Chrysler Altered Wheelbase Drag Cars

streetmusclemag.com

Article thanks to Bradley Iger and streetmusclemag.com. Links provided:

Musclecars You Should Know: Chrysler Altered Wheelbase Drag Cars

May 5, 2017  By the mid-1960s the musclecar era was starting to hit its stride, and drag strip bragging rights had developed into a proven marketing tactic. The NHRA’s Super Stock and A/Factory Experimental (A/FX) classes were among the most hotly contested battlegrounds in drag racing at the time, giving the factory teams high visibility to amateur racers and potential garden-variety buyers alike while also showcasing the latest hardware that the companies had in development.

The 1964 race season had been good to Chrysler. The new 426 Hemi motor had taken the motorsport world by storm, setting records in NASCAR and finding success in both of the aforementioned NHRA classes, breaking national records at the drag strip as well. But the other factory teams weren’t going to take this Mopar dominance lying down.

When word got out that Ford was planning to equip its smaller Mustang and Comet bodies with a potent single overhead cam, 427-cube motor for use in the Factory Experimental class for the 1965 season, the engineers at Chrysler knew they were going to have to take drastic measures if wanted to keep the larger Mopars ahead of those Fords.

Jim Thornton, a Chrysler chassis engineer, was well aware that weight distribution was the key to getting the Hemi’s power to the ground out of the hole, especially when contending with the primitive tire technology that was available at the time. But the new power plant was simply a massive, heavy motor that added a significant amount of weight to the nose of the car in comparison to the engine it had supplanted for Chrysler’s racing program, hindering those weight transfer efforts.

To address this, Chrysler expanded its use of lightweight aluminum and fiberglass for body panels, replaced the door window glass with Plexiglass and the windshield with Lexan, while the engine team took some mass out of the 426 with a new set of aluminum cylinder heads and a magnesium cross-ram intake manifold. But the Coronet and Belvedere racers were still considered too nose heavy, so Thornton decided to go several steps further to distribute more of the car’s weight over the rear wheels.

The Original “Funny Cars”

While the Super Stock class rules yielded drag cars that shared the majority of their hardware with models and equipment that were available to the public, the A/FX class was significantly less restricted, allowing teams to develop packages that those companies never had any intention of offering through their dealerships.

Late in 1964, Thornton and the other engineers in Chrysler’s Race Group decided that the most effective way to distribute the car’s mass to the rear was to move the wheelbase as far forward as possible.

To do so they brought the front wheels up by 10 inches and moved the rear axle forward by 15 inches while shortening the overall wheelbase length by 5.5 percent. The end result was a 110-inch wheelbase drag car that put 56% of the mass over the rear tires, weight distribution that was unheard of at the time.

Five Dodge Coronets and five Plymouth Belvederes were allocated for the conversion, having their steel bodies acid dipped and then sent out to Amblewagon in Detroit for their altered wheelbase conversion before being delivered to factory team racers like Dick Landy, Ronnie Sox, and Al Eckstrand.

While there was no question that the altered wheelbase cars were significantly faster than their standard model counterparts, the Chrysler team hit a serious roadblock once NHRA got their first look at the new cars. Officials quickly drafted a new rule for 1965 that restricted wheelbase alterations to two percent versus stock for the A/FX class, effectively banning the altered wheelbase Mopars from the class they were designed to compete in.

But the cars’ wild appearance and impressive performance garnered massive publicity from the enthusiast press, and the cars quickly became a massive hit running match races in the popular and lucrative AHRA Factory Experimentals class around the country, where capacity crowds would turn up to see drivers like Roger Lindamood, Dave Strickler, and Bud Faubel pilot these “funny cars” to low ten second passes at nearly 140 mph. The cars got even faster once the teams switched over to Hilborn fuel injection systems mid-season in 1965.

Legacy

Though the term would eventually be adopted by fiberglass bodied, tube-chassis dragsters in the years following, the altered wheelbase Mopars of the mid-1960s serve as the origin of the Funny Car term and remain some of the wildest factory-modified production cars built to date.

With the popularity of Chrysler’s factory-built altered wheelbase Coronets and Belvederes, private teams quickly began building funny cars of their own, and the altered wheelbase craze quickly spread not only to other Mopar models but other makes as well.

