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WASHINGTON — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne Ferro said she is committed to launching the agency’s new truck safety rating system in July, although she expects there will be problems at the start.

TAMPA, Fla. — Jerry Thrift of Ryder System, Miami, was installed as chairman of the Technology & Maintenance Council of American Trucking Associations during the group’s meeting here Feb. 11.

The Clackamas County, Ore., sheriff’s office is using high-tech cameras to catch truck drivers who don’t buckle up, the Oregonian newspaper reported Tuesday.

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.

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.

Xata Corp.’s acquisition of fellow fleet technology provider GeoLogic Solutions gives the company its first real foothold for marketing information technology systems to for-hire trucking fleets, an executive with the Eden Prairie, Minn., firm said.

The commission charged with examining the future of the national transportation system is set to recommend a significant increase in federal fuel taxes to Congress, according to wire service reports and other sources.

Trucking executive Patrick Quinn proposed building a system of dedicated truck-only lanes to streamline freight movement and the idea has been “well received” by members of a U.S. commission.

Mack Trucks introduced a new in-cabin power system as an option, joining several other truck manufacturers — including International, Kenworth and Peterbilt — in offering built-in units to limit idling.

Trucking software firm TMW Systems said Thursday it acquired TMT Software, which makes fleet maintenance applications, for an undisclosed sum.