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In politics, it often seems there are no new ideas, only new leaders advocating the same themes, repackaged for a new generation of voters. Remember 1988 and the television commercials showing toxic waste pouring into Boston Harbor? As the 2000 election season heats up, expect to see commercials talking about the horrors of suburban sprawl and smog.

Keeping in step with their parent organizations, several foundations affiliated with trucking trade groups are changing their emphasis.

Automobile haulers are hoping to have better luck next time getting an increase in weight allowances for their equipment on the highways.

The nation’s road builders want to play a part in an environmental lawsuit that could cause highways to go without repairs.

Fatalities from crashes involving large trucks dropped 1.8% from 5,398 in 1997 to an estimated 5,302 in 1998, Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater announced at a May 25 press conference.

Former congressman Norman Mineta recommends keeping motor carrier safety oversight within the Federal Highway Administration and giving it more resources, including additional senior staff.

The Teamsters and 17 unionized car-hauling trucking companies announced agreement Wednesday morning on a four-year contract that both sides said raises wages and benefits for drivers and averts a nationwide strike.

The May 20 closure of NationsWay Transport Service, one of the largest less-than-truckload operations in the country, caught many shippers and employees by surprise, even though the Colorado-based freight carrier had been unprofitable in recent years.

The United States and Canada have a plan in the works to slash border crossing times for truck drivers.

Keeping in step with their parent organizations, several foundations affiliated with trucking trade groups are changing their emphasis.