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I read with dismay the comments made by [an official of] American Trucking Associations about the proposed hours-of-service changes in your Sept. 12 issue.

WASHINGTON — Component manufacturer Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems offered instructions on the capabilities and complexity of North American trucks to federal officials here last week so that government might better understand how to interact with the industry.

Truck drivers should be prohibited from using cell phones while driving, even if the devices are hands-free, the National Transportation Safety Board said last week.

Truck drivers should be prohibited from talking and texting on phones while driving, no matter whether they use hands-free devices, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.

The Department of Transportation said Monday it will accept public comments through Sept. 22 on safety authorizations of Mexican carriers to operate in the United States beyond a 25-mile border zone.

Transport Topics found carriers building gyms, hiring fitness experts and nutritionists, bombarding drivers with recipes and other wellness tips, pushing fruit and vegetables into their lunch bags and discounting insurance premiums for drivers who adopt healthier habits.

Transport Topics Online will be closed Monday, Sept. 5, for the Labor Day holiday. Please check back on Tuesday, Sept.6, for the latest trucking and freight transportation news.

How can the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration so closely regulate a driver and then ignore the environment in which that driver operates?

American Trucking Associations said the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s draft five-year strategic safety plan, while a good start, does not do enough to address the root causes of crashes.