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Dennis Shirar, a driver with Indianapolis-based Heritage Transport who has driven 3 million accident-free miles, was named the 2008 National Truck Driving Grand Champion, American Trucking Associations said.

Freightliner Trucks, part of Daimler Trucks North America, said it will offer Meritor WABCO’s new automatic forward-collision warning and braking system on its models Cascadia and Century Class S/T tractors.

The annual National Truck Driver Association Week began Sunday and will run through Saturday, American Trucking Associations said.

American Trucking Associations Wednesday called on Congress to help the trucking industry to improve highway safety by supporting efforts to enhance drug and alcohol testing for the nation’s 3.4 million truck drivers.

WASHINGTON — American Trucking Associations Chairman Ray Kuntz asked a Senate committee Wednesday to make fundamental changes to federal surface transportation programs in order to allow the trucking industry to move freight more efficiently.

Florida officials are banning trucks from the left lane of a 40-mile stretch of the Florida Turnpike in South Florida starting Friday, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.

A judge in North Carolina recently ruled in favor of a trucking company that sued the state for what it said were excessive fines assessed for minor weight limit permit violations.

Drivers around the country will see big hikes in toll fees this year for roads, bridges and tunnels, USA Today reported Monday.

WASHINGTON — In a controversial report calling for huge new spending on the national transportation system, a congressional commission last week made several recommendations that would affect trucking, including new flexibility in the federal driver hours-of-service rule in congestion-prone areas.

TTNews.com will be closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. Please check back on Tuesday, Jan. 22, for the latest trucking and freight transportation news.