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Maine Gov. Paul LePage took a step Jan. 17 toward regulating a rapidly emerging automotive technology that in the not-too-distant future could find self-driving cars, trucks and buses operating on Maine roads.

Waymo, the driverless car division owned by Google’s parent company, announced Jan. 22 that it will bring its test program to metro Atlanta.

While it likely will be several more years before autonomous vehicles are common on North State roads, Interstate 5 could be a step closer to accommodating the vehicles by this spring.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, whose states have significant freight corridors, set goals to overhaul the infrastructure in their states to ensure that the goods that bolster their economy can move freely.

Infrastructure needs have emerged as a top priority for most state administrators who received the go-ahead to spend millions of dollars on repairs as well as new construction projects that range from expanding highways to fixing decrepit roads to installing Intelligent Transportation Systems.

A proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to repeal a limit on the number of glider kits built annually is shaping up to be a battle pitting independent truckers and those that would reap economic benefits from more gliders against environmentalists, new truck makers and most trucking-related trade organizations.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has granted Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. and the Motion Picture Association of America exemptions from hours-of-service regulations pertaining to the electronic logging device mandate.

Self-driving cars could be coming to Arlington, Mass., soon, as the Board of Selectmen have agreed to allow Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine to take the first steps in bringing autonomous vehicle tests to town.

Highway safety advocates are urging lawmakers to pump the brakes on the development of driverless cars.