Cargo thefts shift into high gear

Few would pause to consider the contents of two orange aluminum tractor trailers rumbling along the 380-kilometre stretch of highway from Sudbury to Toronto. Inside, the six-metre long containers appeared to be lined with dirt.

But to the organized bandits who hijacked the truck in July, 2007, it was 40 tonnes of nickel sinter, a metal used in the making of such things as electrodes for fuel cells, and worth $2-million.

The truck driver was found bound and gagged in the back of a car in a commuter parking lot near Guelph. Police located the containers without a trace of powder and the tractor was burned out on the side of a road. The case remains unsolved.

Cargo thieves will take anything — a load of bubblegum, chicken beaks and feet, wedding dresses. Last weekend, someone stole a tractor trailer full of eggs from a Mississauga yard. The empty truck was recovered in Scarborough yesterday.  More HERE

What IS the street value of a truckload of chicken beaks????

On a more serious note, because this is such a serious subject, the trucking industry has changed dramatically over the years and the highways are a very dangerous place to work and live.  Not long ago, we posted an original piece, Firearms and Big Trucks – Myth Busted.  The above article only furthers my point – drivers in the US should be able to carry a legally owned and registered firearm for protection. 

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Ray LaHood sworn in as secretary of transportation

1/23/2009

WASHINGTON — Ray H. LaHood was sworn in as Secretary of Transportation Friday, just one day after being unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate.  

The ceremony was small, attended by his wife Kathy and son Sam.  

Also present were fellow Illinoisan Sen. Richard J. Durbin, assistant majority leader and a small audience of LaHood’s new staff and members of the Department of Transportation transition team.  More from The Trucker

The appointment has one of the few bright spots in the new administration.  The Trucker article states:

Rep. Byron Dorgan, D.-N.D., made it clear during the committee confirmation hearing Jan. 21 that he expects LaHood, a Republican, to kill the Cross Border Demonstration Project within two months.

Let’s hope LaHood makes good on that projection and kills the Mexican truck pilot program. 

Ode to Juan and Moe – cowritten by ATAW commander-and-chief, Mark R. Taylor, performed by Truck It Records’ (and ATAW favorite recording artist), Joey Holiday.

AMERICANS LET THE CRISIS HAPPEN

Common sense from Glenn Beck…