Safety

About Safety News...

Transportation businesses face a host of dynamic risk issues that can significantly impact their financial and operational health. The news in this category focuses on the latest safety and security initiatives, resources and regulations and addresses topics that include fleet safety, claims administration, driver hiring and retention, risk management and compliance.

Government, Business, Safety, Equipment

New York Supreme Court Rules Tax and Decal Fee Unconstitutional

New York’s Supreme Court ruled Feb. 1 that the state’s highway-use tax and decal required of out-of-state truckers are unenforceable, awarding a victory to the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association in its class-action lawsuit.

David Elfin | Staff Reporter
February 2, 2016

Daily Briefings from Transport Topics

Transport Topics has partnered with Spoken Layer to make one-minute daily briefings available on all your smart devices. Simply say “Alexa, play Transport Topics” or “Okay Google, talk to Transport Topics” to get the day’s biggest trucking headlines.

Business, Government, Safety, Autonomous

Omnitracs Introduces Next-Gen Telematics Platform

DALLAS — Omnitracs has unveiled its next-generation telematics platform, which introduces voice recognition software to the company’s technology offerings while expanding wireless connectivity within the truck.

Seth Clevenger | Managing Editor, Features and Multimedia
February 2, 2016
Business, Safety, Government

Drivers Form Human Chain to Rescue Trucker Dangling Over Embankment

When a tractor-trailer traveling the Pennsylvania Turnpike 20 miles east of Bedford lost control and went partially over an embankment Jan. 22 during the historic winter blizzard, drivers stopped to help by forming a human chain and pulling the trucker to safety.

January 27, 2016
Government, Business, Safety

Transport Topics Closed Jan. 25, 26 as Washington Digs Out From Blizzard

Arlington, Va.-based Transport Topics is closed Jan. 25 and Jan. 26 as Washington struggles to overcome the blizzard that blanketed parts of the Mid-Atlantic region with two feet of snow.

January 25, 2016
Business, Safety, Government, Autonomous

Heavy-Truck Repair, Maintenance Costs Have Soared, But Prices for Common Parts Could Decline in ’16

The cost to repair and maintain heavy-duty trucks has surged in recent years, rising more than 50% since 2008, based on a study by the American Transportation Research Institute.

Daniel P. Bearth | Staff Writer
January 25, 2016
Business, Safety

Port of Toledo Tonnage Falls 30% in 2015 as Commodities Slump

A slumping steel industry led to declines in several key commodities across the Port of Toledo’s docks last year that accounted for most of a nearly 30% plunge in cargo tonnage.

David Patch | The Blade (Toledo, Ohio)
January 19, 2016
Business, Safety

Truck-Crash Deaths Down

The rate and total number of fatalities involving trucks weighing at least 10,000 pounds declined in 2014 from the prior year, according to newly released federal data.

David Elfin and Eric Miller | Staff Reporters
January 18, 2016
Business, Government, Safety

Minimal Mention of Transportation in Obama’s Final State of the Union

President Obama’s much-anticipated State of the Union Address on Jan. 12 focused little on infrastructure and freight transportation concerns, surprising stakeholders still praising last month’s enactment of a five-year highway law that had been six years in the making.

Eugene Mulero | Senior Reporter
January 18, 2016
Technology, Business, Safety

Choosing Safe Carriers Via Technology

Technology goes beyond helping carriers and shippers find the best rates and routes; it also can help them monitor fleet safety ratings.

Mindy Long | Special to Transport Topics
January 15, 2016
Government, Business, Safety, Technology

Obama Fiscal 2017 Budget to Request $4 Billion for Vehicle Automation

President Obama’s fiscal 2017 budget request will include nearly $4 billion over a decade for the development of automated vehicles, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Jan. 14.

Eugene Mulero | Senior Reporter
January 14, 2016