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The year’s hot debate over which government agency should regulate trucking safety – be it the Federal Highway Administration or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – was resolved in a way that left the question moot and the motor carrier industry delighted.

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Rather than choosing one of the two agencies to permanently house trucking oversight, Congress created a separate Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, dramatically fulfilling a 15-year quest by the industry and its supporters: a national office dedicated to truck and bus safety that would stand within the Department of Transportation on equal footing with the other modal agencies — namely, the Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Aviation Administration and Federal Maritime Administration.

By elevating motor carrier safety to this level — on par with FHWA and NHSTA rather than buried within them — proponents said oversight of the industry’s unique issues would receive greater attention and, hopefully, more resources.

In December, President Clinton signed the enabling legislation to form the agency and quell the debate.

For the full story, see the Jan. 10 print edition of Transport Topics. .