Inoperable vehicle lamps caused the most violations in national roadside inspections of trucks from the United States, Mexico and Canada last year, according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration statistics.

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Jan. 27 released a multibillion-dollar plan that calls for actions to address what it called “a national crisis in roadway fatalities and serious injuries.”

While trucking industry trade groups have expressed support for a federal apprenticeship program that will train under-21 drivers to operate tractor-trailers across state lines, concerns are being raised that some of the initiative’s reporting requirements for motor carriers are overly burdensome.

Federal trucking regulators have published a new vision standard that will remove the requirement that truck drivers with normal vision in only one eye seek an exemption from the agency.

Fees for Unified Carrier Registration Plan and Agreement participants in 2023 will be reduced by 27% compared with 2022 fees, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said in a Jan. 21 announcement.

Robin Hutcheson has been named Deputy Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Jan. 19.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has formally announced establishment of the truck driver apprenticeship program that was included in last year’s sweeping $1 trillion infrastructure bill, an initiative that will train candidates younger than 21 to drive in interstate commerce for the first time ever.

The announcement that Meera Joshi would depart her post as acting administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration drew words of praise for her service to the transportation industry from American Trucking Associations.

FMCSA Deputy Administrator Meera Joshi has been selected by New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams to be that city’s deputy mayor for operations, a move that spells the end of Joshi’s nomination to become leader of the federal safety agency.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration extended regulatory waivers related to truckers’ allowable work time, citing public health concerns.