Government

About Government News...

Transport Topics government and regulatory coverage keeps managers of a highly-regulated industry aware of the policy decisions that can shape their businesses. Covering both the legislative and regulatory aspects of policy-making, at both the state and national levels, the news in this category includes looks at infrastructure, hours of service, emissions rules, funding measures, leadership appointments, and more. Readers can follow what’s happening in Congress, at the Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Administration, and in state and local governments.

Government, Business, Logistics

Border Rail Line to Connect US, Mexico

A new company will take over repairs and eventual operations of the beleaguered Desert Line railroad, clearing the way for work to begin this summer and for trains to move goods made in Mexico into the United States in 2018.

Joshua Stewart | The San Diego Union-Tribune
June 13, 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.

Perspective, Business, Government, Safety

Opinion: Safety Is About Big Understanding, Not Big Data

Many years ago, when I was new to transportation safety, our team crafted five tenets for safety success:

June 13, 2016
Government, Business

ATA's Bob Costello: Economy to Stay Weak

Trucking should expect a generally weak economy in 2016, though the long-standing inventory glut should ease in a few months to make the freight market feel better than today’s uninspiring conditions, American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello said.

Rip Watson | Special to Transport Topics
June 13, 2016
Government

DUI Case Exposes Gaps in Safety Screening

On a late afternoon in March, state troopers found truck driver Yakov Zaverukha lying on his back in a mud puddle beside his big rig that was stuck in a ditch just off Interstate 57 in central Illinois.

Eric Miller | Senior Reporter
June 13, 2016
Government

DOT’s Anthony Foxx Says CSA Scores to Be Public Again in 2 Years

WASHINGTON — It will be about two years before Compliance, Safety, Accountability scores will be available again for public view, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.

Eugene Mulero | Senior Reporter
June 13, 2016
Government, Business

Relief Plan Offered for R.I. In-State Commercial Truck Owners

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A legislative session that began in winter with Governor Gina Raimondo's push for controversial new truck tolls is nearing an end with a $6 million relief package for in-state commercial truck owners.

Katherine Gregg | The Providence Journal
June 12, 2016
Government

California Judge Rules Against CARB

A California Superior Court Judge has ruled that the state’s air-quality regulators didn’t take into account the economic impact on trucking firms that had complied with their rules when when they voted in April 2014 to allow other carriers to remain noncomplaint for two years.

David Elfin | Staff Reporter
June 10, 2016
Government, Business, Safety, Logistics, Autonomous

Federal Grants Awarded to Help Reduce Trucking Border Congestion

Transportation agencies in New York, Michigan and Washington on June 3 received federal grants to improve the way they issue traffic alerts to truckers crossing the Canadian border.

June 10, 2016
Government

Seven Smart City Finalists Make Last Presentations

Expanding public transportation in underserved areas was a common theme among the seven finalists in the U.S Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge as they made their final presentations to Secretary Anthony Foxx on June 9.

David Elfin | Staff Reporter
June 10, 2016
Government, Business, Safety, Logistics, Autonomous

Canada Targets US Truck Washes in Fight Against Killer Pig Virus

Canadian farm groups are blasting U.S. truck washes for being too dirty to prevent the spread of a virus that has killed millions of piglets in recent years, exposing a dispute over the effectiveness of such facilities in North American agriculture.

Tom Polansek | Reuters
June 10, 2016