The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has formally issued a proposal that would establish a national database of truck drivers who have failed or refused to take drug and alcohol tests.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A Government Accountability Office study that was critical of the way federal regulators identify crash-prone carriers is the result of a “philosophical disagreement” between regulators and GAO investigators, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials said.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Trucks represent about  4% of all registered vehicles in the United States and account for 9% of total vehicle miles traveled, but they were involved in 12% of all highway fatalities, according to a federal analysis of truck-involved fatal crashes presented to the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee.

A federal appeals court has declined to rehear a legal challenge to block implementation of California’s low-carbon fuel standard aimed at lowering greenhouse-gas emissions in the transportation sector.

A proposed rule that would prohibit carriers, shippers and brokers from coercing truck drivers to violate safety regulations was forwarded Jan. 10 to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will issue a rule next week extending for one year a requirement that interstate truck drivers carry a paper copy of their medical record, the agency announced.

A plan to ban the registration of new diesel vehicles in the District of Columbia has been averted after trucking and automotive stakeholders testified the legislation would violate federal law and harm D.C.’s economy.