Devotees of Web services believe their concepts can help trucking operations, particularly small and mid-size fleets, efficiently transfer information over the Internet as an alternative to the more demanding and costly EDI system.

WASHINGTON — For cargo security to be effective, the entire supply chain from production to delivery must be protected and screened by both private enterprise and the government, speakers at the North American Cargo Security Forum said here Oct. 18 and 19.

An amendment to pending legislation to reauthorize highway spending for the next six years would substantially increase fines for hours-of-service and out-of-service violations and hold some managers responsible if they order or allow violations.

Reverting to federal drivers’ work rules that were in effect before Jan. 4 could cost carriers millions of dollars and could possibly result in reduced highway safety, trucking industry sources said.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has delayed implementing a rule that would restrict states from issuing permits to carry hazardous materials until drivers have been cleared by the Transportation Security Administration.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration planned to work with Department of Justice lawyers right up to an Aug. 30 deadline for filing the government’s response to a court decision that threw out FMCSA’s revised hours-of-service rules, an agency spokesman said Aug. 25.

The federal government probably would wait until just before a 45-day court deadline expires before announcing its response to the court’s decision overturning its revised driver hours-of-service regulations, said Department of Justice officials.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, its parent Department of Transportation and the Justice Department have not decided on their response to a federal court’s rejection of FMCSA’s revised driver hours-of-service rules, agency spokesmen told Transport Topics.

The Department of Homeland Security tipped off managers of the Highway Watch program of the impending alerts in New York and Washington several hours before Secretary Tom Ridge told the public Aug. 1, so that employees could brief fleets and prepare for a potential barrage of telephone calls.

More than two weeks after a federal appeals court decision overturned the Department of Transportation’s revised hours-of-service regulations for truck drivers, neither the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the DOT nor the Justice Department had taken any specific action on what the government might do next, lawyers and spokesmen for the agencies said.