Security & Safety Briefs — March 15 - March 21

This briefing can be e-mailed to you every week. Just click here to register.The Latest Headlines:

• Kentucky Eyes Higher Speed Limits
• Penske Has Trained 15,000 Drivers Under Highway Watch Program
• Colorado to Spend $1.2 Mln. for Truck ‘Chain-Up’ Spaces

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Kentucky Eyes Higher Speed Limits

The Kentucky Department of Transportation would be authorized to increase speed limits on interstate highways to 70 miles per hour from 65 mph under a proposal in the state legislature.The bill, introduced last month in the state Senate, originally allowed KDOT to raise speed limits on any interstate, but was amended by the state’s House of Representatives to restrict such increases to four-lane roadways.The bill also fixes speed limits at 65 mph on interstate highways with fewer than four lanes, 55 mph on “all other state highways” and 35 mph in business or residential districts. The amended measure now is awaiting final approval in the state Senate before being sent to Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R). Transport Topics

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Penske Has Trained 15,000 Drivers Under Highway Watch Program

Penske Truck Leasing and its Penske Logistics unit have focused their efforts on teaching anti-terrorism and safety measures through American Trucking Associations’ Highway Watch program, Penske said Monday.Penske Truck Leasing said it has trained more than 15,000 drivers under the program since 2005. Penske Logistics employees became certified to teach the program late last year, and training is currently under way, the company said.Penske Truck Leasing Co. is ranked No. 7 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of North American for-hire carriers. Transport Topics

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Colorado to Spend $1.2 Mln. for Truck ‘Chain-Up’ Spaces

The Colorado Motor Carrier Association said the state’s Transportation Department has pledged to provide $1.2 million to add more “chain-up” spaces for trucks along Interstate 70.CDOT requires that commercial vehicles be equipped with chains when roadways are covered by snow.While the $1.2 million does not “fully address the needs in this corridor,” it is a “good start” for improving safety for truck drivers who must pull over to attach snow chains when Colorado’s chain law is in effect, the trucking group said.CMCA said it had pushed for additional chain-up spaces along I-70 after the introduction of a bill in the state House of Representatives that would have raised fines to $1,000 from $500 for truckers whose failure to chain-up caused a road or lane closure.In February, the proposal to toughen the chain law stalled in the Transportation and Energy committee of the Colorado house, though a subsequent vote to kill the measure failed. Transport TopicsPrevious Security & Safety Briefs