On May 5, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Ray LaHood announced that Wisconsin had become the 25th state in the U.S. to ban texting while driving, calling distracted driving “an epidemic” responsible for killing and injuring thousands of people every year. That statistic is a very unfortunate reality for the family of Anita Zaffke, the […]
Legal News
OSHA: 14 Workers Are Killed Every Day On The Job; President Obama Declares April 28 “Worker’s Memorial Day”
President Barack Obama, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), proclaimed April 28, 2010 to be Worker’s Memorial Day to celebrate and preserve the memory “of those who have been killed due to unsafe working conditions.” This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, as […]
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt: “We Can Never Stop Working Toward That Next Level Of Safety”
At the 2010 World Aviation Training Seminar on April 27th, Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Randy Babbitt delivered a speech that focused on the crucial role that human involvement plays alongside the ever-advancing realm of flight technology. In his speech, Administrator Babbitt underscored the point that the availability of flight technology should supplement, […]
U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA Fines Three Wisconsin Companies Over $231,000 For Workplace Safety and Health Violations
Three different companies in Wisconsin were hit with proposed fines by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) during the months of March and April for alleged violations of federal workplace health and safety regulations. On March 29, 2010, Val-O-Mo Farm, Inc. in Elmwood was cited and fined after an October 2009 investigation into the […]
The U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA Fines Three Illinois Companies Over $185,000 For Workplace Safety Violations
Three different Illinois companies were slapped with fines by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) during the month of April for alleged violations of federal workplace standards. On April 14, 2010, OSHA announced a $61,500 penalty against Fleetpride, Inc., a nationwide distributor of trucking parts located in Willowbrook, for alleged violations discovered during a February 2010 inspection. The […]
DOT Denies Airlines’ Requests For Exemptions From New Rule Limiting Time They Can Keep Passengers On Tarmac
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has denied the exemptions requests made by five airlines in relation to a new federal rule that will limit the amount of time an airline can force passengers to remain onboard a flight stopped on the tarmac. JetBlue Airways, Delta Airlines, US Airways, Continental Airlines and American Airlines all petitioned the DOT […]
U.S. Department Of Transportation Issues New Rule Requiring Repeat Offender Motor Carriers To Install Devices That Record Hours Of Vehicle Operation
Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced it was implementing a new rule that, according to DOT Secretary Ray LaHood, is aimed at “cracking down on carriers and drivers who put people on our roads and highways at risk” by violating federal hours-of-service (HOS) regulations. Pursuant to the new rule, […]
NTSB Study Reveals “Glass Cockpits” No Safer In Single Engine Planes Than Traditional Instruments
In a somewhat surprising conclusion to a study conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), it was recently announced that airplanes equipped with ‘glass cockpits’, or digitized flight data displays, have not proven to be any safer than planes that operate with conventional, non-digital instrumentation. The study, which examined over 8,000 single engine planes […]
Bus Company Responsible For Fatal Phoenix Interstate Crash Was Operating Illegally; FMCSA Granted Emergency Action To Shut Down Carrier
The company involved in the fatal, March 5 bus crash outside of Phoenix, Arizona had been denied passenger carrier operating authority in April, 2009, but continued to operate anyways, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). Pursuant to an emergency request by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Tierra Santa, Inc., was ordered […]
NTSB Releases Its 2010 List Of ‘Most Wanted’ Transportation Safety Improvements: Aircraft Icing and Reducing Operator Fatigue Included
In the middle of February, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced its 2010 Federal Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements, addressing concerns in the areas of rail, marine, aviation and highway safety. Each issue within the individual areas was assigned a status color related to actions taken thus far in response to the […]
