Trucking news and briefs for May 6, 2024:
FMCSA's campaign encouraging truckers, other drivers toward safe driving
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is raising awareness and sharing actionable information to help improve road safety by kicking off its annual Our Roads, Our Safety Week campaign Monday. Starting today, May 6, the safety week observance is dedicated to educating truckers and other commercial drivers, as well as all other roadway users, on sharing the road safely.
“We appreciate the role truck and bus drivers have in supporting a healthy economy and connecting us from coast to coast,” said FMCSA Acting Deputy Administrator Sue Lawless. “This campaign is a reminder for those drivers -- and all who share the road with them -- to focus on safety as they navigate the nation’s roadways.”
[Related: Holiday traffic highway safety PSAs fit for our four-wheeled friends]
The Our Roads, Our Safety Week will spotlight a key road user each day of the week and disseminate resources, tips and reminders that can help them share the road safely. FMCSA’s Our Roads, Our Safety Week Toolkit includes shareable materials that can help spread life-saving road safety messages across various mediums.
Part of the toolkit are a couple of elementary-school-age student worksheets (a piece of the Grade 3-6 one is pictured here) that can be downloaded for use by educators and others.
If you're on a run toward the nation's capitol, FMCSA noted the public is invited to join them and other members of the road safety community for a free transportation safety fair Wednesday, May 8, at U.S. DOT headquarters in D.C. It's open to all ages, and the outdoor event will offer interactive exhibits, driving simulators, and engaging educational activities.
The Our Roads, Our Safety Week campaign comes just one week before another educational-outreach event with more at stake short-term for working CDL drivers in the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's Roadcheck inspection blitz. The focus this year: drug and alcohol possession and effective tractor protection systems in the even of air loss.
I-95 back open in Connecticut after bridge demo, cleanup
If you missed Overdrive's update to last week's news of a fiery crash in Connecticut that effectively closed both northbound and southbound I-95 indefinitely, there's good news there for haulers along the Northeast corridor.
The major interstate is back fully open as of Sunday morning, May 5, the Connecticut Department of Transportation reported. Connecticut DOT and contractors restored access to that section of I-95 in Norwalk in fewer than 80 hours. Work involved demolishing the Fairfield Avenue Bridge over I-95 because of significant damage sustained from the fiery collision, removing tons of concrete, steel, and debris from the roadway; sweeping the road; milling; paving; and restriping pavement markings.
“It takes a village," said Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, "and from the response from local and state police and fire departments to the environmental cleanup by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the demolition and rebuilding by the Connecticut Department of Transportation and contractors, everyone did their part. I am impressed by these efforts and thankful for the dedication, skill, and labor of everyone who has been involved.”
CTDOT crews' work continues as the agency plans how and when the Fairfield Avenue Bridge will be replaced. While crews were working to reopen I-95, CTDOT engineers worked through the weekend to develop preliminary replacement plans of the Fairfield Avenue Bridge. Those initial designs are expected to be completed within the next two weeks, CTDOT said, and the public is encouraged to continue using CTroads.org for traffic alerts and roadway updates throughout Connecticut.
[Related: I-95 in Connecticut closed for a 'significant period' following fuel truck explosion]
