The Nation

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation finalized an up to $502.9 million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act or TIFIA loan to the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission to help finance several “regional priority projects” all located along Interstate 64 in Virginia. That loan – issued through USDOT’s Build America Bureau – will help collectively increase capacity on I-64, adding both general purpose and highway occupancy vehicle or HOV lanes, update portions of the interstate to current highway design standards, and improve vehicular level of service to address the long-term safety and efficiency needs of the corridor, according to an article in the Journal, the official publication of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. USDOT added in a statement that the HRTAC – created in 2014 to procure, finance, build, and operate highway, bridge, and tunnel projects in the Hampton Roads area – plans to repay this TIFIA loan primarily via revenue generated by regional motor vehicle fuel and other taxes, the availability of which are subject to appropriation by Virginia’s general assembly. USDOT noted that it has closed nearly $6.2 billion worth of TIFIA financing to date, supporting more than $21.2 billion in infrastructure projects across the country.

JOPLIN, Mo. — Employees of CFI, an operating company of TFI International Inc., a North American provider of transportation and logistics services, supported 15 charitable organizations serving thousands of individuals in eight cities across the U.S., Mexico and Canada during CFI’s annual holiday giving campaign. A longstanding tradition established in 1993 and unique to CFI’s family-friendly culture, Truckloads of Treasures starts in August with a seven-week raffle ticket fundraiser. CFI hosts activities throughout the year including book fairs to raise funds. Festivities accelerate in the fall with crowd favorites including “crock pot chaos,” a chili cook off, a silent auction and an ugly sweater contest. The event culminates in shopping sprees across North America to benefit children and elderly in need during the holidays, typically during the first week of December. Over the 26 years of the program’s existence, CFI employees have donated over $880,000 with annual goals of raising $40,000. CFI has some 3,000 employees and independent contractors. “This is one of the most inspiring events of the year for our company, our employees and the communities in which we live and work,” said CFI President Greg Orr. “Our employees embrace giving back, engaging with our communities to help those underserved and less fortunate. I’m extremely proud of our employees, and I appreciate the spirit, joy and commitment they bring to this campaign every year to help meaningful charities in Joplin and across North America.” The campaign supported nine charities in CFI’s headquarters of Joplin. Early in December, some 200 CFI employees participated in the annual “Shopping Spree” at the Joplin Wal-Mart. Employees purchased over $21,000 in gifts and needed supplies, based on lists of items submitted by some 300 local underserved children and seniors identified by the Salvation Army. At the Shopping Spree, the company also presented checks to local Joplin charities. “All funds from Truckloads of Treasures are donated by CFI employees and Independent Contractors, reflecting strong support across our CFI family. Our terminals across North America select local charities to reach the communities in which they live and work,” Orr said. Those local charities include The Salvation Army, Boys and Girls Club, Area Agency on Aging, Camp Quality, Children’s Haven, The Ronald McDonald House, Pro Musica and Art Feeds. Other charities benefiting from Truckloads of Treasures include Bethany House, CASA of Crittenden, Cáritas de Monterrey A.B.P., Asociación Programa Lazos IAP and Southlake General Hospital Foundation, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. “With the parameters of supporting children and elderly in need, we find our terminals have long-standing partnerships with charities that have come to depend on our support,” Orr said. Donations were raised through a company-wide raffle with prizes including gift cards for retailers such as Target, Best Buy, Lowe’s, Sam’s Club, Bass Pro Shops and Academy Sports and Outdoors, as well as other prizes. All prizes were purchased and donated by CFI’s executive management team. The raffle also included two special drawings awarding one- and two-weeks paid time off. Additional funds were raised through bake sales, a chili cook-off, book fairs and separate auctions of locally-donated prizes. In addition, employees partnered with service organizations throughout the U.S., Mexico and Canada to provide holiday gifts and food for underserved children and senior citizens. Throughout the year CFI places an emphasis on charities with ties to military veterans, first responders, the transportation industry, empowering women and education. Orr said the company’s support goes beyond monetary donations and includes volunteering and support for events. Some examples include a monthly dinner CFI sponsors at the Ronald McDonald house. Another annual favorite is a Wreaths Ride to support Wreaths Across America.  