SAVING MONEY
The soaring price of fuel is big news around the country, but it’s even bigger news where I live. I happen to reside near one of the nation’s largest trucking companies and as you can imagine the record breaking price of fuel is hitting the company where it hurts.
So hard, in fact, that Schneider National just announced that it is cutting the top speed for its 10,600 rigs to 60 mph. By doing so the company estimates it can save nearly 4 million gallons of fuel per year. Prior to this week’s announcement Schneider had restricted drivers to 63 mph.
And lest you think that that individual drivers are on an honor system for maintaining the new 60 mph speed limit, think again. Even if a Schneider driver wanted to go faster, he or she couldn’t floor it because the trucks are computer controlled.
So let that be a warning to the rest of you speed demons who are flying down the freeway at 80 mph. If you happen to get behind a big orange Schneider rig going 60, it’s not going to speed up anytime soon.
SAVING LIVES
Good news for travelers who use oxygen equipment on commercial airliners. This week federal regulators announced that they will expand protections for passengers with disabilities to cover international flights by U.S. carriers and make it easier for them to get the oxygen they need to survive.
According to the Transportation Department, airlines will now be required to let passengers use their own portable oxygen concentrators that are approved for use on aircraft. In addition, the department says it is also considering requiring commercial carriers to provide medical oxygen to passengers in case of emergencies.
The new policy comes less than three months after a woman died on an American Airlines flight from Haiti to New York. Medical officials say the female passenger died after initially being denied oxygen by the airline’s crew. American said its staff eventually tried to administer oxygen to the woman when she collapsed but by then it was too late.
The changes will go into effect in one year and will apply to all flights by U.S. carriers and to foreign airlines operating flights that begin or end in the United States.
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