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WASHINGTON — Reports from states on commercial vehicle accidents are so inconsistent that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration probably will rely on carriers to challenge findings of who was at fault, a top agency official told the National Transportation Safety Board last week.

Shippers enjoying increases in manufacturing and production are being urged to start worrying about two federal regulations that could hinder their ability to move goods with trucks and could place them at risk in civil litigation.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last week placed four new driver fatigue studies into its hours-of-service docket and said the studies probably would cause the agency to miss a court-imposed July 26 deadline for posting its final hours rule.

Investigators with the Government Accountability Office said they were able to gain unescorted access to several U.S. ports using fake biometric Transportation Worker Identification Credential cards.

The westbound lanes of Interstate 40 in eastern Arkansas that were closed due to flooding over the weekend have reopened, the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department said Wednesday.

Only 13 states have performance goals and reviews in place to help taxpayers determine if transportation spending promotes such things as safety, mobility, and jobs and commerce, according to a new study being released Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — The trucking industry has made great strides in truck safety over the past decade, but numerous challenges remain as motor carriers and truck drivers cope with an increasingly tough regulatory environment, industry executives told the National Transportation Safety Board Tuesday.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said Monday it has launched a new web page that improves free public access to orders and decisions on FMCSA civil penalty and safety rating cases.

PRINCETON, N.J. — CSA, the new federal safety rating system, has become ingrained in the recruiting departments of some trucking companies less than six months after the program officially launched, fleet operators and technology providers said here.