The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "truck drivers" ...
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"Drivers Beware"
Thomas Caywood revealed that a local towing company, Falcon Recovery, was using an "undercover spotter" to keep watch on a strip mall parking lot. Just moments after motorists parked and left their cars, the spotter would call in a tow truck. Caywood also revealed that the company was "tacking on an illegal charge."
Tags: Falcon Recovery; tow trucks; strip mall; Worcester; RMV; Registry of Motor Vehicles; Madison Place; Francis R. Whitenett Jr.
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Sick drivers causing fatal wrecks
The story (and follow-up pieces) exmined the issue of dangerous sick drivers who fill U.S. highways. The July 21 story found that hundreds of thousands of drivers carry commercial licenses even though they also qualify for full federal disability payments. The tractor-trailer and bus drivers have suffered seizures, heart attacks or unconscious spells that led to deadly crashes, with violations found in every state.
Tags: bus drivers; truck drivers; National Transportation Safety Board; Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; blackout
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Leaks in the System
KMSP-TV found that oversight for drug testing of commercial truckers was lax. This allowed truckers to adulterate or substitute specimens in order to pass a test. Also they found that despite drug test being required, companies in Minnesota and Wisconsin continue to put drivers behind the wheel without testing them first. Lastly, they exposed a loophole that allowed failed drivers to keep working in the industry.
Tags: trucking; transportation; drugs; drug testing; oversight; Minnesota; Wisconsin; commercial trucking; Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration;
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Franklin truck firm's fines among highest in industry
"Federal records show widespread disregard for safety rules at JDC Logistics, a 500-tractor trucking firm based in suburban Milwaukee. Out of more than 50,000 truck and bus companies audited over the last six years by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to check compliance with the rules governing drivers' work hours, only six were fined more than JDC."
Tags: trucking; transportation; logistics; hours; safety; tracking; JDC; drivers;
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Road Hazards
Drivers with "poor safety records and histories of drug and alcohol abuse," poorly inspected and maintained trucks and lax enforcement of safety laws are the main problems affecting the truck driving industry in the state of Texas. The Dallas Morning News investigates, spurred by the case of Miroslaw Jozwiak, a trucker who falsified his log reports before causing a fatal accident, which he survived. The stories of those who perished in the crash are told, as are those of the people who survived the crash.
Tags: Miroslaw Jozwiak; truck drivers; truck safety; highway safety; fatal auto accidents; poor truck inspections
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Small Town Justice
A Haitian truck driver, Jean Claude Meus, was convicted of vehicular homicide after a semi he was driving turned over and fell on a minivan, killing a mother and daughter. While no drugs or alcohol were present in his system at the time of the accident, prosecutors were able to push a conviction based on their assertion that he had fallen asleep at the wheel, and was thus driving recklessly. But WTVT-TV investigators "found convincing evidence that (he) did not fall asleep, and in fact, was trying to avoid an accident." An off-duty firefighter was a witness at the scene, and asserted that Meus was "alert and helpful immediately after the crash." Yet the lead investigator, who attended high school with victim Nona Moore, never interview Juan Otero, the off-duty firefighter. With the help of experts, WTVT reconstructed the crash, and the conclusion drawn was that Meus had turned off the road to avoid an obstruction. Further, WTVT spoke with jurors who said that with that new evidence, they would not have voted to convict.
Tags: Unfair trials; Florida Highway Patrol; quick convictions; crash reconstruction; juror bias; investigator bias; racial profiling; all-white jury
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Parking Ticket Pay-Up
ABC 26 investigates 5 years worth of unpaid city parking tickets in New Orleans and finds the total to be more than 63 million dollars. One vehicle had more than 40 thousand dollars in parking tickets while UPS delivery trucks owed the most money - 200 thousand dollars. Investigation also revealed that drivers avoid paying fines by lying about losing their plates to get a new number and address.
Tags: parking tickets; New Orleans; fines; automobiles; parking delinquent; motor vehicles
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Clout on Wheels
This investigation revealed the waste and corruption within the city's Hired Truck Program, in which the city hires dump trucks and low-wage drivers to haul debris and material at city work sites. The newspaper found that many trucks sit idle while the company reaps payments from the city. One trucking company owner admitted paying bribes to city officials to get work, while others doled out campaign contributions to city officials. Following the series, the FBI arrested the man who ran the city's program, and 14 other people, including 10 current or former city employees, were arrested.
Tags: city government; mob; campaign contributions; pay to play; corruption; contracts; bribery; trucking
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Presumed Dead
The topic of this story began when a local Marine, just returning from Iraq, was involved in a fatal car accident. The other drivers suffered minor injuries, but the corporal's truck was severely damaged. While waiting for paramedics, witnesses found the man breathing, but could not find a pulse. When the police arrived, they presumed the man to be dead because he did not have a pulse, and would not let paramedics work on him, fearing it would disrupt the crime scene. Two hours later the paramedic noticed the man was still breathing, and had him flown to the nearest hospital, where he died in the emergency room. Reporters discovered that there's no Michigan law that says every victim has to be physically checked by a paramedic before the paramedic leaves the scene. Also, there is not a law which says a paramedic must physically check a victim before pronouncing them dead.
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Danger Zone
The Gazette investigation found that nearly half the fatal accidents on Interstate 80 in Iowa from 1994-2001 involved semi-trailer trucks. No other interstate in Iowa had a rate that high. Traffic counts are growing on a 60-70 mile stretch of I-80 in Eastern Iowa, where many of the semi-trailer trucks are concentrated. Despite the growth in traffic, state officials have no plans to improve safety by widening the highway because traffic counts are just shy of the threshold for widening the road.
Tags: fatal accidents; Interstate 80; semi-trailer trucks; traffic accidents; Fatality Analysis Reporting System; stopping distance; Iowa Department of Transportation; Iowa Office of Driver Services; Iowa Office of Motor Vehicle Enforcement; Iowa Office of Design; University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute; Cedar County; Iowa State Patrol; FARS