Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/723417
26 | Overdrive | September 2016 Logbook P O W E R E D B Y P P G I N D U S T R I E S On the road again. TruckShopLocator.com Trucker wins $200K from carrier over refusal-to-drive firing A truck operator for tank hauling carrier Neier Inc. was awarded nearly $200,000 in back pay, punitive and compensatory damages and attorney's fees after the company fired him in 2013 for refusing to accept a load the trucker said would have put him in vio- lation of federal hours of service limits. Neier also was ordered to reinstate the driver, Michael Butler, in the July 29 decision made by an administrative law judge for the U.S. Department of Labor, who found the company in violation of laws protecting truck drivers from retaliation by their carrier employer for refusing loads that would put them sideways with federal safety regulations. The Surface Transportation Assistance Act bars carriers from firing drivers or punishing them by not giving them loads for refusing to drive in violation of safety regulations, in adverse weather or when they feel too sick to operate. Neier is a 75-truck fleet based in Indianapolis. – James Jaillet SOME CDL HOLDERS under 21, now restricted to intrastate driving, soon will be able to operate across state lines if they have military experience driving large vehi- cles. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last month proposed a pilot program that sets up a three-year testing period for younger truckers. The agency was seeking public comment for 30 days before launching the program. PETERBILT'S 567 and 579 models now are available with Bendix Wingman Fusion, an advanced driver assistance safety system that includes lane departure warning, enhanced collision mitigation and in-lane object recognition technologies. Also, Hendrickson's Softek NXT integrated monoleaf suspension and steer axle system now is available on Peterbilt's 567 and 579 set-forward-axle models. A CAMPAIGN launched last month by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, "Our Roads, Our Responsibility," is aimed at raising public awareness of how to drive around large trucks and buses.