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ORLANDO, Fla. — A fuel-optimization module acquired 12 months ago has since become a leading growth product for software vendor TMW Systems, which held its annual user conference in the heart of this resort-rich peninsula last week.

Diesel fuel’s national average price fell 6.5 cents to $3.958 a gallon, the 10th straight weekly decline and the first time it has fallen below the $4 mark in almost six months, the Department of Energy said Sept. 22, although a surge in crude oil prices added uncertainty to the outlook.

A federal appeals court Wednesday denied a motion to block a clean trucks program at the Southern California ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, allowing the sister ports to begin implementation of the program Oct. 1, the Contra Costa (Calif.) Times newspaper reported.

House and Senate negotiators reached a deal Tuesday on a major railroad safety reform bill that will require new technology to prevent crashes and limit hours engineers can work, the Associated Press reported.

Heavy-duty truck components supplier Eaton Corp. said its Vorad VS-400 collision-warning system has become a factory-installed option on all Freightliner Cascadia, Century and Columbia Class 8 trucks.

Trucking companies could do more to enforce rules that drivers get enough rest, and the government should consider moving toward mandating the use of new technologies to alert tired truckers, the Associated Press reported.

If you think the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2010 engine requirements will be the ultimate technological test for fleets, American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves has a message for you: There’s more to come.

When members of American Trucking Associations gather next month in New Orleans, the main topic of discussion will be the 2009 federal highway bill, ATA President Bill Graves said.