Company employees who are avid motorcycle enthusiasts also support charitable causes by joining convoys that ride with CFI’s specially-wrapped theme trucks. The trucks with their customized graphic “wraps” honor military troops, professional women truck drivers and first responders. This year, following the devastating tornadoes in the Midwest, CFI also made a special contribution to first responder organizations, providing a $100,000 grant which was used by local agencies in four states to meet specific needs for firefighting and rescue equipment. Orr said holidays offer another opportunity to support communities, with CFI employees participating in food donation drives. The trucking industry also has a unique opportunity to donate in-kind services with the gift of transportation. Since 2015, CFI has been a national sponsor of Holy Joe’s Café, which supplies donated coffee to our troops in over 70 countries. The company donates between $50,000 and $100,000 a year of in-kind transportation, moving coffee supplies to military bases in the continental U.S., which are then shipped to soldiers overseas to give them a small taste of home. “As a responsible employer, it is important to demonstrate you’re a good citizen of the community,” Orr said. “We recognize that those cities and towns in which CFI employees live and work need support, often for critical services that only charities can provide. We have a culture that embraces giving back to those who may be less fortunate, and we take pride in supporting important charitable endeavors. We believe we have the best employees and Independent Contractors in the industry, a quality which is reinforced every year when we have the opportunity to give back.”        

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday announced agreement on a modified North American trade pact, handing President Donald Trump a major Capitol Hill win on the same day that Democrats announced their impeachment charges against him. The California Democrat said the revamped U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is a significant improvement over the original North American Free Trade Agreement, crediting Democratic negotiators for winning stronger provisions on enforcing the agreement. “There is no question of course that this trade agreement is much better than NAFTA,” Pelosi said in announcing the agreement, saying the pact is “infinitely better than what was initially proposed by the administration.” Trump said the revamped trade pact will “be great” for the United States. “It will be the best and most important trade deal ever made by the USA. Good for everybody – Farmers, Manufacturers, Energy, Unions – tremendous support. Importantly, we will finally end our Country’s worst Trade Deal, NAFTA!,” the president said in a tweet. In Mexico City, Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said Monday night that there would be a meeting of the three countries’ negotiating teams Tuesday “to announce the advances achieved” on the trade agreement. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is slated to appear. American Trucking Associations leaders hailed the agreement that paves the way for USMCA’s ratification in Congress. “Now with a clear path to USMCA’s ratification, this is an historic victory for truck drivers, motor carriers and the entire American economy,” said ATA President Chris Spear. “The vast majority of trade in North America moves on truck, with $772 billion worth of goods crossing our borders with Mexico and Canada every year. USCMA will provide the certainty our industry needs while ensuring the United States remains competitive on the world stage.” “Trade is a tremendous driver of revenue and creator of jobs in trucking, which is why passing USMCA has been so important to our industry,” said ATA Chairman Randy Guillot, president of Triple G Express Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana. “Trade with our two closest neighbors supports nearly 90,000 Americans in trucking-related jobs and generates $12.62 billion in annual revenue for our industry. As USMCA deepens our economic ties, we expect these figures – like our economies – to continue to increase.” “In a Washington that has been gridlocked by partisan politics, this is a great example of what is possible in creating consensus around good policy,” Spear said. “Truckers and our economy depend on good policymaking, and this bipartisan agreement is a reminder of how government can make our lives and businesses stronger. I thank President Trump, Speaker Pelosi, and all who have put disagreements aside to achieve this historic agreement.” The announcement came on the same morning that Democrats outlined impeachment charges against Trump. The pact is Trump’s top Capitol Hill priority along with funding for his long-sought border fence. Vice President Mike Pence, a foot soldier in the administration’s campaign to sell the accord, said Pelosi had “acquiesced” in slating the pact for a vote this year. “The USMCA will create even more jobs for the hardworking families who are the backbone of our economy – the farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and small business owners,” Pence said in a statement. Pelosi is the key congressional force behind the accord, which updates the 25-year-old NAFTA accord that many Democrats — especially from manufacturing areas hit hard by trade-related job losses — have long lambasted. Pelosi has negotiated with the administration extensively to win stronger enforcement provisions. Her efforts have appeared to build support among Democrats. “There are those who I read about in one place or another that say, ‘why would you give President Trump a victory?’” Pelosi said Monday night at a Wall Street Journal event for corporate executives. “Well, why wouldn’t we? This is the right thing to do for our trade situation, for our workers.” NAFTA eliminated most tariffs and other trade barriers involving the United States, Mexico and Canada. Critics, including Trump, labor unions and many Democratic lawmakers, branded the pact a job killer for the United States because it encouraged factories to move south of the border, capitalize on low-wage Mexican workers and ship products back to the U.S. duty free. Weeks of back-and-forth, closely monitored by Democratic labor allies such as the AFL-CIO, have brought the two sides together. Pelosi is a longtime free trade advocate and supported the original NAFTA in 1994. Trump has accused Pelosi of being incapable of passing the agreement because she is too wrapped up