Verizon Wireless could launch its third-generation wireless network capable of streaming video and high-speed Internet as early as next week, Reuters reported on Thursday.

This new technology will likely allow customers such as tow operators to more easily check e-mail and communicate with family or business contacts much faster.

Sources close to the company told Reuters that it is upgrading networks and will be able to offer as much as 10 times the network voice capacity and wireless data connections, as well as ability to give customers speeds up to 144 kilobits per second on their mobile phones.

Verizon Wireless will first offer the service in areas from Boston to Virginia on the East Coast, and Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay area in the West, Reuters said.

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Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC has debuted XVision, which it calls the first visual-based collision avoidance system specifically for commercial vehicles.

In a press release issued Wednesday, Bendix described Xvision as an infrared night-vision device that allows drivers to see five times farther in the dark, helping to improve reaction time.

The company says that a driver using XVision has between 18 and 20 more seconds to react to something on the road at 60 miles per hour than a driver using their unaided eyes.

The company said that research has shown most nighttime accidents stem from the driver’s inability to see in the dark.

For more information, and an online demo, go to http://www.bendix.com/products/XVision.shtml.

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ALABAMA -- Athens Police investigators continue to piece together the sequence of events leading to the ambush slaying of a young wrecker company owner early Sunday.

Thus far, there are no clear answers in the shooting of Shane Jarrett, owner of Jarrett's Wrecker Service, according to Athens Police Capt. Marty Bruce. He said today that investigators spent Sunday and Monday trying to verify "rumors."

Police say four bullets hit Jarrett, 27, in the head, face and neck when he returned from what appears to be a bogus wrecker call. He died in the hallway outside his sons' bedroom. The boys, ages 8 and 4, were spending the night at his brother's house and were not there when their father was killed, police said.

Bruce said Jarrett's wife, Melissa Freeman Jarrett, 26, called 911 at 4:49 a.m. Sunday and hysterically reported that she was awakened by gunfire and found her husband dead in a pool of blood in a hallway leading to the bedrooms of the couple's Wheeler Street mobile home.

On arriving, police found Jarrett wounded in the face and neck and Coroner Mike West pronounced him dead on the scene. The coroner ordered his body sent to a state lab for an autopsy.

Police Chief Wayne Harper said that Mrs. Jarrett told officers she answered a call to the Jarrett home about an hour before the shooting. Investigators discovered the call had been made from a pay phone outside Piney Chapel Foods, north of Athens.

According to Brenda Jarrett, the victim's stepmother, Melissa Jarrett relayed to Shane that a red Pontiac Grand Am was stalled on Interstate 65 at the 356 mile marker.

She said Shane called his father, Waylan Jarrett, who lives in the New Garden community near Elkmont, to accompany him on the call.

"He said he had an uneasy feeling about the call so he called his daddy to go with him," said Brenda Jarrett. "My husband, Waylan, always has coffee early in the morning at Charlie's Truck Stop (I-65 at the Elkmont exit), so he stopped there and picked him up to go on the call with him."

She said that when the father and son arrived at the 356 mile marker, they couldn't find the stalled car, so Shane dropped his father back off at the truck stop.

"When my husband got out of the wrecker, he said Shane said, 'I'm going home and going to bed. I've been up all night on calls.' He also radioed Melissa and asked her why she hadn't gotten a name from the person when they called." (Karen Middleton - The Decatur Daily)

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NORTH CAROLINA -- A Robeson County tow operator was sentenced to federal prison Wednesday for selling drugs, according to an official with the Robeson County Sheriff's Office.

Tommy Lynn Cox, 48, was convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, said Lt. C.T. Strickland. He appeared in Wilmington District Federal Court.

Cox, who owns C & C Towing and Auto Sales of Lumberton, was sentenced to four years, nine months in prison and five years supervised probation after his release.

Sonny Jones, 24, was also convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, said Lt. C.T. Strickland. Both men received the same sentence.

Cox and Jones are two of the 69 people who were arrested during a four-month investigation by federal, state, and local authorities that began in October 2000.

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GEORGIA -- The state Senate passed Senate bill 334 Tuesday that would require owners of abandoned cars to pay up within 30 days after the tow truck hauls their vehicle away.

Under current law, owners only have to notify towing and storage companies that they own a towed car to keep it from being junked or sold after a month. The result, lawmakers said, has been huge numbers of cars and trucks piling up in tow yards.

The bill also changes the time line that a towing company have to notify vehicle owners from 72 hours, to 3 business days.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Rene Kemp, D-Hinesville, passed 49-0 and now goes to the House.

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United Road Services Inc.'s acquisition of a Missouri automobile transport firm may be a sign that the Colonie company has finally turned a corner. This will be the company's first acquisition in three years.

Investors, at least, seem hopeful. Stock in United Road (OTC: URSI), which had been hovering between 25 cents and 30 cents a share for the past few months, closed Jan. 17 at 48 cents. The next day--when the market as a whole was down--it reached 51 cents a share.

Late on Jan. 16, United Road had announced its purchase of Auction Transport Inc. of Lee's Summit, Mo., for an undisclosed price. The purchase was the first for United Road--which was formed to consolidate the automobile towing and transport industry--in nearly three years.

