Safety

About Safety News...

Transportation businesses face a host of dynamic risk issues that can significantly impact their financial and operational health. The news in this category focuses on the latest safety and security initiatives, resources and regulations and addresses topics that include fleet safety, claims administration, driver hiring and retention, risk management and compliance.

Government, Technology, Equipment, Safety

Freight Railroads Record Progress on PTC Implementation, AAR Says

Large freight railroads functioned with the use of automatic braking technology for 83.2% of miles required by law, the Association of American Railroads announced Jan. 24. That proves the Class I railroads met 2018 requirements, and they are expected to finalize the implementation of positive train control technology by the final deadline of Dec. 31, 2020.

Eugene Mulero | Senior Reporter
January 25, 2019
Business, Equipment, Safety

Tackling Electrical Systems

Technicians often don't troubleshoot a truck's electrical system to the extent they could, according to a recent assessment by the Technology & Maintenance Council of American Trucking Associations. Here's why.

January 25, 2019
Government, Business, Safety, Editorial

Editorial: Watching the Slowdowns, Ending the Shutdown

A gangbusters year marked by soaring freight rates and frenzied order and sales activity for equipment ended on a soft note, as December saw reported declines in both truck tonnage and trailer orders. It had to happen eventually, but some may feel cheated that the industry didn’t get to close out this otherwise stellar year on a high note.

January 24, 2019
Government, Safety

USDOT: Surface Transportation Agencies Continue as Normal During Shutdown

More than a month into a partial government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Transportation indicates that it’s business as usual for trucking regulators and officials responsible for the country’s surface transportation network.

Eugene Mulero | Senior Reporter
January 24, 2019
Business, Safety, TCA

Walmart Says It Needs 900 More Truckers This Year, Hikes Pay

Walmart is raising trucker salaries in its push to hire 900 more drivers this year across the United States, including Texas, where it has a big concentration of large distribution centers where empty trucks get filled.

Maria Halkias | The Dallas Morning News
January 23, 2019
Government, Business, Safety, Perspective

Opinion: Trucking Can Help Fight Human Trafficking

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, but the trucking industry must commit all year to continuing to address the human trafficking crisis happening in our communities from coast to coast, says Sherri Garner Brumbaugh.

Sherri Garner Brumbaugh | Chairman, American Trucking Associations
January 23, 2019
Business, Safety

TransForce Expands Into Driver Training With Acquisition of The CDL School

TransForce Inc. is making another acquisition, but this time it is not buying a rival driver staffing agency.

Daniel P. Bearth | Staff Writer
January 23, 2019
Government, Business, Technology, Safety, Autonomous

Autonomous Technology Promises Safety Benefits, TRB Speakers Say

WASHINGTON — While the debut of automated vehicles in the marketplace remains years away, the technology already available has the potential of improving safety for commercial drivers, officials and experts at the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board here said.

Eugene Mulero | Senior Reporter
January 23, 2019
Government, Business, Technology, Safety

Advocates Name Best, Worst States for Highway Safety Laws

Rhode Island has again topped an advocacy group’s report that evaluates states’ road safety enforcement efforts.

Eleanor Lamb | Staff Reporter
January 22, 2019
Government, Business, Technology, Equipment, Safety

New York Hadn't Been Enforcing the ELD Mandate. Now It Is.

The New York State Department of Transportation announced that state inspectors will begin enforcing federal electronic logging device rules, ending a year-plus stretch during which a lawsuit kept the state law enforcement in limbo and left federal inspectors as the sole enforcers of the rule in the state.

Eleanor Lamb | Staff Reporter
January 18, 2019