Today, altered wheelbase cars continue to flourish in nostalgia classes across the country. But with less than a dozen of the factory-build cars in existence, and each with a notable racing history, the value of the original Chrysler altered wheelbase cars has only risen over the decades since their debut, with examples like Lee Smith’s Haulin’ Hemi II Plymouth Belvedere commanding sums well over half a million dollars at recent auctions.

While the performance of the AWB cars would be eclipsed not long after their debut as more advanced technologies found their way into drag racing, their unusual design strategy and wild appearance remains iconic for a specific time and place in drag racing history, and the fact that they immediately ran afoul of NHRA guidelines immediately upon their debut feels strangely similar to a situation that a recently-unveiled Mopar now finds itself in. The more things change…

http://www.streetmusclemag.com/features/car-features/muscle-cars-you-should-know-chrysler-altered-wheelbase-drag-cars

What your drivers (still) don’t know about roadside inspections

jjkeller.com

Article thanks to Cristina Commendatore, fleetowner.com and Andy Blair. Links provided:

Cargo securement will be a key focus for the annual Roadcheck inspection blitz this June. Here are some tips from a former DOT officer.

Back in the day, when Andy Blair served as a Department of Transportation (DOT) officer, he used the North American Standard Out of Service Criteria book to write tickets and place trucks out of service (OOS) during roadside inspections.

Now, he’s urging fleets and their drivers use the book as a tool to help keep their trucks in service during inspection season – especially where cargo securement is concerned.

You see, the annual 72-hour Roadcheck inspection blitz overseen by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's (CVSA) occurs June 6 through 8 this year and will focus on cargo securement. And the aforementioned “OOS book” Blair referenced contains information on load securement that carriers – especially commodity specific haulers – and their drivers need to know.

“If you are a commodity specific hauler, then you have some very specific rules that apply to you,” he explained. “If you don't follow these rules, you could very well find your truck being placed OOS.”

Specific rules cover logs, dressed lumber, metal coils, paper rolls, concrete pipe, intermodal containers, light vehicles, heavy vehicles and equipment, flattened or crushed vehicles, roll off containers, hazardous materials or “hazmat” loads, plus large boulders.

If none of these categories apply, then a motor carrier or owner-operator falls under the general freight rules, Blair pointed out.

“This Roadcheck is coming; everybody knows what it’s going to be about,” he stressed. “This year’s focus is on load securement, so now is the time for people to be aware of the regulations.”

Here are a few more tips Blair shared with Fleet Owner ahead of the 2017 Roadcheck inspection blitz:

• Know your Working Load Limit. That limit requires that you use enough weight rated tie downs to equal at least half the weight of the load. So you have to know the length of the object, the weight of the object and whether or not it falls into one of the commodity specific areas. Whichever requires the most number of tie downs is the one to go with. If you have a 20,000-lb. object, you have to have a working chain that is half the actual working weight of the load.
• Use one more tie down than required. “Just in case one of the tie downs is bad, you won't be OOS of you don't go below the minimum amount of required tie downs,” Blair said. “You will be shut down if you don't have enough. Inspect your tie downs every trip. A tie down is only as strong as its weakest point.”
• Pay attention to your pre-trip. Besides the basic vehicle inspection – lights, tires, wheel, mirrors, basic trailer inspection – when it comes to the load itself, enforcement will depend on what the load is. If it falls into any special categories, the driver needs to check whatever load securement devices he or she uses.
• Check the whole chain. “Part of the inspection would be checking in the chain for damaged links, cracks and breaks that they have every tie down and chain down,” Blair noted. “The end of the chain will have a hook or ratchet, make sure that’s not damaged. [Loads] put a lot of pressure on these chains and overtime; it can cause things to damage and crack. Drivers have to check these; they are part of the regular vehicle inspection.
• Synthetic straps are prone to getting ripped and torn. “Check for any wear or tear on synthetic straps. They don’t get better with age. They’re going to get worse,” he stressed. “When I see a truck with synthetic straps, I always look through them [searching] for cuts and abrasions. When it looks like it has seen better days, I take them off and cut them off so they can’t be reused. I don’t see near as many issues with chains. If I had to pick a truck out on the road, it would be a flatbed with synthetic straps tying down whatever it’s hauling.”
• Use the 10-ft. rule. The general rule is you need at least one tie down for every 10 ft. of what you’re hauling. “Not more than 10 ft. I will literally get out my tape measure and if it exceeds 10 ft., that’s an OOS right there,” Blair said. “Most drivers always carry extra chain or straps. If a driver gets stopped and they determine that a tie-down device is legally no good, sometimes officers will allow them to replace strap with another one handy. But if the guy doesn’t have any extras, he’s sitting. The 10-ft. rule is frequently violated.”
• Motor carriers need to train their drivers. It’s the motor carrier’s responsibility to make sure the driver knows what he or she is doing, Blair emphasized, especially when it comes to cargo securement. “[Carriers] should do training to make sure their drivers know the rules and load securement training. Any company who doesn’t do that is doing themselves a disservice,” he pointed out. “There should be a little bit of formal training. At the end of the day, I’m the officer, and if I say you’re OOS, you’re not leaving until it’s fixed. Load securement violations mean you’re sitting until it’s done right.”
“Some of these guys [drivers] are dependent on someone in a building securing their load,” he added. “They don’t bother checking load securement and they leave."
But once you leave the yard, it’s your baby, Blair warned. “The officers are going to be trained and ready,” he added. “The question is, are your drivers going to be trained and ready for this?”
For any further questions, please email Andy Blair at dotinspector@gmail.com.
http://fleetowner.com/safety/what-your-drivers-still-don-t-know

