The prospect of a federal requirement for speed-limiting devices on 18-wheelers and other heavy trucks recently got a big boost when the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced his support for quick passage of a related rule that has been mired in bureaucracy for nearly two years. The NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind announced his push…

While a lot of people don’t know about it, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) once again is set to conduct its International Roadcheck, the world’s largest targeted enforcement program for commercial vehicles such as tractor-trailers, 18-wheelers and other big rigs. The annual International Roadcheck results in numerous citations for equipment violations, improper licensing and unsafe driving, but it…

A current fight in Congress will determine how or whether the federal government will continue to provide funding to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), which relies on gasoline and diesel fuel taxes and other related taxes to finance our country’s interstate highway system and other roads. As it stands, the HTF will become insolvent on May 31 after having…

A recent investigative report by The Associated Press has revealed another point of danger for interstate drivers: a growing number of serious wrecks caused by tire failures on tractor-trailers and other big rigs. According to the report, many semi drivers regularly drive faster – both legally and illegally – than the 75 mph that their tires are equipped to sustain….

Rarely does a week pass without someone forwarding me an email complaining of “frivolous” lawsuits. You’ve probably seen them, too. They usually reference the so-called “Stella Awards,” in dubious honor of 79-year old Stella Liebeck. Stella was severely burned when scalding hot coffee spilled in her lap and she sued McDonald’s for $2.7 million. Most people hear only this…

Speed and driver inattention likely played significant roles in the deadly 18-wheeler crash that claimed the lives of five people in Fort Worth over the past weekend. The fatal collision involved a big rig that burst into flames in the early-morning hours of Sunday near I-30 and Oakland Boulevard. The Ryder tractor-trailer was carrying copies of the Fort Worth…

Even as the most recent data shows a rate of 5.5 percent unemployment in the U.S., a report prepared by The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) for the American Trucking Associations (ATA) shows the industry has some 35,000 unfilled truck driver jobs. It’s likely that the shortage was not as noticeable during the economic recession as trucking volume plummeted….

Each year, the National Transportation Safety Board issues its 10 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements aimed at reducing transportation accidents and saving lives. It’s nice to see that four of the 10 items would impact the safety of commercial trucks. Because of their size and the sheer number of commercial trucks on our roads, 18-wheelers pose a…

It may be hard to believe, but it’s been 30 years since our government has required an increase in the minimum amount of insurance for motor carriers, which includes both large and small trucking companies alike. The federally mandated $750,000 minimum established in 1985 is the same today despite significant price jumps for everything from medical care to postage…

The rising rate of Texas traffic fatalities involving three or more deaths is alarming: 72 such accidents in 2010; 101 in 2012 and 148 last year, according to an in-depth report by the Houston Chronicle. Through mid-July of this year, the newspaper said 81 people had died in triple tragedies on Texas highways, and it points out that Texas…