in impeachment. The original NAFTA badly divided Democrats but the new pact is more protectionist and labor-friendly, and Pelosi is confident it won’t divide the party, though some liberal activists took to social media to carp at the agreement. “There is no denying that the trade rules in America will now be fairer because of our hard work and perseverance. Working people have created a new standard for future trade negotiations,”said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. “President Trump may have opened this deal. But working people closed it.” Business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce also chimed in to support the long-delayed agreement. “We are optimistic this development will open the door to final approval of USMCA on a bipartisan basis by the end of the year, which will especially benefit American farmers, manufacturers, and small businesses,” Thomas Donohue, CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. “This agreement has been the result of painstaking bipartisan negotiations over the past year, and would not have been possible if not for the willingness of President Trump to work patiently with Democrats to get something done that he knew was in the best interests of American workers, farmers and manufacturers,” said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a former U.S. trade representative. Republicans leaders and lawmakers have agitated for months for the accord but Pelosi has painstakingly worked to bring labor on board. Democrats see the pact as significantly better than NAFTA and Trumka’s endorsement is likely to add to a strong vote by Democrats that have proven skeptical of trade agreements. “I think the vote’s going to be pretty good,” said No. 2 House Democrat Steny Hoyer, D-Md., a veteran party whip. “There’s a general agreement — not total agreement, it’s not unanimity — that USMCA is better. It’s an improvement. And to the extent that Trumka and labor comes out and says that this is an improvement, I think that that will be unifying.” The pact contains provisions designed to nudge manufacturing back to the United States. For example, it requires that 40% to 45% of cars eventually be made in countries that pay autoworkers at least $16 an hour — that is, in the United States and Canada and not in Mexico. The trade pact picked up some momentum after Mexico in April passed a labor-law overhaul required by USMCA. The reforms are meant to make it easier for Mexican workers to form independent unions and bargain for better pay and working conditions, narrowing the gap with the United States. The end-stage talks focused on provisions to improve the enforcement of the accord.    

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Stay Metrics, a provider of driver retention tools, has released a new research report detailing a multi-faceted approach for motor carriers to turbocharge their driver orientation and improve job satisfaction. The report is available at no cost on the Stay Metrics website. Recent results from driver surveys administered by Stay Metrics for clients during critical periods of early employment show that nearly one in four drivers are not learning what they expected to from their carriers during orientation, according to Stay Metrics CEO and Co-Founder Tim Hindes. He said the analysis of recent survey data and interviews with carriers support the report’s thesis that new technology, consistent messaging, personalized training and putting the right people in front of drivers produce better results in orientation that contribute to higher job satisfaction. “We are confident that those who have the right tools, the right message, and the right people in the room for orientation will see immediate results,” Hindes said. Technology To maximize drivers’ attention and interest in orientation, the report recommends carriers use interactive learning technologies such as the Luma DRIVE FIRST platform. Interviews with expedite hauler Premium Transportation Logistics found the platform increased driver engagement while compressing its orientation program from three days to one, Hindes said. Likewise, the interactive, game-like learning platform helped flatbed carrier Fraley & Schilling reduce orientation by one full week and created individualized learning experiences for drivers. Consistent messaging The report offers several recommendations for carriers to improve messaging to get drivers all the information in orientation they need to succeed. According to a recent run of surveys, a significant percentage of drivers said their early job experiences did not match the messaging they received in orientation. The areas with the most inconsistency are home time (29%), pay/settlement (36.3%), and runs/ routes (38.2%). Personalized training One of the quickest ways to lower a person’s engagement in orientation is to cover something they already understand well, as if it is new to them. In the report, Matthew Kowalczyk, supervisor of safety and training at Load One, shares how he tailors his orientation to drivers based on their past safety records. The report also details strategies for carriers to accommodate the unique learning needs and preferences of drivers. Putting the right people in front The report shares strategies for building personal connections in orientation. At a minimum, drivers should be meeting with someone from senior leadership and from the payroll, operations and safety departments. “We want to share this report, free of charge, for management teams at carriers to determine which areas they are doing well on and which areas they want to focus on in 2020 for improvement,” Hindes said. “We are confident that those who have the right tools, the right message, and the right people in the room for orientation will see immediate results.” Anyone can review the full, free report “Turbocharge Your Orientation” on the Stay Metrics website at www.staymetrics.com.    

