Safety

Mining companies in Australia, the world’s biggest exporter of iron ore and coal, are poised to approve fresh investments in projects, driven by rallying commodity prices and the need to replace depleting deposits, according to global equipment supply giant, Komatsu Ltd.

A 21-year-old Merced, Calif., man landed behind bars July 12 after leading authorities on a wild chase through Merced and Mariposa counties while hauling construction equipment with a stolen flatbed truck, the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office reported.

Tractor trailer drivers who crest a hill shouldn’t rely solely on brakes to slow them on the way down. Trucking experts say doing so can result in brake failure and preventable accidents, which they say are often caused by young and inexperienced drivers.

For years, truckers have been complaining that inspectors do not always submit reports to federal regulators giving them credit for no violations or “clean” roadside inspections.

Nearly eight out of 10 large trucks and buses did not have any critical violations during an unannounced special brake inspection day across the United States and Canada earlier this year, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance announced on July 12.

Using public lands along highway rights of way and optimizing weigh stations were common suggestions from stakeholders during listening sessions about truck parking hosted by federal transportation officials.

California environmental officials are working on a plan to require truck and engine manufacturers to extend emissions system warranties up to more than four times longer than current regulations require.

Federal regulators have the statutory authority to issue permits for U.S. longhaul operations to Mexico-domiciled trucking companies despite poor participation by Mexican carriers in a three-year pilot used to demonstrate their safety, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Under legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in April, California motorists will start paying higher gas and diesel taxes in November to provide funding for, among other state transportation projects, reducing the backlog of road and bridge repairs.

A decision by federal trucking regulators to adopt sweeping recommendations of an elite academic panel’s study assessing the way truckers are safety-rated has been mostly well received by the industry; yet some truckers admit they are a bit baffled by the complex “item response theory,” or IRT, approach to revamp the federal Compliance, Safety, Accountability program.