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The recent death of former Rep. James Oberstar, paired with last month’s retirement announcement from Rep. Tom Petri, leaves us casting about for heroes in transportation who would work in the manner of the late Minnesota Democrat and the departing Wisconsin Republican.

For years, trucking has been pleading for government officials to take seriously the need for a well-funded, long-term surface transportation plan, not because it is convenient for the industry but because it is a demonstrated necessity for the nation’s long-term economic health.

A memo from the American Transportation Research Institute last week questioning the government’s perceived safety benefits of the hours-of-service rule change likely did not surprise many in trucking.

Signs are increasing that the nation’s economic health is steadily improving. It’s not a barnburner, and there is still some uncertainty, as the Commerce Department trimmed its estimate of fourth-quarter 2013 growth to an annual rate of 2.4% from 3.2% in an earlier estimate.

This Editorial appears in the Feb. 24 print edition of Transport Topics.

Two hundred thirty-six. That is how many truck occupants died in highway crashes during 2012 who were not wearing a safety belt, according to the federal government.

Washington, D.C., is often the butt of jokes for its year-after-year inaction. But this week — one filled with transportation events — there is a sense that maybe, just maybe, 2014 will be different.

The opening days of the sad soap opera being played out on Capitol Hill apparently did little damage to the nation’s freight distribution system, according to what industry executives told our reporters last week.

We applaud the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for its decisions last week to scrap its proposed rule on truck driver training standards and to proceed with a formal rulemaking on sleep apnea testing.

The announcement of the roster of the National Freight Advisory Committee provides a reason to be guardedly optimistic the nation is prepared to make tough decisions regarding our transportation needs.