Archive for the ‘News’ Category
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 |
The logging truck driven by the man involved in Wednesday’s fatal accident on Highway 101 near Hoquiam was placed out of service in January because of an equipment violation.
Garland E. Massingham, 40, of Centralia, was driving the truck that dumped logs in front of a car driven by Daniel Johnson, a scientist who was working with state seismologist Anthony Qamar, who was also in the vehicle. The two men were killed.
According to the State Patrol, the accident was caused by equipment failure on the truck, causing the logs to fall into the road.
Investigators are looking into whether the driver could have violated the state’s new “Maria’s Bill,” which increases penalties for failure to secure a vehicle load on a public highway and makes it a criminal misdemeanor if an unsecured load substantially injures someone. The new law carries a $194 fine and allows criminal charges if the loose debris causes an injury or property damage.
The law was named for Maria Federici, who was severely injured last year when an entertainment center fell off an open trailer while she was driving on Interstate 405. A plank bounced and crashed through Federici’s windshield, blinding her.
In Massingham’s case, he was stopped in January because his truck had a bad brake hose and the truck was put out of service, said Jeff DeVere, with the State Patrol.
After the January incident, the state investigated the company Massingham was driving for, JB Leonard of Chehalis. The company’s vehicles passed a safety inspection, but the company was fined $500 for violations in which the drivers didn’t keep accurate log books while on the road.
The State Patrol has launched an investigation into Wednesday’s accident.
According to DeVere, the company’s 12 vehicles have had 34 inspections in the past 24 months. In 12 instances, some trucks were ordered to be parked because of violations, or a 35 percent rate. The national rate, he said, is 23 percent.
DeVere couldn’t say what those violations were or whether any involved loading errors.
DeVere said that while JB Leonard has higher than average out-of-service violations, it has a lower rate for individual-driver violations. The national average is 7 percent, and JB Leonard has 2.5 percent.
He said the investigation will help the State Patrol determine whether criminal charges are warranted. He said the agency will do a compliance review of the company, a safety audit of operations and an inspection of driver records and equipment-maintenance and log-book entries.
The company declined comment because of the investigation.
DeVere said Washington ranks fourth lowest in the nation in fatalities involving commercial vehicles. In 2003, 46 people died in accidents involving used trucks; in Oregon there were 65 deaths.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Labor and Industries is launching its own investigation into the accident because the two scientists were working at the time and state law requires the department to investigate the circumstances of anyone killed on the job.
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Friday, August 8th, 2008 |
Log truck operators and forest owners have today signed an updated Log Transport Safety Accord designed to further improve the safety of all road users.
Since the accord was first signed in 2001 there has been a 65% reduction in log truck crashes, and a 75% reduction in rollover crashes, during a time of rapid growth in the logging industry.
Log Transport Safety Council chair Warwick Wilshier said the Accord has been updated with the aim of reducing the rollover crash rate even further.
“After a dramatic fall from 1996 to 2004, rollover rates have stabilised at between two and three rollovers for every 10 million kilometres travelled. The risk of a log truck rolling over is now little more than for an average heavy truck. This is a remarkable result, given that log trucks often operate on back country roads that are not as well engineered as the highways used by most heavy vehicles,” he said today.
Nevertheless, Mr Wilshier says there is the potential to improve safety even further, and with the numbers of heavy vehicles on the road increasingly steadily this has to be a priority.
In the late 1990s there were several high-profile fatal crashes involving used log trucks rolling over into the path of on-coming traffic. Public concerns about log truck safety were borne out in a 1997 study that found log trucks were four times more likely than the average heavy vehicle to roll over. If off-highway log trucks were included, one logging truck in every 11 was rolling over each year.
“That’s all behind us. Log trucks are now are as safe as most other heavy vehicles, thanks largely to the work of the Council,” said NZ Forest Owners Association chief executive David Rhodes.
“Set up by forest owners, the Road Transport Forum, government agencies and other groups with an interest in log transport, it embarked on a number of initiatives that have doubtless saved many lives.”
These include improved driver training, regular safety awareness campaigns and the 0800 LOGTRUCK compliments and complaints system. Better vehicle design, including lower deck heights, lower loads and “roll-stiff” suspensions have greatly improved vehicle stability and handling.
“The introduction of 22 metre trucks was a big breakthough. By increasing the length of trucks by 2 metres beyond the previous maximum, without increasing overall weight, vehicles could carry two packets of logs on their trailers at a significantly reduced height. Rollovers of 22 metre trucks are virtually unheard of.”
Covert monitoring of speeds around curves has found that there has been no increase in speed despite drivers having more stable rigs. These studies also reveal that log trucks typically travel around curves 5 km/h slower than other trucks.
Road Transport Forum chief executive Tony Friedlander said the accord commits drivers, their employers and the wider forest industry to improve the safety of road users by reducing the incidence of log truck accidents.
The 0800 LOGTRUCK scheme will be continued. All log truck drivers will either be qualified, or working to become qualified for the work they are doing, and will be committed to safe driving speeds - especially on corners.
“Forest owners and transport operators strongly oppose overloading and have agreed under the Accord to develop improved systems to identify and discourage the practice,” Mr Friedlander said.
“They also support the LTSC reviewing and revising truck and trailer manufacturing standards to improve safety, with any changes adopted as quickly as practicable.”
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Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 |
Millions of people are paying too much for auto insurance. Luckily, there are a few things that you can do to avoid being one of them.
First of all, a great way to find cheap car insurance is to authorize an EFT - which will mean that your insurer can get the insurance premiums directly from your account without you having to send a check. This will attract lower premiums because it saves the company and because you are more likely to never miss a payment. This lowers costs, and will attract cheap car insurance to you. Most of the time, the cheapest rates will be those in which you pay with an EFT instead of sending a check, so be sure that you are wiling to do this and that you are able to.
Secondly, if you pay your premium on a yearly basis, you can get more affordable rates. This is a great way to turn your auto insurance into cheap car insurance, especially if this is first time car insurance for you. You’ll find better insurance quotes if you are looking for policies that let you pay in this manner. Many people like to be able to have cheaper payments and so they don’t pay it on a yearly basis, but you really can get the best deal overall by doing it that way.
If your priority is getting the most savings, go for third party only cover. It will meet most of the laws in most places for car insurance, and you’ll find that it is cheaper. You will be able to have cheap car insurance if you do it this way. Especially if you have an older car, this is the type of car insurance that will best benefit you in the long run.
Lastly, the best way for you to find cheap car insurance is to get out there and compare rates. Many people think that one rate is going to be the same as any other, and so they take the first offer that they get for insurance quotes. This is often the mistake of many people who are buying first time car insurance, and they end up spending way too much money on their car insurance. The best thing that you can do for your own insurance rates is to get out there and compare the rates. There are many places where you can do this, and it will be a great way for you to lower your insurance premium by finding cheap car insurance to start with.
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