ATI formerly was a subsidiary of Manheim Services Corp., one of the world's largest auto auction companies. Its primary function has been to transport vehicles to Manheim auction locations, although it works for other firms on a for-hire basis. ATI, which operates a fleet of about 185 transport vehicles, had revenue of $45.2 million in 2001.

In the first nine months of 2001, United Road's 29 divisions in 20 states had revenue of $56 million.

"We are very excited about the acquisition of Auto Transport, Inc. and are pleased to broaden our relationship with Manheim Auction," Gerald Riordan, CEO of United Road, said in a statement. "With this acquisition, we have enhanced the service capacity of our national transport network, expanded our relationship with a well-established customer and obtained an exciting growth opportunity."

He said United Road will continue to seek ways to improve its overall operations, and called the ATI acquisition an "important step in achieving United Road's successful turnaround."

United Road was formed in mid-1997 by seven automobile towing and transport companies located throughout the country. It had no real operations until May 1998, when it completed its $98 million initial public offering and simultaneously bought its seven founders. It then went on a shopping spree, and by its first annual meeting had completed 51 acquisitions and had a network of 66 service locations throughout the country..

But earnings and stock performance were disappointing, and just a month after that first annual meeting, founding CEO Edward Sheehan stepped down. A few months later, Riordan was named to replace Sheehan and United Road said it was putting its acquisition plans on hold to give it time to digest its existing holdings.

United Road ended 1999 with a loss of $29.7 million. During the first week of 2000, it announced a restructuring plan that had as its centerpiece the establishment of two separate operating units--transport and towing/recovery--each with its own president. It also closed some unprofitable operations, sold a few others and consolidated the various service locations into the 29 current divisions.

Then a private equity firm, KPS Special Situations Fund, entered the picture. It agreed to invest $25 million in United Road in exchange for control of the company's board of directors and most of its stock. This transaction allowed United Road to obtain a $100 million line of credit from a group of banks.

But the red ink continued to flow. United Road lost $159 million in 2000, including a non-cash impairment charge of $129.5 million.

In an letter to stockholders contained in an annual report filed in November 2001 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Riordan said the company had been gaining momentum throughout the first half of 2000. But then the economy turned and the automobile market started to weaken.

"This weakness would accelerate at an increasing pace each month through the end of the year and stall the turnaround that was in progress," Riordan wrote.

But, he added, "despite the setbacks the company suffered in 2000, I expect United Road to be a key player in this industry in the future."

The company has not yet reported year-end 2001 results, but it lost $10.4 million in the first nine months of the year.

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IDAHO -- Tragedy on Interstate 84 - two lives were lost in a terrible accident shortly after 7pm Saturday night.

The tragic chain of events began when a person was getting into a tow truck as their car was being loaded. Despite flares and cones warning of the hazard, witnesses say a car traveling at a high rate of speed slammed into the back of the tow truck.

Both its driver and the person getting in the truck were killed instantly. The tow truck driver was unharmed because he was standing in the median operating the truck's lift.

The accident closed the eastbound Interstate Saturday about 10 miles outside of Boise.

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The combination of ample supply and low demand pushed gasoline prices down almost 1 cent a gallon over the past two weeks, analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday.

Gasoline prices are important to the towing industry because although most tow truck use diesel fuel, a large segment of tow trucks and towing support vehicles operate on gasoline. Gas prices also effect consumer driving habits which can effect a tow operators bottom line.

Lundberg, whose findings were reported by the Associated Press, surveyed 8,000 gasoline stations nationwide, where the average price for self-serve regular gasoline was $1.11 per gallon on Friday, compared with $1.12 a gallon two weeks ago.

The national weighted average price of gasoline, including taxes, at self-serve pumps Friday was about $1.11 a gallon for regular unleaded, $1.21 for mid-grade and $1.30 for premium

The drop followed a 3-cent increase two weeks ago, Lundberg told the AP.

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The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is pumping more oil than it said it would, but the cheating is not as great as expected, Reuters said Monday.

Petrologistics said that OPEC members exceeded production targets in January by 550,000 barrels a day, but analysts had expected the cartel to make an even smaller cut in actual production based on its bad track record for sticking to agreements, Reuters reported.

Nigeria, OPEC's largest quota-breaker, had been pumping 149,000 more barrels per day than allowed by OPEC restrictions in December, Bloomberg said. However, the African nation has now ordered its oil companies to further cut production.

This announcement, coupled with U.S. government plans to buy an average of 175,000 barrels crude per day during 2002 to top off the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, forced oil prices higher in international trading, Bloomberg reported.

The price of crude oil, which is important to the prices of diesel and gasoline, jumped 31 cents, or 1.6%, to $19.68 on the International Petroleum Exchange in London, the news service said.

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KENTUCKY -- The Kentucky legislature is considering a bill that would require all diesel sold in the state to contain 2 percent biodiesel, a fuel derived from food-based waste oils or soybeans.

If passed, the bill would require diesel sold in the state after July 1, 2003, to contain at least 2 percent of the fuel.

The Kentucky Motor Transport Association is fighting the measure. “We are vehemently opposed to it,” said KMTA President Ned Sheehy. “It’s a cost driver. It’s no less than an additional 3 cents a gallon.”

