The IIC Blog

By Judy Greenwald A plaintiff who is fired for refusing to perform an illegal act cannot collect punitive damages unless the employer has acted with malice, says the Texas Supreme Court. Attorneys say the ruling joins other court rulings nationally that limit circumstances under which punitive damages can be awarded. According to Friday’s unanimous decision inSafeshred …

Trucking continues to be the dominant mode of freight transportation and an integral part of the U.S. economy, according to American Trucking Associations’ 2012 American Trucking Trends report. The report gathers statistics from numerous sources in areas such as the size of the industry, trucking performance, fleet demographics, truck sales, taxes, safety, international trade, the …

By Eric Miller, Staff Reporter, Transport Topics The trucking industry’s widely held concerns that recent changes to the federal safety-rating program are causing sudden, dramatic shifts in some carriers’ scores is justified, according to an analysis by several companies that help fleets manage their safety programs. Changes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s new Compliance, …

Diesel will average $4.21 a gallon this summer and $3.94 a gallon this year, while holding over $4 into 2013, the Department of Energy said Tuesday. The monthly average price — which pushed past $4 in March — will peak at $4.25 in August before receding gradually to $4.18 in December. Trucking’s main fuel will …

By Eric Miller, Staff Reporter, Transport Topics The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration plan to soon make public the number of fatal accidents in which individual carriers are involved has intensified industry concern over FMCSA’s recent delay of its plan for determining whether the carrier was at fault in each of the accidents. Rob Abbott, vice …

Hong Kong’s largest container-shipping line, Orient Overseas Container Line, formerly inked a 40-year, $4.6 billion lease this week for a cargo-handling terminal operation in the Port of Long Beach’s Middle Harbor. The official signing ceremony was held in Hong Kong with OOCL’s chief executive, Philip Chow, and Port of Long Beach Executive Director Chris Lytle …

By Jonathan S. Reiskin and Eric Miller, Transport Topics The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has decided to raise the importance of hazmat handling under its new safety rating program, while it will reduce the emphasis on load securement. Administrator Anne Ferro also told Transport Topics last week that the agency soon will reveal what it …

New research released this week by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration confirms the safety benefits of using technology to electronically govern and limit trucks’ speed, American Trucking Associations said Wednesday. “Slowing down traffic is the most important step toward improving  highway safety.” ATA President Bill Graves said in restating the group’s policy push for …

By Eric Miller, Transport Topics The head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said the agency will issue strict guidance to medical examiners later this year on how to detect and treat sleep disorders when administering physicals to truck drivers. FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro also said a proposed rule is being planned that will …

By Larry Thomas, Furniture Today Three days before Christmas, the U.S. Department of Transportation unveiled revisions to the so-called hours-of-service (HOS) rules for commercial truck drivers, congratulating itself for developing regulations that it said will result in safer streets and highways. “This final rule will help prevent fatigue-related truck crashes and save lives,” Transportation Secretary …