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A group of trucking companies in Southern California will pay $5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by drivers who alleged that they were improperly treated as independent contractors, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. The settlement marks the latest victory for port truck drivers in a years-long battle they have…

Automated vehicles can be the biggest asset in improving the safety of America’s roads, according to Christopher Hart, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, as reported by Transport Topics. In a speech June 30 at the National Press Club, Hart said the following: “An automated 80,000-pound truck will be safer, eventually, than one with…

In his new book “The Big Rig: Trucking and the Decline of the American Dream,” Steve Viscelli, a lecturer in the Department of Sociology, explains the decline of the trucking industry, which used to be one of the best working-class jobs in the United States, according to an article on penncurrent.upenn.edu. More than three million…

The trucking industry invests at least $9.5 billion in safety annually according to a landmark report released by American Trucking Associations. “We know this industry prioritizes and invests in improving safety on our nation’s highways,” said ATA Executive Vice President of National Advocacy Dave Osiecki. “With the results of this survey, we now can put…

Trucking and travel plaza leaders recently announced a new highway safety initiative to help professional drivers find available truck parking. Beginning in late summer, truck drivers who need to stop and rest will be able to use a free mobile app called Park My Truck to locate an available space, according to the initiative’s leaders,…

The trucking industry has won a round in an ongoing bout with labor unions over whether truck drivers at the East Coast’s busiest port are employees or independent contractors, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. The New Jersey Assembly had been considering legislation that would have forced port trucking companies to use…

Three of the largest U.S. trucking companies reported a drop in profits as demand for freight-hauling services slumped, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Werner Enterprises Inc. said first-quarter earnings fell 13% from a year earlier to $20.1 million, while Knight Transportation Inc.’s profits sank 24% to $22.5 million over the same…

Traffic congestion on US highways added nearly $50 billion in operational costs to the trucking industry in 2014, according to the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) as reported by trucknews.com. Utilizing data sources covering the entire US National Highway System, ATRI’s results revealed calculated delay totaling more than 728 million hours of lost productivity, equating…

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will host three public listening sessions to solicit information on the prevalence of moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) among individuals occupying safety sensitive positions in highway and rail transportation, its potential consequences for the safety of rail and highway transportation, and the…