TRUCK SAFETY

Trucking industry safety needs improvement

By Andrew Koubaridis @A_Koubaridis , Kieran Campbell @KieranCampbell , Gisborne Herald

8:08 AM Thursday May 30, 2013

Trucking industry groups accept more needs to be done to improve safety, after two fatal crashes in the eight days since a campaign was launched to reduce the number of people killed in truck accidents.

The two men killed in the accidents, at Kerikeri on Tuesday and on the East Coast last week, are the latest victims in an industry desperate to improve its safety record.

Both crashes were between two trucks.

First Union transport and logistics secretary Karl Andersen has called for an investigation into the cause of heavy vehicle accidents, saying many drivers are being put under pressure to drive for longer shifts.

Road Transport Forum chief executive Ken Shirley said the safety of the industry had drastically improved in the last 15 years but he admitted more needed to be done to crack down on the "three big causes" of crashes: speed, inattention and fatigue . . . .

Full story: NZHerald

Peter’s Piece

Mr Shirley’s statement appears calculated to pass the buck down the line to the people at the coal-face; the drivers on the road who dare not speak out in case they get their marching orders.

Driving a truck for many companies can be a case of my way, or the highway.

Mr Shirley’s statement should be compared with the interim results of Operation Austrans:

Since its launch on May 20:

• 1079 heavy vehicles stopped: 13 coaches and buses, 406 truck and trailer units, 47 articulated trucks, 234 B-Trains and 379 rigid trucks

• 866 roadside drug and alcohol tests, no offenders.

• 93 warnings to heavy vehicle operators

• 363 infringements, including speed (53), seat belts (11), maintenance/vehicle faults (90), dangerous goods offences (10), excess weight/loading issues (42).

These results show that maintenance and vehicle faults (90) was the most common infringement. That is the responsibility of the operator, but a common response from operators to drivers when asked to drive a vehicle that is sub-standard is, “If you’re a professional, you’ll be able to handle it.”

But a statement like that surely makes the operator very un-professional.

We hear a lot of rumor about drivers on drugs, but out of 866 roadside tests they found no offenders. That’s right. Not one in 866.

Dangerous goods and overloading offences are the responsibility of the operator. A driver with many companies will be told to carry the load he is given, or take a hike.

Operation Austrans also deserves some criticism. They have issued 363 infringement notices to drivers, but only 93 warnings to operators. Is that fair?

AMBASSADOR EATEN

A conversation with the ambassador

Last week I had a Facebook friend request from Terence P Mcculley and so I hovered the mouse over the name and found that Terence was at a university in Norway and there was his clean-cut, suited photo to authenticate him. With 47,000 readers following this blog, the request was not unusual so I confirmed him.

A few days later Terence P Mcculley popped up on Facebook for a chat. Here is the conversation:

Terence P. Mcculley Hello

Me Hi Terence. Where are you?

Terence P. Mcculley I am Ambassador to Federal Republic of Nigeria Do you by any means do business or transaction with Nigeria

Me Interesting. I get lots of emails? from there.

Terence P. Mcculley Ok I will like you to discard every email you receive Mr Lamido Sanusi Lamido Central Bank of Nigeria Governor

Me Oh, yes. Quickly. Nice talking with you.

Terence P. Mcculley Ok I have a package in your name to deliver to you The package is worth 10.8M USD in my possession

Me I'll collect it personally next time I'm in Nigeria.

Terence P. Mcculley I have all the document I will be coming to State Next weekend Cause I have a meeting with government

Terence P. Mcculley Hello are you still thereToday

Terence P. Mcculley Hello

Yesterday there was a missed call on my phone from 0023448057691564 and I immediately suspected Nigeria. The phone rang again this morning at 3.15 am, but I didn’t get out of bed quickly enough to take the call. It was from the same Nigerian number. There and then I decided to Google Terence P Mcculley and found that he really is the US Ambassador to Nigeria and that was from the official US Government website. His Facebook profile is a bit out of date. See below:

Ambassador Terence P. McCulley
U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria

Terence McCulley is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, with the rank of Minister-Counselor. He was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark from 2008-2010. Prior to this posting, he served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Mali from 2005-2008. From 2004-2005, he worked at the State Department in Washington, helping to coordinate reconstruction efforts in Iraq. He has been the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassies in Togo, Senegal, and Tunisia and also served as Consul in Mumbai, India.

