Government officials will have to tackle some tough issues if they hope to accommodate increased freight on the nation’s highways, Transportation Research Board members wrote in their outlook for the 21st century.

The Federal Railroad Administration is seeking public comment on whether railroad cars should be fitted with reflective materials that would make it easier to see them at grade crossings.

The leadership of the Truckload Carriers Association has recommended the group integrate with American Trucking Associations, a key tenet of the larger group’s reorganization plan.

Better pay for over-the-road truck drivers leads to a better safety record, a study has concluded.

The Department of Transportation made several improvements in highway safety last year, Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater said at a recent press session, and it hopes to go even further in implementing the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act enacted in December.

The leadership of the Truckload Carriers Association has recommended the group integrate with American Trucking Associations, a key tenet of the larger group’s reorganization plan.

A University of Michigan study has concluded that better pay for over-the-road truck drivers leads to a better safety record.

Surface Transportation Board Chairman Linda J. Morgan has some advice for employees of the new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration: work hard and work fast to implement the instructions given you by Congress.

The National Transportation Safety Board last week called for a prohibition on the use of certain legal drugs and medications by commercial vehicle operators while they are working. It was one of several recommendations arising from an NTSB probe into a bus-truck accident in Pennsylvania a year and a half ago.

The year’s hot debate over which government agency should regulate trucking safety – be it the Federal Highway Administration or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – was resolved in a way that left the question moot and the motor carrier industry delighted.