U.S. highways could be as safe as the nation’s skies if road transportation embraced the “safe system approach” that helps the aviation industry annually report zero fatalities, the new National Transportation Safety Board leader said.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has awarded more than $76 million in grants to states and educational institutions to enhance commercial motor vehicle safety.

Ongoing shortages of replacement parts for failed diesel exhaust fluid quality sensors are believed to be causing thousands of trucks nationwide to be disabled and parked.

A new study has concluded that talking and singing in the cab are not distracting for truck drivers, but other common activities such as adjusting the seat belt, reaching for food or drink, and adjusting the instrument panel or mirrors showed significant risk of a crash or near-crash.

Risky driving behaviors that have become more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic were the primary contributor to a 10.5% increase in total fatalities during the first quarter of 2021, despite fewer vehicle miles traveled, according to an “early estimates” report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

For decades, the trucking industry’s use of independent owner-operators has been a delicate, but successful, dance between the business and personal needs of motor carriers and contractors. Now, the contractor model’s future is in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court.

The actions taken by a motor carrier in the hours immediately following a truck-involved crash can be critical to the potential legal outcome of the incident, regardless of whether it is a serious accident or a simple fender bender, trucking attorneys said.

Although federal regulators are studying a possible change in the way motor carrier safety is measured, the Compliance Safety Accountability program is likely to remain in place, a trucking attorney told a group of industry executives.

While the Biden administration has set an overarching outlook for changes to motor carrier regulations, the timing on when those changes may actually arrive is far from certain, trucking legal experts said during a recent industry conference.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has released a report from its medical review board on plans to tighten federal driver vision standards, but at the same time streamline the process to get qualified monocular drivers on the road quicker.