Ambassador Terence P McCulley

Joining the Foreign Service in 1985, Mr. McCulley started his career in Niger, followed by assignments in South Africa and Chad. Returning to Washington in 1993, he worked for two years on Central African affairs. He is the recipient of four Department of State Superior Honor Awards.

Mr. McCulley was born in Medford, Oregon, and grew up in Eugene, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in European History and French Language and Literature from the University of Oregon. As a Rotary Foundation Graduate Fellow, he studied political science at the Université de Haute Bretagne in Rennes, France. In addition, he attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. McCulley is fluent in French.

Married to Renée McCulley, the couple has two sons.

But Google also told me that an imposter is using the ambassador’s identity and photo to scam people and below I have reproduced a conversation between the ‘Ambassador’ and ‘Ben Dover’ with some of Ben’s comments thrown in.  From Skunkfeathers Blog: http://skunkfeathers57.blogspot.co.nz/

Monday, May 6, 2013

I know that my exchanges with "Ambassador Terrence McCulley" -- the US ambassador to Nigeria -- really weren't conducted with the authentic ambassador.
At least, I think I hope not.
But this series of email exchanges is a rather typical case-in-point about what happens when you get a scammer with a Third World or Washington, DC public school education, off of their talking point template. For instance, I will recap the opening paragraph of the scammer's opening gambit:

My name is Terence Patrick McCulley, the new United States Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The United States Senate had confirmed my nomination on August 5 2010 after being nominated for this position by U.S. President Barack Obama on June 28, 2010. My credentials as the new Ambassador appointed were presented to His Excellency President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Nigeria, on November 2, 2010. I am a career member of the senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor whose diplomatic career has been spent mostly in Africa or working on African issues.

Now, as you follow the exchanges that took place between my character -- Ben Dover -- and "the ambassador", you will note a serious degradation in his grasp of the English language. Spent too long on social engineering in his DC public skool, I reckon. As usual, all the "ambassador" emails will be in bold, and "Ben" will respond in italics:

What an honor, Mr. Ambassador! And I am pleased -- albeit surprised -- to receive this news from you. Please address the courier package thus:

Mr. Ben Dover

(Bogus Street Address) Central City, CO 80427

Thank you!

Respectfully,

Ben Dover

United States Consulate General Lagos
2 Walter Carrington Crescent
Victoria Island, LagosNigeria.

ATTENTION: Mr. Ben Dover

THIS IS TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE RECEIPT OF YOUR MAIL AND ALSO TO LET YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAVE TO TAKE OUR INSTRUCTION IF YOU WANT YOUR MONEY SENT TO AS STATED IN OUR PREVIOUS MAIL BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN HAVE YOUR AWAITED FUND CLAIM.

(it goes on to ask for additional information which I provide as follows):

Your Full name: Ben U. OverYour country and city: USA Central City
Your home address: (Bogus) Street, Central City CO 80427Your private phone number: 303-582-****
Your age: 45sex: whenever I canoccupation: professional poultry inseminatorDriver'S License: yes I have oneState ID: see previous answerPassport: 091164377Other government-issued photo ID: N/A

And the email finishes off with instructions on how I wire the required $150 fund to hisself:

Mr Ben .U Over

THANKS FOR YOU EMAIL MR BEN YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR YOUR DELIVERY OF YOUR FUNDS WHICH IS $150 AS SOON AS IT IS DON YOU WILL GET YOUR FUNDS YOU ARE TO SEND THE FEES THROUGH WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER

Receivers NAME: .................. OBINNA AUGUAINE OFILI
ADDRESS:................ LAGOS-NIGERIA
TEXT QUESTION:................. IN GOD
ANSWER:................... WE TRUST
AMOUNT: ....................$150
Senders Name: ....................?
Senders Address: ...............?

