Healthy Trucking Kiosks Offer Innovative Advertising Opportunities
Quote of the Day
Today we give you not one but several quotes, all from the legendary British prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill. Churchill was known as a great political leader and statesmen, but his wonderful command of the English language allowed him to craft some glorious insults, such as these gems from an era when wit (rather than 4-letter words) ruled:
* “He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.”
* “A modest little person, with much to be modest about.”
* George Bernard Shaw to Churchill: “I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend … if you have one.” Churchill in response: “Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second … if there is one.”
* An exchange between Churchill & Lady Nancy Astor after a tense dinner party: She said, “Winston, if you were my husband, I’d poison your tea.” Churchill’s response: “Nancy, if you were my wife, I’d drink it.”
Drug and Alcohol Test Clearinghouse
American Trucking Associations President and CEO Bill Graves has urged Congress to authorize and fund a centralized clearinghouse for positive drug and alcohol testing results of commercial motor vehicle drivers to ensure that motor carrier employers are aware of previous positive test results during the hiring process.
Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, Graves said such a clearinghouse will improve the industry’s ability to keep alcohol and drug abusers off the road and improve safety on the nation's roadways.
The ATA has lobbied for a national clearinghouse of positive test results since the 1990s. In 2004, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reported to Congress on the merits of reporting positive test results to states. Currently, five states have instituted a drug and alcohol clearinghouse.
“ATA and its members believe that state-based reporting efforts are a good first step, but the optimal solution is a national clearinghouse,” Graves says. “The trucking industry is a national industry. State by state action will result in a patchwork quilt of differing reporting requirements by different people, with different commercial driver licensing actions or outcomes for truck drivers depending upon which state issued their license. A national solution is the optimal approach to addressing this issue.”
The federal government required drug and alcohol testing of commercial truck drivers in 1995. As measured by a percentage of positive test results, drug abuse in the trucking industry is less than half of that found in the general work force. However, the percentage has remained between 2 percent and 2.5 percent of the truck driver population since required testing began. This figure is unacceptable to ATA and the trucking industry.
ATA’s call for a national clearinghouse is part of a comprehensive trucking industry highway safety initiative that has produced a record low crash rate.
