News on wheels: New Mexico and West Virginia CDL changes and a special route in Florida
Two new laws led to license changes as Florida Route 301 became the first pavement laboratory.
New Mexico will review Federal Drug and Alcohol Information before issuing CDL and West Virginia extends CDL instruction permit by one year. Thus, these new laws impact different states on Commercial Driver’s Licenses.
To these news is added the particular pavement of a Florida route. In brief, one by one:
New Mexico:
The new law, recently promulgated, requires cross-checking data with the results of the Federal Information Center on Drugs and Alcohol. Thus, no CDL will be issued before verifying whether or not the driver is qualified for a Commercial Driver’s License or a commercial learner’s permit.
West Virginia:
In this case the law enters into force from June 6 onwards. Here all holders of a CDL instruction permit will have a validity that goes from six months to a year. This extends the duration of these CDL permits.
Florida:
Route 301 in Florida, United States, has become a true experiment where the performance of concrete is measured after the passage of thousands of trucks and vehicles.
In this project, financed by the Florida Department of Transportation, the conditions of this concrete are monitored in real time. This seeks to improve, among other things, the safety of those who travel the roads.
“The concrete test driveway is a unique facility that incorporates state-of-the-art technology to help better understand pavement safety and performance,” said Howie Mosely, P.E., FDOT state materials engineer. “The information we collect will help us optimize concrete pavement designs for safety, longevity, and cost effectiveness, and ultimately provide a better roadway experience for our state’s residents and visitors,” FDOT continued and published in a release.
Where is it located? “It is located parallel to the existing northbound lanes of the U.S. 301 from Richard Mosely Road to County Road 218. Northbound drivers on the U.S. 301 will veer onto the test road just past Richard Mosely Road and reconnect with the existing northbound lanes of the U.S. 301. At the end of the track, traffic is scheduled to be diverted to the newly built concrete test road on Tuesday, March 14,” the same organization detailed.