WASHINGTON — The U.S. transportation infrastructure market is expected to grow at least 5% next year, according to an annual economic forecast released December 4 by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). However, that growth could evaporate if surface transportation funding legislation is not reauthorized in a timely fashion. “The real market growth for 2020 is being fueled by increased transportation investments from federal, state and local governments,” said ARTBA Chief Economist Alison Premo Black in a statement published in the Journal, the official publication of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Yet she added that a major “variable” in that outlook is reauthorization of the Fixing American’s Surface Transportation or FAST Act funding law, due to expire in September 2020, and the ability of Congress to find additional revenues to support the Highway Trust Fund. “Any project delays because states are concerned about whether the next federal surface transportation bill is completed in a timely matter could temper 2020 market growth,” Black said. Jim Tymon, AASHTO executive director, expressed that same concern in testimony in a House of Representatives Transportation & Infrastructure joint subcommittee hearing on December 5. “We need to enact a long-term, sustainable revenue solution for the Highway Trust Fund,” he said. “Our current funding challenges demand bold action to invest in our transportation infrastructure. This action has the clear support of the American public, and it is time for the President and Congress to make it happen.” At risk is the potential for significant growth in transportation infrastructure spending, ARTBA’s Black said. She said total domestic transportation construction and related-market activity in 2020 should reach $300.4 billion, up from $286.5 billion in 2019, after adjusting for project costs and inflation. Black added that the transportation construction market grew by 8% in 2019 compared to 2018, driven largely by gains in highway, street, and pavement work. ARTBA projects that the “real value” of public highway, street and related construction investment by state transportation departments and local governments is expected to increase by 6% to $77.5 billion in 2020 after growing 15 percent in 2019. Construction work on private highways, bridges, parking lots, and driveways will increase from $69.1 billion in 2019 to $71.8 billion in 2020 and will continue to grow over the next five years as market activity increases in those sectors, ARTBA’s Black said. She noted that the pace of bridge and tunnel construction work stayed flat in 2019 and is forecast to grow by $800 million, or 3%, in 2020.  By contrast, public transit and rail construction are expected to grow by 5% to $24.2 billion in 2020, up from $23 billion in 2019. ARTBA added that subway and light rail investments are expected to set a record in 2020, topping $11 billion compared to $10.3 billion this year.

