quarry operator wants permission to double its yearly output to four million tonnes and increase the number of trucks on local roads.

Karreman Quarries says it needs to boost output at the quarry on West Mount Cotton Road because of “unprecedented demand” for aggregates and road base materials in South East Queensland.

Existing Redland Shire Council conditions allow an output of about two million tonnes each year from the quarry, which was established in the 1950s.

About 260 trucks are allowed to travel to and from the site daily, although the conditions allow the number of trucks to go as high as 312 in periods of high demand.

The quarry operator has applied to double output, but a traffic report argues this does not mean twice as many trucks would be required – partly because larger trucks would be used if more material was being transported.

Yet another Ford recall was announced last week for more than 1 million trucks, SUVs and vans.  Ford said it issued the recall because of a defect that could cause the engines of these vehicles to unexpectedly stall and lead to a possible crash.  According to Ford, there have been 14 reports of sudden accidents related to this defect.   This is the second massive Ford recall since August, when the company recalled millions of other vehicles because of a faulty cruise control switch.

The Ford recall encompasses 1.2 million trucks, SUVs and vans from the 1997-2003 model years with 7.3 liter diesel engines.   The recall includes Ford E-Series van, Excursion full-size sport utility vehicle, and F-450 Super Duty and F-550 Super Duty trucks.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the camshaft position sensor - an electrical component that helps regulate the fuel going into the engine- located on the engine could function intermittently and lead to an engine stall and potential crash.

While fourteen accidents have been caused by the defective Ford engines, so far, no one has been injured.  A Ford spokesperson told the Associated Press that in the event of an engine stall, drivers traveling in the recalled Ford vehicles at speeds greater than 30 miles per hour would have full power steering and power braking, allowing them to pull over to the side of the road.

Urban planner Daniel Burnham anticipated the day when it would be possible for every Illinois resident to pile into all the state’s cars and trucks and drive out of the Land of Lincoln.

But Burnham, who worried about future traffic congestion overburdening the roadway system in outlying areas, also foresaw the day when gridlock, if left unchecked, would make that movement of humanity impossible. So he came up with a plan.

Quemahoning Township officials are expected to meet Wednesday with PennDOT to consider ways to improve safety at an intersection on Route 30 where a New Florence mother was killed last week.

In the past two years, four people have died when their cars were hit by coal trucks on Route 30 through central Somerset County, records at The Tribune-Democrat indicate.

PennDOT said eight fatal crashes – in which 11 people were killed – have occurred on the 23-mile stretch of Route 30 through the county in the past five years.

“If people would only go the speed limit,” Quemahoning Township Supervisor Ron Berkebile said. “It’s not only coal trucks, either. It’s cars, believe me.”

Dear FSB: Must I prove that a work vehicle is used for business 100 percent of the time? And if so, how do I prove it? My question is related to Land Rover’s statement about tax depreciation allowances. They claim that the first year you can claim $32,000, then $11,200, then $6,700, then $4,032 each year respectively for a total of 90 percent of the purchase price after four years. If this is true I will be purchasing ASAP! Thanks for your time!

- Michael, San Diego, Calif.

Dear Michael: Technically, you are correct. “But it truly must be a business vehicle and you must be able to prove it,” says David Gorsich, a licensed tax professional in San Diego. “Most people hear about tax laws from their barber or bartender and think something like this is a silver bullet and any bozo can get rich. But it doesn’t work that way.”

 Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales of the Port of Cebu said they seizedu Friday three containers of trucks and tires estimated to be worth P6-Million.

The first container, consigned to Hoc Kuantat Trading, arrived in the Port of Cebu last October 25.

Already alerted by customs OCOM Visayas-Mindanao operatives, the shipment was swiftly subjected to x-ray scanning, which confirmed the suspicion that the container was misdeclared.

Cebu Collector Ricardo Belmonte said the said shipment is considered abandoned and forfeiture proceedings would follow, in favor of the government since the consignee did not file for entry before the thirty day-grace period lapsed.

The second container was consigned to Musashi International Trading Corporation and was declared their shipment as “used truck replacement parts.”

Pittsburgh’s fleet of salt trucks and snow plow vehicles is more than ready to keep the roads clear this winter, officials said.

Half the city’s dump trucks used to spread salt are less than 18 months old, and 15 of the rest were purchased less than five years ago, said Guy Costa, director of public works. Those trucks cost an average of $100,000 each, Costa said. The trucks feature large plows.

The city has 19 pickups with smaller plows to handle narrow streets and alleys, Costa said, and half of those were purchased in the past year. Close to 80 operators work in shifts when ice or snow hits.

A 50-year-old cement truck driver has been charged in connection with a horrific accident that killed five people — including three children — in Calgary Friday night.

The victims were crushed after the car they were in, which was stopped at a red light, was rear-ended by a Mack 700 Tri-Axel cement truck.

Police say the northbound Chrysler Intrepid was stopped at a red light located at the intersection of MacLeod Trail and 194 Avenue Southwest around 7 p.m. on Friday when it was struck from behind by a 2005 Mack 700 Tri-Axel cement truck.

“The force of the impact lodged the Intrepid under the front of the cement truck and the momentum of this truck pushed this vehicle nearly 300 metres northward where it finally came to rest in the east curb lane and shoulder,” a statement from Calgary police said.

New radar technology could help to reduce the risk of collisions between big haul trucks on mine sites.

A team of CSIRO researchers is developing a 360 degree Doppler radar detection system, making it easier for drivers to see vehicles moving around them.

Dr Patrick Glynn says the technology works in a similar way to a mobile phone signal.

“The truck has its own radar, anything that moves within a 30 to 50 metre area of the truck is picked up and the system then tells the driver that you have a light vehicle or you have something that is moving relative to the speed of the truck and approximately where it is,” he says.

SAN LUIS RIO COLORADO, Mexico - A sprawling junkyard on the edge of this Sonoran border town might seem like the last place to find a car stolen from the streets of Phoenix. But here they sit by the dozens.

There are 5,000 cars, trucks and vans in various states of disrepair, from gleaming new sports cars to bare chassis. About 200 were stolen in the United States, 40 to 50 of them in Arizona. One is a blue Nissan bearing three different vehicle identification numbers, which are supposed to be unique to each car.

Commander Jesus Zamora Orozco leads San Luis Rio Colorado’s eight-man stolen-vehicles unit, which formed six months ago to return the stolen cars to owners.

Zamora’s new team represents growing cross-border cooperation to stop criminal car-theft rings that have plagued border states for years and are expanding into other crimes.