Jennifer De La O, port director. “From recognizing a shipment that needed further screening, to the identification of the anomaly during the secondary scan, to the coordination with our partners at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), our officers are committed to intercepting these illicit drugs from being smuggled in.” Federal prosecution of the driver was accepted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the driver was subsequently charged with a criminal complaint with possessing with the intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana and importation of marijuana into the U.S. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. “For the third time in as many weeks, the diligence of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers has resulted in the seizure of literally tons of illegal controlled substances destined for our country,” said James P. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York. “In just three weeks, CBP officers have prevented thousands of pounds of illicit drugs, valued at nearly $30,000,000, from entering our country.” Kevin Kelly, HSI special agent in charge, described the recent resurgence of “large-scale” marijuana seizures as “alarming and brazen, given the public health crisis.” “HSI and CBP will always work together to thwart and deter those criminal organizations that attempt to exploit our borders,” Kelly added. This seizure adds to the already huge increase in drug seizures within the Buffalo Field Office. Between Oct. 1, 2019, and June 27, 2020, ports within the Buffalo Field Office, which covers 16 ports of entry throughout New York State, have more than 700 narcotic seizures totaling more than 20,180 pounds — an increase of about 2,000% from fiscal year 2019 during the same time period. “The work of the officers has been incredible and their dedication to CBP’s enforcement mission is evident in these recent large-load narcotics seizures,” said Rose Brophy, director of the Buffalo Field Office. “Criminal organizations are not going to stop just because the border has restricted travel and CBP officers continue to work and ensure our borer is secure.”