WASHINGTON — A panel of federal hazardous material transportation officials and research consultants said the preliminary results of a test of technology applications showed a potential 12% to 37% reduction in the risk of a terrorist attack on or using a hazmat truck shipment.

The Transportation Security Administration took two incremental steps toward meeting its Jan. 31 deadline to implement fingerprint-based background checks for hazardous materials drivers. It named a contractor to handle the checks and announced that several states would use that contractor.

A Department of Transportation agency has proposed a rule that would require tank truck drivers hauling gasoline and other flammable liquids to purge the pipes used in loading and unloading before returning to the road.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has withdrawn its proposal to require trucks to carry a sticker certifying they were manufactured in accordance with the safety standards in effect when they were made, said the Office of Management and Budget.

American Trucking Associations said it appealed to the federal government to drop its plan to fingerprint drivers permitted to haul hazardous materials, setting the stage for possible legal action, a senior association official told Transport Topics.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s work to revise the embattled driver hours-of-service rules has delayed other parts of the agency’s regulatory agenda, a Department of Transportation report and an agency spokesman said.

The Government Accountability Office chided the Transportation Security Administration for some of the failures in launching the maritime portion of TSA’s transportation-worker credential program, part of the broader Transportation Worker Identification Card program.

Raising a potential obstacle to the Transportation Security Administration’s plans for background checks of hazardous-material drivers, some trucking groups have criticized the government for not similarly scrutinizing Mexican and Canadian drivers.

The Ohio state legislature approved two pieces of legislation last week aimed at helping truckers, one limiting awards in lawsuits and the other making it easier to reduce tolls on the Ohio Turnpike.

The Vermont Truck and Bus Association has decided to ask the New Hampshire Motor Transport Association to provide insurance and other member benefits to Vermont trucking firms starting in January, while both groups maintain separate identities and lobbying operations, officials in both states told Transport Topics.