Intrastate diesel users, like towing companies, will be stuck with higher diesel prices while interstate diesel users, like truckers, will avoid buying fuel in the state, hurting the local economy and the state’s truck stops. “We would become a bypass state,” Sheehy said. “Truckers would make sure they fill up before they come through Kentucky.”

KMTA supports a national standard but says a statewide mandate would create an unstable fuel situation similar to California, where the state mandates a lower-sulfur fuel, Sheehy said. California diesel prices tend to be the highest in the country.

The bill, which exempts railroads, went to Kentucky’s House floor for a vote Jan. 28.

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International Truck and Engine Corp. and American Transportation Corp. have rolled out "Catch It While You Can," a financing program that offers a 0% first year interest rate financing on 60- and 72-month loans. The program is a limited time offer that applies to the purchase of new International vehicles.

Qualified customers purchasing up to 10 trucks will receive an effective APR of 4.71% for 60 months and 5.10% for 72 months. This represents an approximate customer savings of $5,000 to $10,000 over the life of the loan, according to International.

For those customers who don't take advantage of the 0% first year interest rate financing, International is offering alternative competitive purchasing options such as $1000 to $2000 in parts and service credit, or a $3,000 trade-in allowance on the purchase of International 9000 or 9000i series vehicles.

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The average price for a gallon of diesel fuel rose for the first time in three weeks, reaching $1.144 per gallon, the U.S. Department of Energy said Monday.

The price of diesel is important to the towing industry because a large segment of towing is performed with diesel-powered vehicles.

The 0.4 cent increase was only the third in the last 19 weeks. Despite the slight increase, the price of diesel has decreased 42.6 cents since peaking at $1.527 per gallon the week of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

As seen in the national average, much of the United States saw very little flucuation in the diesel price from last week. However, the one exception was the West Coast, where the price rose 1.7 cents to $121.4. In California, diesel rose to $125.9 from $124.2.

Go to www.itow.org/fuel.htm to check the prices in your area.

The DOE’s Energy Information Agency surveys 350 fueling stations in five regions at the start of each week, and usually reports the results on the same day that it polls the stations.

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ALABAMA -- Two teen-agers died Sunday on Interstate 10 near Mobile after colliding with a tow truck.

Jackie Jackson, 19, and Cedrick Williams, 16, were killed at about 2:30 p.m., said Mobile Police spokesman Pat Mitchell in a news release. The Kia Rio that Jackson was driving collided with a wrecker parked on the side of the highway.

Jackson died instantly and Williams was transported to University of South Alabama Knollwood Hospital where he died shortly thereafter.

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VIRGINIA -- A Virginia Beach city advisory board thinks wrecker companies should make more money towing cars and be held more accountable to the public for how they conduct business.

The Towing Advisory Board plans to recommend that the City Council increase a range of towing fees, saying the rates have not kept pace with rising industry costs.

As proposed, the fee charged for towing an illegally parked car -- the most common tow occurring in Virginia Beach on private business and residential lots -- would jump to $85 from $70.

Along with the fee increase, the board wants the city to establish a formal process to field and investigate public complaints of so-called abusive towing practices.

Currently, the city investigates only complaints filed against companies making police-authorized tows, not those occurring on private lots.

Last year, tow companies towed 13,791 "non-consensual" tows on private lots, a recent analysis by The Virginian-Pilot of city tow records shows. Residents of condominium complexes, that have parked illegally, or violated the condo parking rules, have complained when they've gotten towed.

"It would show that we're going to hold this industry accountable," said advisory board chairwoman Carolyn Lincoln. "It's a tool to benchmark the industry and to say we're going to do best practices."

Police Capt. Kenneth M. Lowe Jr., head of the department's special operations, said filing suit in civil court currently is the only recourse for people who allege an unjust tow from a private lot. However, this is the standard course of action with any business, so why should towing be any different?

The city believes that allowing citizens to file written complaints with the police would help ensure that towing companies and private property owners are following city towing regulations, Lowe said, such as posting proper signage.

"It would give them a chance to vent and also show that we're receptive to the possibility an error might have been made," Lowe said.

Lincoln, a civic activist and past president of the Virginia Beach Council of Civic Organizations, said an increase in towing fees is justified.

Board member Art Walker, who runs an auto service and towing business, said towing fees capped by the city have not kept pace with the industry's cost of doing business. Walker cited insurance premium increases of 20 percent the past two years and said other expenses, including employee pay and equipment, also have been rising. A wrecker truck that cost $38,000 a few years ago now runs $58,000, he said.

"All of the costs have gone up so high, you need this to survive if you're doing the wrecker business," Walker said of the proposed fee increases.

Besides towing fees, the board also proposes to increase fees for storage of towed vehicles and a "drop" fee, which can be charged when a car has been hooked to a wrecker but not towed away. The daily storage fee would increase to $20 from $12, and the drop fee to $25 from $20.

Lincoln said she hopes the debate will focus on the industry as a "viable business" and not be driven by the emotion that towing can evoke.

"The towing industry works hard and provides a very valuable service," she said.

That's especially true at the Oceanfront, Lincoln said, where business owners rely on wrecker companies to patrol their lots to ensure that only customers park in their precious few spaces.

Last year, three out of 10 tows for illegal parking on private lots occurred at the resort strip along Atlantic and Pacific avenues, according to city records.

