A.M. Executive Briefing - Jan. 28
This Morning's Headlines:
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Police Armed With Ticket Books for Crackdown on Drivers
The Ottawa-Carleton police force in Ontario, along with the regional health department and regional government, will begin Monday a two-week crackdown on drivers going through red and yellow lights or ignoring directional arrows.Tickets are to be issued by every one of the force's roughly 1,100 officers, including Chief Brian Ford, who says violators will not be let off with warnings. They will also be performing rotating spot checks at 80 high-risk intersections in the area and will be cracking down on pedestrians and bicyclists as well. The regional government will be providing some of its vehicles to assist the police with the initiative. Ottawa Citizen (01/28/00) P. C3; Hughes, Graham
Arkansas-Based Truckers Take Snow in Stride, Keep On Rollin'
Arkansas trucking companies Arkansas Best, Cannon Express, and American Freightways are still working even as snow shut down many businesses and governments in Arkansas and elsewhere.Many of the 20 Arkansas Best terminals closed due to snow Tuesday were open again Wednesday, and Cannon Vice President Larry Patrick said snow did not strand any Cannon trucks. But Cannon tells its truckers to wait until roads are safe before driving, Patrick said.
AF chief financial officer Frank Conner said some of his company's Oklahoma and Texas terminals had to shut down Thursday, but customers understand that snow can cause delays. There may be more snow delays in AF's future as it expands its service into northeastern states, he said. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Online (01/28/00); Wieland, Barbara
Bill Would Give State Full Driving Records
Prompted by last year's fatal truck-train crash outside Bourbonnais, Ill., state legislators are working to eliminate a loophole that kept some of the trucker's past offenses off his driving record.Currently, Illinois drivers who get court supervision after traffic offenses do not have this penalty noted on their records, so they can receive safe-driving certificates upon drivers' license renewal. The Illinois secretary of state's office was unaware of at least five court supervisions in the train-crash truck driver's history, which came to light after the accident.
The bill, which passed a state Senate committee Wednesday, would create a statewide database cataloguing drivers sentenced to court supervision. Chicago Sun-Times Online (01/27/00) ; Hatfield, William
Westport Innovations Establishes U.S. Subsidiary
Vancouver-based Westport Innovations, which has patented a direct-injection technology to allow diesel engines to run on natural gas, has set up a U.S. subsidiary, Westport Fuel Systems. The subsidiary has headquarters in San Leandro, Calif., in office space shared with the independent Cummins Engine distributor Cummins West. Cummins West will be doing maintenance on a heavy truck being purchased by the supermarket chain Raley's to demonstrate the injection system.Westport Innovations President and CEO David Demers says the location will also enable the company "to more closely monitor customer and regulatory developments in California," a state that is encouraging reduced emissions from diesel engines. Canada NewsWire (01/27/00)
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