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Incumbent Sen. Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, narrowly won re-election today, defeating his Republican challenger, Rep. John Ensign, by 459 votes. In other national races, Tuesday's elections brought no significant changes to congressional committees with oversight over trucking issues.

The Federal Highway Administration is proposing changes to driver medical examination forms that trucking interests say would let physicians perform additional tests at their discretion.

A dispute over the medical exams required by Canadian drivers to work in the U.S. may result in a long-awaited reciprocity agreement between the two countries.

Tolls on the Ohio Turnpike will increase as scheduled Jan. 1, despite suggestions by one turnpike official last winter that the extra money may not be needed.

The Teamsters rerun election got under way Monday as the court-appointed election officer mailed ballots to the union's 1.4 million members.

Brian Cavey is leaving the rarefied atmosphere of Washington's Capitol Hill for the Big Sky of Montana. He will be the new executive vice president of the Montana Motor Carrier Assn. Mr. Carvey replaces Ben Havdahl, who will retire before the next legislative session begins in January.

The New Mexico Motor Carriers Assn. is trying to change the deadline for filing state weight-distance tax reports from the 25th day to the last day of each month.

The fatal crash rate for large trucks fell slightly to 2.39 per million miles in 1997, down from 2.41 the year before, according to newly released statistics from the Federal Highway Administration.

A top Federal Highway Administration official said the agency was seriously considering a “negotiated” rulemaking to rewrite hours-of-service standards for truck drivers.

American Trucking Associations took a giant step toward unifying its splintered federation last week with a management conference that drew record attendance and generated more than a half-million dollars in political contributions.