NEWS BRIEFS FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 18, 2006

NEWS BRIEFS FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 18, 2006Small Business Health Plan Bill Falls Short of Cloture Motion WASHINGTON (May 12, 2006) - U.S. Senator Mike Enzi's (R-WY) Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act, S. 1955, failed yesterday after being just five votes short of a motion to invoke cloture. Cloture is a method of limiting debate or ending a filibuster in the Senate. At least 60 senators must vote in favor before cloture can be invoked. The final vote was 55-43, with Republicans in favor of invoking cloture and Democrats strongly against the motion, according to an announcement by the Automotive Service Association (ASA).  Only two Democrats voted in favor of the cloture motion, Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA). Nelson is a co-sponsor of S. 1955. On the Republican side, only one senator was opposed to cloture, Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI). S. 1955 would have allowed small businesses to band together across state lines to purchase health insurance. This bill would have also enabled businesses and trade associations to offer affordable health insurance to their employees and working families. At press time, it was unclear whether the legislation will be brought up again in the 109th Congress. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) had prepared an amendment to improve S. 1955 so that the individual insurance market would not be subject to benefit mandate pre-emption. The Automotive Service Association (ASA) supported both S. 1955 and Snowe's amendment. "We appreciate Chairman Enzi's and Senator Snowe's leadership for the small business community in the health care debate. They worked diligently to get a bill that senators could support. It's unfortunate that the debate became so partisan," said Bob Redding, ASA's Washington, DC representative. For additional information about legislative matters, visit ASA's legislative Web site at www.TakingTheHill.com.(Source: ASA)DOT/FMCSA Study Urges Active Safety Technologies For Large Trucks WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 10, 2006) - The results of a Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), at the direction of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), strongly validates the need for more commercial vehicles to be equipped with active safety technologies, such as early lane departure warning.  The study was mandated as part of The Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 and was conducted to determine the causes of and contributing factors to crashes involving commercial motor vehicles. The FMCSA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) conducted the multiyear, nationwide study. The study identified areas that need to be addressed by effective crash countermeasures. These findings were recently transmitted in a formal report to Congress. Estimated Number of Trucks in Crashes 
by Crash TypeCrash TypeNumberPercentRear End 33,00023.1Ran off Road/Out of Lane 25,00017.8Side Swipe, Same Direction  15,00010.3Rollover 13,0008.9Turning Across Path/Into Path11,0008.0Intersecting Vehicles, Straight Paths  8,0005.8Side Swipe, Opposite Direction6,0004.6Head-on 4,0003.0Hit Object in Road 3,0001.8No Impact (Fire, Jackknife, Other) 1,0000.9Backing into Other Vehicle--0.3Other Crash Type22,00015.5 Total Trucks141,000100.0 (Source: "2006 Large Truck Crash Causation Study," FMCSA)The study found that more than 36 percent of crashes where the truck was at fault were the result of departing from the roadway, crossing over the lane line or turning across the path of a vehicle, making it the single-largest cause of large truck injury and fatality crashes. Additionally, the study found that in crashes caused by the driver, 40 percent resulted from driver inattention/distraction, fatigue or other physical ailments.  Previous studies conducted by the FMCSA found the average cost of an accident caused by a large truck involving fatalities is approximately $3.4 million, while the average cost of an accident involving injuries was $217,000. These costs include medical expenses, emergency services, property damage, lost productivity and monetized quality-adjusted life years. (Source: FMCSA, Iteris)SPX Acquires Rights to Tire
Pressure Monitoring Technology CHARLOTTE, NC (May 15, 2006) - SPX Corp. today announced that it has acquired from G5 Electronics LLC, Auburn Hills, MI, the intellectual property and worldwide distribution rights to G5's tire pressure monitoring technology. SPX Service Solutions designs, manufactures and markets a suite of special service tools, advanced diagnostic and shop equipment and technical information for vehicle servicing and maintenance. David Kowalski, president of the SPX Test and Measurement Segment, said, "G5 is a leading supplier and innovator of hand held tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) tools and is a great fit with our own existing TPMS technology, allowing SPX to offer a broad range of TPMS solutions to this fast growing segment of the vehicle repair industry."(Source: SPX Corp.)Does Your Business Have 
"Peripheral Vision?"  PHILADELPHIA (May 11, 2006) - Ever been surprised by some event you didn't see coming? If so, you are not alone. For in the day-to-day running of a business, getting caught up in what we see in front of us limits our time and awareness of threats on the edges. Like a radar screen, one can get mesmerized on the screen's center and fail to see risks on the edges. From emerging technologies to changes in consumer tastes, tremendous threats and by extension opportunities, often begin as weak signals from the edges of everyday business. Co-authors George S. Day and Paul J. H. Schoemaker address this subject in a new book, "Peripheral Vision: Detecting the Weak Signals That Will Make or Break Your Company" (ISBN 1422101541; published by Harvard Business School, May/2006) To the authors, "Peripheral Vision" means the ability of companies to detect, interpret and act on distant and often weak signals - whether something seen by a sales rep out in the field, regulatory changes, a rumor about a new rival, a newspaper article about a new innovative automotive device or the popularity of a blog started by a dissatisfied customer. The authors say that their research shows that less than 20 percent of firms have developed a sufficient capacity to remain competitive as innovation and risk on the periphery of a business or industry occur. Their book conveys a systematic, five-step process for developing peripheral vision that is attuned to sensing changes - and turning threats into opportunities: * Set the right scope.  * Use multiple methods to scan.  * Interpreting peripheral signals. * Probing carefully in the right places. * Acting wisely on signals before competitors do.  The process is about sorting wheat from the chaff, to being open to risks coming out of left field and sorting distractions from threats sooner than competitors, so that the right actions can be taken. It's also about structuring a business - to not only be aligned with sensing weak signals on the periphery, but having a place within a business to send these signals to for analysis and action.(Source: Harvard Business School)