Arkansas Trucking Association

FMCSA Medical Review Board to Offer Apnea Recommendations

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s medical review board will soon offer new recommendations for changing standards and practice for medical examiners diagnosing and treating truck drivers for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Specifically, the board will make suggestions to the agency on the disposition of comments from medical professionals and associations, as well as from safety advocacy, labor and industry groups.

Read more: FMCSA Medical Review Board to Offer Apnea Recommendations

New poll: Americans want tougher fuel economy standards

A new poll by the Natural Resources Defense Council shows that respondents of all political views “overwhelmingly” endorse initiatives to curb carbon pollution from cars and trucks, according to the non-profit organization.

NRDC’s poll finds that 77 percent of Americans think “cars and trucks contribute to the problem of air pollution” a great deal or somewhat. Additionally, 95 percent of Americans want automakers to keep improving fuel economy for cars and trucks. And 79 percent want the government to keep increasing fuel efficiency standards.  

Read more: New poll: Americans want tougher fuel economy standards

EPA’s new fuel efficiency standards stricter than ever

The Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have released new emissions and fuel economy standards for medium and heavy-duty vehicles and engines.

The heavy-duty category incorporates all motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 8,500 lbs or greater, and the engines that power them, except for medium-duty passenger vehicles already covered by the greenhouse gas standards and corporate average fuel economy standards issued for light-duty model year 2017-2025 vehicles. This “Phase 2” of greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency standards is a continuation of the Obama Administration’s efforts under the Climate Action Plan.

Read more: EPA’s new fuel efficiency standards stricter than ever

Arkansas Drivers to Compete at National Championship

Arkansas Trucking Championship Winners 2016

Arkansas’ best truck drivers to compete at national championship

The Arkansas Trucking Association is sending nine drivers to compete in the 2016 National Truck Driving Championship and National Step Van Championship in Indianapolis, Ind. Aug. 10–13. American Trucking Associations will be hosting more than 400 of the trucking industry's top professional truck drivers at the Indiana Convention Center for the 79th annual "Super Bowl of Safety."

Read more: Arkansas Drivers to Compete at National Championship

Rank Your Top Industry Concerns

American Transportation Research Institute

    

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the trucking industry's not-for-profit research organization, today launched the 2016 Top Industry Issues Survey. The annual survey, commissioned by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), asks trucking industry stakeholders to rank the top issues of concern for the industry along with appropriate strategies for addressing each issue. The survey is in its 12th year and participation by trucking stakeholders has grown each year.

The Arkansas Trucking Association wants to encourage all its members to complete the survey from the website by clicking here.

Read more: Rank Your Top Industry Concerns

34-Hour Restart Issue Still Stalled

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted in May to send the full House a bill that would permanently restore 2011 regulations pertaining to the 34-hour restart provisions of the hours of service requirements.

The provisions would revert restart rules to those in effect in December 2011. A 34-hour restart would not be required to include the two 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. periods, and its use would not be limited to once a week. The 30-minute break requirement would still be in effect, however, and would be the lone remaining element of the hours of service changes that went into effect in July 2013.

Read more: 34-Hour Restart Issue Still Stalled

CSA Scores Likely to Remain Offline for Two Years

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told a Senate panel that Compliance, Safety, Accountability carrier ranking system changes will take about two years to complete, and the industry shouldn’t expect to see CSA scores—the percentile rankings in the CSA Safety Measurement System’s seven BASICs — return to public view until those changes have been made.

“Based on our preliminary assessment, it’s going to take a while to do the revised analysis,” Foxx said. The changes in the CSA score methodology were required in Congress’ 2015 FAST Act bill.

Read more: CSA Scores Likely to Remain Offline for Two Years

Governor Signs Arkansas Highway Plan into Law

Arkansas Govenor Asa Hutchinson

 

The Legislature's special session on highways came when Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a highway funding plan into law that will raise nearly $50 million for the state's highways in the coming year and qualify the state to receive an additional $200 million annually in federal matching highway funds.

The plan utilizes $40 million from Arkansas's surplus, $1.5 million investment returns and ends a requirement that $8.4 million from a half-cent sales tax for roads go toward a fund for constitutional officers.

Read more: Governor Signs Arkansas Highway Plan into Law

Nuclear transporters practice maneuvers on Arkansas highway

Arkansas 549 in Fort Smith has become a smooth training ground for the National Nuclear Security Administration's Office of Secure Transportation. The highway closings were first publicly announced in October, and so far, no live nuclear warheads have been used in the night-time training sessions.

Read more: Nuclear transporters practice maneuvers on Arkansas highway

UPS partners with drone company for humanitarian efforts

UPS is partnering with a tiny robotics company, Zipline, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to explore how drones can safely and effectively deliver medicines such as vaccines and blood across the world.

The goal is to examine whether drones can rapidly deliver key medical supplies to remote areas since the products often spoil or fail to reach people when using other means of transportation.

Read more: UPS partners with drone company for humanitarian efforts

Toll lanes to be studied in Arkansas . . . again

The Arkansas Highway Commission has voted to study adding part-time toll lanes to Little Rock area freeways, which supporters say could alleviate traffic for commuters and help efforts to expand mass transit in the region.

The commission approved partnering with Metroplan, the planning organization for the central Arkansas area, to study adding "high occupancy toll" lanes to Pulaski, Faulkner, Saline and Lonoke counties. The study will likely take six months to a year to complete.

Read more: Toll lanes to be studied in Arkansas . . . again

International Roadcheck 2016 finds violations near Benton

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More than one in five commercial trucks inspected by the Arkansas Highway Police had violations severe enough for authorities to pull them off the road pending repairs during International Roadcheck 2016, 72 hours dedicated to roadside inspections for commercial vehicles, according to the state Highway and Transportation Department.

Police across the state randomly inspected 637 trucks between Tuesday and Friday morning, and they took 149 vehicles out of service. The most common reason police pulled trucks off the road was brake problems, department spokesman Danny Straessle said.

Read more: International Roadcheck 2016 finds violations near Benton

Contact Us

Arkansas Trucking Association
PO Box 3476 (72203)
1401 West Capitol Ave.
Suite 185
Little Rock, AR 72201

(501) 372-3462 | Phone
(501) 376-1810 | Fax

Our Mission

  • PROTECT the collective interests of trucking companies in the political and regulatory arenas.
  • PROMOTE the dynamics of trucking so that people have a better understanding of the link between America's primary freight delivery system and the standard of living they enjoy.
  • SERVE our members to help them to grow their business and their profits
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