HERE IS MY DIRECT CELL PHONE NUMBER FOR YOU TO CALL URGENTLY +234-8122607899.

Funny, but in checking the official US Embassy in Nigeria website, the phone numbers don't match. Oh well...thought I was actually gonna get to talk to hisself. Eh.

So, my response:

Your instructions received and understood. I will visit a Western Union on Monday, April 29, and attend to it.

Ben Dover

From here, the 'ambassador' tends to show flaws in his communication skills:

Thanks mr ben your all the information we you? And why is your phone number not going. I try to call you on phone but going okay you have my number we you so you can call me by monday after send the feel okay . Thanks

Sent from WESTERN UNION OUTLET

The number I gave you is my home number, and I am at work. I will either call or email you when I send the Western Union fee on Monday.

Ben

It okay I wait to hear from you by monday. Thanks have a good weekend

Sent from WESTERN UNION OUTLET

I will be in touch with you by no later than Monday afternoon, without fail.

Ben

Then comes Sunday afternoon, and I decide to start screwing with him early:

Good news, Ambassador: I was able to attend to this a day early. The Western Union fee of $150 has been sent as instructed. I will look in tomorrow to hear from you when I can expect my delivery.

BTW, for a US ambassador, you sure do type funny. Guess it's all that work overseas.

Ben

I wouldn't be 'available' to respond to anything the 'ambassador' sent until Monday afternoon, and boy was he ever chatty:

Mr Ben how are you today thanks for your email. All you need to do is to send me the MTCN number from the western union now. As soon as we pick up the money I will get back to you on how you can get your funds okay. Thanks again am waiting for your email we the MTCN number . Thanks
Terence P. McCulley.

Sent from WESTERN UNION OUTLET

And then came this...

Mr Ben how are you today thanks for your email. All you need to do is to send me the MTCN number from the western union now. As soon as we pick up the money I will get back to you on how you can get your funds okay. Thanks again am waiting for your email we the MTCN number .
Thanks
Terence P. McCulle

Heh...now he can't spell his own name. Then comes this:

Mr Ben can you send me the MTCN NUMBER. From the western union . Thanks

US AMBASSADOR TERENCE P. McCULLEY.

Finally, the 'ambassador' garners a response from Ben:

Dear Mr. Ambassador,

Yes, I can. I'll get right on that.

Ben

That response is not what the 'ambassador' is looking for, since his reply is all caps:

MR BEN THANKS FOR YOUR EMAIL, I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THE MTCN NUMBER? SO IF YOU HAVE SENT THE FEE OF $150. ALL YOU NEED IS TO SEND US THE MTCN NUMBER . PLEASE IT TO HURRY.

Yes, I did send you the fee and yes, I will send you the MTCN as soon as I find it.

Ben

MR BEN HAVE YOU SEE THE MTCN NUMBER NOW? BUT WHY IS YOUR NUMBER NOT GOING I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO CALL YOU NUMBER ALL THE DAY BUT NOT GOING IS THIS NOT YOUR NUMBER ....................3035825440? YOU HAVE MY NUMBER THEM CALL ME NOW.

Ambassador: I am leaving for work now...you can't call me on my phone when I am online, because I use a dial-up connection for internet, and that number is my dial-up connection. So sorry, but really, don't get your panties in a wad. When I get home from work I will see what this MTCN thing is and send it to you.

WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON. WE THE MTCN NUMBER OKAY

Sorry Mr. Ambassador...have been busy at work. There are 10 numbers in the MTCN. Which one do you need?

Mr how are you . Are you back from work now pleas check the MTCN number and email it to me now we have no time on our side again. So am waiting for your email now
Thanks

US AMBASSADOR TERENCE P. McCULLEY.

Dear Ambassador, I checked the number and there are, indeed, 10 digits that comprise it. So tell me next what to do.

Ben

I have told you before now that you should send the ten digit number (mtcn control number) or better still scan the copy of the payment slip to me. If you know you can not do this then go ahead and call back your payment.

