Safety & Compliance

Congress might want to consider a mileage fee for trucks and electric vehicles when it looks for ways to strengthen highway funding, says the Government Accountability Office. GAO said that while privacy concerns and other issues limit the usefulness of such fees for automobiles, Congress should consider a pilot program to test them for trucks and electric cars

Tags: Infrastructure, Congress, VMT, Taxes

As required by the bipartisan Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is proposing that hybrid and electric vehicles meet minimum sound standards in order to help make all pedestrians more aware of the approaching vehicles

Tags: NHTSA

The Coast Guard is poised to propose standards for the devices that will read Transportation Worker Identification Credentials. The proposal, six years in the making, is in line for clearance at the White House Office of Management and Budget. Once it is cleared by OMB and published, probably in January, the Coast Guard will take comments and draft the final rule, a process that likely will take most of 2013

The average value of stolen freight tracked by FreightWatch spiked 77.6% September through November from the previous three-month period, with high-value electronics bucking an overall trend of fewer thefts

Tags: Safety, Cargo theft, Security

The New York State Thruway Authority, after many weeks of silence, announced that it will not be hiking toll rates as proposed by 45% on commercial vehicles with more than three axles

Tags: New York, Tolls

Oral arguments in the lawsuit challenging the hours of service rule will be held March 15 at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. It typically takes the court two to three months to rule following arguments, which means it should hand down its decision before the new HOS rule is scheduled to take effect in July

Tags: Hours of Service, FMCSA, ATA

Indiana Gov.-elect Mike Pence has named former Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator John Hill executive director of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security

Tags: Indiana, People

An inattentive driver and poorly maintained brakes, including antilock brakes that had been rendered inoperable, were the probable cause of a commercial truck hitting an Amtrak passenger train in the Nevada desert last summer, killing six and injuring 16, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday

Tags: Safety, Brakes, ABS, trains

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a new analysis showing that highway deaths fell to 32,367 in 2011, marking the lowest level since 1949 and a 1.9% decrease from the previous year. Large-truck fatalities, however, rose, with the number of large-truck occupants killed jumping by 20%

Tags: Safety, NHTSA

President Obama is scheduled to travel today to Redford Township, Mich., for an event on the economy at the Daimler Detroit Diesel plant

Tags: Michigan, Detroit Diesel, Obama

The election did not change the balance of power in Washington, but committee leadership in Congress is in flux and trucking lobbyists are alert for what that might mean. They also are watching for a possible change at the Department of Transportation

Tags: Congress, Infrastructure

The advisory committee that is preparing recommendations on the CSA enforcement program for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has a dense thicket to chop through. The complexities and contradictions of CSA were on full display yesterday as a subcommittee of the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee took in testimony from the analysts who designed the program and researchers who have enumerated its flaws

Tags: CSA, Congress