Trucking news and briefs for Friday, Feb. 7, 2025:
Louisiana blitz cracks down on trucks with human trafficking focus
Three divisions of the Louisiana State Police, along with the state’s Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) Police, conducted an enforcement blitz on commercial vehicles with a focus on combating human trafficking.
The joint enforcement detail was in response to Gov. Jeff Landry’s proclamation of January as Human Trafficking Prevention Month and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative.
Louisiana State Police Transportation Safety Services (LSP-TSS) conducted North American Standard inspections on commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), enforcing federal motor carrier safety regulations and Louisiana criminal and traffic laws. LSP-TSS also emphasized unauthorized passengers in CMVs.
LSP-Air Support used its Bell 407 GXP/GXI helicopter and introduced its newest technological system, the Trakka System, which can assist with search and rescue operations, mapping, and video management for law enforcement on the ground. It helped LSP-TSS identify unsafe operating CMVs.
DOTD-Police controlled commercial vehicles entering and exiting their fixed-scale facility and directed LSP-TSS to CMVs bypassing the facility when directed to enter.
LSP posted the following video on Facebook showcasing its efforts during the month:
ATRI seeks guidance for research on diesel tech shortage
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) is seeking input and guidance for its priority research on the growing diesel technician shortage.
Recognizing the complex issues that exist in training, recruiting and retaining diesel technicians, ATRI has developed three separate surveys for technicians, maintenance facilities and technician training schools.
All diesel technicians – from any industry – are encouraged to answer a five-minute survey about their career path and workplace preferences. Responses are strictly confidential; only anonymized, aggregated data will be published.
Diesel truck repair and maintenance shops are encouraged to complete a survey on recruiting, supporting and retaining diesel technician hires.
Diesel technician schools and training programs are asked to complete a survey that focuses on curricula, emerging technologies and industry partnerships.
"I understand the complexities of hiring and retaining quality technicians all too well, and it's an even more risky investment to train a less-qualified technician who might use their new skills as leverage elsewhere,” said Randy Obermeyer, Online Transport’s Vice President of Safety and Maintenance. “All of these factors place an immense financial burden on the industry as a whole and our customers. ATRI’s comprehensive research will identify the sources of these challenges and how we can increase the number of qualified technicians in our industry."
All three surveys can be accessed online here. The survey will remain open through Friday, March 7.