The proposed $85 tow fee is in line with fees charged in other Virginia cities, Lincoln said, and is based on the amount that state law allows towing companies to charge for non-consensual tows when there are no governing local ordinances.

City Council member Linwood O. Branch III, who represents the Oceanfront, said the council will need to be persuaded to increase fees.

The council voted to raise towing fees last July, but stopped short of the increases the advisory board had proposed. The council, for example, increased the towing fee for illegally parked cars to $70 from $60, rejecting the proposed $85. Council members agreed to revisit the issue, but made no guarantees, Branch said. The proposal is expected to go before the council in February or March.

"It's a balancing act between not putting the tow companies out of business but, at the same time, having the public treated fairly and equitably," Branch said. "I suspect there's going to be a lot of questions." (Thanks Rick)

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Using wireless RF (radio frequency) tags attached to fuel tanks, SmartFuel from SCI International matches vehicle, driver and fuel before it allows pumps to operate. The automated system then uses RF technology to wirelessly transfer fuel and vehicle information from the pump to a fleet manager's office computer, where it can be used to generate usage reports.

The system, which is claimed to be maintenance-free after installation, can be installed on both electronic and mechanical fuel pumps. SCI says that unlike wired fuel management systems, its RF system is unaffected by voltage fluctuations or lightning storms. Go to www.sciww.com for more information.

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DaimlerChrysler said that it has recalled about 65,000 1998-99 Mercedes C-Class cars in the United States after five complaints of exploding batteries, resulting in one injury from flying acid and debris.

Tow truck drivers are warned to use extreme caution when jumpstarting these vehicles as this could cause the under filled battery to explode.

The explosions occurred when the electrolyte fluid levels in the battery fell to low levels and the battery were boosted. Mercedes dealers will inspect the batteries on the recalled vehicles free of charge and replace them if necessary.

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COLORADO -- Law enforcement officers would have to impound the vehicles of motorists they catch driving with suspended or revoked driver's licenses, under a measure from Rep. Bill Swenson, R-Longmont.

If the final draft is similar to other suspended driver impound laws adopted around the country, it would likely mean an increase the number of impounds performed by towing companies on police rotation lists, as well as an increase in storage fees due to the long time these vehicles stay in impound.

The vehicle would stay impounded as long as the offending motorist's driving privileges remain what the law calls "under restraint," if the Legislature adopts Swenson's House Bill 1204.

Moreover, Swenson's bill would give authorities additional power to go after multiple offenders who switch to other vehicles.

The proposed law would allow officials to seize and sell all the motor vehicles owned by anyone who persists in driving when his or her license has been revoked.

The bill would make it possible for law-enforcement agencies to pursue that impoundment-and-sale option in any case where a scofflaw is caught and convicted three or more times within a five-year period for operating a motor vehicle without a valid license.

Swenson said he introduced the proposed law at the suggestion of the Boulder County Sheriff's Office because that agency, along with other law enforcement agencies, contend that current penalties don't seem to be deterring people from driving after their licenses have been suspended or revoked.

In many instances, Swenson said, there does not appear to be any way to keep some of those people from continuing to drive on Colorado's roads, "other than impounding their vehicles." He said that's particularly the case in situations in which people have lost their driving privileges because of drunken-driving convictions.

Swenson's HB1204, which he introduced Monday, has been assigned to the House Transportation Committee for a yet-to-be-scheduled hearing. Swenson is chairman of that panel.

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NORTH CAROLINA -- The Durham City Council may form a committee to study alleged "predatory towing" around Durham.

The issue brewed on Chapel Hill Boulevard recently when customers of the Kurama Japanese Seafood and Steak House Sushi Bar were towed after parking illegally in empty spaces at the Pizza Inn next door.

The people that parked illegally complained because they claim the towing company was charging $190 per car and taking only cash. The Pizza Inn owner responded that he had a business to run.

While the city currently has no city ordinance that regulates towing charges, because of the complaints of some law breakers, that may change.

A representative from local towing companies asked council members at a work session Thursday to form a committee to study the issue.

In a Jan. 10 memo to City Manager Marcia Conner, Assistant City Manager John Pedersen also recommends forming a committee. In addition to predatory towing, it would look at the existing rate schedule and guidelines for "rotation" wreckers (those dispatched by the city), and the city’s requirements related to the towing of abandoned vehicles.

"I also recommend that the first order of business … be to invite all the towing companies doing business in the community to a meeting to define the committee’s priorities," he said in the memo.

If the council does not form a committee, Pedersen said, the city’s Taxicab Subcommittee should be expanded to take on the towing issues. (Thanks Mike)

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Equipment lessor GE Capital Fleet Services has signed an agreement to market and sell @Track Communications' Vehicle Management Information (VMI) system.

Designed for service fleets, VMI provides vehicle tracking and monitoring, as well as dynamic dispatching and two-way messaging over the GSM land-based wireless communications network. VMI is a product of @Track's subsidiary, Minorplanet Systems USA Ltd.

GE Capital Fleet Services, headquartered in Eden Prairie, MN, leases and/or manages over 500,000 vehicles in the U.S.

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The Work Truck Show 2002, to be held March 6-8 in conjunction with the 38th annual National Truck Equipment Association Convention in Orlando, Fla., will provide attendees with needed information on how to keep fleets running at maximum productivity and efficiency.

