David Compton:
Hi, I’m David Compton. A dead body is found on top of a trailer, border agents find a surprise inside a load of hay bales and the FMCSA releases their top eight offending drugs in the newly created Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.
Tucker Russ:
Hey truckers, I’m Tucker. The emergency hours of service suspension is extended, but modified by the FMCSA and 10 race horses are tragically killed in a fiery crash on the New Jersey turnpike. These are just some of the stories we are covering on this edition of the Trucker News Channel.
David Compton:
When you’re out there on the road, there’s always some chance that someone might throw something off a bridge as you drive underneath. Well apparently that might’ve happened in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Grand Junction Police Department recently responded to an unusual report, which one investigator described as “the weirdest thing he’d ever seen in his 20 years on the job”. Around six o’clock a semi-truck arrived at the local United States Postal Service building on Berkeley Street in Grand Junction with a dead body on top of it. An employee at the post office saw the person and called the police thinking he might be asleep. Well it seems the trailer was traveling to Glenwood Springs from Kansas overnight, the driver said he heard a loud noise as he was passing under the overpass along I-70. The trailer was transferred to another truck in Glenwood, and then it traveled on to Grand Junction where the body was ultimately discovered.
Tucker Russ:
Well, the FMCSA has announced that the emergency declaration number 202002, which suspended parts 309 through 399 of the regulations which includes hours of service requirements, has been extended through July 14th with some modifications. The declaration, issued by President Trump, had already been extended to June 14th from its original expiration date of May 13th. The latest extension places additional restrictions on drivers to qualify for the exemption from regulations. The extension is limited to transportation of livestock, feed, medical supplies and equipment related to COVID-19 necessary for sanitation and safety. The FMCSA declaration specifically excludes routine commercial deliveries even if they contain a small amount of sanitation products. Other categories of freight are not excluded. The agency concluded that there is no longer a need for emergency relief with respect to other categories of freight.
David Compton:
So a big rig carrying hay pulls up to the El Central border patrol immigration checkpoint on Highway 86 the other day and a canine becomes alerted to the hay bales. So the agent yells, “Hey, anybody in there?” Just kidding, he didn’t really say that. I made it up. But they did check and found 13 Mexican nationals hidden inside the hay bales. According to the El Central sector border patrol report, the driver attempted to smuggle immigrants deep inside the bales of hay. The agents were able to extract the immigrants without incident. Hey, what can you say?
Tucker Russ:
Some top race horses were killed in a fiery crash along the New Jersey turnpike when a tractor trailer slammed into a concrete median. The rig was traveling from Florida to the famed Clement Racing Stable in Saratoga Springs, New York. Nine of the horses died to their sustained injuries in the crash while one was euthanized by a veterinarian on scene. One of the horses identified in the crash was sired by a true racing legend. Under the Oaks was sired by American Pharaoh, the first race horse to win a Triple Crown in 2015, since Affirmed took the title in 1978. The driver and a passenger were taken to a local hospital after suffering minor injuries and the crash is still under investigation.
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David Compton:
The FMCSA has say has released their list of drugs that have been identified in positive CDL holder drug test, and then reported to the new Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. As of June 1st, 2020, here’s the top eight. Number one marijuana, number two cocaine, then followed by methamphetamine, amphetamines, oxymorphone, oxycodone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone. The FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse rule went into effect on January 6th, 2020
Tucker Russ:
Time for another tech segment, Trucker Tools has announced that Werner Enterprises is now live on the Trucker Tools platform. Werner joins BEMAX, Schneider, and other logistics services in using the app to match truckers with available loads. The Trucker Tools app provides a variety of services to drivers, including routing, fuel optimization, truck stop guides and food and services lookup. Drivers can also use the book it now feature on the app to find and book loads from participating brokers now including Werner. The carrier must be approved by the broker before the ability to see loads is activated, but once that’s done no phone calls necessary to book loads. Additionally, the driver can access loads from multiple brokers to find the best fit and rate. You can find the free Trucker Tools app in the app store and Google play store.
David Compton:
That’s it for this edition. If you’re watching this on YouTube, make sure to click that little red subscribe button below. You can also go to TheTrucker.com to read the latest breaking news stories. That’s all, so on behalf of myself, Tucker, and everybody else here at the Trucker News Channel, thank you for watching.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.