Safety

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said DHS will consider allowing use of secure driver’s licenses as a means of identification at the U.S. border, the Associated Press reported.

We have had many examples of questionable DOT inspections — including two we had last month in Idaho on the same owner-operator’s tractor-trailer that were clean, but not Level 1s, which are the most thorough standardized inspections.

Truckload carrier C.R. England and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association each claimed partial victory after a federal district court ruled on a case involving federal truth-in-leasing regulations.

Despite continued high gasoline prices, a record 41.1 million Americans are expected to travel during the July 4 holiday week, up 0.8% over last year, AAA said.

A push for lower emissions from heavy-duty trucks, coupled with grants from state and localities in order to meet Southern California’s air-quality standards, are prompting interest in and sales of new trucks in the region, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reported Monday.

An Alabama appeals court ruled Friday that a trucking company with headquarters in the state should not have been required to pay more than $900,000 in state use tax for trucks that were originally delivered to a terminal in Ohio, a state appeals court ruled Friday, the Associated Press reported.

Class 8 truck makers said they are offering electronically controlled air disc brakes as an option in 2007 models, promoting them as safer and easier to maintain than the drum brakes most U.S. heavy trucks use.