Recognizing That Many of Us just Enjoy Driving

Article thanks to The National Motorists Association. Help support motorist's rights, you can join for free at the links provided:

Here’s a quiz.  The CEO of an automaker said the following about the advent of self-driving technology:

We have full-scale autonomy in development right now. But how we apply this technology will be a little unique. We believe driving pleasure should never die. And we’re selling our products to a core customer who loves driving.

We’ll always take a human-centric approach. The driver will have control and we’ll try to improve peace of mind. If anything happens to the driver, the system will override immediately to bring the car to a safe place.

Which car company does this enlightened executive lead? 

Acura	Kia
Alfa Romeo	Maserati
Aston Martin	Mazda
Bugatti	Mini
Fiat	Peugeot
Hyundai	Renault
Infiniti	Volvo
Jaguar

Make no mistake, with hundreds of billions of dollars being spent on autonomous vehicle technology – the five top carmakers plowed $46 billion into R&D in 2015 alone – we will be seeing an explosion of vehicles on the road completely controlled by computer algorithms within a generation or two.  Cars will truly become automobiles.

But the concern expressed by many NMA members is that those of us who like the freedom of driving at satisfying speeds while navigating whatever challenges the roadways present will be relegated to spinning around the tracks of designated car parks while machines rule the roads.

That is a depressing view of the future, which makes the vision of at least one car manufacturer refreshing. Which brand? Here’s another quote with the answer:

Mazda’s vision of autonomous driving is not bringing you from A to B while you are reading. That’s not Mazda’s way.

We hope that Mazda’s North American chief executive Masahiro More

is able to stick to that philosophy and that other automakers realize the wisdom of satisfying the significant segment of motorists who enjoy driving.

https://www.motorists.org/

595-truck convoy in Pennsylvania raises money for Make-A-Wish

For 364 days of the year, the horse-drawn Amish buggy is the vehicle most commonly associated with the city of Lancaster, Pa.

But not on Mother’s Day. On Mother’s Day, Lancaster is all about trucks. Last Sunday, May 14, 595 trucks rolled out in the annual Make-A-Wish Mother’s Day Truck Convoy. By the time the last driver had pulled out, an estimated $400,000 to $450,000 had been raised for Make-A-Wish of Philadelphia, Northern Delaware and Susquehanna Valley, with approximately $300,000 of that coming from the drivers themselves.

As usual, tens of thousands of spectators lined the 26-mile convoy loop in central Pennsylvania, cheering for the truckers and waving to the more than 100 Make-A-Wish children and siblings who rode along in the cabs.

“This is a tremendous event for Make-A-Wish and the trucking industry,” said Ben Lee, regional director for the charity. The money raised will pay for 60 to 70 percent of the wishes granted to children with life-threatening medical conditions in the region, he said.

The convoy, which began 28 years ago, started with one little boy’s wish to ride in a truck and talk to his sister on CB radio and, thanks to the generosity of truckers, has grown into an all-day family celebration that draws truckers from a dozen or more states.

The RoadPro Family of Brands, based in nearby Palmyra, is the primary sponsor of the event and donated $20,000 to the cause. The company’s involvement has helped the convoy grow in popularity, Lee said.

