While advancements in autonomous — or self-driving — cars get much of the attention, development of self-driving commercial vehicles is speeding forward.

While many trucking stakeholders have said for years that they support the Compliance, Safety, Accountability program in concept, not all are convinced that the recommendations of an elite academic panel of the National Academy of Sciences will plug all the holes in the program.

WASHINGTON – On a unanimous voice vote, a Senate committee approved legislation Oct. 4 that authorizes self-driving car makers to sell as many as 80,000 vehicles a year within three years that would be exempt from current safety standards as manufacturers develop technology for autonomous vehicles.

The idea of highways being filled with self-driving cars may be alluring, but it has highway safety experts raising numerous questions about common contemporary issues like drunk driving, seat belt use and how other motorists might react to a car without a driver behind the wheel.

As the Obamacare reform debate rages on in full force, U.S. Sen. John Thune doesn’t have his sights set entirely on the headline-stealing topics of health care and tax reform. The always busy South Dakota Republican is also eyeing legislation for the growing autonomous vehicle market, or self-driving cars.

U.S. House lawmakers passed a wide-ranging bill to speed the introduction of self-driving vehicles championed by tech and auto companies racing to develop and deploy the technology.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s emphasis on streamlining regulations and reforming the U.S. tax code would help small businesses grow, freight executives said after a meeting at the White House on Aug. 1.

A Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration advisory committee agreed to a preliminary plan by the agency to eliminate 12 mostly outdated “nothing burger” commercial vehicle regulations to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order intended to ease regulatory burdens on businesses.

Shippers and carriers sometimes might disagree on fair rates, settlement schedules or detention charges. But there is one freight-hauling technique that wins kudos from both sides: drop and hook. It sounds easy — and it can be — if the timing is right, experts said.