Roses & Razzberries – June 2023
RAZZBERRIES to the owner of a driving school who pled guilty to a scheme to defraud the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. According to a U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General investigation, Estevao Semedo, the owner of the driving school, paid a road test examiner to misrepresent to the registry that certain driver’s license applicants had passed their road test when they had failed to even take the exam. The scheme resulted in the registry mailing licenses to unqualified applications, said a U.S. DOT Office of Inspector General news release.
ROSES to OOIDA members William McNamee and Lamar Buckwalter for being honored as the 2023 Citizen Drivers by TravelCenters of America. McNamee drives for Carbon Express and is based in Christopher, Ill. He has 32 years of trucking experience and admitted he was humbled by the selection. “It’s amazing to be part of this group,” McNamee told Land Line. Buckwalter went as far as to contact TA to ensure the confirmation email he received was legit. “Honestly, when I first got the email, I thought it was a scam,” he told Land Line. McNamee will have the TA in Mount Vernon, Ill., dedicated in his honor, while Buckwalter selected the Petro in Carlisle, Pa. TA said it received 150 nominations for the award this year.
RAZZBERRIES to the recent approval of sweeping regulation regarding the phase-in of zero-emission trucks by the California Air Resources Board. Approved unanimously, the regulation requires 100% of manufacturers’ truck sales to be zero-emission by 2036. Drayage operations, government fleets and “high priority” fleets are affected by the regulation. “We have the technology available to start working toward a zero-emission future now,” CARB Chair Liane Randolph said in a statement. Opponents, including the California Trucking Association, believe it’s too ambitious. “The only effect implementation will have is that it will guarantee a complete dismantling of our state’s trucking industry and have detrimental effect on goods movement and the entire supply chain,” Eric Sauer, California Trucking Association CEO, said in a statement to Land Line.
ROSES for a group of truckers and other motorists who assisted a man having a mental health crisis that threatened to jump from the overpass on a Bakersfield, Calif. highway. Through a social media post, the California Highway Patrol’s Bakersfield office said, “We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the truckers and motorists in RVs who volunteered to park across the freeway, shoulder to shoulder, under the subject to shorten the drop.” The CHP also credited the group for assisting in the peaceful resolution to this situation.
RAZZBERRIES to the news of Tesla informing federal transportation regulators that a Tesla was on Autopilot when it crashed into a firetruck on Interstate 680 in Walnut Creek, Calif. The driver of the Tesla was killed, and four Contra Costa County firefighters, who were in the fire truck on the scene for a separate incident, were injured in the crash. A Bloomberg report said since June 2021 there have been 17 fatal crashes in a Tesla using its automated driving function.
RAZZBERRIES to the holdup of a bill in Missouri that would let truck drivers file a complaint if they believe they were overcharged for a nonconsensual tow. State law currently prohibits operators to file a complaint. The proposed bill includes a provision to give greater protection and recourse for third parties. Related pursuits were vetoed by Gov. Mike Parson in 2019 and 2021. “We have scratched our heads each time Gov. Parson has vetoed this very reasonable legislation that would correct a serious problem in consumer protection,” OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh said. “Why does he like to see them (small-business truckers) ripped off so badly?” LL