The show and convention will be held at the Orange County Convention Center, with the convention and educational conference running March 5-8. On March 6 and 7, the show will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. On March 8, the show will be open from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The Work Truck Show will bring together distributors, upfitters, manufacturers, buyers and users of work trucks in all industries. Full-sized equipment in classes 1 through 8 will be displayed. Individuals building and spec’ing work trucks can gain valuable information from representatives of 12 leading chassis manufacturers.

In addition, several chassis manufacturers are conducting educational sessions at the convention. They will present updates on chassis specs, body installation and new equipment design. The chassis updates are organized by NTEA Truck Equipment College and 30 concurrent sessions will be held March 5 and before show hours March 6-7. For a schedule and session descriptions, or to register to attend, visit www.ntea.com. You can also call (800) 441-NTEA to request a registration kit, or call the NTEA fax-on-demand service at (800) 700-2099 and request document No. 1110.

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Freightliner Trucks has introduced a truck locator feature on its website to allow visitors to search for new trucks in Freightliner Trucks dealer inventory.

The visitor can choose from highway tractors, business class/vocational, severe-duty or low-cab forward trucks and specifies search criteria like model, engine make, cab configuration and front-axle rating.

"This is another example of the extensive functionality of the www.freightlinertrucks.com site," said Bob Cariglia, vp of sales for Freightliner Trucks. "It lets customers see what’s available in dealer inventory and helps them start shopping for a new Freightliner truck."

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NEW YORK -- Herkimer Village officials agreed Monday evening to take another look at what constitutes a satellite office and then establish a fair policy for calling towing services from accident scenes in the village.

The board, after discussing the issues of towing lists and operators setting up satellite offices, opted to take the additional time to review new issues presented by resident Howard Paul, a former local tow truck operator.

Paul asked board members how one company's satellite towing station could be located in Herkimer, yet charge what he felt was a staggering towing fee to remove a vehicle to Schuyler, rather than to its Herkimer location.

The issue resulted from a December accident on Route 5 near the former Bikes 500 store. Paul felt it was unfair for the satellite towing service to charge $185 while the other local service charged $60 and a $15 cleanup fee.

"I'd hate to have to go to the hospital and come out and find out my car was towed to Schuyler. Maybe I should put up a sign on my front lawn, be put on the village's tow rotation, borrow a tow truck from Salisbury and go into business charging a $225 rate," Paul said. "I hope I don't have to go that far to make my point, but costs, especially to older residents, have to be kept down and I'm just trying to get my point across."

Paul worked many years for a private Herkimer towing company.

"I know what the prices are and he's way out of sight with his charges." he said. Paul also questioned whether installing a telephone in a vacant building qualified it as an office and why the satellite company is responding with two vehicles.

Chris Springer, towing manager at Skinner Sales in the village, provided village attorney Nick Macri with copies of the town of Kirkland's laws which were set up to deal with similar problems. He also suggested a cap be put on the maximum tow rates.

Springer said his normal tow fees are $45 for a day tow and $15 extra for night service, unless a car goes over an embankment or something like that. The New York State Tow Truck Association might be looking into over pricing, he said, adding some villages set caps on the tow costs. "If the tow operator doesn't like the prices, they can leave the village or be taken off the rotation," he said.

Trustee Gary Hartman said Police Chief Carl Lane would be asked to look into the matter. "Anyone doing any price gouging would be taken off the village's preferred towing list. We're making the policy and we should look into it," Hartman said.

"It's our intent to have our attorney and police chief investigate this matter and bring their findings back to the board so a proper course of action can be taken to resolve the issue," Mayor Mark Ainsworth stressed.

Contacted by phone after the meeting, Ben Juliano, owner of Juliano's Towing Service located on State Route 5 in East Schuyler, defended his Herkimer office site and towing charges.

"There was nothing paid out of anybody's pocket. If the person had to pay out of his pocket, like a private deal, the prices would be different," Juliano said. It's common price when dealing with insurance companies, that rates were often higher. The vehicle was also towed by a flatbed truck and not a wrecker, he said.

"We had no complaints from the customers who were more than happy when they saw what we did in helping them clean out their vehicle and load up their Christmas presents," Juliano said. He felt his services were right in the ballpark and he can work with prices for anybody. "We all know what one another charges on private deals, but not with dealing with insurance companies. Many times we're stuck with the vehicle and have to eat the bill," he said.

Juliano also stressed his "satellite office" was anything but just that. "It's a nice auto decaling facility" operated by his cousin Chris Juliano, who also operates the towing service there on a 24-7 basis. The wrecker is kept at the First Avenue facility and at Williams street during the night hours.

Juliano said two vehicles and operators responded to the accident in question because one of the drivers arrived with a flatbed truck needed to remove one of the vehicles involved in the accident. To keep the Herkimer facility neat, Juliano said, vehicles are towed to Schuyler. Charges to tow are normally the same for private deals from Herkimer, but not for those handled through insurance companies, he said.

"We will be reviewing other municipalities laws and also looking at how they have regulated their lists of towing services. We also plan to take a look at what might constitute operating a satellite business within the confines of the village of Herkimer," Macri said. The board will then consider the approach it wants to take in setting up a policy to govern them. (Chick Perry - The Evening Telegram)

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Caterpillar Inc., one of the world's largest manufacturers of diesel engines for trucks, said Wednesday that fourth-quarter sales were nearly unchanged from the year-earlier period at $5.1 billion, but earnings declined due to charges associated with plant closings and job reductions.

