Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, July 29, 2020:
Nomination period for Transition Trucking award closes Friday
The nomination period for the “Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence” program that recognizes America’s top military veteran rookie truck driver is open through Friday, July 31.
Nomination forms can be found here. Fastport, Kenworth and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes initiative are joining together for the fifth consecutive year to put on the program.
The winner of the award will receive a new Kenworth T680 equipped with a 76-inch sleeper and a Paccar MX-13 engine with a Paccar 12-speed automated transmission and Paccar 40K tandem rear axles.
The top driver will be determined by a panel of judges. To qualify, drivers must meet four eligibility requirements:
- Must have been active military or member of the National Guard or Reserve
- Graduated from a trucking school that is PTDI-certified, or a member of the National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools or Commercial Vehicle Training Association, and hold a valid CDL
- Employed by a trucking company that has made a hiring commitment and pledge to hire veterans on the Trucking Track Mentoring Program website
- First hired in a trucking position between Jan. 1, 2019, and July 31, 2020
Penske Truck Leasing adds remote service check-in to app
Penske Truck Leasing has added remote service check-in to its Penske Driver app that allows drivers to maximize social distancing by remotely checking in their trucks for scheduled preventive maintenance or repairs.
“This new addition to the Penske Driver app is part of our ongoing efforts to help keep customers and their drivers connected, safe and informed,” said Sherry Sanger, executive vice president of marketing, Penske Transportation Solutions. “Drivers will appreciate both the speed and convenience as well as the additional social distancing this new remote check-in feature affords.”
Penske is also positioning associates outside many locations to greet and direct customers to designated parking or pick-up areas. The company has also made changes to its rental reservation, pick-up and drop-off procedures.
Kentucky man indicted for illegally hauling hazmat, mail fraud
The owner of two companies that dispose of radioactive materials was indicted July 16 by a grand jury for multiple counts of mail fraud and illegal transportation of hazardous materials, according to the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General.
OIG alleges that Cory D. Hoskins used his companies – Advanced TENORM Services, LLC, and BES, LLC, in West Liberty, Kentucky – to illegally transport technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM) from Fairmont, West Virginia, to a landfill in Irvine, Kentucky.
Hoskins allegedly also prepared fraudulent shipping papers and arranged for loads of TENORM to be transported by unwitting and unapproved non-hazardous trucking companies. His businesses also allegedly profited from making misrepresentations and omissions on shipping documents, causing the loads to be willfully and recklessly transported without proper identification of the hazardous materials or use of the required placarding.
