Consider This

Survey says drivers like cell phones, Subway

Atlas Van Lines announced the results of its annual survey of van operators. Of its 3,400 van operators, 99 percent use cell phones on the road, 62 percent use CB radio and 47 percent use a laptop computer. Some of the more interesting items they hauled included a hull piece from the RMS Titanic and Lucy, the T-Rex dinosaur.

Other survey highlights include:

• Interstate 70 in Colorado/Utah was voted the most scenic highway stretch in the United States, I-10 in Texas was voted the most boring, and I-80 in Ohio was voted the safest.

• Super 8, Best Western, Motel 6 and Holiday Inn topped the list of favorite hotel chains to stop for the night.

• Subway was the favorite fast food restaurant on the list, favored by 33 percent of drivers surveyed, following by Wendy’s(24 percent), Kentucky Fried Chicken (13 percent) and Taco Bell and Arby’s (both with 10 percent).

• When asked what they are most likely to have the radio tuned to while on the road, 47 percent said Satellite Radio, followed by Country (33 percent) and Classic 60s,70s and 80s (32 percent). (Exceeds 100 percent due to multiple responses.)

For complete survey results, visit this Web address: www.atlasworldgroup.com/survey.

Exec urges Congress to streamline security measures

A consolidated Transportation Worker Identification Credential program that requires one background check and one credential for truck drivers would advance port security and benefit commerce, a top trucking executive recently testified before Congress.

Speaking on behalf of the ATA before the House Committee on Small Business, Philip Byrd Sr., president and CEO of Bulldog Hiway Express, said that while the trucking industry supports TWIC’s security objective, the program should be modified to remove unnecessary burdens on trucking companies and to ensure intended security benefits.

Byrd, whose company hauls container freight in and out of seaports, urged the committee to return to TWIC’s “initial moorings” by implementing a single, coordinated, cost-effective process for screening transportation workers that would enhance security while minimizing unnecessary costs and procedures.

“The trucking industry understands that securing the nation’s supply chain involves costs,” said Byrd. “Motor carriers are more likely willing to bear the cost of one, not multiple background checks and security credentials.”

In recent years, multiple background checks that require applicants to appear at different enrollment facilities, adapt to different administrative procedures and pay steep user fees have been imposed on truck drivers under a variety of mandates.