Net income fell to $167 million or 48 cents a share, from $264 million or 76 cents in the fourth quarter of 2000. However, the company took pre-tax charges that had a 28-cent per share adverse effect on earnings.

For the full year, sales and revenues were $20.45 billion, or $275 million higher than 2000. Profit was $805 million or $2.32 per share. The Peoria, Ill.-based company said that it expects profit to rise slightly in 2002, but sales will likely be flat.

Cummins Inc. faired a little better announcing Wednesday that it had an after tax profit of $3 million, or 8 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2001. The quarter's results are an improvement over a loss of 45 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2000.

The Columbus, Ind.-based diesel engine manufacturer said its fourth-quarter revenue was $1.46 billion.

For the full year, Cummins reported a loss of $18 million, or 47 cents per share, excluding a pre-tax charge of $125 million for second-quarter restructuring. Including that charge, Cummins lost $102 million, or $2.66 per share.

"2001 was a challenging year for us, yet we were able to make significant progress in improving our operations and meeting our financial commitments in the face of the most severe market conditions that I can remember," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tim Solso.

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The price of crude oil jumped for the fourth straight day as Iran’s oil minister said that the world’s oil cartel may cut production rates for the fifth time in 14 months to boost prices, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

The price of crude oil directly impacts the price of fuels, such as diesel and gasoline, making it vitally important to the towing industry.

Bijan Zanganeh, Iran’s oil minister, said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries should consider cutting production when it meets in mid-March.

The price of Brent crude oil rose 39 cents a barrel, or 2.1%, to $19.14 on the International Petroleum Exchange in London.

So far in 2002, the price of crude oil has slipped 6.1% to $17.70 a barrel. Zanganeh had previously said that he favors a price of more than $22 a barrel, Bloomberg said.

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NEW YORK -- Niagara Falls City Administrator Albert T. Joseph withdrew new towing fees from the City Council agenda Tuesday after complaints from tow truck operators.

The operators said they had not been consulted about a $300 license fee they would have to pay to be on the city's preferred list. They also opposed a $10 surcharge they would have to collect from customers and pass on to the city.

In 2000' The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in the case of Tocher vs. Santa Ana, found that additional licensing fees like the $300 that Niagara Falls is attempting to charge are prohibited by federal law. 

The ordinance would raise the existing $35 and $40 towing charges to a standard $65 for vehicles up to 10,000 pounds and $85 if a flatbed truck is used. Additional fees for other services also are in the ordinance. The operators said this would be the first increase in 12 years.

The fees were agreed to after Joseph formed a task force two years ago that met with the operators. However, Peter Granto of Granto's Collision said the operators had heard nothing since then until reading about it in the newspaper during the weekend. He said they had never discussed a licensing fee for the operators.

James Page of Page's Automotive said the operators would like the license fee to be reduced to about $200. They also want a new medallion system similar to one used to limit the number of taxicabs that can operate in the city. Currently there are 13 tow truck operations in the city. They currently pay no fee to be on the rotating list the Police Department uses for vehicle towing.

Page said the tow truck operators do not want to be the city's collection agency. He suggested that owners of towed vehicles be required to pay the surcharge at the police station to obtain a release form.

Joseph agreed to meet with the operators.

The new fees apply only to towing incidents in which the police are involved, which amount to about 1,200 a year. A new $50 administrative impound fee and the $10 surcharge are intended to cover the police's time and paperwork.

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MINNESOTA -- Most of United Stated has been enjoying our unusually balmy winter. But not all businesses are pleased with the continued above zero readings. Businesses involving snowmobiles and snowblowers, fishing, bulk oil and gas energy, some restaurants, and of course, towing companies have seen their business plummet. 

Allan Coenen of Allan's Garage and towing service of Sauk Centre, figures his towing service for stranded vehicles has plummeted 40 percent from last year.

"The towing business is an erratic one at best, but last year had lots of snow, making it a good year," said Coenen. "Not true this year."

Coenen noted that towing comes in two packages; inability of cars to start in cold weather and that of having numerous snowstorms.

"People in general forget to get their cars into shops for a winter tune-up before that first frigid blast hits them, then it's too late." It may also be noted that mild weather brings down a need for more spare parts when cars are used more often.

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Team Sports Entertainment Inc. has named Bill Miller chief executive of that company and its subsidiary, the Charlotte-based Team Racing Auto Circuit.

Miller is the chairman of Miller Industries Inc., a provider of vehicle towing and recovery equipment and services.

TRAC is a stock car racing series set to debut in 2003. Team Sports Entertainment, a sports and entertainment marketing and management company, is based in Grapevine, Texas.

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Japanese truck-maker Hino Motors Ltd cut its forecast for domestic truck and bus sales in 2002 on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

For the year, the company now expects sales to climb 9.8% to 37,600 vehicles, trimming an estimate issued by parent Toyota Motor Corp. that domestic sales would reach 40,000.

Hino also confirmed that it is considering building trucks in the United States and in other overseas markets.

A report in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily said on Tuesday that Hino would start producing trucks at a Toyota plant in California as early as 2004, Reuters said.

