Safety

Government and law-enforcement agencies at the state and local levels are continuing to be fiscally challenged with respect to resources being made available for highway safety activities.

The speed limit for cars and trucks on the Ohio Turnpike will go from 65 to 70 miles an hour starting April 1, a change that the state’s trucking industry opposes.

Alert to safety issues surrounding driver fatigue and sleep apnea, trucking associations across the country are partnering with, endorsing or seeking vendors to provide their member fleets with testing, training and treatment programs on sleep apnea.

Ryder System said it will acquire The Scully Companies, a California-based provider of contract carriage and related services.

The Department of Transportation Friday proposed banning interstate truck and bus drivers from using hand-held cell phones while operating a commercial motor vehicle, and sets stiff fines for violators.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has appointed three new members to its Medical Review Board.

American Trucking Associations last week asked the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to facilitate the use of consolidation bins in transporting small packages of hazmat materials.

I was reading your Nov. 1 issue and came across the article about the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, electric onboard recorders and hours of service. I read the article and felt I should put in my 2 cents’ worth on this issue.

When the next freight transportation capacity shortage makes itself known, whether it’s in the second half of next year or at the start of 2012, no one should say they weren’t warned well in advance.