Roses & Razzberries – August/September 2024
ROSES for a call for policies seeking to protect truckers from predatory towing practices. At the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s “Transparency in Fees Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators are Charged for Towing and Recovery Services” meeting, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, “This department has been clear in our support of protections against predatory towing junk fees. Of course, there are necessary and fair costs associated with the towing of a commercial vehicle. But some companies have seen an opportunity to charge exorbitant fees.” Doug Morris, OOIDA director of state government affairs, went a step further in urging FMCSA to take significant action. “Let’s not just check a box and say we had another meeting,” Morris said. “Let’s do something about it.”
ROSES for the inclusion of truck parking projects in the Iowa Transportation Commission’s 2025-2029 Transportation Improvement Program. The program will allocate $4.5 billion in state and federal funds over the next five years. The Commission said it prioritizes investments that improve the safety and condition of existing state highways and bridges. “One of the Commission’s program objectives is to support accessibility by investing in truck parking at interstate rest areas and to invest in vault toilets at parking-only sites,” Stuart Anderson, director of the Iowa DOT’s Transportation Development Division, told Land Line. A project was recently completed to add 24/7 modern restroom facilities at two weigh stations along the interstate system, while work is underway on a project to expand truck parking by 18 spaces at the rest area located along Interstate 80 eastbound near Victor.
RAZZBERRIES for the latest text messaging scam targeting EZDriveMA customers. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation said scammers are claiming to represent the state’s tolling agency and requesting payments for unpaid tolls. “The targeted phone numbers seem to be chosen at random and are not uniquely associated with an account or usage of toll roads,” MassDOT said. Customers are reminded that EZDriveMA will never request payment by text message and that all links associated with the tolling agency will contain www.EZDriveMA.com. Similar text messaging scams have been reported across the country. In fact, the E-ZPass Group informed customers nationwide about ongoing text messaging scam attempts in late April. The FBI said it had received more than 2,000 complaints from at least three states at that time.
RAZZBERRIES to a truck driver who set fire to Swift Transportation trailers in multiple states. Viorel Pricop, 66, of Allen Park, Mich., was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a California federal judge and was ordered to pay nearly $650,000 in restitution. A jury found Pricop guilty of six counts of arson of vehicle or property in interstate commerce after he set fire to Swift trailers in six different Southern California cities. He still faces charges for burning Swift trailers in two other states. The multi-state arson spree against Swift came after Pricop was released from prison after serving time for federal charges related to the theft of Swift cargo. “This defendant was given a second chance but chose to throw it away and go on a national campaign of revenge,” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “By setting fire to trailer after trailer with the drivers inside the trucks, he recklessly put people’s lives at risk.”
ROSES to the police officer and bystanders who helped rescue a truck driver who was trapped after a crash in Utah. A witness video posted on the KSL-TV website showed a truck engulfed in flames near the Little Cottonwood Canyon area. The driver was pulled from the fire and debris by witnesses and an officer from the Canyon Patrol Unit, who requested that only his last name, Wilson, be used in reports. “Without this officer jumping in there, none of this would have happened,” Justin Morgan, a witness who assisted with the rescue and called 911, told the NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City. The driver was treated for multiple injuries but is expected to recover. LL