I knowd I'd piss him off sooner or later. Now that it's sooner, let's throw some more piss on it:

Dear Ambassador:

How would I call back my payment?

(1) It doesn't have a phone.

(2) If it does, I don't know its number.

Please explain this.

As for the MTCN, I have it here.

Ben

Them send me the MTCN number now okay

US AMBASSADOR TERENCE P. McCULLEY.

I can do that...there's ten of them. There's a 6...follered by a 9...then anudder 6...a 5...a 4...a 0...a 1..anuddah 1...anudda 7...anna 3 on the end.

Now, how do I call back my money? Does it have a call back number?

Ben

SEND IT THIS WAY OKAY
Receivers NAME: .................. OBINNA AUGUAINE OFILI
ADDRESS:................ LAGOS-NIGERIA
TEXT QUESTION:................. IN GOD
ANSWER:................... WE TRUST
AMOUNT: ....................$150
MTCN NUMBER
Senders Name: ....................?
Senders Address: ...............?
HERE IS MY DIRECT CELL PHONE NUMBER FOR YOU TO CALL URGENTLY +234-8122607899.

So you want it to be sended looking like this?

Receivers NAME: .................. OBINNA AUGUAINE OFILI
ADDRESS:................ LAGOS-NIGERIA
TEXT QUESTION:................. IN GOD
ANSWER:................... WE TRUST
AMOUNT: ....................$150
MTCN NUMBER
Senders Name: ....................?
Senders Address: ...............?
Okay...I'm sending it that way.

Ben

YES

US AMBASSADOR TERENCE P. McCULLEY

That's how he want it...that's how he get it:

Good. Here it is, just as you asked:

Receivers NAME: .................. OBINNA AUGUAINE OFILI
ADDRESS:................ LAGOS-NIGERIA
TEXT QUESTION:................. IN GOD
ANSWER:................... WE TRUST
AMOUNT: ....................$150
MTCN NUMBER
Senders Name: ....................?
Senders Address: ...............?

Thanks for that but no mtcn number again why. Can you go back to the bank and as them for the mtcn number them email it to me okay

US AMBASSADOR TERENCE P. McCULLEY.

Ambassador: yes, I could go to a bank and ask them about this. But I didn't go to a bank; I went to Western Union. Western Union wired the money for me, not a bank. And Western Union is in all kinds of places, as I'm sure you know, having been here before going to all those foreign venues. So, I could go to a bank...but why? Didn't I just send you exactly what you wanted, in exactly the manner you wanted it?

Ben

This scammer is patient if he's anything; he REALLY wants this $150. So he responds:

Okay them go back to western union and ask them to show you the mtcn number okay them send it to me now am waiting thanks

US AMBASSADOR TERENCE P. McCULLEY.

Okay, if you insist I must...but the Western Union I went to won't be open until 8am my time. It is now 5:23am my time. What time is it for you, Ambassador?

It is 12.30pm my time,so am waiting for your email them thanks

US AMBASSADOR TERENCE P. McCULLEY

So I wait two and a half hours, and then we start up again:

Mr. Ambassador, I went to the Western Union from whenst I sent the $150, and I told them what you told me to tell them. And they were great: they gave me a copy of the same receipt I already have, so now I have two. I can mail one to you if you like.

I am at your service.

Ben

send a copy of it.to me now am waiting for the copy

Okay, what's your mailing address? I'll get it out in the mail today.

Ben

THIS IS MY EMAIL ADDRESS ............ terencemcculley2010@gmail.com so send me the copy of it now am waiting for that now

I know your EMAIL address. If you want me to send you this copy, I need your regular mail address. I don't have a working scanner to scan it in.

I think I'm wearing him down finally:

I will advice you send it if you are serious about getting your fund.

US AMBASSADOR TERENCE P. McCULLEY.

Ambassador, I don't think I care for the tone of your email voice. You aren't acting very ambassadory here. I have followed your instructions in the spirit which they were intended, and now that I got you an extra copy of the receipt, you won't give me your mailing address to send it to you. You are the one, I remind you, that contacted me with this deal; I had no clue about it before hearing from you. You're a diplomat; start acting diplomaty and make this work. You want the receipt copy, GIVE ME YOUR MAILING ADDRESS.

