Posts Tagged ‘police’
Thursday, December 29th, 2011
Just days before Christmas when everyone is rushing to the stores to load up on everything they need for their traditional Christmas dinner, thieves stole a trailer loaded with several thousands of dollars worth the meats and vegetables.
The truck, which was parked behind a HoneyBaked Ham store in Cordova, TN, was filled with 1,017 hams worth $56,000, 42 boxes of turkeys worth $15,000, and $57,000 worth of side dishes (which included potatoes, casseroles and cinnamon apples), according to WMCTV.com.
Somewhere between the times of 11:15 p.m. on Dec. 20th (when the trailer was last seen) and 6:15 a.m. on Dec. 21st, the truck was stolen.
After sending out an alert for police to stay on watch for the tractor trailer, Memphis police recovered the abandoned truck two days later, the exact location not released, however, three quarters of the cargo was taken, WMCTV explains.
Although a quarter of the cargo was recovered, the high risk of contamination is enough to keep the products off the market. As HoneyBaked Ham’s Robin Blanton stated, “Because the product has been out of our control for the period of time, we of course are not able to sell it. Because of food safety issues, we’re not able to donate the product as well. We’ll just have to destroy the product” (http://www.wmctv.com/story/16390097/truck-stolen-from-cordova-honeybaked-ham-recovered).
This is the unfortunate case most of the time, especially when transporting refrigerated/frozen goods, such as meat, which can become contaminated and lead to widespread health concerns when transported under improper temperature conditions and ingested by consumers. Not knowing how long the trailer failed to maintain a proper temperature or who tampered with the product, companies are forced to discard their products, losing money.
Road Scholar Transport, however, can help. We apply a product known as ReeferTrak to all of our refrigerated trailers, which allows our staff to carefully monitor the temperature within the trailer (and your freight), alerting us of any change in degree. This system allows you, the customer, the ability to see the temperature of your freight, as well as its location, at any given time, with accessibility months after delivery so you don’t have to deal with the problem of disposing your freight due to contamination concerns.
Thieves will have an incredibly tough time making away with one of Road Scholar’s brightly colored awareness trucks which are tracked live, delivering its precise location as well as location history, so you not only know where your freight is but where it has been.
With electronic door monitoring alerting of every door opening/closing, our team will constantly be on guard of any irregular activity. Not to mention Navalock capability which is bolt cutter, sledgehammer, and chisel proof to prevent the tampering of your freight.
Visit Road Scholar’s University page at www.roadscholar.com where you will learn about cargo security from Walt Beadling, Managing Partner at the Cargo Security Alliance, and Jim Barrett, President of Road Scholar Transport, and how Road Scholar is taking measures to keep your freight secure.
What do you think of Road Scholar’s ReeferTrak system? List your comments below.
Tags: awareness trucks, bolt cutter, cargo, Cargo Security Alliance, christmas, Cordova, electronic door monitoring, freight, frozen goods, HoneyBaked Ham, meat, navalock, police, ReeferTrak, refrigerated goods, road scholar transport, security measures, stolen truck, thieves, TN, tractor-trailer, Walk Beadling
Posted in Awareness Campaign Articles, LTL freight, Services, Trucking Industry News | Comments Off
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011
It’s not just copper but metal in general that has become a popular target among thieves lately, with a current spike in reported activity.
Not only are companies noticing unfamiliar trucks loaded with their metal on their property, but farmers are taking a hit as well with thieves stealing metal wires from irrigation pipes, preventing farmers from tending to their crops, an article on StatesmanJournal.com notes.
Improper irrigation can lead to the destruction of crops, which in return affects the farmer’s source of income, possibly leading the farmer to shut down his farm.
This is why it is important to take preventative measures to drastically lower your chances of a theft.
Officer Mark Jantz of the Salem Police Force recommends the following tips (provided by http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20110517/NEWS/105170339/As-copper-theft-rises-companies-try-fight-back?odyssey=nav|head):
-“ Increasing the lighting around a business property, installing as many surveillance cameras as possible on the property, and having fencing that allows police to look onto the property.” Road Scholar Transport has just that with a digital surveillance system of our entire property that is monitored 24/7, protecting our trucks and your freight from intruders.
- “Sign up for the police department’s Security Survey Program, a service that lets police check whether the business property meets crime-prevention standards.”
-“Participate in the police department’s Trespass Letter of Consent, a document that gives police permission — without the need to contact the business owner — to go onto the property and arrest or order people to get off the premises.”
Oregon also possesses a law stating that “anyone transporting and selling metals must have a Metal Transport Certificate” and that “businesses that buy copper wiring, such as recyclers, must take a picture of the metal, make a copy the seller’s driver’s license and keep records for purchases of nonferrous metals — excluding aluminum cans — for one year” (http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20110517/NEWS/105170339/As-copper-theft-rises-companies-try-fight-back?odyssey=nav|head).
The above steps are suggestions on what companies should do to prevent theft…now this is what Road Scholar is currently doing…
-Provide satellite and reefer tracking for live monitoring of your freight down to the street level. You’ll always know where your freight is and who has it.
-Qualcomm distress/panic messaging allows disablement of the vehicle to prevent your cargo from taking off with the wrong person(s).
-Navlock, bolts, and seals protecting the contents of your freight.
-Background/drug checks and online driver verification to ensure that only the safest drivers are transporting your freight.
-Brightly colored awareness trucks that make our trucks easily recognizable and harder to steal.
And that’s not all. Road Scholar is constantly improving our security features to have only the most innovative and resourceful tools accompanying your freight. Visit www.roadscholar.com to learn more.
How important do you feel it is to choose a carrier that applies the latest technology on their trucks?
Tags: awareness program, awareness trucks, background check, bolts, cargo, carrier, copper, crops, drug check, farmers, freight, irrigation, Mark Jantz, metal, Metal Transport Certificate, navalock, police, Qualcomm, reefer tracking, road scholar transport, Salem, satellite tracking, seals, security features, Security Survey Program, surveillance system, theft, thieves, tractor-trailer, Trespass Letter of Consent, trucks
Posted in Awareness Campaign Articles, LTL freight, Services, Trucking Industry News | Comments Off
Thursday, April 14th, 2011
“Do you know where your freight is, because I don’t?”
Unfortunately, that’s a question that many shippers hear from carriers when asking why their shipment wasn’t delivered.
Take last Saturday when a tractor trailer in Middlesex Township, PA was stolen from a truck stop. The trailer, license plate PT2916R, was carrying over 44,000 pounds of copper plates valued at over $200,000, an article in Beaver County Times notes.
Police eventually recovered the tractor at a local hotel where a man was said to have dropped it off before darting on foot towards Interstate 81 and jumping in a minivan that was waiting for him, the article explains.
So where is the trailer? Police still do not know….and neither does the carrier.
That is the case with many carriers who only have tracking devices on the tractor, if at all.
Road Scholar Transport, on the other hand, is not like other carriers. We would have found both the tractor and trailer within minutes and here’s why.
Road Scholar’s tractors are equipped with Qualcomm which provides:
-Panic buttons with vehicle disabling systems to remotely prevent the operation of a vehicle
-Full fleet visibility via computer as well as two 50-inch screens constantly monitored in headquarters
-Digital communication to and from drivers
-The ability to track the movement of a power unit from startup to shutdown as well as its history
-Ability to “ping” a specific power unit for details on its location, which can be updated as frequently as every minute
Not only does Road Scholar have tracking and security devices on its power units, but trailers, and your freight, as well.
Road Scholar allows access of its ShowMe tracking feature to customers, which allow individuals, via computer or mobile phone, to track and receive status updates and precise locations on their shipments.
If that’s not enough, Road Scholar has roof tracking decals on their trailers and with our colorful awareness trucks, it becomes very easy to pinpoint one of our trucks, and more importantly, harder to steal without going unnoticed.
All of our trailers also contain break locks in which once a key is dislodged, the trailer cannot be moved since the air brakes are locked up, protecting the trailer from being stolen.
But what about your freight?
With electronic door monitoring alerting of every door opening/closing, our team will be constantly on guard of any irregular activity. Not to mention Navalock capability which is bolt cutter, sledgehammer, and chisel proof to prevent the tampering of your freight.
What does all this mean? Simply put, when your LTL and truckload freight is onboard a Road Scholar truck, you will not have to worry about receiving a call from someone that says, “I’m sorry, but we don’t know where your freight is.”
How important is it for you to know where your freight is at any given moment?
Tags: awareness truck, bolt cutter, carrier, chisel proof, computer, electronic door monitoring, fleet visibility, freight, hotel, Interstate 81, LTL freight, Middlesex Township, minivan, mobile phone, monitors, navalock, pa, police, power unit, Qualcomm, road scholar transport, satellite tracking, shipment, shipper, sledgehammer, tractor, trailer, truckload freight
Posted in LTL freight, Services, Trucking Industry News | Comments Off
Thursday, March 24th, 2011
(Information provided by the Find Marizela website-http://findmarizela.com/)
Earlier this month, 18-year-old University of Washington student Marizela Perez went missing and police need your help in finding her.
