Business

WASHINGTON — Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) introduced a bill last week to replace the federal gasoline tax with a barrel tax on oil, eliminate the sales tax on truck tires and index the diesel tax to inflation.

The GOP-led House last week narrowly passed a fiscal 2015 transportation funding bill, which included a measure to prohibit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from raising minimum liability insurance requirements for trucking and bus companies.

A magazine advertisement from a plaintiff’s law firm caused a public relations tempest that generated apologies from the publication and the lawyers who advertised after raising the ire of truck drivers and fleet executives.

A review of a logbook kept by the truck driver who struck a bridge in Washington state in 2013 found no violations of federal hours-of-service rules, according to documents released June 11 by federal transportation safety investigators.

Some of the nation’s largest trucking companies are joining forces to oppose the Obama administration’s plan to eliminate a self-insurance option for motor carriers.

A recent $870,000 settlement in a lawsuit brought by more than 7,000 truck drivers against New England Motor Freight has again put in the spotlight the stringent requirements for motor carriers when rejecting job applicants based on background checks.

“I am a Volvo Trucker,” says a video that tells the story of modern truck drivers’ passion for trucks and breaks down stereotypes associated with the profession. The video recently received five Telly awards for creative excellence.