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There’s nothing like a weather-induced emergency to remind us all how fragile man’s plans and creations are, even when the situation involves the behemoth that is the American freight delivery system.

We read with great interest the Transport Topics article about George Reagle, the former associate administrator of the Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Motor Carriers [“Reagle Breaks Silence,” (8-16, p. 1). He was a fine and dedicated public servant.

Sales of Class 8 trucks through August maintained the torrid pace that places the sales year well ahead of the record levels of 1998, and there is no sign of letup.

As investigators seek the cause of the deadly Bourbonnais, Ill., Amtrak wreck, studies reveal that motor vehicle drivers are almost always responsible for train-car or train-truck collisions.

A study by a shippers’ group found that railroads could benefit by as much as $500 million over the next six years by allowing increased competition and taking a few other steps.

The association representing private motor carrier fleets last week called on Congress to pass legislation that it said would improve trucking safety.

The National Transportation Safety Board will hold public hearings Sept. 13 to 15 in Chicago to analyze the March crash involving an Amtrak passenger train and a steel-laden tractor-trailer that occurred in Bourbonnais, Ill.

Reckless truckers who tempt fate at railroad crossings by trying to beat oncoming trains stand to lose their commercial driver licenses, and their employers could lose thousands of dollars, under new regulations.

Every decision a trucking executive makes — from who is sitting behind the wheel of a rig to the kind of equipment purchased — can have an impact on safety.