Last month, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released to Congress its Corrective Action Plan for better identifying high risk carriers and preventing crashes within the trucking industry. Developed in response to the National Academy of Sciences recommendation that the FMCSA reevaluate its methodology…
When it comes to government regulations and public safety laws, most trucking companies do their best to comply. After all, they can’t make money if their trucks—and the goods they transport—aren’t allowed on the roads. Yet, there exists a subset of commercial carriers that choose…
As the first session of the 115th U.S. Congress drew to a close this past December, a bipartisan group of lawmakers stepped up to introduce a new bill that would require the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to mandate both side and re-engineered rear underride…
Last month saw the unveiling of Elon Musk’s electric-powered Tesla Truck after more than a year since it was first announced, and the initial reaction of some big names in the transport business could accelerate its acceptance by the industry as a whole. Of note…
Elon Musk stayed true to his word on November 16th; unveiling the first fully electric semi-truck that also comes equipped with Tesla’s semiautonomous technology in addition to automatic braking and lane departure warnings. In Mr. Musk’s own words, the truck offers a “massive increase in…
Commercial trucking is a vital part of our nation’s economy, the vehicles and their drivers provide the framework of goods distribution to all 50 states and beyond. Yet, it’s not an industry without issues—driver shortages and rising fuel costs alone have commercial carriers scrambling; leaving…
The trucking industry has been troubled by significant issues in recent years. There was a freight recession in 2016. The Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate was a topic of much debate in 2017, barely eclipsing the concern over changing hours-of-service rules. The problem of substance…
October 4th marked the passing of bipartisan legislation by the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation on the subject of government support for self-driving technology—yet, despite numerous proposals from advocacy groups, the Committee purposely crafted the law to omit large trucks and buses.…
On September 6th, the U.S. House voted 246-173 against a measure that would have potentially delayed the upcoming mandate for Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) that will require all trucks on the road to comply starting in December 18th, 2017. This most recent tactic was proposed…
This past June, certified commercial motor vehicle inspectors in the U.S. and Canada joined together in the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) 30th annual International Roadcheck. During a three day period covering June 6-8, enforcement personnel conducted over 62,000 safety inspections (over 54,000 in the U.S. alone) of both vehicles…