“We’re honored to be associated with such a great cause and a worthy organization,” said Chuck White, Vice President of Brands & Marketing for RoadPro. “Truckers are our customers and we know how generous and caring they can be. The convoy is proof of that.”

http://www.roadprobrands.com/

Truck drivers arrested in sting for aluminum recycling fraud

hardworkingtrucks.com

Article thanks to hardworkingtrucks.com. Links provided:

April, 2017  A recent sting in California led to the arrest of drivers who had allegedly planned to cash-in on truck loads of aluminum cans through the state’s high-paying recycling program.

The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery joined the California Department of Justice and the California Department of Food and Agriculture in a week-long sting which netted nearly 15,000 pounds of aluminum cans that had left Arizona and were destined for California recycling centers, according to calrecycle.ca.gov.

The cans were valued at around $20,000.

The California Redemption Value (CRV) Fund is only available for recyclable containers purchased in the state. Consumers there pay a CRV fee for each qualifying container and then can recoup that cost later at a state certified recycling center.

“CalRecycle’s fraud prevention reforms and substantial network of enforcement partners make it increasingly risky for those attempting to defraud California’s Redemption Value Program,” CalRecycle Director Scott Smithline said. “The department will continue to use all available resources to make sure CRV deposits go back to California consumers and not in the pockets of criminal enterprises.”

The sting centered on the CDFA border checkpoint in Blythe, Calif., and the nearby intersection of Agnes Wilson Road and Highway 95, a route often used to circumvent the border checkpoint.

On March 14, CDFA agents at the border checkpoint discovered a fraudulent Imported Material Report and false Bill of Lading provided by Balmore Alvarado, 49, of Chino, Calif., as he entered California from Arizona. A subsequent inspection of Alvarado’s trailer revealed 7,020 pounds of used beverage containers with a potential CRV refund value of $10,275.85.

On March 16, CDOJ Recycling Fraud Team agents conducted surveillance on a semi-truck, found to be importing used beverage containers from Parker, Ariz., into Blythe, Calif., via Agnes Wilson Road. CDOJ agents confronted Anthony Sanchez, 56, of Tucson, Ariz., and discovered his trailer filled with 7,675 pounds of used beverage containers with a potential CRV refund value of $9,636.79. Sanchez also presented a fraudulent Bill of Lading and did not have an Imported Material Report, requirement for anyone who transports used beverage containers into California.

Both drivers face charges of felony recycling fraud, attempted grand theft, filing a false or forged document, and conspiracy. If convicted, the men could be subject to financial penalties and incarceration. The charges carry a sentence of between six months and three years.

- See more at: http://www.hardworkingtrucks.com/truck-drivers-arrested-in-sting-for-aluminum-recycling

Americans Remain Wary of Self-Driving Cars

Image courtesy of AAA

Article thanks to automotive-fleet.com. Links provided:

March, 2017  Most American drivers want autonomous technologies in their next vehicle, but they continue to have fears about fully self-driving cars, according to a new report from AAA.

Despite predictions that autonomous vehicles will be much safer and slash crash rates, three-quarters of U.S. drivers are afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle, survey results indicated. A total of 19% would trust the vehicle, and 4% are unsure.

The prospect of sharing the road with self-driving cars also stirs trepidation. A total of 54% of drivers would feel less safe, while 34% said it wouldn’t make a different. Only 10% reported that they’d actually feel safer sharing the road with autonomous vehicles.

Nonetheless, 59% of Americans would welcome autonomous features — such as automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assistance and self-parking technology — in their next vehicle, according to the report. This dichotomy suggests that American drivers are ready to embrace autonomous vehicle technology, but they’re not yet ready to give up full control, according to AAA.

“U.S. drivers may experience the driver assistance technologies in their cars today and feel they don’t work consistently enough to replace a human driver — and they’re correct,” said Greg Brannon, AAA’s director of automotive engineering and industry relations. “While these technologies will continue to improve over time, it’s important that consumers understand that today’s systems require your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel.”

AAA survey results also suggest that age and gender can be factors influencing a driver’s willingness to relinquish vehicle control. Though 78% of Americans are afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle, some demographic groups are generally more afraid than others. Baby Boomers (85%) are more likely to be afraid than Millennials (73%) and Generation X (75%) drivers. Additionally, women (85%) are more likely to be afraid than men (69%).

