Blog

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will soon launch a national program to train police officers in traffic enforcement for large trucks. Jack Van Steenburg, chief safety officer at the agency, said the agency worked with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) on a curriculum covering the basics of truck safety enforcement and will…

Massachusetts lawmakers are proposing getting tougher on protesters who block highways. Rep. Colleen Garry has filed legislation that proposes making it a felony to block highways. If approved, her bill could result in stiffer penalties for those who participate in protests such as the ones that recently blocked Interstate 93 in two different places during…

While truckers and consumers are enjoying five-year lows at the pump, clean fuel alternatives are suffering. Biodiesel fuel producers, who use vegetable oil and animal fats, have cut prices and margins in an attempt to stay competitive with diesel fuel, which is down 20 percent from a year ago. “The producers have to be getting…

A federal judge in Kentucky is asking for more information about business arrangements between Pilot J truck stops and several trucking companies. U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar asked attorneys to provide more details about what Pilot J had promised the trucking companies. The request came during a motion by Pilot J to dismiss lawsuits against…

Advances in technology will make trucking safer in the future. The only question that remains is how soon the future will come. For example, a NHTSA-funded study conducted by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute concluded that a more advanced crash avoidance technology that engages truck brakes automatically before an impending crash could prevent…

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) reports that results of a survey of 130 fleets and more than 130,000 drivers shows that the median pay for drivers is on par with the national median and the industry offers drivers “competitive” benefits. “The data in our Driver Compensation Study shows that now more than ever, trucking is…

U.S. speed limits are rising nationwide, especially in wide-open Western states, reflecting the more-harried lifestyles of a fast-paced nation, according to a Los Angeles Times report. But many safety officials are scratching their heads over a perilous trend they say will lead to more — and more ghastly — fatalities. Each year, excessive speed contributes…

According to a Bloomberg News report, the number of people killed in large-truck crashes increased for the fourth straight year, bucking a trend of overall improvement in U.S. highway safety. Fatalities rose to 3,964 people last year, which includes truckers, pedestrians and the occupants of vehicles that collided with the big rigs, the U.S. Transportation…

A bill that provides millions of dollars in tax credits to the trucking industry has been approved by the U.S. Senate and sent to President Obama. Under the measure, carriers who bought new trucks or other equipment this year will be able to take the full depreciation write-off for the purchase year. Usually, the federal…

Plunging fuel prices and an improving U.S. economy is a two-pronged piece of good news for the trucking industry, according to Zacks Equity Research. Zacks reports that with fuel cost accounting for a considerable portion of expenses of trucking companies the drop in prices is critical. With declining trucking costs, business enterprises are increasingly opting…