IN THE NEWS

FMCSA Conducts Surprise Passenger
Carrier Safety Inspections
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and its state and local law enforcement partners conducted more than 3,000 surprise passenger carrier safety inspections during the first two weeks of May, which resulted in 442 unsafe buses or drivers being removed from the nation's roadways.

The strike force issued out-of-service citations to 127 drivers and 315 vehicles during the unannounced inspections. In addition to the strike force inspections, FMCSA and state safety investigators initiated 38 full safety compliance reviews on commercial passenger bus companies. These reviews determine a passenger carrier's safety rating. Over the past five years, FMCSA has doubled the number of unannounced bus safety inspections and comprehensive safety reviews of the nation's estimated 4,000 passenger bus companies. Roadside safety inspections of motorcoaches jumped from 12,991 in 2005 to 25,703 in 2010, while compliance reviews rose from 457 in 2005 to 1,042 in 2010.


DOT and Better Business Bureau Launch Partnership to Fight Distracted Driving
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation and Better Business Bureau will collaborate to educate consumers and businesses about the dangers of distracted driving. The national website of the Better Business Bureau will feature a link to a free tool kit that provides employers with suggested distracted driving policies to help keep their employees safe. The kit, created by the USDOT and the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS), contains materials such as a sample company policy, a sample memo to employees on that policy, and a sample company press release. The U.S. Department of Transportation's campaign against distracted driving is a multi-modal effort that includes automobiles, trains, planes, and commercial vehicles.




ROUSH Announces Recall
ROUSH Performance has announced it is recalling more than a dozen Ford E-Series vans to fix a propane leak in the fuel system. Only 15 model-year 2011 units are thought to be affected by NHTSA Recall Campaign 11V307000, published on June 6, 2011 following a manufacturer's report on May 27. The recalled vehicles include the E-150, E-250, E-350 and E-450 Series powered by 5.4L or 6.8L V8 engines that ROUSH modified with its liquid propane autogas fuel system. ROUSH said a system valve may have been improperly machined, which could result in a propane leak and a potential fire if ignited. The company added it will replace the defective valve. While no date was stated for the recall to begin, vehicle owners may contact ROUSH at (734) 466-6255.

Michelin Releases Tire Training Video
Michelin in conjunction with the Tire Industry Association released a truck tire training video that will help fleet operators, tire shop managers and maintenance technicians handle their tires in the safest way possible. This is the fourth video produced by TIA and Michelin, which are all available on the Michelin Truck Tires YouTube channel, as well as the Michelin America's Truck Tires and TIA Web sites. View Video

Q'Straint to Hold Free Training Seminar
Q'Straint will hold its eighth annual National Training Seminar later this year to provide in-depth instruction on how to operate its systems. The seminar is intended for transportation agency trainers, operations directors or supervisors for transportation agencies, state trainers or others who supervise or manage wheelchair transportation safety. The seminar will be held onsite in Fort Lauderdale and is free to participants. Q'Straint will cover the cost of hotel accommodations, ground transportation and meals during training, as well as provide all necessary training materials. Information and registration