Automotive Fleet News

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Thursday that the number of overall traffic fatalities reported at the end of 2009 reached the lowest level since 1954, declining for the 15th consecutive quarter.

Tags: Department of Transportation, NHTSA, traffic fatalities

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood announced federal guidance to prohibit texting by drivers of commercial vehicles such as large trucks and buses.

Tags: Department of Transportation, distracted driving, Ray LaHood , texting while driving

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- A new nonprofit group, called FocusDriven and sponsored in part by the U.S. Department of Transportation, has formed to discourage people from using cell phones and texting devices while driving.

Tags: cell phone, Department of Transportation, distracted driving, FocusDriven

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- U.S. Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood on Dec. 16 released a major update to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The manual, administered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) since 1971, sets the standards for road safety throughout the country.

Tags: Department of Transportation, National Transportation Safety Board, vehicle safety regulations

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) this month began enforcing its New Entrant Safety Assurance Process rule, which requires newly registered truck and bus companies to meet stricter safety requirements.

Tags: Department of Transportation, FMCSA, vehicle safety regulations

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The U.S. Department of Transportation on Nov. 16 released its "Motorcoach Safety Action Plan," a 56-page report that calls for tougher safety regulations for the motorcoach industry.

Tags: bus safety, Department of Transportation, motorcoach safety, Motorcoach Safety Action Plan

WASHINGTON - In addition to an Executive Order issued by President Obama prohibiting federal employees from text messaging while driving on official business, the Department of Transportation also urged state and local governments to take action.

Tags: Department of Transportation, Distracted Driving Summit

WASHINGTON - Prompted by several studies revealing the dangers of behind-the-wheel texting, more than 200 safety experts, researchers, elected officials, and members of the public will gather for a two-day summit Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.

Tags: Department of Transportation, distraction, DOT, Driving While Texting, DWT, safety summit

WASHINGTON – Manufacturers plan to work with Congress, the states, and the administration to help bridge competing fuel economy proposals, set aggressive standards through 2015, and direct efforts toward meeting a national standard of at least 35 mpg by 2020.

Tags: 35 mpg, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Department of Transportation, DOT, fuel economy standards, MY 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released its 2007 estimate of total highway fatalities, and the data indicate that last year there were 41,059 deaths overall, a 3.9 percent decline from 2006 and the lowest number since 1994.

Tags: Department of Transportation, Governors Highway Safety Association, highway deaths 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters announced a new rule June 30 aimed at making it more difficult for commercial transportation workers to cheat on their required drug tests.

Tags: Department of Transportation, drug testing

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Several safety initiatives designed to reduce collisions between motor vehicles and trains will be completed before the end of 2008 as part of the ongoing U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Highway-Rail Crossing Safety and Trespass Prevention Action Plan, announced DOT Secretary Mary E. Peters.

Tags: Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration , highway-rail crossing safety

SEVERNA PARK, Md. --- The number of people injured in crashes on U.S. highways has declined every year since 1995, Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters announced this week.

Tags: collision injuries, Department of Transportation, Mary E. Peters

WASHINGTON – A December 2007 law requires a light U.S. fleet-wide fuel economy standard of 35 mpg by 2020. Details about exactly how that standard is to be achieved have been left to Department of Transportation’s NHTSA.

Tags: Department of Transportation, fuel, mpg, White House