Millennials (70%) are the most likely to want the technologies, compared to Generation X (54%) and Baby Boomers (51%).

Additionally, U.S. drivers desire uniformity in how the autonomous systems operate, regardless of the automaker. Eight in 10 (81%) drivers believe the systems should all work the same way.

The survey was conducted Jan. 5-8 of this year. A total of 1,012 adults participated.

http://www.automotive-fleet.com/news/story/2017/03/americans-remain-wary-of-self-driving-cars.aspx?utm_campaign=enews-friday-20170314&utm_source=Email&utm_medium=Enewsletter&omid=1000129208

The following is a guest post by Josh Breger at Haulhound.com, a Chicago based logistics tech startup. Check them out at the links provided:

As a driver, finding good freight is a top priority. As you know, this can often be time consuming and your options might be saturated with cheap rates and not enough miles.  

There are seemingly endless channels to find freight and it could seem overwhelming. Here are five tips to help you pick and choose where to look, and who to work with. 

1.  Avoid Brokers. Perhaps Be Wary of Brokers is better. It sounds easier than it actually is. There’s no denying that brokers have become an integral cog within the logistics framework. It’s often unavoidable to never move brokered freight. However, just as it’s your main job to get the highest possible rate, it’s brokers job to do the exact opposite. Brokers lack consistent lanes and bank on quoting spot freight. It is their job to quote shippers high, and sell it to drivers for low.  

2. If you can’t avoid brokers, find two or three that you trust. Not every broker is shady and obsessed with ripping with you off. There are plenty of decent, honorable brokers that truly care about your business and treat you like a customer. These are often the mid-size brokerages. The huge brokerages with thousands of employees might have a lot of freight, but can’t guarantee you the personal touch you require. So try to seek out the smaller companies that have between 100-400 employees. They still have a lot of freight but they are small enough to devote enough attention to you and your truck. The more loads you pull for them, and the more you prove yourself as a dependable driver, rates will go up and those annoying tracking phone calls will go down.  

3. Sign on with a carrier. For new owner operators, this could be the perfect introduction to navigating the freight market. Trucking companies are begging for owner ops just like you to sign on to their authority. They have already consistent, dedicated freight. They just need you and your truck. However, as an owner op you have the right of first refusal. Most companies allows owner ops to say yes or no to loads. If you find a good company, you’ll almost certainly have good freight and it will be a learning experience on which lanes to seek and which ones to avoid.  

4.  Avoid Loadboards. Loadboard subscriptions are expensive and you often don’t get what you pay for. The loads listed on these platforms are the bottom of the barrel. It’s cheap loads for ridiculous lanes that shady brokers can’t cover. You’re competing with countless other drivers over freight that is not worth your time. It’s okay to use loadboards once in a while if you’re stuck and as a last resort, but it’s not safe to rely on them as the main source of your business.  

5. Use an aggregation platform. Technology is officially invading trucking. Freight logistics, as an industry, is heading in an unfamiliar direction for many drivers. Truck drivers are aging out and while recruiting younger generation of drivers is proving more difficult, those that have proved successful are the one’s adapting with this new technology. Using digital freight platforms combines the best of all the above options. These new innovative platforms act as marketplaces competing for your business. Ideally you will have access to every available load and it’s up to you to pick and choose. Some of the more advanced digital freight matching platforms will send you matches instantly and in real-time. This has the ability to cut down on wasted time and keep you on the road.  

There is no right or wrong way to find freight. The brutal truth is that luck plays a big part in finding the right broker, the right carrier or even the right load board to use. Try some of these tips and mix and match. Driving is a community. Use social media to interact with other drivers and learn from each other.  Every driver is different so find what works for you.

https://haulhound.com/about/

Packers: Rookie running back Jamaal Williams impresses with physical, mental makeup

packers.com

Article thanks to Jason Wilde and The Wisconsin State Journal. Links provided:

May 3, 2017 - GREEN BAY — For another player, it would’ve been an easy decision. As it turned out, it was an easy decision for Jamaal Williams, too.

When NFL personnel executives asked Williams prior to the NFL draft what he did to violate Brigham Young’s honor code, a misstep before the 2015 season that forced him to withdraw from school, Williams told them the truth: “I had a girl in my room.”

Scouts’ reaction? “Most of them laughed,” Williams said.