WASHINGTON — Even as the nation’s roadways are becoming safer, impaired driving remains a major highway safety problem nationwide A new report released Monday by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) in partnership with Responsibility.org calls for a systemic and holistic approach to high-risk impaired drivers that focuses on the individual and the need to treat the underlying problem prompting the unsafe behavior. The spotlight report, High-Risk Impaired Drivers: Combating a Critical Threat, seeks to help State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) and their partners effectively address the problem of high-risk impaired drivers. The report notes that alcohol-impaired fatalities accounted for 29 percent of all U.S. motor vehicle deaths in 2018, the lowest percentage since 1982, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began reporting alcohol data. But even with this progress, in 2018 an average of one alcohol impaired driving fatality occurred every 50 minutes, which translates to 29 deaths each day. By shining the spotlight on high-risk impaired drivers, the report seeks to prevent repeat offenders and reduce the number of fatalities. A high-risk impaired driver is a person who lacks the restraint or self-control to resist driving impaired. These drivers meet one or more of three criteria: Drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.15 g/dL or higher after consuming alcohol Have consumed a combination of drugs and alcohol (polysubstance user) Are repeat offenders (i.e., have more than one DUI arrest) The high-risk impaired driver population accounts for a disproportionate number of fatalities, the report said, noting that repeat offenders cause about a third of impaired driving deaths each year, while high BAC offenders are involved in more than 60 percent of alcohol-impaired fatalities. In 2018, 66 percent of drivers involved in fatal crashes had a BAC greater than 0.15 g/dL. Alcohol, however, is not the only impairing substance, as there has been a 16 percent increase over the past 10 years in the number of impaired drivers killed in crashes who tested positive for both alcohol and other drugs. Many of these offenders have not only a substance use disorder, but also a mental health disorder, according to research conducted by Cambridge Health Alliance at Harvard Medical School. The latter, however, often goes undetected, the report said. “The traditional criminal justice approach holds these offenders accountable for each impaired driving incident, but to ensure that these high-risk impaired drivers don’t re-offend, we need to expand our approach beyond detection, arrest and conviction,” said Darrin Grondel, director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission and Chair of GHSA. “The aim of this new report is to encourage states and their partners to take a more holistic approach to the problem by identifying and treating the cause of the offender’s behavior to reduce recidivism and promote long-term behavior change.” Grondel said according to criminal justice experts, individualized justice is more effective at deterring high-risk impaired drivers than the typical legislative response of heavy fines and incarceration. In addition to screening and assessment, this approach calls for testing drivers for the presence of not only alcohol, but also other drugs. Many drug-impaired drivers escape detection, however, due to limitations with enforcement practices or policies that do not require drug testing. Additionally, many states lack the toxicology resources necessary to process drug screenings. “Right now, our approach is to catch, convict and punish the high-risk impaired drivers and then release them. It’s a cookie-cutter approach that doesn’t treat the underlying problem,” said Chris Swonger, president and CEO of Responsibility.org and the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS). “Instead, we need to identify the root cause of each individual’s behavior and then determine what treatment along with sanctions should be administered so that we break this cycle and prevent impaired driving deaths.”    

ARLINGTON, Va. — The American Trucking Associations Thursday hailed a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit that held the trucking group’s lawsuit over Rhode Island’s predatory truck-only tolls could proceed in federal court. “We have long believed that Rhode Island’s RhodeWorks truck-only toll scheme was a violation of the Constitution and an attempt to use our industry as a piggy bank,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “Today’s decision by the First Circuit paves the way for us to make that argument in federal court and we look forward to the chance to vindicate our case on the merits.” ATA, along with Cumberland Farms Inc., M&M Transport Services Inc. and New England Motor Freight, sued Rhode Island, arguing that the RhodeWorks plan violates the Constitution’s Commerce Clause by discriminating against out-of-state economic interests in order to favor in-state interests, and by designing the tolls in a way that does not fairly approximate motorists’ use of the roads. The First Circuit ruled that despite the state’s assertion, ATA’s lawsuit was not barred by the federal Tax Injunction Act, which generally prohibits federal courts from hearing challenges to state taxes. Today, the First Circuit held that the RhodeWorks tolls are not a “tax,” and thus not immune from challenge in federal court. “Today’s ruling is just another step in getting these extortionary tolls torn down and we would urge the governor and her allies to do the right thing and put an end to this unfair and unconstitutional toll scheme so we can get serious about working together on how to equitably and effectively rebuild our infrastructure,” said Rhode Island Trucking Association President Chris Maxwell. “With this ruling in hand, we are confident we will prevail in this suit once it is decided on the merits.” Rhode Island’s RhodeWorks program took effect last year; it aims to generate revenue for road and bridge improvements throughout the state by charging tolls for freight trucks travelling along Interstate 95.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The American Trucking Associations’ Intermodal Motor Carrier Conference Tuesday urged two major ocean lines to continue allowing motor carriers to choose their chassis provider rather than moving to private pools where motor carriers are forced to pay a higher daily use rate. “The IMCC and our members have worked hard to establish nationwide interoperable chassis pools,” said IMCC Executive Director Tyler Rushforth. “The decision by these ocean carriers to reject this common sense solution that allows customers to freely choose an intermodal chassis will be costly to motor carriers and cause economic damage to the supply chain.” IMCC estimates that the move to abandon chassis interoperability pools will cost the trucking industry tens of millions of dollars a year. “We’re disappointed that China Ocean Shipping Co. and Hyundai Merchant Marine have chosen to force their motor carrier partners to use private chassis pools,” said Rushforth. “This shortsighted decision will cost consumers millions of dollars and cause untold shipping delays. We urge them to reconsider immediately.” In addition to directly appealing to these carriers, Rushforth said IMCC would be seeking relief from the Federal Maritime Commission.  

