The annual Oklahoma Truck Driving Championships were held June 3-4. The TDC had a great turnout and here are the results: Straight Truck: 1st: Jack Patton – Yellow 2nd: Stephen English – Con-Way 3rd: Robert Redding – ABF

Three-Axle Van: 1st: Gordon Greening – UPS 2nd: Bill Thornton – Con-Way 3rd: Joe Conner- Overnite

Four-Axle Van: 1st: James Heil – UPS 2nd: Alvin Sims III – Con-Way 3rd: Robert Hargrove – Fed Ex Freight East

Five-Axle Van: 1st: Michael Clark – Fed Ex Express 2nd: Ted Hunter- Yellow 3rd: Gary Redburn – Fed Ex Express

Five-Axle Flatbed: 1st: Marcum Berry – Con-Way 2nd: Thomas Koch – Roadway Express 3rd: Ron Blair – Advance Food

Five-Axle Tank: 1st: Randy Woolman – Sinclair 2nd: John Hunter – Sinclair 3rd: John Hill – OTL/UPT

Twin Trailers: 1st: Robert Akers – Overnite 2nd: Terry Russell – Con-Way 3rd: Verl Byrd – ABF

Five-Axle Sleeper Berth: 1st: Randy Gregory – Roadway Express 2nd: Robert Hall – Con-Way 3rd: Jerry Fowler – Groendyke

Pre-Trip Inspection Award: Joe Connor – Overnite

Rookie Awards: 1st and C.Dewayne Sleeper Award for Rookie of the Year: John Hill – OTL/UPT 2nd: Randy Reed – Fed Ex Express 3rd: Mark Cress – Yellow

Team Awards: 1st: Con-Way 2nd: Yellow 3rd: ABF

GRAND CHAMPION: Jack Patton – Yellow

The Oklahoma Trucking Association’s Technology & Maintenance Council was pleased to hold the first annual Technicians Skills Championship this year. This event gave truck technicians the opportunity to show off their skill with a written test and hands-on test. The Skills Stations were: Electronic/electrical Transmission • Brakes • Safety Lane • Clutch & Driveline Air Conditioning • Failure Analysis •Engine Diagnoses DDA, Cummins. The winners were: 1st: Mike Gaston - City of Oklahoma City 2nd: Bill Bernath - Blumenthal Companies 3rd: John Blagg - Blumenthal Companies

The Transportation Department funding measure Henry signed into law this week means an added $17.5 million next fiscal year for the state Transportation Department. Road and bridge maintenance will receive $15 million, while the Heartland Flyer will gain $2 million and $500,000 will go toward public transit. A group supporting efforts to increase state fuel taxes to 22 cents a gallon say the legislation is inadequate. Oklahomans for Safe Bridges and Roads is supporting a fuel tax proposal (SQ 723) that eventually would raise $344 million a year in 2008. It will be decided Sept. 13 by voters. It also includes a "lockbox" provision to keep future legislatures from diverting the money for roads and bridges to other purposes. Supporters of HB 1078, including OTA, said the legislation also contains a lockbox provision, but critics say that provision, unlike the one sought in the September election, is statutory and not constitutional, which means lawmakers can change it anytime. According to the measure, contributions will be increased annually by either $17 million or $35 million during the next decade until the $170 million annual level is reached. It requires the contributions increase by $35 million the following year if annual revenue growth exceeds 3 percent. Otherwise, the appropriation increases $17 million. It takes effect July 1, the start of the 2005-2006 fiscal year.

Gov. Brad Henry signed into law a workers’ compensation reform bill last Monday that has been endorsed by the state’s business community. Henry had been in Lawton for a meeting with officials at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., where he said Goodyear’s chairman and chief executive officer, Robert J. Keegan, told him his company had reviewed the reform package and considered it a model for the nation. Legislators in a special session last week approved the workers’ compensation reform measure, but a parliamentary mix-up prevented Henry from signing the bill until Monday. The measure takes effect immediately. “By approving this reform package, we send a signal nationwide that Oklahoma is a state on the move,” Henry said Monday. “It will make Oklahoma’s already-positive business climate even more conducive to economic growth and job creation.” The measure was the result of a bipartisan agreement by Henry, Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan, D-Stillwater, and House Speaker Todd Hiett, R-Kellyville. The accord was reached May 27, the last day of the regular session. Legislators didn’t have enough time to act and Henry called a special session. The measure is designed to improve the workers’ compensation system, a program in which employers buy insurance for on-the-job injuries. Some said Oklahoma’s system is too costly and hurts the state’s ability to recruit businesses. The law is expected to save businesses up to $120 million a year by, among other things, eliminating dueling doctors, addressing rising medical costs, encouraging settlement of claims, promoting competition among insurers and decreasing litigation, supporters say, The Oklahoma reported. The law gives the employer the first choice of a physician, but an employee would have the right to request an independent doctor. If no agreement can be reached, a workers’ compensation judge would appoint a doctor from a list developed by the court.

The first meeting of House and Senate conferees negotiating the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill (H.R. 3) was scheduled for last Thursday. In advance of the meeting, Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta sent a letter to conferees on Tuesday, June 7, criticizing offsets used in the Senate version of the bill to increase the overall funding level to $295 billion and, once again, pledging a veto by President Bush if the legislation emerges in an amount more than $284 billion. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) believes conferees should write a report at $284 billion and if lawmakers come up with additional money that the President agrees with the matter could be dealt with at that time. The Senate passed its highway bill on May 17 following House of Representatives passage of a highway bill in March. Debate in the House-Senate Conference is where differences between the two bills must be resolved. The most contentious issue revolves around total funding levels. The President earlier approved a seventh extension of the current highway bill which gives conferees until June 30 to finalize a new bill.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration yesterday issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to amend its Final Rule concerning protection against shifting and falling cargo for commercial motor vehicles engaged in interstate commerce. The proposal was issued in response to petitions for rulemaking from ATA, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, and a number of industry trade groups who had concerns with the Final Rule that went into effect on January 1, 2004. ATA petitioned for changes on June 9, 2004, and all three were agreed to by FMCSA in the latest NPRM. These involve acceleration thresholds, the requirement for securement devices to be located inboard of rub rails, and unclear language regarding securement of dressed lumber. For more information, members may contact David Nguyen at 703-838-1970 or dnguyen@trucking.org.