Latest News Updates From Eric Miller

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Eric Miller

Senior Reporter

Eric Miller has been a reporter and writer at publications nationwide for 40 years. He’s been at Transport Topics the past 11 years, currently on the paper’s government team; worked as a reporter at the Dallas Morning News; reporter, editor and member of the investigative team at The Arizona Republic; reporter at the Tampa Tribune; city editor at the Santa Fe New Mexican; and senior writer for D Magazine in Dallas.


Government, Business, Equipment, Safety

Experts Say Inspection System Should Have Room to Give Credit for No Violations

For years, truckers have been complaining that inspectors do not always submit reports to federal regulators giving them credit for no violations or “clean” roadside inspections.

July 13, 2017
Government, Business, Safety

12% of Trucks Inspected on Brake Safety Day Placed Out of Service

Nearly eight out of 10 large trucks and buses did not have any critical violations during an unannounced special brake inspection day across the United States and Canada earlier this year, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance announced on July 12.

July 12, 2017
Government, Technology, Equipment, Safety

CARB Aims to Require Truck, Engine Makers to Extend Emissions Warranties

California environmental officials are working on a plan to require truck and engine manufacturers to extend emissions system warranties up to more than four times longer than current regulations require.

July 11, 2017
Government, Business, Safety

FMCSA Has Authority to Issue Permits for Mexican Trucks to Operate in US, Court Says

Federal regulators have the statutory authority to issue permits for U.S. longhaul operations to Mexico-domiciled trucking companies despite poor participation by Mexican carriers in a three-year pilot used to demonstrate their safety, a federal appeals court has ruled.

July 10, 2017
Government, Business

National ELD Mandate Education Tour Set

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is conducting an electronic logging device national tour to help educate commercial motor carriers about the ELD rule that goes into effect later this year.

July 10, 2017
Government, Safety

FMCSA Decides to Heed Advice of CSA Panel, Baffling Some Truckers

A decision by federal trucking regulators to adopt sweeping recommendations of an elite academic panel’s study assessing the way truckers are safety-rated has been mostly well received by the industry; yet some truckers admit they are a bit baffled by the complex “item response theory,” or IRT, approach to revamp the federal Compliance, Safety, Accountability program.

July 6, 2017
Government

FMCSA Accepts, Will Act on CSA Recommendations, Agency’s Chief Counsel Says

The top attorney for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said the agency is moving forward with plans in support of recommendations by a panel of elite academics for a new approach to measuring motor carrier safety scores.

June 30, 2017
Government, Safety

Safety Scoring System 'Conceptually Sound,' But Needs Improvement, Report Says

The federal Compliance, Safety, Accountability program’s controversial Safety Measurement System to identify motor carriers at high risk for future crashes is “conceptually sound” but several features need improvement, according to a new congressionally mandated report by a panel of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

June 28, 2017
Business, Technology

Trucking Industry Stakeholders Continue to File ‘Conflict Mineral’ Reports to SEC

Trucking industry manufacturers and suppliers have continued to file their annual “conflict minerals” reports despite legislation passed by the House that would eliminate the mandate and a pledge earlier this year by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s former acting chairman to not enforce the agency’s own rule.

June 26, 2017
Government, Business, Safety

Positive Drug-Test Rate Up to 7-Year High, DOT Says

A new U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing report shows that the overall 2016 lab-reported positive drug test rate for truck drivers and other DOT security-­sensitive employees rose to its highest level since at least 2009, including year-­over-­year increases in three of five drug categories.

June 26, 2017