Trucks Are Getting More Dangerous And Drivers Are Falling Asleep At The Wheel. Thank Congress.

WASHINGTON — Illinois State Trooper Douglas Balder sat in his squad car, its red and blue lights strobing into the frozen night of Jan. 27, 2014. He was about to be set on fire.

Balder had stopped to assist a Chicago-bound big rig that had stalled out in the rightmost lane of the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway. A heavy-duty tow truck and a bright yellow Tollway assistance vehicle were also pulled over, attending to the stranded semi.

Still-stalled trucks program raises questions about Defence department’s procurement system

The Conservative government’s program to buy new trucks for the army, originally announced in 2006 but stalled ever since, is being rebooted but federal officials are at a loss to say when such vehicles may be delivered.

Public Works asked truck companies Friday to meet in Ottawa in mid-January so they can have consultations over how to best move ahead on the multi-million dollar purchase.