Safety

The long-awaited new federal chassis safety rules take effect June 30, but officials said questions remain about damage reports truckers must file to keep equipment in roadworthy shape.

Catching employers who misclassify their employees as independent contractors would help ensure a “level playing field in the marketplace,” a top official with the U.S. Department of Labor told a Senate committee.

Tim Lynch, American Trucking Associations’ top lobbyist, said last week he would leave the federation in July to join a Washington, D.C., law firm’s government affairs department.

A coalition of interest groups that has repeatedly succeeded in challenging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s hours-of-service rule last week pushed for dramatically cutting the current daily and weekly work-time limits.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration remains “absolutely” committed to the current timeline for rolling out CSA 2010, Administrator Anne Ferro said.

The federal government’s Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 is supported by the trucking industry but needs some changes, a trucking executive testifying for American Trucking Associations told a congressional panel Wednesday.

About the two May 17 “rate setting” letters: It’s important for trucking companies to understand that we are the ones who set the rates.

The American Transportation Research Institute released results of its study on greenhouse gas reporting tools and emissions models.

Despite occasional hyperventilation from advocacy groups and some politicians, trucking’s safety performance is steadily improving and the industry’s dedication to playing its part in keeping America’s highways safe should be unquestioned.