Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) plans to introduce a bill in the new session of Congress to authorize $1 trillion in spending over several years to rebuild the nation’s roads and bridges and invest in other infrastructure modernization projects.
January 5, 2015BusinessGovernment
Truck-Crash Deaths Inch Up
Highway fatalities from truck-involved crashes on U.S. roads rose by 0.5% in 2013, while injuries declined to 95,000 from 104,000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported.
January 5, 2015Government
Key GOP Senator Plans to Advance 5-Year Highway Funding Bill in 2015
The Senate Republican expected to take over a key transportation panel Jan. 6 said he plans to advance a five-year highway bill to ensure there’s funding for infrastructure projects that benefit the trucking industry.
January 5, 2015BusinessFuelSafetyGovernmentAutonomous
Fate of Cross-Border Trucking Still Unclear After Report Calls Mexican Pilot Too Small
The possibility of more Mexican trucks running in the United States is still up in the air after a recent report by the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General concluded participation in a three-year pilot program was too small to yield sufficient safety data.
January 5, 2015Government
House Democratic Leaders Want Keystone Vetted in Committee, Not on Floor
The incoming ranking Democrats on three House committees with jurisdiction over Keystone XL pipeline bills have asked Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) not to bypass the committee process by going straight to the floor for a vote on what they called an issue of such magnitude.
December 31, 2014Government
FMCSA to Keep Random Drug Testing Level at 50% in 2015
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced that the trucking industry will have to continue randomly testing at least 50% of its drivers for drug and alcohol use during 2015.
December 31, 2014Government
FRP Board Approves Spinoff of Trucking Unit
FRP Holdings Inc., which owns real estate and trucking businesses, said its board has approved the spinoff of the trucking operation to be known as New Patriot.
December 31, 2014Government
Gas Tax 'Off the Table' as Highway Funding Option, Shuster Says
House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) has ruled out higher fuel taxes or taxing miles traveled to pay for transportation, an announcement that narrows the options for a new road funding bill in 2015.
December 30, 2014GovernmentBusiness
Collins Defends Change to Restart Requirements
Federal data shows that the accident rate for trucks is higher during morning peak traffic, one of the reasons the 34-hour restart requirement in the federal hours-of-service rule was suspended pending further study, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said in an op-ed column for the Bangor Daily News.
December 29, 2014GovernmentBusiness
Not Enough Data to Project Mexican Drivers as Safe For Longhaul, Report Concludes
The pilot program that allowed Mexican trucks to run in the United States for three years didn’t yield enough results to determine the program’s worthiness, said a report from the Inspector General within the U.S. Department of Transportation.
December 29, 2014