Trucking news and briefs for Monday, April 21, 2025:
CVSA’s Operation Safe Driver Week enforcement effort set for July
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) announced July 13-19 as this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week, a safe-driving enforcement and outreach initiative aimed at improving driving behaviors through education, traffic-enforcement strategies and driver interactions with law enforcement.
The focus of this year’s week-long enforcement initiative targeting both commercial and passenger vehicle drivers will be reckless, careless or dangerous driving. Any person who drives a vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is driving recklessly, CVSA said.
During Operation Safe Driver Week, law enforcement personnel in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be on the lookout for drivers engaging in unsafe driving behaviors, such as speeding, distracted driving, following too closely, drunk or drugged driving, etc. Drivers engaging in such behaviors will be pulled over by law enforcement personnel and issued a warning or citation.
[Related: Roadcheck looms in May with focus on hours of service, tires]
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 40,901 people were killed in traffic crashes in 2023, down from 42,721 in 2022. Transport Canada statistics from 2022 show that there were 1,931 motor vehicle fatalities. And Mexico reported 15,979 road deaths for 2022. CVSA’s Operation Safe Driver Program aims to address those alarming rates by reducing the number of crashes on roadways caused by unsafe driving behaviors.
In addition to traffic enforcement, driver education initiatives are also a major part of Operation Safe Driver Week. CVSA offers resources for teen and new drivers and commercial motor vehicle drivers, along with public service announcement videos, which are available for download and distribution.
[Related: Truck-involved crash injuries, fatalities falling]
U.S. DOT kills emissions-reporting reg for state DOTs
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Friday the repeal of a final rule -- not yet in effect -- that would have required state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to measure and establish declining targets for carbon dioxide emissions on federally supported highways.
The Federal Highway Administration published the repeal in the Federal Register Friday.
I slashed this ridiculous climate requirement to ensure no radical political agenda gets in the way of revitalizing America’s highways,” Duffy said in a press release.
Under the now-repealed rule, state DOTs and MPOs would have been required to assess the performance of the National Highway System (NHS) under the National Highway Performance Program (NHPP) by establishing declining carbon dioxide emissions targets and measuring and reporting on the percent change in tailpipe CO2 emissions on the NHS from calendar year 2022.
FHWA said in the Federal Register notice that repealing the rule “will alleviate a burden on State DOTs and MPOs that, had it been implemented, would have imposed costs with no predictable level of benefits and without clear legal authority. This final rule does not prohibit State DOTs and MPOs from choosing voluntarily to measure and assess CO2 on the NHS or other roads.”
The rule, which is known as the GHG measurement rule, had been rescinded during the first Trump Administration and was reinstated by the Biden Administration. Two federal judges later ruled that the DOT lacked authority to issue the rule.
Numerous organizations from trucking and other industries in February 2024 wrote in a letter to Congress voicing their support for congressional efforts to stop the rule from taking effect. The groups highlighted that in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress elected to not include the GHG measurement rule “due to the provision’s lack of sufficient congressional support.”
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President Todd Spencer applauded the repeal, noting that OOIDA and its members “support the return of common sense to regulations. FHWA can best improve highway safety by focusing on priorities like expanding truck parking capacity and mitigating congestion.”
[Related: Massachusetts backs of 'zero emissions' truck reg, for now]
Bill to increase dry bulk weight variance introduced
A bill introduced in the U.S. House last week would increase the axle weight tolerance for dry bulk carriers but keep the overall weight limit for the trucks unchanged.
The VARIANCE Act -- or the Vehicle Axle Redistribution Increases Allow New Capacities for Efficiency Act -- would allow for a 10% shift in weight variance along the axles of tank trucks carrying dry goods, without any increase in the overall federal gross vehicle weight (GVW) limit. It was introduced by Reps. Rick Crawford (R-Arkansas) and Salud Carbajal (D-California).
Under current law, when stopped at a weigh station, a truck’s weight must be “evenly” distributed among each of the axles. However, with dry bulk goods, even when packed properly, the material often moves around in the tank, causing the weight on each axle of the vehicle to be different, bill sponsors said. The VARIANCE Act allows for a shift in variance, as long as the overall weight of the tank truck does not exceed 80,000 pounds, ensuring trucks don’t have to unnecessarily reduce their loads.
During the previous Congressional session, similar legislation under a different name -- the Dry Bulk Weight Tolerance Act -- came out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee but didn’t get a full House vote.
The legislation has the support of the National Tank Truck Carriers organization, which called the bill “a smart, targeted solution that reflects the operational realities of the dry bulk segment,” said Ryan Streblow, NTTC President & CEO. “By aligning axle weight flexibility with the design and functionality of dry bulk trailers, we can improve efficiency, reduce highway congestion, and enhance safety -- all without increasing wear on infrastructure. Many carriers underload dry bulk product today as a result of not having this flexibility. Allowing dry bulk carriers to maximize the current gross vehicle weight will reduce the number of commercial dry bulk trucks on the road each year.”
[Related: Trucking details challenges to House subcommittee]
