Safety

A memo from the American Transportation Research Institute last week questioning the government’s perceived safety benefits of the hours-of-service rule change likely did not surprise many in trucking.

WASHINGTON — The outgoing chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board urged the top federal truck-safety agency to ensure that fleets that do not follow hours-of-service rules are penalized and eventually shut down.

The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report April 25 confirming the sequence of events in the fatal crash involving a FedEx Freight truck and a bus in Orland, Calif., earlier this month.

The time period for commenting on the proposed rule for the national clearinghouse for driver drug and alcohol test results has been extended through May 21.

We have watched coverage of the April 10 deadly crash involving a truck and bus with a great deal of sadness. The personal stories of the young students killed have been nothing short of heartbreaking.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is seeking comment on two separate American Trucking Associations’ federal preemption petitions claiming that regulatory requirements for hazardous materials hauling in Pittsburgh and New York City impose unfair burdens on hazmat carriers.

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) signed into law a measure that increases the penalty for drivers who cause injury or death to others in a crash caused by distracted driving.

A Massachusetts trucking company owner was sentenced to one year of probation and a fine of $1,000 for paying a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration safety inspector $1,000 to produce a false report.

The National Transportation Safety Board is assessing a series of questions surrounding last week’s crash of a FedEx Freight tractor-trailer and a bus in Northern California that killed 10 people and said it will have a preliminary report in about 30 days.