Back in August, we posted a column in which we opined that James P. Lamb, president of the Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC) appeared to be positioning himself and his organization as a one-organization wrecking crew targeting the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Since then, nothing has changed, except now — rebuffed by the FMCSA in his attempt to get the electronic logging device mandate overturned or suspended — Lamb is targeting President Donald J. Trump. This is the same James Lamb who in early 2018 agreed to settle a probe into his business dealings brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, who accused Lamb and several of his businesses of cheating owner-operators out of millions of dollars over the course of several years. The businesses included DotAuthority.com, a private third-party provider offering services for a fee, including but not limited to helping owner-operators and carriers with USDOT numbers; motor carrier authority, MCS-150 updates and unified carrier registration. The Federal Trade Commission charged that Lamb misled small businesses using a fake government affiliation. (DotAuthority.com now boldly says on its homepage it is NOT affiliated with any government authority.) Lamb denied the charges but said he agreed to settle, calling the FTC’s action a “nuisance suit.” Uliana Bogash, a business associate of Lamb’s, and Bogash’s Excelsior Enterprises will pay $900,000 to end the FTC’s litigation. Lamb says he also has closed his countersuit against the FTC. Shortly after the FTC sued him in early 2017, Lamb filed the countersuit, claiming the FTC damaged his reputation and his businesses’ revenue with the public accusations. Lamb said the FTC’s suit was a “hit job,” claiming “there is nothing inherently illegal about aggressive sales tactics.” One week after appealing what Lamb called an unreasonable delay by the FMCSA in the publication of SBTC’s resubmitted application to exempt small carriers from the ELD mandate (the FMCSA in July denied the original exemption application) and fraught with disgust that the Office of the Secretary of Transportation would not take the matter of suspending ELDs to Congress, Lamb launched an online petition to the White House in an attempt to get the attention of President Donald Trump. Lamb claimed the first weekend the petition was online that it had 10,000 signatures. Lamb said he hopes to collect the required 100,000 signatures within 30 days as needed to secure a response from the White House. Lamb indicated the SBTC would be simultaneously pursuing “other channels” to get the president’s attention on this issue. Let’s pause to reflect for a minute or two. The FMCSA did publish and asked for comments on the resubmitted petition, acknowledging that when it asked for comments on the original application, a majority were in favor of the exemption. However, the FMCSA’s hands were tied, so to speak. The ELD rule was mandated by Congress, so to exempt any subset of carriers from the ELD rule would in essence place the FMCSA in contempt of Congress. As far as DOT Secretary Elaine Chao taking the exemption request to Congress, come on now, would Congress likely go against its own mandate? And as for President Trump, who cares about dealing with the ELD situation when Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are clipping at his heels. Pause over. The release by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the 2018 fatality data has given Lamb (and other against the ELD mandate) more fodder for the fire. The data show that while overall traffic fatalities in 2018 were down, fatalities in large truck accidents were up 0.9%. Thus, Lamb claims, ELDs, which were supposed to reduce fatalities, haven’t. But Lamb has actually jumped the gun in his assertion. NHTSA’s definition of a large truck is anything with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 lbs. or more. So, until Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data on 2018 is available, we won’t really know whether the ELD mandate had an impact on fatalities involving trucks with ELDs. That would include fatalities per vehicle mile traveled, important to remember because 2018 was a banner year for trucking. In the meantime, Lamb will keep his wrecking ball handy, which will ensure trucking media will have something to write about.

