Bluefield Daily Telegraph

By Charles Owens

RICHLANDS, Va. — A large crowd — including some who were upset with U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., for his support of the federal cap and trade legislation — demanded answers Tuesday from the veteran lawmaker during a town hall meeting on coal and energy.

“To place an entire economic system at risk for an unproven theory seems a little bit risky to me,” said David Moore of North Tazewell, who questioned the concept of global warming and climate change during the town hall forum held on the campus of Southwest Virginia Community College.

The West Virginia Trucking Association Annual Convention will be held September 8 - 10 at Stonewall Resort in Roanoke, WV.  We are thrilled to be returning to the state for this event!

We have a great meeting planned that you won't want to miss!  During our business sessions you will hear from Governor Joe Manchin, FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro and ATA President & CEO Bill Graves. We will also have great social time lined up for the evenings. 

If you have not registered for this event, please use the attached materials and sign up today!  Also, if you have not made your room reservations at Stonewall Resort, please call 888.278.8150 and ask for a room in the WVTA block.  The cut-off date to make reservations is August 8th.

Attachments:

Auction Donation Sheet	[ ]	74 Kb
Door Prize Donation Sheet	[ ]	73 Kb
JSV Draft of Preliminary Program	[ ]	406 Kb
Registration Form	[ ]	206 Kb
Sponsorship Sign-up Sheet	[ ]	70 Kb

Larry Gorby with Con-way Freight Named Grand Champion

Charleston, WV (June 17, 2010) – Lake, WV-resident and professional truck driver Larry Gorby was named Grand Champion of the West Virginia Trucking Association’s Truck Driving Championship, held Saturday, June 12 in Charleston, association representatives announced.

Gorby, a driver for Con-way Freight in Belle, took the top honor after competing in variety of skill and safety tests.

During a 72-hour period in the second week of June, thousands of inspectors will be examining over 70,000 vehicles.

What they find (or don't find) can affect your CSA 2010 scores. And remember, even violations not resulting in an out-of-service order will be tabulated into the CSA 2010 Safety Measurement System.

Some facts to consider regarding last year's Roadcheck event:
A record 72,782 inspections were conducted.
Of the vehicles inspected, 19.6% were placed out of service for mechanical problems (that's about 14,130 vehicles).
On average, approximately 17 trucks or buses were inspected every minute.

Roadcheck 2010 is just two weeks away.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on May 11th  launched its Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP), which allows commercial motor carrier companies to electronically access driver inspection and crash records as a part of the hiring process.

"Safety is our highest priority. The Pre-Employment Screening Program sends a strong message to commercial carriers and drivers that we are serious about having the safest drivers behind the wheel of large trucks and buses," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

"Starting today, commercial carriers will have an essential tool for making informed hiring decisions that will lead to safer drivers on our roads," said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. "The Pre-Employment Screening Program raises the safety bar for the motor carrier industry and helps to make our roads safer for everyone."

The Pre-Employment Screening Program offers access to up to five years of driver crash data and three years of inspection data regardless of the state or jurisdiction. By using driver safety information during pre-employment screening, commercial carriers will be able to better assess the potential safety risks of prospective driver-employees. PSP also gives drivers additional opportunities to verify the data in their driving history and correct any discrepancies. A driver's records will be protected in accordance with federal privacy laws.

The Pre-Employment Screening Program is populated monthly by FMCSA's Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). The MCMIS is comprised of driver performance data including inspection and compliance review results, enforcement data, state-reported crashes, and motor carrier census data.

For complete details on the Pre-Employment Screening Program's fees for driver safety records and how carriers and drivers can participate, visit http://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov.