An estimated $595 million construction project that dates back to 2017 will be completed this week, bringing two new toll roads and express lanes on Interstate 275 in Tampa, Fla. The Florida Department of Transportation said the Gateway Expressway will officially open to traffic on Friday, April 26. This project provides direct connections between I-275 and U.S. Highway 19, as well as between the Bayside Bridge and I-275. “The opening will bring congestion relief and travel route options to thousands of Tampa Bay-area drivers,” Florida transportation officials said. State Route 690 and state R ..read more

Raising revenue for transportation purposes via owners of electric and hybrid vehicles is a continuing topic at statehouses. There are at least 33 states that impose a special registration fee for plug-in electric vehicles, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Most of those states also assess a fee on plug-in hybrid vehicles. Fees range from about $50 annually for plug-in personal electric vehicles in Colorado, Hawaii and South Dakota to $225 yearly for plug-in personal electric vehicles in Washington. At least a half dozen states structure registration fees for electric ..read more

An effort to ensure that truck drivers are provided a place to use the restroom has bipartisan support but still has a long way to go in order to be passed into law. Last week, Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., co-sponsored the Trucker Bathroom Access Act. HR3869, which was originally introduced by Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, simply requires shipper and receiver facilities that have restrooms accessible to their customers and employees to make those same restrooms available for truck drivers who are delivering or receiving a load. The legislation would not require businesses to construct new restrooms ..read more

Renewable diesel as an alternative to battery-electric trucks recently was analyzed by the American Transportation Research Institute. In its analysis, ATRI evaluated renewable diesel and battery-electric trucks based on environmental benefits, operational capabilities and financial viability. According to the report, relying on battery-electric trucks to decrease carbon tailpipe emissions is nearly six times more expensive than using renewable diesel. ATRI said it also confirmed that when trucks using renewable fuel are converted to battery-electric trucks, a significant negative environmenta ..read more

The White House Office of Management and Budget has completed the review of a final rule to mandate automatic emergency braking systems for light vehicles. OMB’s approval on Monday, April 22 means that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s final rule for light vehicle AEBs likely will be published in the coming days. Now, the question for truckers is how far behind is a similar rule for heavy vehicles. Background Last June, NHTSA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to require AEBs on new vehicles weighing less than 10,000 pounds. Soon after, NHTSA and the Federal Motor Carrie ..read more

Piling on decades of studies, recently published academic research further suggests that the quickest, most efficient route to safer highways is increasing truck driver pay. In his paper titled “Follow the money: Trucker pay incentives, working time, and safety,” Dr. Michael Belzer, economics professor at Wayne State University, expanded on his more than 25 years of studying truck driver pay. His latest research sends a familiar message to carriers: You get what you paid for. Focusing on intrastate carriers, Belzer looked at truck driver pay and safety data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safet ..read more

Is the false narrative of a truck driver shortage finally coming to an end? At the very least, the premise has endured significant blows in recent years and weeks. The history As you probably know, the American Trucking Associations has claimed a shortage of truck drivers since the 1980s. The group has maintained this stance when freight rates have been high and low, and even when turnover rates at large fleets have exceeded 100%. Regardless of the conditions at the time, ATA would say that more drivers were needed and that Congress needed to ease the path of entry to the driver’s seat to fix ..read more

The trend of cargo theft in Philadelphia continues to grow, with the most recent incident leaving the driver of the truck injured. Around 5:30 a.m. on Friday, April 19, police responded to a reported robbery in the 4300 block of Byberry Road in Northeast Philadelphia. The thieves made off with two pallets – nearly 100 boxes – of frozen snow crabs. Officials said the frozen crustaceans were valued at $30,000. According to reports, up to a dozen suspects used four vehicles to perpetrate the heist. The driver of the refrigerated truck was asleep in the cab and was made aware of the theft by a sec ..read more

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