“I would call this an unlucky coincidence,” said Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PDOT) spokesman Dave Thompson as reported in a November 24 article in Lancaster Online. Thompson was referring to last week’s collision of a truck hauling a load described as a “long shed” westbound on U.S. Route 30 under the Hill Street bridge in the Mountville Township, located about 15 miles west of Lancaster, Penn. While the clearance of the bridge is officially 14-feet 4-inches above Route 30 and the notification sign indicates 14-feet 0-inches, vehicles exceeding 13-feet 6-inches are not allowed through the underpass. Whether the height of the load being hauled originally exceeded the threshold is unclear; however, based on the citation for failure to properly secure a load, it may be a case in which the shed shifted during transport and resulted in the collision. The coincidence Thompson notes is a product of a June 3, 2019, collision of another load hauled by truck with the same bridge. The driver of this truck, carrying a lift that apparently raised enough during transport to strike the bridge, was also cited for failure to secure a load. Initially, PDOT inspectors noted the damage from the June incident was cosmetic. But by the time repairs finished and traffic permanently reopened under the bridge, the total repair bill came to $500,000. The repair was officially completed November 14, just six days before the second incident. Central-Penn Transportation (CPT) noted that truckers are aware that posted bridge clearances do not always reflect actual conditions. Matt Rhodes, president of CPT told Lancaster Online, “A bridge can be marked something when it’s built, and then they’ll pave the road.” The Hill Street bridge was constructed in 1965, and PDOT’s Dave Thompson confirms the posted clearance of 14-feet 0-inches is accurate. Thompson noted that while GPS is a great tool, all roads are not necessarily “GPS-friendly.” He added that in Pennsylvania, oversized loads normally are steered clear of questionable routes during the permitting process. Likewise, carriers of any load exceeding 14-feet 6-inches in height are required to look to a traffic consultant to verify a route is acceptable for both the truck and its cargo. The sad part of both incidents is that Route 30 may have been acceptable when both loads departed their origination points, but the drivers failed to ensure their cargo was adequately secured. The result will be another round of repairs for the bridge. PDOT inspectors have yet to reveal the estimated extent, cost or timeline of repairs. The first round created enough congestion to substantially impact traffic patterns in the area. If the extent of damage from the second incident equals or exceeds that in June, travelers could be in for another extended round of traffic headaches. According to PDOT traffic volume statistics, over 58,000 vehicles travel through Mountville along U.S Route 30 daily, making it the second most heavily-traveled route to and from Lancaster for points west of the city. With over 2,000 vehicles crossing the state-maintained Hill Street bridge, the overpass is one of two in the township crossing above U.S. 30, a route essentially bisecting Mountville east to west. For information on traffic volume statistics along all Pennsylvania roadways, see https://www.penndot.gov/ProjectAndPrograms/Planning/Maps/Pages/Traffic-Volume.aspx

WASHINGTON — A one-month continuing resolution or CR that extends federal government funding through December 20 also contained a provision that repealed a $7.6 billion rescission of federal-aid highway contract authority, a cut originally mandated by the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to occur next year. The House of Representatives passed the CR by a vote of 231-192 on November 18, followed on November 21 by passage in the Senate by a vote of 74-20 on and President Trump’s signature on the measure, just hours before a previous CR signed in September would have expired. “Repealing the highway rescission today was an absolute must,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va., chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works subcommittee on transportation and infrastructure, in a statement as reported in the Journal, the official publication of the American Association of State Transportation and Highway Officials (AASHTO). “Failure to do so would have resulted in clawing back millions of dollars that states have already contracted out for highway infrastructure projects,” Capito said. “This entire ordeal is a good lesson, though: Congress must do its job and fully fund programs like this to prevent more budget brinksmanship in the future.” In the first segment of a new video series on Transportation TV entitled “On Time with Tymon,” Jim Tymon, AASHTO executive director, expressed his gratitude to Congress and the President for their bipartisan support in eliminating the $7.6 billion rescission Concerns regarding the impact of the rescission were heightened when the Federal Highway Administration released data in early November that estimated the total unobligated balances of state highway funding subject to the rescission stood at just over $5.35 billion; meaning that a further $2 billion-plus would have been extracted from federal-aid highway contract authority held by states during fiscal year 2020. To head off that drastic situation, AASHTO led a 42-organization effort to repeal the rescission, authoring two letters to Congressional leadership in the Senate and the House – one in September and one in November – outlining the negative impact the rescission would have had on transportation project timelines. “It is especially critical to repeal this [rescission] in calendar year 2019 because, in the worst-case scenario, states may be forced to deobligate existing projects in order to provide the necessary amount of contract authority to be rescinded,” AASHTO added in a separate letter to Senate leaders on October 30. However, with the rescission now repealed, state departments of transportation and their partners “will now have greater certainty in delivering critical highway and transportation improvements in every part of the country,” said AASHTO’s Tymon in a November 21 letter. “Furthermore, by restoring federal highway funding flexibility through this repeal, states can optimize their asset management efforts which are intended to meet key national performance targets on safety, pavement, bridge, freight movement, congestion, emissions, and overall system performance,” he said.

