Perspective

We often fail to notice things until there’s a problem. When you go to the light switch, you expect when you hit it that the lights will come on.

The adoption of natural gas as a transportation fuel continues to pick up speed. It is no surprise to me: I spent more than 30 years in the waste business and was the CEO of Republic Services, which is now the nation’s second-largest waste services provider, when the industry began to consider transitioning from diesel, a fuel we had used for decades. I understand the challenges in making the decision to switch to natural gas.

When a motor carrier uses the services of an independent contractor, the latter generally is covered by the motor carrier’s liability policy when a claim occurs while operating for business.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration enforcement mechanism dubbed Compliance, Safety, Accountability has been the topic of much discussion and controversy since its launch in 2010.

Two sets of changes in the way freight is moved in the United States will require fleet operators to take a fresh look at transportation strategy and fleet utilization.

Every business wants to hire the most qualified and least risky applicants.

Although new hours-of-service rules include changes that will alter the way trucking companies do business, carriers opting to approach them armed with change-management programs will find they have an edge when it comes to meeting the revised rules’ challenges.

Independent studies have confirmed that anomalies and flaws exist in the relationship between crash likelihood and a trucking company’s BASIC scores as calculated under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program.

There’s been much talk about expanding natural-gas fuel availability at truck stops now that domestic production is increasing. But while the natural-gas option offers lower prices for the fuel itself, the vehicles and infrastructure cost upward of $50,000 per truck   and about $1 million for each station.

The trucking industry is one of the most innovative and dynamic sectors in our country, and its companies and professionals have been leaders for change in many areas.