Diplomats are supposed to have great patience and aplomb, rising to difficult occasions with finesse and diplomatic rhetorical flourishes, or so I thought. Which perhaps proves that this next is NOT from a real ambassador:

you r not serious. you wast much my times to this. i with you no more.

And just when I was getting to enjoy his patience at collecting a mere $150. Oh well:

Ambassador by AMC;

I guess that, by your refusal to provide a mailing address, you really didn't need the western union receipt after all. Bad ambassador. Very very bad ambassador.

Of course, it did occur to me that you have never actually been THE ambassador, Terrence P. McCulley; you might have been a Nigerian pretending to BE him, since you'd probably cooked and eaten our US ambassador. I know things are a bit backward and primitive in parts of Nigeria that way.

Let me advice you a few things, since you obviously don't want to collect the money I sent you via Western Union: next time you purport to use the seal of the US ambassador to Nigeria, understand that generally speaking, the seal doesn't bark.

Just sayin'.

Since I never heard back from the real ambassador when this nonsense started, perhaps I'm not offbase to assume that my just-concluded Nigerian DID eat the ambassador.

COUNTRY MUSIC DOWNUNDER

Kiwi entertainers at 
Bay of Islands festival

The scene at Paihia on opening day of the Bay of Islands Country Rock Festival

Last week we traveled north to New Zealand’s beautiful and historic Bay of Islands for the 24^th annual BOI Country Rock Festival – a truly wonderful event from Friday to Sunday with more than fifty local and overseas entertainers.

This 12 year-old unofficial artist was later invited to sing with several  draw-card performers 

Friday started with free street performances from most entertainers, line dancers and one or two unofficial acts on the street and in car parks. Passing showers on Friday and Saturday afternoons did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the artists and the thousands who came to hear them.

The Kerikeri River, Bay of Islands, New Zealand

The main program was spread over seven indoor venues in the townships of Paihia, Russell and Kawakawa. Shuttle buses and ferries transported people between venues, but some venues fell short on space for the audience and their suitability for stage performances.

Seventeen year-old Abby singing at historic Russell

The Bay of Islands event has long been New Zealand’s premier country music festival but attendance in recent years has fallen due to hard times and the loss of some key venues due to circumstances beyond the control of long-time dedicated organizer Shirley May.

Crowd pleaser Dennis Marsh

Perhaps the time has come to re-locate the festival to Rotorua or Queenstown, also tourist towns, but with an abundance of excellent facilities at that time of the year. The Rotorua District Council and the Rotorua business community would leap at the opportunity to fill beds, shops and conference facilities.

Roger Tibbs, 'The Golden Voice'

The Bay of Islands Country Rock Festival could retain its good name while spreading the event over more than one locality and weekend. The absence of organized tour groups at the festival was noticeable and Rotorua and Queenstown could add thousands more visitors from overseas.

Win Blakeborough and festival organizer Shirley May

Graeme McCardle, a regular attraction at the festival

Meanwhile, the Bay of Islands, although historic and scenically attractive, only attracts about 5% of New Zealand’s overseas visitors. Even the best brands need re-inventing from time to time and re-invention requires looking right outside the square.

Top performer Marian Burns 

Enjoying the fun of the festival, Margaret and Geoff Arthur

We traveled and camped at nearby Haruru Falls with fellow motor-homers Bob and Judy from Thames, Lloyd and Joan from Taupo, and Graeme and Fay from Napier.

When it was all over we took the scenic route back home. Not recommended for large vehicles
or rentals. The state highways are much better.

LANE DRIVING RULES

Oregon, Arkansas pursue
left-lane use limits

By Keith Goble, Land Line state legislative editor

State lawmakers in multiple states are considering bills to keep most drivers out of the fast lane.

An Oregon bill would make the left lane off limits for everything except passing.

Truckers already are prohibited from using the far left lane but Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, thinks that limits should be in place for all vehicles that may impede traffic.