They weren’t laughing at the way Williams responded to his mistake, however.

Rather than transferring out of BYU — Williams is not a Mormon, and even after a torn ACL in 2014, he would have had significant interest from other schools after rushing for 2,526 yards his first three seasons for the Cougars — he spent 2015 working out in Arizona, came back to the team last fall and rushed for 1,375 yards and 12 touchdowns en route to becoming the school’s all-time leading rusher.

That performance, coupled with complete ownership of his mistake, made an impression on NFL teams, including the Green Bay Packers, who took him in the fourth round last weekend.

“I think it says something about him,” Packers director of college scouting Jon-Eric Sullivan said. “He could have gone anywhere he wanted as a transfer. The fact that he came back there, I think that tells you his intestinal fortitude and what he’s made up of. It would have been probably easier at one point to leave and go somewhere else and started anew, but he came back and chose to do that. I think that says something about the kid. That was something we thought was an asset.”

Asked why he didn’t just go to another school, Williams replied, “I stayed there because BYU was the first team that actually gave me an offer and wanted me for me. Loyalty is a big thing for me.

“I was angry, but at the same time you have to know that it’s your responsibility. You made the choice of going to the school. They tell you the rules before you get there. If you don’t (follow them), then that’s your fault. So I was mad, but at the same time I just had to grow up and understand the consequences.”

Williams, who also was suspended for one game after an underage drinking arrest in 2014, in no way raised red flags for the Packers.

“We feel really good about the kid,” Sullivan said. “He’s very well-liked by his teammates, he’s a team captain. He’s a guy who football is very important to him. He does the little things to be a good football player. … We feel very, very confident about the football player and about the person.”

The Packers need Williams to hit the ground running in their unproven backfield, where coach Mike McCarthy pronounced converted wide receiver Ty Montgomery as “absolutely” the starter following the draft. But with just 105 career rushing attempts (including playoffs), and given McCarthy’s preference for a 1-2 punch at running back, one of the Packers’ three rookies — Williams, fifth-round pick Aaron Jones or seventh-round pick Devante Mays — will have ample opportunities this season.

As the draft approached, Williams and longtime NFL agent Leigh Steinberg saw various teams’ depth charts and saw Green Bay as a potential destination. (Coincidentally, Steinberg also represents Jones.)When the Packers went on the clock at No. 134, they wasted no time making Williams the first offensive player of their class.

“I felt that Green Bay would be a good spot for me,” Williams said. “We talked about it. I thought about it and I think I could really fit in with Green Bay and their offense. They don’t really have a lot of running backs, but at the same time Ty Montgomery did a great job of filling in and playing running back. I just want to help out and do whatever I can and still contribute.”

Listed at 6 feet and 213 pounds, Williams has a powerful running style that the Packers are hoping could mimic that of Eddie Lacy, a four-year starter who departed as a free agent to Seattle in March. Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf described Williams as being a “classic, between the tackles-sized” running back, which would fill the void Lacy left.

“I’ve watched Eddie Lacy run before because he’s a big back and I like big backs in general, because I just like the bruising part about the game,” Williams said. “I’m not really trying to fill the void. I’m just really trying to come in and do my job. I’m only a rookie right now and I don’t want to put too much expectations on me. But I have my goals.

“I feel I’m an old-style type of running back. I like to bruise, I like to pound into people a lot. I feel like I’m a grinder, a workhorse and as the game keeps going — fourth quarter, third quarter — I’m just getting stronger and stronger and trying to wear the defenses down. That’s what I like to do and that’s how I like to play.”

Jason Wilde covers the Packers for ESPN Wisconsin. Listen to him with former Packers and Badgers offensive lineman Mark Tauscher weekdays from 9-11 on “Wilde & Tausch” on 100.5 FM ESPN Madison.

http://host.madison.com/wsj/sports/football/professional/packers-rookie-running-back-jamaal-williams-impresses-with-physical-mental/article_79c7c37f-ad3b-5e68-a277-510c55f3bfc1.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share

Colorado police chief denies truck trap allegation

Article thanks to Tom Quimby and hardworkingtrucks.com. Links provided:

Feb, 2017  Truck drivers being ticketed for running overweight in Erie, Colo. say that the town has set up a truck trap that’s costing them thousands of dollars.

