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December 6, 2000 10:54 AM, EST

A new federal law enables state and local governments to go after trucking operations and drivers who illegally boost the power of their citizen band radios. President Clinton signed the legislation Nov. 22.

The law sponsored by Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.) targets CB users who exceed the power limits set by the Federal Communications Commission (10-16, p. 1). Until now, the FCC had sole enforcement authority of CB regulations but rarely exercised it.

The radio band has become so crowded that officials are searching for ways to control traffic and police assigned frequencies. High-power CB signals can leak into conversations over cordless telephones and interfere with other transmissions.

FCC rules limit CB carrier power to four watts for amplitude modulated — AM — signals and 12 watts for single side-band.

For the full story, see the Dec. 4 print edition of Transport Topics. .