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A trio of California Penske driver-installers has asked a federal appeals court to overturn a lower federal court ruling that exempts motor carriers from compliance with the state’s meal- and rest-break requirements.

For the second time in the past several months, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have delayed implementation of a controversial plan requiring motor carriers and exporters to report even small amounts of cargo residue when returning from deliveries in Canada and Mexico.

A House transportation subcommittee has asked the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General to do an in-depth audit of the government’s safety program, including a look at the relationship between motor carrier safety scores and crash risk.

An American Transportation Research Institute study of 471,000 motor carriers’ Compliance, Safety, Accountability data found that CSA percentile scores in two of five categories are “defective” in predicting crash risk.

The California Air Resources Board has approved changes that give heavy-duty diesel engine manufacturers more time to comply with “technology forcing” regulations that require advances to engine onboard diagnostics systems that monitor nitrogen oxide emissions levels and particulate matter filter and sensor malfunctions.

Margo Oge, the high-level official for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency who has spearheaded the agency’s efforts to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. transportation sector, is retiring from the agency where she worked for more than three decades.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The highway bill passed earlier this summer directs the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to complete 29 new rulemakings over the next 27 months, including a requirement for a final electronic logging device rule by October of 2013, agency officials said Monday.

Motor carriers and shippers cited for hazardous materials violations face far greater penalties following the passage of the new federal highway reauthorization law.

Motor carriers who haul relatively small quantities of hazardous materials have cited concerns that a proposed newly-created hazardous materials safety measurement category would unfairly worsen their hazmat scores.