Posts by MTAC Staff

From Transport Topics The U.S. Department of Transportation plans on Jan. 1 to begin testing truck drivers and other “safety-sensitive” transportation employees for the semi-synthetic opioids hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxymorphone and oxycodone, the agency announced Nov. 9. “Inclusion of these four semi-synthetic opioids is intended to help address the nationwide epidemic of opioid abuse,” the announcement…

From Transport Topics The American Transportation Research Institute has determined that a federal fuel tax increase is the best option for achieving a large-scale infrastructure program. ATRI released its “Framework for Infrastructure Funding” on Nov. 8. The research found that other methods of generating revenue, such as mileage-based user fees and increased tolling systems, will…

From Transport Topics Tax breaks designed to help the private sector finance infrastructure projects were not included in a Republican tax overhaul bill President Donald Trump would consider by the end of the year. The Republican-led tax-writing Ways and Means Committee shot down Nov. 8 a push by a Democrat that would have ensured that…

From Hartford Business Journal. Worker’s compensation insurance rates will be 14 percent lower starting Jan. 1, the Connecticut Insurance Department announced. It will be the fourth consecutive year of falling premiums, following drops of 11 percent, 3.9 percent and 6.3 percent in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. “The continued decrease is a result of the…

You will need to haveElectronic Logging Devices (ELDs) unless your operations are covered by an exemption. Here are the only exemptions from the ELD regulation: ELD Rule Exceptions The following are not required to use ELDs (but carriers may choose to use ELDs even if they are not required): Drivers who use paper logs no…

MTAC is supporting a Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) application for a INFRA grant which will partially fund the Charter Oak Bridge project. The Charter Oak Bridge project will relieve congestion at one of CT’s worst freight bottlenecks by doing several things. It will widen I-91 NB from Interchange 27 to Interchange 29; replace and…

Connecticut DOT has announced that the limits of the Divisible Load Truck permits for Interstate 95 (trucks up to 76,500lbs) are now reduced to reflect all the bridge rehabilitation and widening over the last 10 to 15 years or more. This corridor is better able to handle these loads and this change in the limits…

From Transport Topics. Federal trucking regulators have been angling for a flexible sleeper berth pilot program since 2010, but a request for public comment posted in the Federal Register in late October showed that plans for the program are behind schedule. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration website said the pilot was supposed to begin…

From Transport Topics. President Donald Trump’s chief economic adviser raised the possibility of increasing the federal gasoline tax next year to help pay for the administration’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan, U.S. Representative Tom Reed said. National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn brought up the fuel tax as a way to help fund promised upgrades to…

From ATRI. The American Transportation Research Institute, the trucking industry’s not-for-profit research institute, today unveiled its top industry issues report, which includes the list of the top ten critical issues facing the North American trucking industry. For the first time since 2006, the driver shortage is the top-ranked issued. The significant need for qualified drivers…