E-M:/ Teamster say container truck chasis are unsafe--One more reason to oppose the DIFT

[Frank Ambrose <snakeman1549@yahoo.com>]

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Enviro-Mich message from Frank Ambrose <snakeman1549@yahoo.com>
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One more reason that the DIFT should be cancelled and
southwest detroit spared from these container
companies.

http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw89916_20031220.htm

Container chassis unsafe, union says
Teamsters push inspection measure in Congress

By Jeff Plungis / Detroit News Washington Bureau
David Guralnick / The Detroit News

WASHINGTON — Mike Cicchetti hauls cargo containers for
a living. But if he’s with his family on the highway,
he tries not to drive behind a container truck. 
Cicchetti is one of a growing number of truck drivers
and companies in the shipping business who say the
chassis that carry cargo containers have become a
serious safety hazard.

snip

Cicchetti, 48, of Detroit said he pulls six or seven
containers a day to various Michigan destinations. He
often finds mechanical problems on as many as three
chassis. 
He said he has had wheels fall off on the road, brakes
that screech when metal meets metal because the pads
have worn down and electrical fires. 
"I wouldn’t want to be in my car with my kids riding
behind a truck with one of these chassis," Cicchetti
said. 
Fifteen people have died in three separate accidents
[across the country] involving trucks hauling
containers since Oct. 1. 

snip

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