The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proposed expanding the types of information that can be used to verify drivers’ hours-of-service logs to include electronic data, the agency said last week.

In the wake of the Nov. 2 elections that gave President Bush a second term and expanded Republican control of Congress, observers said leadership changes were ahead for some congressional panels important to transportation and the future of the long-pending highway funding bill remained unclear.

The Transportation Security Administration will not meet its latest deadline of Jan. 31 to begin a system of background checks and fingerprints for all truck drivers who haul hazardous materials, several sources have told Transport Topics.

Transportation officials in Virginia said that the state had merged its electronic toll collection system, SmartTag, with the E-ZPass system that is in use in many East Coast states.

American Trucking Associations urged the federal government to “proceed cautiously” with proposing changes to security rules for hauling materials that are toxic when inhaled, particularly in regard to placarding and tracking those shipments.

American Trucking Associations filed comments backing a federal court ruling that overturned a New Jersey ban aimed at keeping interstate trucks off some highways in the state.

LAS VEGAS — The Transportation Security Administration said it plans to issue by the end of October rules governing how it will conduct fingerprint background checks on commercial drivers seeking or renewing hazardous materials endorsements.

LAS VEGAS — In the wake of Congress’ extension of the current hours-of-service rules for one year, trucking officials said they would provide data on the rules’ effect and the possible effect of the government’s proposal to use electronic onboard recorders to replace driver logbooks.

LAS VEGAS — In addition to changes to driver hours-of-service rules, the government’s truck safety agency will push out a host of regulations over the next several years and trucking executives should be prepared to offer input, the agency’s head said.

irginia Transportation Commissioner Philip Shucet has backed away from plans to impose truck-only tolls on Interstate 81 as part of a project to widen the highway.