91ÊÓƵ

Dan Murray, vice president of research for the American Transportation Research Institute, received the William K. Smith Distinguished Service Award from the University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said last week it is pushing back the start of its new safety monitoring system, CSA 2010, until late this year, to give itself time to respond to criticisms and suggestions, and give fleets time to fix safety deficiencies.

The Department of Transportation has kicked off a pilot program in New York and Connecticut to test whether concentrated law enforcement can make drivers put down their cell phones.

I recently had the opportunity to make an informal survey on in-cab distractions. I have been restoring an old Willys Utility Wagon, and I wanted to see if I could find a couple of leather bucket seats for it. I went to a local junkyard, and they told me to walk around and look in the vehicles and see if I could find a pair that I liked.

Evans Distribution Systems, a third-party logistics operator, is adding new facilities in Lenexa, Kan., Houston and Memphis, Tenn.

The Department of Transportation last week issued a proposed rule outlawing text messaging by commercial drivers, taking another step in its ongoing effort to eliminate the practice.

PeopleNet Communications said it won a contract with Frozen Food Express Industries Inc., under which PeopleNet will replace Qualcomm Inc. as the refrigerated carrier’s mobile communications vendor.

The Department of Transportation released a proposed rule Wednesday that would ban texting by interstate commercial truck and bus drivers.

As the ongoing storm hovers over the trucking industry, some carriers are so busy hunkering down that they have forgotten to look for the silver lining in those clouds, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

Bob Costello, American Trucking Associations’ chief economist, has been appointed by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to the Advisory Council on Transportation Statistics.