Holiday Greetings from L.A. Xpress A&D, Inc.

Dear Customers and Friends,

Throughout the year, L.A. Xpress has given our support to many worthy causes. The Oralinga School for the Hearing Impaired and Rotary International are good examples. We support Rotary's quest to eradicate polio worldwide through their "Polio Plus" program. We have supported and contributed to the on-going community programs of the Rotary Club of Downey and the Rotary Club of South Gate, along with many other local programs.

This year, as in the past, we are giving an additional contribution to the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army as an appropriate way for us to continue our Holiday Tradition of giving to the needy and less fortunate. These contributions are being made in the name of our customers and employees.

We hope that the Spirit of the Holidays will be with you throughout the year and good health and happiness will be yours to enjoy.

Warmest regards,

Michael W. Wichert
President

All of us at L.A. Xpress join Mike in wishing you a Wonderful Holiday Season and Happy New Year!

Annual Company Picnic a Great Success

The 13th Annual L.A. Xpress Company Picnic was held on October 16, 1999 at Santa Anita Race Track. The day included a catered buffet served by Chris and Pitts, face painting for the kids, horse racing for the adults and raffle prizes galore. We had a "Color the L.A. Xpress Truck" contest for the children with winners in several age categories. We also raffled off VCRs, Stereos and other items. The Grand Prize, a 19-inch television, was won by Joe Negrey. The raffle prizes were donated by Joe Newfield - TIP Leasing, Glen Mavros - Mavros Insurance, Phyllis Lake - The Singleton Co., Elizabeth, Debbie & Stephanie - United Concordia, Mary Bell - Nextel, Larry Shargay - Franklin Brass, Bob Quijas - L.A. Xpress, Mike Wichert and all of us at L.A. Xpress.

One of the best places to stand at the picnic was next to the dessert table. We ask each family to bring a dessert, and you should see what they brought. It's a good thing that they were all low calorie, non-fat desserts. The final count was over 550 people attended the picnic. Some even won money at the races. We can't name names, but you know who you are. It seems, from the comments made by the partygoers, that everyone had a great time and were looking forward to next years get together.

Health News
Just One Lick Can Make You Sick

You're at risk of feeling below par if you've ever given a quick lick to your golf ball before putting or teeing off. The gastroenterology journal, Gut, reported that a 65 year old Irish man who played golf every day went to his doctor complaining of fatigue and upper abdominal pain. He also was jaundiced. The diagnosis: "golf ball liver".

It turns out the avid golfer had a habit of licking his golf balls. Believe it or not, some golfers do this to remove dirt, which can slow the speed of the ball and affect how it rolls on the putting surface. His licking habit exposed him to a pesticide commonly used on golf courses. Once the man kicked his licking habit, his liver returned to normal and he was fine.

The message here: Never put a golf ball or tee in your mouth. Wash golf balls in the ball washer or carry a damp cloth. And always wash your hands with soap and water after playing a round.

Transportation Facts
Editorial By: Les Nettles, Vice President Operations

In the recent months there has been an ever-increasing number of attacks on the trucking industry citing that the industry is unsafe and unchecked by government. I for one felt that it is high time we, as an industry, speak out and tell you some of the actual statistics. I have been in the transportation industry for 20+ years and have only experienced one fatal accident. This accident involved a tractor/trailer and a passenger vehicle. The driver of the passenger vehicle, being distracted while driving, caused this accident. While my personal observation does not set any precedence, perhaps the following information will.

According to a report compiled and written by the University of Michigan, Transportation Research Institute, "out of 5,453 fatal crashes in 1994-1995, 4,395 of these fatalities were assigned (at fault) to the driver of the passenger vehicle. Conversely 1,447 of these fatalities were assigned to the truck driver."

In 70.3 percent of the crashes, the passenger vehicle driver alone was coded with a driver-related factor, while in only 16.2 percent of the crashes, the truck driver alone was found to have committed some error.

In a September 1998 statistic, the Large Truck Crash Profile1997 published by the Office of Motor Carriers Federal Highway Administration found that in 1997 there were 56,978 vehicles reported in fatal crashes. Large trucks were responsible for 4,871 of these deaths. Again the number of trucks at fault is disproportionate with the number of fatalities caused by passenger vehicles.

This certainly is not to suggest that any fatal accident is acceptable, but only meant to show how the figures actually add up. We tend to forget that without our trucks there would be no gasoline at the service station, no groceries on store shelves or retail goods in our shopping malls. We must remember that we live in a consumer driven society and we need our trucks to maintain the economy and our way of life. The old saying is still true, "If you buy it in a store, it was carried by a truck".

Here in California we have a very safety conscious environment, beginning with the California Highway Patrols' B.I.T program to insure safety compliance, down to the California Trucking Association's (CTA) dedication to constant improvement on safety related issues within our industry. As just one example of the CTA's dedication to safety, they have a wonderful program called the "No-Zone". This program is designed to show passenger vehicle drivers where the blind spots are for the truck drivers. These blind spots are the "No-Zones" that the passenger vehicles should stay away from. The program involves a specially painted truck and trailer that shows the "No-Zones". The truck is parked in an open area with cars parked around it, the program participants are encouraged to get into the truck and experience the "No-Zones" first hand. This kind of safety training is especially important for High School students and other first time drivers.