Hey everyone! It’s Tuesday and time for the Daily Trucker, your daily transportation news update brought to you by The Trucker! I’m Carlin Stafford.
And I’m Niki Snyder. We have a lot of news to cover today, including:
- Semi Vs Train
- Utah Kidnapping
- And Semi’s to Sweets
So, let’s get trucking!
Carlin: Last week a video was captured of a truck driver taking it’s chances by trying to beat a train. The train strike occurred at the intersection of Court Street and 12th Street in Salem, Oregon, last Tuesday morning.
According to the Salem Police Department, there were no injuries and the train did not derail.
Niki: A trucker has been detained for questioning after authorities received a strange text-to-911 message from a woman claiming she had been kidnapped in northern Utah. Authorities were able to track the semi with tracking technology.
The trucker has since been detained by the state bureau of investigation for questioning but has not yet been arrested or charged with any crimes as officials investigate the woman’s claims of being held against her will.
Carlin: Well, the rumors are true. MATS 2021 has officially been cancelled.
MATS organizers officially confirmed that the event will be pushed back from the tentatively scheduled date of September 16 — 18, 2021, to March 24 — 26, 2022.
Organizers say that they are still excited to celebrate the 50th anniversary of MATS next year: “Over the past year trucking professionals have made numerous sacrifices and worked relentlessly to overcome unprecedented challenges to keep our country moving forward. We are humbled by your dedication and honored to be a part of such a hard-working industry. We look forward to seeing everyone at #MATS50 and celebrating our great industry together!”
Niki: Talk about a dream come true. Houston based Tuck Driver, Mark Linen, turned his childhood dreams into a reality when he opened his own bakery, Brotha Bakes, which specializes in homemade cakes in a jar.
Linen had been driving professionally for about 4 years and was living a very comfortable life; however, he knew he wanted something more. As a father of two, Linen loves having his sons in the kitchen to pass on that same love of baking.
Some of Linen’s tastiest treats can be ordered right off his website and are named after iconic celebrities like Reddie Murphy, Mariah Carrot and more.
Carlin: Proposed federal guidelines for using hair to test for drugs within the trucking industry may not get finalized anytime soon now that the Biden administration is in town. Rolled out in September, the proposal has been unpopular on both sides of the hair-testing issue.
Supporters, major trucking companies that are already screening drivers using this method and want uniformity and a level playing field say the proposal is not strict enough. Opponents, labor unions and small-business truckers say it goes too far by even introducing the use of hair into the drug-testing equation.
“It is clear that hair testing will detect more drug use than urine testing, which makes it even more important that a requirement to confirm a positive hair test with an alternate specimen type not be included in the final guidelines,” commented J.B. Hunt.
Niki: Trucking company, Star Way Lines Inc. is facing the loss of its license after an incident that led to the death of a man inside their facility late last month.
Journal & Topics reports that officers were called to the business at 4:03 p.m. on January 24th after a man was discovered inside of the facility unconscious and not breathing. According to the caller, 49-year-old Sergei Barkhatov was last seen inside the business on January 23rd at 11 p.m. After having four beers and disclosing that he was not feeling well, he retired to what was described as “his room” inside the business. Barkhatov was not seen again until the following morning, when his unconscious state inspired the caller to contact police.
That does it for today’s update!
Tune in tomorrow for more trucking industry hot topics!
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