May 2011 Volume 22, Issue 5 Delivering daily news to Canada’s trucking industry at www.trucknews.com
Spring floods
Sniffing out the
18-Wheel Drug Mules
MTA frustrated with Hwy. 75 closures WINNIPEG, Man. – The Manitoba Trucking Association has renewed its call for a permanent solution to Highway 75 flood closures, after the main corridor was shut down March 19. The detour to the US border, as designated by the Manitoba government, adds approximately 100 kilometres to any southern route, the group said. The MTA says that it was only a matter of time until Highway 75 was closed given the state of water levels in the province. In 2009, the highway closed for 35 days and added $1.5 million a week to the cost of trucking goods between Canada and US. MTA executive director Bob Dolyniuk says he expects the costs of the closure to be equal to, if not higher than that this year. “With over 1,100 trucks per day travelling both ways on Highway 75, it’s imperative now more than ever that we have a permanent solution to the yearly flooding question,” he said. “Commerce in Manitoba depends on it, as do our members. The detour facing drivers each year adds fuel costs, labour costs and other unnecessary burdens.” n
sniffing out drug mules: Stopping the trafficking of drugs via commercial vehicle is a multi-pronged effort, including CBSA and its drug-sniffing dogs (pictured), provincial enforcement agencies such as the MTO and occasionally even an attentive witness, as was the case when Avtar Singh Sandhu was caught with 205 kilos of cocaine nestled among a load of baby carrots. Photo by Canada Border Services Agency
Ongoing Sandhu case highlights glitches in judicial system, suggests large volumes of drugs moving by truck By Harry Rudolfs MILTON, Ont. – On Sunday Feb. 4, 2007, Ned Kelly (not his real name) was working as chief of security for Truck Town Terminals on the industrial fringes of Milton, Ont. He’d just pulled into the yard when his curiosity was piqued by a strange car and a tractor-trailer parked in
Cat’s new vocational truck See pg. 40
a restricted area. He confronted two men and asked them what they were doing. They told him they had stopped for lunch. “I smelled a rat,” said Kelly in a recent telephone interview. “For one thing it was 9 o’clock in the morning and too early for lunch. Something about these guys just didn’t feel right.”
Kelly noticed footprints in the snow leading to the back of the trailer and could see the trailer had probably been entered. The truck and car sped off after Kelly told the truck driver he wanted his dispatcher’s number. Kelly gave chase and stopped the tractor Continued on page 15
Inside This Issue...
Mark Dalton O/O
• Fleets on the move:
Which western Canadian carrier is buying and which western carrier just got bought? We have the scoop in Fleet News. Page 20
• MATS Report: We have all the big news from this year’s MidAmerica Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky.
Pages 22-33
• Slick decisions: Are synthetic heavy-duty engine oils worth the extra cost? It depends on who you ask.
Page 34
• Better brakes: Requirements for reduced stopping distances
are nearly here. What’s it mean for your brake system? Page 36
Reach us at our Western Canada news bureau E-mail Jim Bray at jim@transportationmedia.ca or call 403-453-5558
Page 44
To view list of advertisers see pg. 42
Careers: 8, 11, 12, 18, 25, 30, 46 PM40069240