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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking in December that focuses on upgrading the federal motor vehicle safety standards that address underride protection in light-vehicle crashes into the rear of trailer and semitrailers. The proposed rulemaking continues the agency’s initiative to upgrade the standards for truck and trailer rear…

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) filed a lawsuit over a new regulation announced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requiring electronic logbooks, known as ELDs. “This rule has the potential to have the single largest, most negative impact on the industry than anything else done by FMCSA,” said Jim Johnston, OOIDA president…

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) recently released the latest findings of its annual truck bottleneck analysis and the Tom Moreland Interchange at the intersection of I-285 and I-85 in Atlanta topped the list. The 2015 Congestion Impact Analysis of Freight-Significant Highway Locations, which assesses the level of truck-oriented congestion at 250 locations on the…

Just in time of the recent holiday season, Amazon ventured into the trucking industry, unwrapping thousands of new trailers to help speed up US deliveries and give customers a bigger window to place orders for same day or two-day delivery. Amazon rolled out the new trailers in early December. The company is using third party…

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has asked the federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to explore testing for synthetic marijuana after a crash claimed four lives in Texas. The NTSB is calling for FMCSA to determine how prevalent the use of impairing substances, especially synthetic marijuana, is among commercial motor vehicle drivers. In a…

Last month, U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) announced new legislation, the Vehicle Innovation Act (VIA) that was introduced in the House of Representatives. The bill will promote investments in research and development of clean vehicle technologies to create more fuel-efficient vehicles, reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil and…

Drivers facing long hauls often have to deal with fatigue and the drowsy driving that accompanies it. Toss in driver distractions and the recipe for disaster is in the mix. Technology, however, could provide a solution. Using advanced analytics and video monitoring to identify patterns of behavior – such as lane departure or following too…

The much anticipated U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) regulation on electronic logging devices (ELD) will be published before the end of the year, according to USDOT sources. In its November Report on Significant Rulemakings, USDOT reported the final rule cleared the Office of Management and Budget on Nov. 13 will be published in late November…

The recently passed six-year, $325 billion Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act (STRR) includes $4.5 billion per year for a national freight network in the United States. The proposed legislation is now in conference committees as the House and Senate work to produce a compromise piece of legislation. The recently passed House version designates certain…

The truck driver shortage in the United States has reached an estimated 48,000 drivers and could expand even further according to an analysis by the American Trucking Associations (ATA). Trucking firms have responded by raising average pay 17 percent since the end of 2013, according to the National Transportation Institute. Firms have also reached out…