Safety

The rate at which fatalities occurred in highway accidents involving large trucks dropped to the lowest level on record, falling 14.1% in 2009 from the previous year, according to an analysis of Department of Transportation data by American Trucking Associations.

An Illinois appellate court has upheld a lower court’s ruling that freight forwarder C.H. Robinson Worldwide is liable for damages in a case stemming from a fatal truck accident in 2004.

American Trucking Associations Chairman Barbara Windsor told a House panel Wednesday that changes are needed to regulations governing hazardous materials shipments in order to improve efficiency and relieve unnecessary regulatory burdens.

The Commercial Vehicle Training Association presented its Highway Safety Hall of Fame Award to Warren Hoemann, senior vice president of industry affairs at American Trucking Associations.

American Trucking Associations, joined by suppliers and other transportation groups, advised the Department of Transportation to revise or get rid of a wide range of regulations that they said are unclear, outdated or onerous.

Pennsylvania State Police said Wednesday that its officers inspected nearly 1,600 commercial vehicles transporting hazardous materials and issued 790 citations during a one-day enforcement in late March.

The new 70-mile-per-hour speed limit on the Ohio Turnpike, which the state’s trucking industry opposes, has taken effect, the Associated Press reported.

Volvo Trucks North America and the United Auto Workers said they reached a tentative agreement on a new five-year contract for workers at the heavy-duty New River Valley plant near Dublin, Va.

Telematics and mobile communications provider Xata Corp., Eden Prairie, Minn., now resells trailer-tracking systems made by SkyBitz, the companies announced March 9.