Editorial

So here we are again, trapped in still another fuel-price spiral, as we helplessly watch outside events and parties set the cost and supply of the precious liquids that make our industry possible.

Cheering squads, trophies and yellow ducks notwithstanding, there is a very serious aspect to the National Truck Driving Championships.

The swimmers, sprinters, gymnasts, weightlifters and fancy horse riders have finished their two weeks in the sun, bathed in the world’s adoration as they competed against the best of their respective sports for that elusive gold medal.

We’re glad to see that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is moving to improve some portions of its Compliance, Safety, Accountability program that are seriously flawed.

American Trucking Associations has filed suit against the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s latest attempt to modify the hours-of-service rule because it believes it had no other way to prevent a serious mistake on the part of the very agency that is charged with improving safety by and for the motor carrier industry.

Yes, American Trucking Associations is a staunch supporter of the federal mandate requiring electronic logging devices to monitor hours-of-service compliance for the nation’s truck drivers.

We all got half a loaf when President Obama signed the new highway bill into law on July 6.

Highway safety is one of the trucking industry’s top priorities, and we have long supported the industry’s efforts to employ technology in enhancing the safety of our employees’ workplace and the safety of everyone who shares our nation’s highways.

Congress finally has managed to come to grips with a bill that extends funding for highway and other transportation programs beyond the next few months.

As noted on other pages of this week’s edition of Transport Topics, American Trucking Associations will be conducting the first comprehensive summit on the use of natural gas in trucking.