Your Dec. 14 Pre-Trip: Plumber sues dealer after Syrian extremists use old truck

Here are five things worth knowing today.

Dec. 14, 2015

2 min read

Here are five things worth knowing today: 1. Mark Oberholtzer, owner of Mark-1 Plumbing in Texas City, traded his company’s former Ford F-250 to Houston-based Ford dealership AutoNation Ford Gulf Freeway. Now, according to a Washington Post report, the truck is being used by an extremist group in Syria. After photos of the truck, which still contain the plumbing company’s logo and phone number, appeared on social media, Oberholtzer said he and his family have received nonstop threatening phone calls. Now, Oberholtzer is suing AutoNation Ford Gulf Freeway for misrepresenting its intentions to remove the logo, “causing Oberholtzer, his business and his family ‘severe harm.’” The Washington Post has more. 2. The new highway bill allows some 18-, 19, and 20-year-olds to drive heavy trucks across state lines. According to an MS News Now report, the new bill allows 18 to 20-year-olds to drive tractor-trailers across state lines if they learned to drive in the military. Safety is a concern for many, yet trucking companies need more drivers. MS News has more.3. JOC reports that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved an $870,000 grant to help replace 25 old drayage trucks at the Port of Baltimore. The older trucks will be replaced with cleaner operating units with engines from 2011 or later. According to the report, the grant is the latest in a series of EPA attempts to reduce emissions.4. J.B. Hunt is expected to add more than 1,000 jobs as it expands its headquarters in Lowell, AR, the Journal Recorder reports. According to the report, the company made the announcement at its corporate headquarters in Lowell. The Journal Recorder has more.5. Volkswagen’s commercial vehicle numbers are down globally, ATN reports. Volkswagen Group announced a 2% decline in global vehicle and commercial vehicle deliveries in 2015. The “poor performance from the trucking brand was emphasized in the month of November, where its deliveries dropped 22.3% from 11,000 last year to 8,600 in 2015,” the report states.