Your Jan. 7 Pre-Trip: VTTI studies sleep regs for truckers
Here are five things worth knowing today: 1. Virginia Tech’s Transportation Institute is conducting a federal study examining whether truck drivers pose more danger to themselves and others if they are given more freedom with their regulated sleep schedules, The Roanoke Times reports. According to the report, VTTI signed a $2.5 million contract with the FMCSA to monitor the behaviors of more than 200 long-haul truck drivers who will not have to strictly adhere to the consecutive eight-hour sleep requirement. The Times has more.2. A California man is suing General Motors Co. for allegedly mispresenting the towing capacity of certain trucks, according to Legal NewsLine. Richard Quintero filed a class-action lawsuit on Dec. 11 against General Motors, claiming breach of express warranty, negligent misrepresentation, and violations of federal and California laws. Legal NewsLine has more.3. Part of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan for 2016 is to ease tolls on the New York State Thruway, WRVO Public Media reports. The governor said he wants Thruway tolls to “stop being an impediment on business,” according to the report. He proposed a plan that would keep tolls at their current level for the next four years, cut tolls in half for businesses and those who use the Thruway often, and eliminate them for farmers.4. Heavy-duty truck orders plunged nearly 37% in December from the same month last year, Nasdaq reports. And because trucking companies are buying fewer vehicles, companies are cutting jobs among equipment manufacturers and “leaving a near-record of big rigs gathering dust on dealers’ lots,” according to Nasdaq. Nasdaq has more.5. Trucking company C.H. Logistics in Frankfort, NY, is lending a helping hand to a couple in Plainfield who lost everything in a house fire. According to a WKTV report, the company is collecting donations for the couple, whose home burned to the ground on Monday.
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