The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the trucking industry’s not-for-profit research institute, today unveiled its list of the top ten critical issues facing the North American trucking industry.

The state of the economy tops the list in ATRI’s survey of more than 4,000 trucking industry executives.  The complete results were released at the 2010 Management Conference and Exhibition of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) meeting in Phoenix, the nation’s largest gathering of motor carrier executives.  The ATRI Top Industry Issues report also solicited and tabulated specific strategies for addressing each issue.

The Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA 2010), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s new regulatory framework for evaluating carrier and driver safety, debuted on the list in a close second to the economy this year.  Government regulation, which was the second most pressing issue last year, remained near the top of the list at spot number three.  The driver shortage returned to the top ten list this year, in a sign that carriers have a growing concern over finding enough drivers to meet increased freight demand as the economy rebounds.

The ATA-commissioned survey results and proposed strategies will be utilized by the ATA Federation to better focus its advocacy role on behalf of the U.S. trucking industry and ATA Federation stakeholders.

“ATRI’s annual survey gives us a clear roadmap of the strategies we collectively need to pursue as an industry,” said ATA Chairman Tommy Hodges (Titan Transfer, Shelbyville, TN).

“It is vital for the trucking industry to stay abreast of the issues and policies that have a profound impact on how we move America’s freight safely and efficiently, said Bill Graves, ATA President and CEO.  Not only must we be prepared to support initiatives that are based on well-founded research and thought, but we must also be ready to vigorously debate initiatives which lack research and practicality.”

ATRI is the trucking industry’s 501(c)(3) not-for-profit research organization.  It is engaged in critical research relating to freight transportation’s essential role in maintaining a safe, secure and efficient transportation system.  A copy of the survey results is available from ATRI at www.atri-online.org.

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The Hells Angels Facade

Known for supporting such charities as the Toys for Tots campaign and thought of as a hobby group who looks a little rough and likes leather, the Hells Angels have become an accepted part of our culture — and America’s Most Wanted. Beneath this innocuous façade lies the core of a crime syndicate as sinister as an international drug cartel.

Hells Angels Infiltration

In an unprecedented exposé — “Running with the Devil: The True Story of the ATF’s Infiltration of the Hells Angels,” by award-winning author and criminal defense attorney Kerrie Droban — the truth of this organization, and its threat to our communities, comes to light. Her book shatters the public’s image of the Hells Angels as harmless promoters of charitable organizations as it reveals the treacherous inner workings of the brotherhood.

The infamous Sonny Barger once declared that “the Hells Angels would never be infiltrated.” He was wrong, thanks to the ATF agents who risked their lives. Droban’s true-crime novel chronicles the ATF sting and the ensemble cast of undercover agents who posed as members of a Mexican renegade motorcycle club for two years, earning the trust and respect of the vicious Arizona Hells Angels. Their work led to the 2003 bust, in which the ATF seized thousands of rounds of ammunition, explosives, weapons, grenades and napalm.

“There’s a lot of glamour associated with motorcycle riding,” says Droban. “Like the Wild West, there’s an allure that draws bikers to the road in the same way that cowboys were drawn to the trail. Both are striving for a reckless freedom. But there’s a difference between the so-called ‘RUBs’ [Rich Urban Bikers] who dress the part on weekends, put on their leather chaps and vests and take to their cruisers, and the hard-core ‘1-percenters’ who are anti-establishment and involved in criminal exploits. Unfortunately, there are those who confuse the two, with tragic results.”

While both groups may occasionally mix in biker bars or share the open road, the Hells Angels are territorial and ever-mindful of their rank and file structure. Members must earn their “patches” — embroidered Death Head emblems on their leather vests — and embrace a lifestyle that pledges loyalty above all to a brotherhood of misfits.

Hells Angels Subculture

“Ironically, they’re really conformists,” Droban points out. “They strive to belong in a subculture that adheres to strict rules and regulations, a Constitution with bylaws, a felonious code of ethics and an internal government organization complete with a president, vice president, foot soldiers, sponsors, prospects and even a dress code.”

Get your copy of “Running with the Devil,” to learn more about the Hells Angels.

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