Erie, with a population of around 20,000, is just east of Boulder on the west side of Interstate 25. A 13-ton weight limit has caused quite a stir among truckers, some of whom say the weight limit signs are not posted prominently enough to provide drivers with enough warning before entering the town.

Trucker Jeff Winowiecki, who was ticketed and fined $1,030 for being overweight on Highway 52, said by the time he saw the weight limit sign, it was too late to turn around.

“It was rush hour. Cars coming at me. Cars coming behind me. There’s nothing I can do. I’m just going to create a wreck if I try to do anything,” Winowiecki told kdvr.com.

Driver Tim Temple said he was also caught off guard by the sign.

“It`s a scam,” he said. “You can’t turn around nowhere. “You can’t back up nowhere. All you can do is go straight through town.”

Craig Engle was also ticketed for running overweight. He, Temple and Winowiecki challenged the citations in court late last year and lost. Since then, the fine has increased 157 percent to $2,650.

“You’ve heard of speed traps. This is a truck trap,” Craig Engle said following his loss in court.

Engle is hoping that other truckers will join him in his boycott against the town of Erie.

“I will not buy fuel here. I won’t buy my tires. Anything here. They got my thousand bucks, but they’re not going to get any of my business anymore,” he said.

Erie Police Chief Kim Stewart told Hard Working Trucks that truckers have been using the town as a short-cut and that they’ve had fair warning about the weight limit.

“We’re surrounded by Highway 52, Highway 287, Highway 7 and I-25. So truckers, with or without their loads, come through the town and they’re not doing business here. It’s sort of a short-cut to other places,” Stewart said.

Residents have been complaining, Stewart said, about tractor trailers speeding through town, losing material from uncovered loads and deteriorating their roads. She said there’s only one officer assigned to overweight trucks and that he’s written only 28 tickets since 2015.

“The heavier loads that are getting to 88,000 or 90,000 (pounds), he is ticketing those because they’re just tearing up our streets. It’s not these little cars that are doing that. It’s the large trucks. I’m not speaking ill of truckers. They’ve got a job to do like everybody else.”

Weight limit signs are properly posted, Stewart says.

“Let’s say you come into town and you see the 13-ton weight limit sign. The expectation is to take the first right and head back out which will put you back on Highway 287,” she said. “It will put you on a major road that can handle the weight in a very short amount of time.”

Scales are not used to weigh the trucks.

“We have a person that’s been trained on the trucks, and the identification of the truck, the sizes and the weights,” Stewart said. “He’s actually become quite an expert on that. Whether he’s an expert approved by the courts, I wouldn’t say that. He has that knowledge. And so he will see these trucks and if they’re loaded he can pretty much tell you what they weigh. He knows that a lot of the bases of the trucks are 17,000 unloaded. So, even if they’re loaded, they’re over the weight limit.”

Trucks that have business in Erie are not ticketed.

“We have a lot of the regional landfills here. The trucks are coming, they’re dropping off their load and taking the most direct route and they’re exiting the most direct route. No problem,” Stewart explained. “And truly, somebody that’s bringing a load to build a new house, or something like that, and they’re overweight, we never say a word.”

Last month, the city raised the overweight fine from $1,030 to the state maximum of $2,650. Concerns for public safety were among the reasons for the increase.

“One of the main roads that some of the truckers are on is called east county line. It divides walt county and Boulder County, we have a grade school and a middle school right off that road,” Stewart explained. “It’s just dangerous and it’s always about public safety.”

Stewart said her office has contacted trucking companies to warn them about the weight restriction.

“We’ve called the businesses that have truckers coming through and we’ve explained that,” she said. “Now some of the truckers have told the sergeant that they’re company still wants them to come through Erie and that they consider the ticket the cost of doing business. Whether that’s true or not, that’s what he’s been told.”

Stewart said the city “is not trying to ruin anyone’s livelihood” and that the officer issuing tickets for overweight trucks gives far more warnings to drivers than citations.

“If they have business in town come on in and do your business. We’re just trying not to be a throughway. There’s no truck trap,” she said.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated from an earlier version published on Feb. 22.

- See more at: http://www.hardworkingtrucks.com/colorado-police-chief-denies-truck-trap-allegation/?utm_source=hwt&utm_medium=email&utm_content=02-23-2017&utm_campaign=Hard%20Working%20Trucks&ust_id=ac3913ef69635b68afde05f06de0a439#sthash.4bIOHOwW.dpuf