Safety

Your July 28 Pre-Trip: Cameras monitor AZ roadways

July 28, 2015

Here are five things worth knowing today: 1. More than 200 cameras scattered across Arizona are keeping tabs on what’s happening on the state’s roadways, ABC 15 reports. Information from the cameras is fed into a room filled with TVs, where the Department of Public Safety keeps a trooper to relay real-time information to state troopers on the roads, according to the report. The cameras monitor crashes and are used to keep drivers aware of dangerous weather conditions on the roads, ABC said. 2. The Senate agreed Monday to table a two-month highway bill extension, which was offered as an amendment to the Senate’s six-year proposal, The Hill reports. House lawmakers have shown little interest in adopting the Senate’s six-year proposal, The Hill said. According to the report, “House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said earlier Monday that the House will not be ‘taking up the Senate bill,’ suggesting that if lawmakers want to avoid a gap in federal infrastructure funding they have to pass a short-term bill.”3. Biagi Bros. trucking company in Napa, Calif., recently converted irrigation of two of its properties to using recycled water, according to the Napa Valley Register. The trucking company spent $50,000 connecting its irrigation system to underground recycled water pipes, which the company says will save an estimated $21,000 a year. In addition, the company recently replaced 56 of its trucks with models that emit almost zero emissions, according to the report. 4. A Bloomberg Business report looks closely at the significant slowdown in labor-force growth in the U.S., China and elsewhere. Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi tells Bloomberg: “We’re going from a world of generally too much labor to a world of labor shortages.” The report hits on the trucking industry, and a 62-year-old truck driver explains that it’s only a matter of time before more truck drivers reach their 60s and more people retire, creating a bigger driver shortage. Bloomberg has more.5. This evening’s Long Beach committee meeting will discuss the debate over whether or not port truckers should work as independent contractors or employees, according to the Press-Telegram. Representatives of the Harbor Trucking Association and Teamsters union are expected to attend. The meeting will begin at 5 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

About the Author

Cristina Commendatore

Cristina Commendatore was previously the Editor-in-chief of FleetOwner magazine. She reported on the transportation industry since 2015, covering topics such as business operational challenges, driver and technician shortages, truck safety, and new vehicle technologies. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.