Technology

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Members of a federal drug testing advisory board met in a closed session on March 21 to review a draft proposed rule. The rule would allow trucking companies to conduct government-certified pre-employment drug testing using hair samples, according to a top official with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued revised guidance permitting motor carriers that were using automatic onboard recording device software prior to the effective date of the electronic logging device mandate to add trucks to their fleet without having to update those new trucks to electronic logging device software until mid-December 2019.

Projects aimed at building dedicated lanes for self-driving trucks would qualify for funds under President Donald Trump’s infrastructure proposal unveiled last month, a top federal transportation official said March 16.

Toyota Motor Corp. has halted tests of its “Chauffeur” autonomous driving system on U.S. public roads after a Uber Technologies Inc. vehicle operating in autonomous mode under the supervision of a human safety driver struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona, on March 18.

Waymo recently showed a video of people riding in its self-driving minivans. They thumbed their phones, yawned and one snoozed. he message: Driverless cars are so safe, they’re boring.

The largest union for U.S. truck drivers, which has taken a cautious view of autonomous vehicles, called for stronger safeguards after a self-driving SUV operated by Uber Technologies Inc. killed a pedestrian in Phoenix on March 18.

Penske Truck Leasing Co. has begun using fully digital and voice-directed truck fleet preventive maintenance processes that technicians follow when working on its fleet of more than 266,000 vehicles.

A global group that battles cargo theft is experiencing record growth in the take up of its supply chain security standards in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The electrification company Hyliion announced it is making its hybrid electric 6X4HE axle available to potential customers to test on the company’s own Class 8 trucks.

GasBuddy announced that Pilot Flying J, the largest operator of travel centers in North America, has selected its software-as-a-service application, GasBuddy Business Pages, to drive customers to its 750 locations.