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The debate over truck safety moved in a new direction Thursday as the National Private Truck Council called on the Department of Transportation to focus enforcement activities on drivers and carriers with the worst safety records.

Public Opinion indicates that a lot of people appreciate truck drivers but don’t really understand the nuts and bolts of the industry and may not realize how much it is doing to improve highway safety.

A proposed rule changing unloading operations for haulers of liquefied compressed gases such as propane could cost as much as $3,000 for each truck, an industry official said.

The government is pushing intermodal roadworthiness forward with a request for comments on a proposal that would make the company that hands a container and chassis to the motor carrier responsible for the equipment’s condition.

The Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway is testing a new service allowing customers to reserve intermodal service.

Engine manufacturers and petroleum companies will meet in mid-April to talk about the future of the diesel engine in the face of increasing government regulation.

Rep. Jim Oberstar said he will try again to expand the freeze on longer combination vehicles, while American Trucking Associations and other industry groups push their agenda on LCVs and other issues in written comments responding to a Department of Transportation report on truck sizes and weights.

Trucking hopes that the $363,387 the industry gave to members of the House Appropriations Committee during the 1997 to 1998 election cycle bought them some clout.

James P. Hoffa was finally sworn in as general president of the Teamsters union March 22, and he immediately turned his attention to trucking issues.