New entrants to trucking will face a shorter deadline for correcting problems in their applications, under a new policy by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

 Applicants for authority have to clear a safety audit. If the would-be carrier does not pass, it must show that it is taking action to fix the problem.

 Under the agency's new policy the applicant must submit its corrective action plan with 15 days of the audit.

 Some violations require expedited action by the applic...

Byline: Deborah Whistler, Fleet Owner

 OSHA has ordered Georgia-based Interline Logistics Corp. to rehire a whistle-blowing Sauk Village, IL, driver who reported that his truck had brake problems and was ordered by the company to take the rig to the shop in violation of federal hours of service regulations.

 According to OSHA investigators, a dispatcher told the driver to take the truck to a repair shop. He refused, stating that doing so would force him to work more hours than Dept. of T...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has identified nearly 300 commercial truck and bus drivers who continued driving after testing positive for drugs or alcohol.The IDs were made during the FMCSA's annual "Drug and Alcohol Inspection Strike Force" and the drivers were ordered off the road.

In addition to citing 287 drivers, the FMCSA instituted enforcement actions against 128 companies for allegedly failing to adhere to federal drug and alcohol rules.

An FMCSA official, speaking o...