News in brief

Trucker study seeks

traits for young hires

A study is underway to help trucking regulators identify good commercial drivers between 20 and 24 years old.

The American Transportation Research Institute this week published its intentions to develop a framework that industry employers and government regulators can use to determine more precisely which traits lead young people to be safe commercial drivers.

A person must be 21 to hold a commercial driver's license and drive across state lines.

"While the 18 to 25 year age group is high-risk as a whole, there are likely to be individuals within the age group who are more similar to safe, experienced drivers than their peers," the institute said in its report.

Trucking companies have competed with industries such as construction and retail for young workers. But those industries do not have age restrictions as stringent as in commercial trucking.

Researchers first will determine what characteristics make a safe commercial driver by surveying drivers with good safety records. Next, researchers will develop a test with the hope of finding young drivers who exhibit the same characteristics as the best drivers.

-- Dalton LaFerney

Zips Car Wash adds

to Florida holdings

Zips Car Wash, a Little Rock-based chain, has purchased a Florida carwash, making the Sunshine State its second-largest territory.

The acquisition of Bio Car Wash in Miramar, Fla., north of Miami, brings the tally of the carwash chain's operations in the state to 14, second only to Tennessee, which has 18 locations, and ahead of Arkansas, with 13.

This is the second Florida acquisition for Zips this month. Including the new operation, Zips has 82 locations in nine states.

Zips operates drive-thru carwashes in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee.

-- John Magsam

Windstream shares

fall; index loses 3.87

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 3.87 to 334.51 Tuesday.

"The major averages fluctuated as retail stocks declined and offset gains in the broader market," said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Simmons First Investment Group Inc. in Little Rock.

Windstream shares hit a 52-week low of $1.90 and fell 11.2 percent.

Total volume for the index was 29.5 million shares.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

Business on 08/16/2017

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