Marizela was last seen on March 5th between the hours of 2-3 p.m. at the Safeway store on Brooklyn Ave. in Seattle’s University District, where surveillance videos captured her leaving the store carrying a Starbucks coffee mug in her hand and wearing a denim drawstring backpack with a rainbow butterfly screen print.
Marizela could possibly be headed to the Sound Link Light Rail stations, Downtown/Chinatown areas, UW Seattle campus, or U-district.
Although a private investigator has been assigned to the case, there are still no leads or developments as of yet. If anyone sees Marizela or has any information on her whereabouts, they are asked to call 911, the Seattle Police District Missing Persons Bureau (206-684-5582), or Marizela’s father Edgar at 609-646-0905 immediately.
At first Edgar believed he had a lead on his daughter when he saw that she had signed into her AOL account on March 16th. Upon further investigation, however, it was found that she had been signed on since the date of her disappearance and never logged off.
Marizela’s family is worried about her health and safety, stating that Marizela is on anti-depressants, and therefore, it is very important that they find her immediately.
The website gives the following description of Marizela:
-Asian female
-5’5”
-110 lbs
-Asymmetrical bob with short bangs and brown/red highlights hairstyle
-Tattoo on left inner arm with the words “lahat ay magiging maayos” (“all will be well”)
-Last seen wearing a dark jacket with hood over a light color sweater with hood, denim jeans, light brown suede laced boots
-Possibly wearing green eye contacts
For those that want to donate to the Find Marizela fund, they can do so online at http://findmarizela.com/donations/ or via check made payable to FASA sa UW with “Marizela Perez” written on the memo line and mailed to:
Ethnic Cultural Center
care of FASA
Condon Hall, 7th Floor
1100 NE Campus Pkwy, Box 35560
Seattle, WA 98195
“We remain hopeful and we will not rest until we find Marizela,” her family notes.
Road Scholar Transport’s drivers will continue to keep an eye out for Marizela’s whereabouts and urge others to do the same and we hope for the safe return of Marizela soon.
Tags: anti-depressants, Brooklyn, Chinatown, district, driver, Edgar Perez, Ethnic Cultural Center, lahat ay magiging maayos, Marizela Perez, missing girl, police, private investigator, road scholar transport, Safeway, Seattle, Sound Link Light Rail station, Starbucks, tattoo, U-district, University, University of Washington, UW Seattle campus
Posted in Awareness Campaign Articles | Comments Off
Thursday, March 17th, 2011
We hear about it all time. Unsafe drivers causing accidents on the road, resulting in damaged cargo and spills, fatalities and injuries, violations, and smuggling crimes. Isn’t it about time you pay more attention to who is handling your trucks and freight?
Let’s take a look at two cases from the past week…
You’ve heard of it raining cats and dogs but what about chickens? That’s what happened Wednesday morning when an unsafe driver spilled his load of frozen chicken across Ga. 369.
Robert Eason was driving for Hunt & Sons, based in Alabama, when his truck “left the road,” causing Eason to quickly swerve the tractor trailer back onto the highway, resulting in the truck flipping over, ajc.com notes.
There could be a number of reasons why Eason’s vehicle exited the road. The driver could have been tired or distracted, perhaps reaching for something that caused the steering wheel to turn and the truck to leave the road, all of which demonstrate unsafe driving practices that could have turned into a larger accident. Police cited Eason with “failure to maintain lane,” the site notes.
Not only did the road need to be closed for over six hours so that the spill could be cleaned, along with the damage done to the tractor trailer, costing the carrier money, but the shipper loses out as well, for now their shipment has been contaminated and deemed useless, leading to one dissatisfied customer who was about to receive the cargo.
Then again, how often does a load of chickens get spilled on a highway right? Wrong! According to the site, this was the second chicken spill in north Georgia in a week!
Not only did your driver cost your company money in damages and potentially lose a customer, but the event draws attention to your company’s name as well and the last thing any company wants is a bad reputation.
