A group of trucking companies in Southern California will pay $5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by drivers who alleged that they were improperly treated as independent contractors, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

Automated vehicles can be the biggest asset in improving the safety of America’s roads, according to Christopher Hart, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, as reported by Transport Topics.

In his new book “The Big Rig: Trucking and the Decline of the American Dream,” Steve Viscelli, a lecturer in the Department of Sociology, explains the decline of the trucking industry, which used to be one of the best working-class jobs in the United States, according to an article on penncurrent.upenn.edu.

The trucking industry invests at least $9.5 billion in safety annually according to a landmark report released by American Trucking Associations.

Trucking and travel plaza leaders recently announced a new highway safety initiative to help professional drivers find available truck parking.