NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Food safety concerns can be alleviated if criminal background checks are performed on manual laborers who prepare bulk food shipments for transportation by truck, said a member of the Agricultural Transporters Conference.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Higher security costs and rising insurance premiums dominated Saturday's discussions of the Truckload Carriers Association’s board of directors, held in conjunction with the American Trucking Association's annual Management Conference and Exhibition.

WASHINGTON —Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta last week proposed legislation to give the Department of Transportation more authority to stop and inspect trucks carrying hazardous materials.

Trucking company executives say delays related to security checks of trucks hauling hazardous materials in the United States and Canada are driving up costs and could jeopardize their businesses.

Fatalities from crashes involving large trucks declined for the third year in a row in 2000, falling by 169 deaths to a total of 5,211, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported.

The best way to say it is that in a wartime environment, trucks are the secret weapon no one talks about. They are warehouses on wheels and can take supplies anywhere.”

The Department of Labor has postponed, until later this fall, its decision on whether it will pursue a new rulemaking to protect truck drivers and other workers from musculoskeletal injuries that can result from using force, repetitive motion, awkward postures, lifting, and vibration on the job.

In a sharp reversal of the debate that was developing prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Congress is moving toward a quick consensus on a transportation appropriations bill that could include measures to beef up border security and commercial vehicle inspections.

Truck traffic across the northern and southern U.S. borders improved last week, contrasting sharply with the bottlenecks that stretched 12 miles and longer following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

A Senate panel heard testimony Sept. 10 on the need to provide more funding for intelligent transportation systems in the next highway bill.