truck safety

Truck safety advocates say DOT inaction costing lives

WASHINGTON — The latest rulemaking agenda published by the Department of Transportation further reveals the Biden administration’s inability to succeed at its mission to reduce crashes, according to truck safety advocates.

In a letter sent this week to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the Truck Safety Coalition (TSC), which also represents Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways and Parents Against Tired Truckers, said the groups are “dismayed, disappointed, and deeply disturbed” by...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truck-safety-advocates-say-dot-inaction-costing-lives

OOIDA takes truck side-guard report complaints to Congress

WASHINGTON — Truckers have told House and Senate leaders to steer clear of writing laws based on a report they say is highly flawed that recommends requiring new safety equipment on their vehicles.

In a letter to Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who chair the House Transportation & Infrastructure and Senate Commerce committees, respectively, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President Todd Spencer said that the recent Advisory Committee on Underride...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ooida-takes-truck-side-guard-report-complaints-to-congress

FMCSA approves 25% fee increase for carriers, brokers

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators have approved a 25% increase in fees collected by states from motor carriers, brokers and leasing companies that are used to pay for state highway safety programs. 

The fee increase in the Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) Plan for the 2025 registration year, announced on Friday by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, amounts to approximately $9 to $9,000 more per year that carriers will pay, depending on the size of their fleet (see table). The fee...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmcsa-approves-25-fee-increase-for-carriers-brokers

The secret ingredient for near century of transportation success

Transportation and logistics provider Ruan Transportation Management Systems is taking its decades-long commitment to safety into the future with driver-focused technology.

Based in Des Moines, Iowa, the family-owned company was started in 1932 by its first driver, John Ruan. Now on the cusp of its 100th anniversary, Ruan has grown into a 4,000 plus truck fleet offering Dedicated Contract Transportation, Managed Transportation, Value-Added Warehousing, and Brokerage Support Services across...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-secret-ingredient-for-near-century-of-transportation-success

FMCSA questioned on studies added to safety fitness rulemaking

googletag.cmd.push(function() { var gptSlot = googletag.defineSlot(‘/21776187881/FW-Responsive-Main_Content-Slot1’, [[728, 90], [468, 60], [300, 100], [320, 50]], ‘div-gpt-ad-b1-i-fw-ad-1’).defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());
gptAdSlots.push(gptSlot);
});

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-b1-i-fw-ad-1’); });

WASHINGTON — A group of trade associations is warning federal regulators against including data the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmcsa-questioned-on-studies-added-to-safety-fitness-rulemaking

How much did Biden administration give states to reduce truck crashes?

Truck involved in crash being towed.

The Biden administration recently announced a record $463.5 million allocated to states and U.S. territories in 2022 for Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) grants administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to help prevent truck crashes.

The funding level is a 52% increase from 2021 — and comes at a time when truck crashes are on the rise.

“FMCSA’s core mission is safety, and our work supports the U.S. Department of Transportation’s comprehensive National Roadway...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-much-did-biden-administration-give-states-to-reduce-truck-crashes

How to survive an FMCSA off-site audit

White tractor trailer truck driving toward camera

For the first time, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials last year began issuing motor carrier safety ratings based on off-site reviews. While the chances of an auditor showing up on your doorstep is diminishing, the rise in off-site audits opens up a new threat to carriers. And with safety ratings now being issued based on these audits, the stakes have never been higher.

“While a motor carrier’s chance of being selected for an audit is lower than in the past, the potential...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/jj-keller-advice-on-surviving-fmcsa-safety-audit

Nuclear verdicts: Measuring exposure and managing risk

Managing nuclear verdicts

In February 2017, Kathryn Armijo was struck and killed following a head-on collision involving a tractor-trailer on Interstate 10 just outside Las Cruces, New Mexico.

A two-week jury trial in 2019 ended with a $40.5 million award against the mega-carrier, which trained the driver through its affiliated driver-training school. The driver had been on the job for just eight days when, the court documents detail, he crossed four lanes of traffic and a concrete median before striking Armijo’s car.

The...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/nuclear-verdicts-measuring-exposure-and-managing-risk

+ More