New Congress reintroduces concealed-carry gun legislation

U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-North Carolina, has reintroduced legislation that would make it easier for truck drivers to carry concealed handguns across state lines.

Hudson’s proposal, called the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act (H.R. 38), dropped on Jan. 4 with 154 original co-sponsors, including three Democrats.

“Our Second Amendment rights do not disappear when we cross state lines, and H.R. 38 guarantees that,” Hudson said. “The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act is a commonsense solution to...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/new-congress-reintroduces-concealed-carry-gun-legislation

News Alert: Investigators charge trucker who drove through protesters on I-35

Investigators charge truck driver with two criminal charges

Investigators announced Thursday that they have filed two criminal charges against a truck driver, who was beaten and hospitalized, nearly five months after he was arrested for allegedly  driving into a large crowd of protesters on the Interstate 35 west bridge near Minneapolis on May 31.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman’s office stated that Bogdan Vechirko, 35, of Otsego, Minnesota, was charged with threats of violence, a felony, and criminal vehicular operation, a gross misdemeanor.

His...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/news-alert-investigators-charge-trucker-who-drove-through-protesters-on-i-35

Police urge truckers to avoid Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago

A planned peaceful protest Saturday was expected to shut down part of the Dan Ryan Expressway, which includes portions of Interstates 90 and 94 in Chicago, with state police urging truckers to use alternative routes.

Organized by Black Lives Matter and other social justice groups, march participants were expected to meet at Robert Taylor Park near 47th and Federal streets at noon CT, hold a vigil and march up the expressway to 43rd Street, according to WGN-TV Chicago.

To avoid delays, the...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/police-urge-truckers-to-avoid-dan-ryan-expressway-in-chicago

FreightWaves 3PL Summit: How a FedEx exec stepped up amid racial unrest (with video)

Ramona Hood, the president and CEO of FedEx Custom Critical (left) with La Toya Palmer, manager director for legal and human resources, during the FreightWaves 3pl Summit

Ramona Hood, the president and CEO of FedEx Custom Critical, assembled her management team after protests erupted following George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis in police custody. The first priority: Communicate with the fleet. The second: Respond to the larger movement fighting racial and social injustice.

For Hood, it was deeply personal. In 2020, she became the first Black woman to lead a FedEx division, and she has two adult sons. 

“As an African-American mother, as a leader of a company that...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-3pl-summit:-how-a-fedex-executive-took-the-lead-amid-us-unrest-(with-video)

FMCSA: Drivers fearing for their safety can tap HOS exception

Drivers running into protests and other unexpected delays caused by civil unrest and who fear for their safety will not be considered in violation of hours-of-service regulations, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

In a July 9 tweet, the agency underscored an emergency exception – subsection 395.1 (b) within FMCSA regulations – that a driver can tap to complete a trip.

“After seeing incidents of threats against drivers, FMCSA wants drivers to know that they may...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/fmcsa-drivers-fearing-for-their-safety-can-tap-hos-exception

Protests ignite push to link CDL with concealed carry license

A trucking group formed to fight government overreach wants lawmakers to consider linking commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to concealed carry permits to help drivers feel safer as their jobs get more dangerous.

“We’re discussing how to get legislation introduced that would give active CDL holders an addendum permit to their license that would be connected to their concealed carry gun permit,” explained Ingrid Brown, who oversees safety education for the United States Transportation Alliance...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/protests-ignite-push-to-link-cdl-with-concealed-carry-license

For this white truck driver, supporting George Floyd protests came naturally

Cross-border truck driver Randy James Ulch in his in the cab of his semi-truck.

By his own account, truck driver Randy James Ulch seems an unlikely supporter for the protests following George Floyd’s killing by a Minneapolis police officer.

“I’m a bald white guy with a goatee — a little bit heavyset — and I drive a big truck.” Ulch told FreightWaves. “I kind of fit a certain stereotype.”

The stereotype of a white supremacist, according to Ulch. 

But Ulch is an unapologetic anti-racist. The 42-year-old has posted regularly to Facebook about the demonstrations, police...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/for-this-white-truck-driver-supporting-george-floyd-protests-came-naturally

Calling out racism in trucking

Michael Ware remembers driving from Oklahoma to northwest Arkansas nearly 16 years ago to apply for a truck driving job. 

In a phone conversation, the owner of the company seemed impressed by Ware’s seven years of experience hauling refrigerated freight, as well as his clean driving record. He invited Ware to come in for a formal interview.

However, once he arrived at the company’s headquarters, Ware said he was told there was no record of his interview on the schedule. He was also told the owner...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/calling-out-racism-in-trucking

Truckers on edge as civil unrest rages in major U.S. cities

Peaceful protests and civil unrest have erupted in nearly 140 cities in the U.S. over the last eight days since George Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Fears about public safety have left truckers who deliver freight in many of the affected areas on edge.

While it’s been 28 years since truck driver Reginald Denny was pulled from his truck cab and beaten during the 1992 Los Angeles riots following the acquittal of four police officers charged with using excessive force in...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/truckers-on-edge-as-civil-unrest-rages-in-major-us-cities

Possible protests spur some interstate exit closings, warnings of delivery delays

Businesses like the Love’s Travel Stop in South Holland, Illinois, shut down services to truck drivers in anticipation of potential protests in the Chicago area late Tuesday.

A truck driver who stopped in at Love’s wasn’t allowed to fuel up or come inside and was asked to return to their truck late Tuesday.

Richard Anderson, shift lead at the Love’s, confirmed that fuel pumps had been turned off and that he had been instructed not to let drivers inside except to use the bathroom one at a time.

“We...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/possible-protests-spur-some-interstate-exit-closings-warnings-of-delivery-delays

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