California legislators have given the green light to allowing driverless cars on California roadways.The bill signed by Governor Jerry Brown allows autonomous vehicles to operate on state roads, but leaves the details to be worked out by the DMV. The process is just getting started, but signs of tension have already emerged between state regulators and carmakers who want wide latitude to test their inventions on California roads.

Two Arkansans took top honors at the National Truck Driving Championship in Salt Lake City, Utah. Corporal Derek Canard of the Arkansas Highway Police District 2, was named North American Grand Champion after a stellar performance at the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance Championship during the NTDC. This competition is the only international event dedicated to recognizing and rewarding commercial vehicle inspector excellence.

Country music recording artist Lindsey Lawler is the new face and voice of the Truckload Carriers Association’s Highway Angel program. Lawler will go on tour to promote a better trucking industry image performing at TravelCenters of America locations throughout the Southeast and Midwest. “For the longest time, the trucking and country music industries went hand-in-hand,” said Lawler.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has upheld most of the new Hours of Service regulations with the exception of eliminating the need for a 30 minute break for short-haul drivers. A short-haul is defined by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as one which is driven by a vehicle that does not require a CDL or one that is within a 150-mile radius of where the driver reports to and releases from.

The U.S. Department of Transportation no longer requires trucking companies to keep all of its equipment inspection reports – only those that reveal a defect. The government estimates this will save the trucking industry about $1.7 billion per year, ranking it as one of the Administration’s biggest cost cutting savings to small business.

The required insurance minimum for motor carriers has been the same since 1980. According to Representative Matt Cartwright (D-Penn.) the current requirement of $750,000 is not enough to protect crash victims and fails to perform the basic functions that Congress intended: to promote safe operations by holding insurers responsible for inspecting trucking operations prior to underwriting policies and to protect the public.

The results are in from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Roadcheck 2013 event that was held the first weekend in June. One in five vehicles inspected were placed out-of-service during the 72-hour safety event.  The enforcement and safety outreach campaign was carried out by members of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA).