Editorial

The struggles of the nation’s trucking fleet to attract and retain qualified drivers have been well-documented in the pages of Transport Topics for many years now.

It took a while to happen, but it appears at first glance that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration did a pretty good job with the electronic logging device proposal that is due for official publication on March 17.

Signs are increasing that the nation’s economic health is steadily improving. It’s not a barnburner, and there is still some uncertainty, as the Commerce Department trimmed its estimate of fourth-quarter 2013 growth to an annual rate of 2.4% from 3.2% in an earlier estimate.

We were disappointed — but not surprised — that Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said he would not support an increase in federal fuel taxes to fund the nation’s aging highway system. Shuster, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, made the comments at an infrastructure event in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 4.

Perhaps in addition to reviewing trucking companies’ financial performance, it would be worthwhile to measure such things as the health of their drivers.

Two hundred thirty-six. That is how many truck occupants died in highway crashes during 2012 who were not wearing a safety belt, according to the federal government.