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The average price for a gallon of diesel fell nearly two cents for the week ending Jan. 21, to $1.14 from $1.159, according to U.S. Department of Energy figures.

The price is the lowest average since July 1999, when diesel closed at $1.13. The price has hovered around $1.15 since the middle of December, and fuel analysts say that trend is likely to continue.

We’ve had very few severe storms. But overall it's been mild across the Northeast and Midwest which is good news for fleets. When winter is bad, more oil is diverted to heating fuel production, limiting the supplies of diesel, experts say. But this winter’s mild weather has kept diesel supplies more than sufficient to meet demand. The low price is likely to stay even though oil producers are considering more production cuts.

Experts say if the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries does in fact cut oil production, the move won’t impact diesel prices for six months.

For the week ending Jan. 21, prices were highest in the Northeast, averaging $1.29, and lowest along the Gulf Coast and in the Midwest, averaging $1.11.

To check the average diesel prices for your apart of the country go here http://www.itow.org/fuel.htm.

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WASHINGTON -- Burglars broke into a vehicle at a towing company and helped themselves to some parts. A 1985 Pontiac Trans Am was partially stripped Sunday or Monday while it was parked at Ibsen Towing at 13226 S.E. 30th St. in Redmond. Someone pried their way into the locked car and took the radiator, alternator, speaker covers, shifter knob and miscellaneous tools.

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NEW YORK -- The Niagara Falls Council will consider a new towing ordinance that would increase fees for those whose cars are towed and those who do the towing.

Police Capt. Andrew Viglucci said the fees apply only to towing incidents in which the police are involved, which amount to about 1,200 a year. He said a new $50 administrative impound fee and $10 surcharge would cover police time and paperwork involved. Those who call a tow truck privately would not be affected.

He and Council Chairwoman Frances M. Iusi said fees have not been raised for years. The $35 and $40 towing fees would be raised to a standard $65 for vehicles up to 10,000 pounds and $85 if a flat-bed truck is used. Fees for other services also are in the ordinance.

Although recently proven to be against federal law, tow truck operators who want to be on the city's preferred list would have to pay a license fee of $300.

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The International Energy Agency cut its estimate Friday for oil production outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries for 2002 by 110,000 barrels a day to 810,000, Bloomberg reported.

The price of crude oil impacts the price of diesel fuel and gasoline, and is therefore of crucial importance to the towing industry.

Crude oil prices rose more than 2% following IEA's announcement, Bloomberg said.

The 26 non-OPEC nations, which are advised by the IEA, are expected to cut 330,000 barrels a day through June. That is only two-thirds of what they had promised OPEC in return for a 1.5 million-barrel cut from the cartel.

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By BILL TRULL

Lets say you drove downtown to attend a sporting event, parking was tight, you had to drive around to find a spot. Would you park in the lot that had 'no parking' signs all over it? Of course not, but some people think the signs don't apply to them.

Now lets say that your a city official and all of the people that parked illegally in that lot and got towed come to you to complain. Would you think 'how dare those tow trucks tow illegally parked cars, lets regulate the towing industry'? Of course not, but every day I read of another city that thinks this is a solution.

When someone has their car impounded, they are going to complain. It doesn't matter if they were parked illegally while robbing the 7-11 store, they are going to complain that they shouldn't have been towed and the towing company has some sort of scam going.

The fact that these people complain doesn't surprise me, what does is the fact that the city feels they must defend the inconsiderate scofflaws by regulating towing, or making it harder for property owners to have illegally parked cars removed.

Many cities think a good solution is to let illegally parked cars have a two hour grace period before they can be removed. What this amounts to is two hours of free parking anytime, anywhere. Oh, except on the cities property, where you will be towed immediately.

Some cities cap the rates that a towing company can charge in order to keep towing companies from "ripping off" the people that parked illegally. I say the only people getting ripped off are the property owners, the people that had a right to park there, and the towing company that must charge what some panel of non business owners says is fair.

Still other cities feel that grace periods, rate caps, and signs are not enough. They want private lot owners to fence their property so it's physically impossible for idiots to park there. Unfortunately, for the city officials that are obviously sniffing glue at the counsel meeting, it's also physically impossible for the paying customers to park there too.

Now, after all of this ranting and raving you would think I must have a solution for this dilemma. Well....Short of popping a wing window and throwing in a lit road flare, I don't.

What I do know is if these illegally parked cars were in the mayors driveway, things would be much different.

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FLORIDA -- A towing company that patrols I-95 in Fort Lauderdale found a vehicle in a ditch, about a mile south of Griffin Road.

The tow truck operator noticed a woman in the back seat of the vehicle, but thought she was asleep. When he returned a second time, he became worried because the woman had not moved, so he called police.

There was no sign of trauma and the cause of death has yet to be determined.

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OREGON -- Eugene police officers have just begun enforcing a 1998 state law aimed at keeping repeat traffic offenders off the streets.

Under the law, police can impound cars of people caught driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, driving without insurance or a valid driver's license, or driving in violation of license restrictions.

And it could cost car owners - even if they weren't driving - hundreds of dollars to get their cars back.

"The intent of this whole procedure is to reach out or have an impact on those that have had a DUI, an uninsured or revoked (driver) crash into them," Capt. Steve Swenson said. "We've all paid the price and picked up the tab on all those."

