The Michigan Department of Transportation is closing eastbound Interstate 496 and the southbound U.S. Highway 127 ramps to Trowbridge Road for bridge demolition. MDOT said in a news release that the closure in Ingham County will begin at 6 a.m. on Saturday, April 20 and is expected to end by 6 a.m. on Sunday, April 21. This bridge work is part of the $205 million “Rebuilding Michigan” program centered on U.S. 127/I-496 from Interstate 96 to I-496, an important route for commuters, commercial vehicles and tourists. “The investment strategy is aimed at fixes that result in longer, useful lives a ..read more

Results of a survey conducted by Trucker Path reveal that in addition to truck parking, truckers expect certain amenities when looking for a truck stop. According to Trucker Path, more than 86% of survey respondents want abundant truck parking at truck stops. Truckers also want clean showers and restaurants. The top-desired truck stop amenities are: Abundant truck parking (86%) Clean showers (67.5%) On-site restaurant (47%) Healthy/fresh food selection (41%) 24/7 truck maintenance services (29%) High-speed diesel pumps (27%) Wi-Fi (22%) Laundry (20%) Driver lounge area (15%) Pet friendly (13 ..read more

A new Michigan law is intended to address “flaws” in how the state sets local roadway speed limits. Michigan law states that an engineering and safety study must be conducted to modify a speed limit. Additionally, speeds on state and local roads must be rounded up to the nearest multiple of 5 mph of the 85th-percentile standard. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed into law a bill to update how the state observes the 85th-percentile speed rule – the speed at or below which 85% of vehicles travel in free-flowing traffic. House lawmakers approved the bill on a 100-10 vote. The Senate followed suit b ..read more

A new Wisconsin law authorizes the creation of a commercial driver training grant program in the state. Gov. Tony Evers signed into law the bill creating a tuition reimbursement program for students working toward their CDL. Previously SB271, the new law requires the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development to establish and administer the grant program. One provision in the new rule specifies that a CDL training provider must satisfy entry-level driver training requirements established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Green Bay, was behind the bil ..read more

A new report highlighting the state of the autonomous vehicle industry reveals that although autonomous vehicles are logging more miles, government policies continue to slow down progress. In its inaugural State of AV report, the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association gives a glimpse of how things are going in the world of autonomous vehicles. It reports things are going well for the most part but could be better with clearer policies at the state and federal levels. “It is awe-inspiring to see the progress autonomous vehicles are making in the United States,” Autonomous Vehicle Industry Asso ..read more

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will have its annual Safety Research Forum later this month. The virtual meetings are scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m. Eastern April 24 and April 25. Truck drivers and other stakeholders can register for the forum here. “The event will focus primarily on the work being performed by FMCSA’s Office of Research, with staff members presenting short summaries of some of their most interesting and important projects,” the agency wrote. The April 24 presentations will feature FMCSA’s Analysis Division and new Crash Data Analytics Division. FMCSA’s Applied Rese ..read more

No trucks were involved in last month’s collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Trucks didn’t cause the catastrophe, and no trucks fell into the bay as a result. When it comes to bridges, that hasn’t always been the case. Big trucks have fallen in other bridge disasters and even caused a few. Back in 1964, for example, a gas tanker reportedly weighing four times the posted limit brought down a bridge over the Cuyahoga River in Kent, Ohio. Just three years later, in 1967, another heavy truck destroyed a bridge in Kingsport, Tenn., after someone removed a weight-limit warning sign ..read more

The Port of Baltimore worker retention program is providing $12.5 million for port businesses to retain employees affected by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Established by the PORT Act, the program aims to avert layoffs by enabling impacted businesses to retain their workers until the port fully reopens, according to a news release from Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. “We must do everything in our power to support the 8,000 port workers whose jobs have been directly affected by the collapse of the Key Bridge – and the thousands more who have been touched by this crisis,” Moore said. “T ..read more

The former owner of a Philadelphia-based CDL school has been sentenced to 57 months in prison for his part in a bribery scheme that led to his students passing their CDL skills test. On Monday, April 15, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the sentence of 53-year-old Vladimir Tsymbalenko, the former owner of Vlad’s CDL School. In addition to the prison time, Tsymbalenko also was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine. “The last thing anyone should want on our roads are people behind the wheel of big rigs or school buses with bogus CDL certifications ..read more

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance has petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to remove one of the requirements involving inspection reports. In a petition filed on April 2, CVSA asked FMCSA “to remove the requirement that motor carriers return inspection reports to the issuing agency certifying that all violations noted on the inspection report have been corrected.” Current regulations mandate that motor carriers and intermodal equipment providers return the inspection reports within 15 days, certifying that all necessary repairs have been made. CVSA’s petition asks th ..read more