Now let’s look at a California trucking company, the name yet to be released, whose driver (Armando Guzman) and co-driver (Javier Cruz) were pulled over last Saturday for a series of violations, including “following too closely to mile marker 306” and inconsistent log books, herald-citizen.com notes. But what police discovered turned out to be the biggest violation of all…
The drivers consented to the trooper’s request to have the trailer searched and a trained dog uncovered several duct-taped bundles of money totaling $4,078,713, “hidden inside sealed cases of bottled water,” in what turns out to have been a drug-trafficking scheme (http://www.herald-citizen.com/view/full_story/12376480/article-Breaking-news—4-million-in-cash-seized-from-alleged-drug-trafficking-case?instance=homefirstleft).
The drivers are now being charged and the tractor trailer was seized by authorities.
This case demonstrates the importance of background checks on all drivers, one of the reasons why Road Scholar Transport not only performs checks on all new hires, but conducts regular checks on drivers as well. Shippers can also easily verify a driver’s verification online at www.roadscholar.com, so you know that your cargo is in safe hands.
Imagine your freight being used as a decoy in a scheme? Your cargo could easily be tampered with during transport, which is why it is important to choose a carrier with advanced security features like Road Scholar.
With satellite tracking capabilities, Road Scholar monitors a driver’s progress and notes of any off route stops, keeping in contact with the driver at all times. With electronic door monitoring capabilities, Road Scholar is able to pinpoint every time a driver opened or closed the trailer door which, in the case above, the drivers would have needed to reopen the door to stash the money.
On a scale of 1-5, how confident are you in your drivers?
Tags: Alabama, Armando Guzman, background check, california, cargo, driver, drug trafficking, electronic door monitoring, freight, frozen chicken, Ga. 369, Georgia, Hunt & Sons, Javier Cruz, log books, money bundles, police, road scholar transport, Robert Eason, smuggling, spill, tractor-trailer, trailer, truck, trucking company
Posted in Services, Trucking Industry News | Comments Off
Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
The search continues for a missing driver who was supposed to make a delivery on Monday, January 31st.
Marty Davis
Marty Davis, 37, parked his tractor trailer Sunday night at a movie theater parking lot, where he told a friend he was going and afterwards taking a rest before he had to make a deliver on Monday in Memphis, an article in commercialappeal.com notes. But Davis never showed up for the delivery. In fact, no one knew where he was.
Come Tuesday, the contracting company Davis was working for reported him missing, leading police to conduct a search. If it was a Road Scholar tractor trailer, police would instantly know where the truck was via satellite tracking and with Qualcomm and Nextel Direct Connect, it would not take a whole day to report one of our drivers missing.
Instead, it took police all day to track down the tractor trailer, which was found later that evening in the parking lot of the Hollywood Cinema movie theater.
But where was Davis? Police have yet to find out but claim that Davis does have a heart condition that may come into play.
Know where your driver is at all times by shipping with Road Scholar Transport. Call 800-542-2301 or visit www.roadscholar.com today.
Tags: abandoned, delivery, driver missing, Hollywood Cinema, Marty Davis, Memphis, Monday, movie theater, Nextel Direct Connect, police, Qualcomm, road scholar transport, satellite tracking, shipping, Sunday, tractor-trailer, trucking company, Tuesday
Posted in Trucking Industry News | Comments Off
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
That’s what police found out when they investigated a call regarding a theft over the weekend.
Dale Edward Turner
According to reports, Dale Edward Turner, terminal manager at Navajo Trucking Company in Jackson, TN, reported a robbery of 19,000 cases of Van de Kamp’s Fish Sticks from a trailer at their facility. The company was unsure of exactly when these fish sticks were stolen, but claim that it was somewhere between last Friday (Jan. 21st) and Monday (Jan. 24th).
If the company had surveillance of their facility and electronic door monitoring like Road Scholar Transport does, they would have known the exact time the doors on the trailer were opened and closed as well as footage of the robbery.
A public health alert was issued for the fish sticks since the product was scheduled to be destroyed on Monday due to being left unrefrigerated for several hours. Improper storing conditions can lead to possible contamination, which is why it is important to transport your freight with the proper equipment. Road Scholar offers vans, heaters, freezers, and reefers, so you won’t be yelling “Tartar sauce!” the next time your freight was ruined during transport.
Further investigation of the case showed that Turner had, in fact, filed a false report.
1. It was not 19,000 cases of fish sticks; it was 2,016 cases of fish filets that were taken.
And
2. They were not stolen but instead given to Navajo Trucking employees by their management staff.
Turner is now being held on a $1,000 bond with further actions to be arranged.