Lane County sheriff's deputies have used the law to tow cars for two years, and Springfield police have been towing cars for drunken driving violations for a year and other offenses for six months. In Springfield, the one exception is driving without insurance - that will garner a citation, but not towing.

Before now, Eugene police didn't have the resources to take on the added paperwork and necessary notifications to use the law effectively, but a recent ruling by the city attorney allows the department to assess a $110 administrative fee for each towed car.

The fee is in addition to any towing costs, which include a $10 dispatch fee, a $72 tow fee and $20 per day in storage for any one of the four tow companies contracted by the city.

The change in Eugene's policy will enable police to take away the tool that allows repeat offenders to continue driving, Swenson said.

"It's a group that has consistently not gotten the message through citations, court appearances and fines," he said. "This is another way - to take their vehicles."

In the past, an officer would write a ticket and tell the person they couldn't legally drive. But many times, drivers would get back behind the wheel once the officer was out of sight, he said.

In 2001, police issued about 25,000 traffic tickets - 7,947 of those for violations that now are towable offenses. The bulk of those offenses were for driving without insurance (about 4,000) and driving with a suspended driver's license (about 1,600). (Tricia Schwennesen - The Register Guard)

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CALIFORNIA -- Three people suffered minor injuries in a 15-car crash Thursday evening that closed the connector road between the northbound Eastern tollway and eastbound Riverside Freeway for about three hours, California Highway Patrol and fire officials said.

The accident occurred about 5:50 p.m. when a tow truck towing a pickup came around the curve on the connector route, where traffic had slowed, CHP Officer Mark Reeves said.

The tow truck driver was unable to stop and tried to drive between two lanes, striking about 14 cars before coming to rest on top of a Lincoln Continental. The woman driving the Lincoln was trapped under the tow truck for about an hour before being extricated. Paramedics transported two other people to hospitals, fire officials said. Details about their injuries were not available late Thursday. 

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TEXAS -- A West tow-truck driver remained in jail Thursday after police arrested him on charges of aggravated sexual assault.

John Edward Copeland, 33, was being held on a $15,000 bond, a jail official said.

Copeland, an employee of Polansky's Wrecker Service, was returning from fixing a flat in Waco about 9:30 p.m. Dec. 6 when he picked up a woman walking by the side of the road, said Waco police Sgt. Dennis Kidwell.

The woman told police the man drove her to an area in Bellmead and forced her to take off her clothes. The man then sexually assaulted her before she got free, ran to the highway and flagged down a passing motorist, Kidwell said.

Police arrested Copeland on Wednesday, he added.

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The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday set a February hearing for Caterpillar Inc's attempt to avoid fines for failing to meet 2002 pollution standards, Bloomberg reported.

Late last year Caterpillar announced that they would not be able to meet the EPA's deadline for stricter emission standards on diesel engines.

Caterpillar is facing fines that could be as much as $9,000 for every diesel engine it makes after October 2002 that fails to meet the standards agreed to in a 1998 settlement involving Caterpillar and six other engine makers. This could translate into higher costs for tow trucks equipped with Caterpillar engines.

Caterpillar spokesmen said the company will review the rules and submit comments to EPA, Bloomberg said.

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WISCONSIN -- Recent questions about how towing services are assigned by the Lake Geneva Police Department may be answered by a new towing policy presented to the Police and Fire Commission.

Police Chief Richard Meinel brought the towing policy change before the commission at its regular meeting Jan. 10.

"The reason we're having policy problems is that we're trying to regulate the private sector," Meinel said.

Meinel said he dicussed the policy with City Attorney Michael Rielly and came to the conclusion that the city has the right to use its discretion to look out for its own best interest only.

"We the city are a customer," Meinel said. "We don't have to have a rotation. We can call everybody or anybody."

Police officers who called for towing services for abandoned vehicles or crash sites previously alternated calls to local towing companies.

The new policy states that requests from citizens for a particular towing service will be honored with some exceptions -- if the situation is serious or if there is road blockage, the towing service that can respond fastest will be called. Exceptions can also be made for special equipment needs, or requests for towing companies that are an "unreasonable" time or distance away.

The policy states that the police department has the sole discretion to make the exceptions to requests from the public.

The second part of the policy states that requests for towing or storage of vehicles made by police is solely at the discretion of the police department.

It also states that the police department will not be involved in the setting of any fee schedule for towing services or vehicle storage unless contracted through the city.

Meinel said the city could contract for towing services, but that might be more complicated.

The commission voted unanimously to adopt the towing policy. (Jon Bemis - The Resorter)

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OHIO -- A Cleveland man is now being accused of posing as a police officer after an alert tow truck driver tipped-off police.

The Cuyhoga County Sheriff's Department says that James Gilbride was dressed up like a Cleveland cop and was walking around a police impound lot.

A tow truck employee who saw Gilbride in the lot noticed he was carrying a gun that didn't appear to be a police firearm, so he got suspicious.

A search of Gilbride's home turned up at least four radios, including one from the Cleveland Police Department worth about $3,000, plus dozens of amplifiers and other radio equipment, according to police.

Gilbride has been charged with impersonating a police officer and faces charges of receiving stolen property or grand theft.