The Art of Losing Young adults today (millennials) grew up in an “everyone gets a trophy” society; one most agree is absurdly useless. How can you ever appreciate winning if you never lose? How can you know what to work harder on if you never come up short? I’m a competitive person. A really competitive person. I actually thought I hid this fairly well but…apparently not. As my friends are apt to point out. So I like to win, I do. And when I had a son, I knew he’d be an athlete. I hoped he’d be a good one but either way, he would play sports. I was a big believer in keeping boys occupied with good activities to prevent them from seeking to fill time with bad ones. So Chase started playing soccer at the age of 4. He had a short-lived baseball career when he was 8 (too slow of a game). He played some flag football for the fun of it. He moved into lacrosse when he was 10. Granted, I put him into soccer—which he loved right away—but the rest of the sports were at his request. When he asked to play hockey I drew the line, telling him he was outfitted to play four sports. We were not adding another one. Particularly one that expensive. Interestingly, when he played baseball is where we first encountered the “we don’t keep score” mentality. I didn’t even understand the words the coach said. No score? How do you know who wins? “Everyone wins here,” he said, although I could tell even he choked on the words. “We want the kids to learn and have fun without the pressure to win.” Really? That implies that working to win is negative. Or that losing even if you worked hard is negative. Not in my mind—this is how you get better. It’s what makes you a stronger character: lose with dignity, be gracious in winning. But you cannot do those things if you don’t keep score. So, we kept score. Not just me, not just my husband. Evvvvvvveryone at the field kept score. Including the kids. And when they won, we taught the boys to rejoice but don’t be obnoxious. If you lose, think about, talk about, and work on weaknesses. But doing all that doesn’t automatically mean you win the next time. Sometimes you have to lose and work on a lot before the winning comes. But guess what that did? It taught Chase and his friends not only how to lose a game and not fall to pieces but how to cope with failing a test, with getting turned down for a date, not getting the job, not being accepted to your school of choice, and more. Life is full of letdowns. Character is how you handle them. It’s also full of successes—when you work to achieve. When Chase was a sophomore in high school, he was the only starting sophomore player on his HS lacrosse team. They were good and were expected to win the State Championship. They played and won game after game. They dominated lesser teams, they scraped by powerhouses, but they always won. As the playoffs approached, we started hearing murmurs of not only going the distance but doing so undefeated. It would be an incredible season, quite the feather in their caps on top of a championship and a ring. But they had a few more games of regular season to play and one of them was against their hometown rival, a good team but nowhere near the caliber of my son’s this particular year. And when we played them, we lost. Horribly. We were the better team but had the crappier attitude. Arrogance got the better of us. They pulled out of their shock at losing by the 4th quarter and rallied but it was too late and in the end, we lost by 3. The team was stunned but humbled. They reined in the attitudes and got back on track, going on to win the rest of the regular season and the State Championship. It was an amazing experience for us all but if you ask Chase to this day, he’ll tell you that he firmly believes they would not have won the Championship had they not lost that one rivalry game. It was the reality check they needed to actually pull off their goal. Better to have happened then than at that final game had they entered it overconfident from an undefeated season. Losing is never fun but there’s an art to it—a way to take it and let it motivate and propel you to ultimately win a bigger prize. Believe it.