Tags: Dale Edward Turner, electronic door monitoring, fish filets, fish sticks, freezers, freight, heaters, investigation, Jackson, Navajo Trucking Company, police, public health alert, reefers, road scholar transport, surveillance, tartar sauce, terminal manager, theft, TN, trucking company, Van de Kamp, Van de Kamp’s fish sticks, vans
Posted in Services, Trucking Industry News | Comments Off
Tuesday, January 11th, 2011
While everyone was decking the halls at Christmas time, police were busy investigating a “hit and run,” but not quite 
the hit and run that you think.
According to reports, on December 23rd a truck was traveling on I-10 East Freeway when a tractor trailer driving in front of him failed to secure their cargo properly, causing a 31-inch-long steel pipe to roll off the tractor trailer, bouncing off the ground and into the windshield of the following truck (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7374591.html).
Instead of stopping to help the victim, who ended up suffering a broken arm, the driver kept going, never reporting the accident, and meanwhile, leaving the shipper’s cargo behind.
This would never happen with a Road Scholar Transport truck. We secure all loads properly and only put safe/responsible drivers on the road, which is why Road Scholar has a 0.0005% damage claims ratio.
As chron.com notes, the victim followed the tractor trailer until he could no longer deal with the pain and had to stop and get help.
Crime Stoppers now seek your help regarding any information leading up to the arrest of the driver, offering a $5,000 reward.
Tags: 31-inch-long steel pipe, accident, cargo, christmas, Crime Watchers, damage claims, driver, hit and run, I-10 East Freeway, insecure load, police, reward, road scholar transport, shipper, tractor-trailer, truck, trucker identity, victim
Posted in Company News | Comments Off
Thursday, December 30th, 2010
A PetSmart Store in Greeley, Colorado had no idea that the truck driver delivering their freight would be armed and 
dangerous just minutes afterwards.
Scott Walker was employed as a driver for Michael Most Trucking in Phoenix, Arizona. But as of Tuesday, Walker went from “behind the wheel” to “behind prison bars.”
According to www.denverpost.com, Walker left the PetSmart store around 10:11 Tuesday morning and drove his truck to another street eight minutes away, abandoning the vehicle. Luckily, the truck was equipped with a tracking device, similar to the satellite tracking that all of Road Scholar Transport’s tractor trailers contain, allowing for the trucking company to quickly identify where their truck was and alert the police.
One witness remarks noticing the semi truck’s door being open (which Road Scholar also has the ability to identify every time a door is opened or closed), only to realize that Walker had exited the truck, waving a gun at cars and pedestrians around him.
Walker proceeded to force people to turn their vehicles over to him, and when that didn’t work, he entered a house where he temporarily held a man, Max Morgan, hostage, telling him that he needed “to be flown away from the home in a helicopter.”
According to the article, Morgan called the police and Walker escaped in a Comcast truck he had confiscated, firing at and missing a police officer in the process, only to crash into a steel fence nearby.
Walker surrendered and is being held on $2 million dollars bail, being charged with “11 felony counts, including attempted first-degree murder of a police officer; two counts of burglary, six counts of felony menacing, armed robbery and attempted armed robbery” (http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_16967284).
Another good reason why Road Scholar Transport background checks all of its drivers!
Tags: Arizona, armed robbery, background check, bail, burglary, Colorado, Comcast, delivery, driver, felony mincing, first-degree murder, Greeley, gun, hostage, Max Morgan, Michael most Trucking, PetSmart, Phoenix, police, road scholar transport, satellite tracking, Scott Walker, semi truck, tractor-trailer
Posted in Services, Trucking Industry News | Comments Off
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010
Last Friday, Maine state police pulled over a tractor trailer with Texas plates traveling south on the turnpike for a routine inspection. What they found was not your everyday cargo but over $1 million dollars rolled up in the back of the truck.
Talk about a full truckload.
According to the Sun Journal, police found “five gallon pails lined with pink bags and stuffed with bills of varying denominations” (http://www.sunjournal.com/arrests/story/904654).
As the site notes, police arrested driver Jhon Rivera-Ramirez, who was charged with falsifying his logbook and later was released on bail. The passenger, Jose Javier Perez, was not charged.
An investigation is still underway.
You can bet that Road Scholar Transport will never be caught smuggling cash across the
nation. We provide less-than-truckload and truckload services for all your legit cargo needs and with security features such as Qualcomm and Skybitz, you can guarantee that your freight is protected. We have nothing to hide, that’s why customers can track where their cargo is exactly when they want to know it. Learn more about our services at www.roadscholar.com.
Tags: cargo, dollars, freight, Maine, million, money, police, road, scholar, transport, truck, trucking
Posted in Services, Trucking Industry News | Comments Off