“We need to give the Oregon State Police more enforcement authority to make sure that traffic flows smoothly and safely,” Burdick testified to the Senate Business and Transportation Committee . . . .

Full story: Landlinemag

Peter’s Piece

Sometimes tinkering with driving rules that are as old as motoring itself will only make the problem worse, and sometimes it is better to throw out everything that has gone before and make a completely new start.

Peter's truck in 40 American states

Current lane driving rules have not changed since it was discovered that the world is not flat.

These rules are suitable only for roads that have no more than a single lane in each direction. In most countries the rule is keep right and overtake on the left of traffic moving in the same direction. When the first multi-lane road opened a new set of rules should have been enacted.

There is an increasing trend among drivers on multi-lane roads to drive in the far-left lane. They feel safe there because it is less crowded and there is less interference from traffic joining or leaving at interchanges. The far-left lane is becoming a cruising lane and other lanes are becoming maneuvering lanes for joining, leaving and overtaking.

Anyone who thinks about that for a moment will realize that those drivers are doing what aircraft and ships have always done; cruising at high altitude, or far out from the coast, while the maneuvering is done close to the ground or the coast. It’s safer that way.

It is just as safe to overtake on one side as the other and if we substitute ‘fast lane’ for ‘cruising lane’ and ‘slow lane’ for ‘maneuvering lane’ the traffic will flow more freely and more safely with less lane changing near on and off ramps.

This is already happening by default and if legislators try to outlaw the trend they will be going against the flow and legislating for more chaos. It just requires some bold, new thinking.

 Smashwords.com

PROGRESS AND UNEMPLOYMENT

WILL SMART MACHINES CREATE A WORLD WITHOUT WORK?

By PAUL WISEMAN and BERNARD CONDON

WASHINGTON (AP) — They seem right out of a Hollywood fantasy, and they are: Cars that drive themselves have appeared in movies like "I, Robot" and the television show "Knight Rider."

Now, three years after Google invented one, automated cars could be on their way to a freeway near you. In the U.S., California and other states are rewriting the rules of the road to make way for driverless cars. Just one problem: What happens to the millions of people who make a living driving cars and trucks — jobs that always have seemed sheltered from the onslaught of technology?

"All those jobs are going to disappear in the next 25 years," predicts Moshe Vardi, a computer scientist at Rice University in Houston. "Driving by people will look quaint; it will look like a horse and buggy."

If automation can unseat bus drivers, urban deliverymen, long-haul truckers, even cabbies, is any job safe?

Vardi poses an equally scary question: "Are we prepared for an economy in which 50 percent of people aren't working?" . . . . 

Full story: bigstory.ap.org

Peter’s Piece

Moshe Vardi is an alarmist.

But he will probably be a popular alarmist because he is predicting something that many people will find easy to believe.

This same theory has been peddled many times since the beginning of the industrial revolution when the Luddites went around smashing up machines in the mistaken belief that they were saving jobs.

However, the history of industrialization and its relationship to employment is clear. Industrial efficiency stimulates employment while inefficiency puts people out of work.

In the early 1800s less than half London’s population was in regular, legitimate, paid employment. The rest of the population was made up of child labor, criminals trying to survive and others starving on their way to an early grave.

Slowly, mechanization changed that. As products began to be produced more efficiently, more people could afford to buy them, demand increased and more products became available, and with them more job opportunities appeared.

That’s how the economic merry-go-round works and, as the ride gathers momentum, more and more people are able to join in.

Many occupations disappeared with horse-drawn transport, but many more new occupations were created by the huge auto industry that replaced it. Town crier was another job that vanished, but look at the huge numbers of people working in radio, television, newspapers and now internet businesses.

People no longer manufacture and sell the office machines of the early 20^th century, but look at the size and efficiency of the computer industry that has replaced them.

Every time an additional new product or service reaches the market it can only succeed if people have the money to buy it. The number of new products and services that have been developed and successfully sold during our lifetime is a sure indicator that more people are now in employment and getting a worthwhile share of the economic cake.

I don’t see anything on the horizon to indicate that this will change anytime soon.