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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — For the first time since early October, the average price across the nation for a gallon of diesel fuel sits below $4 per gallon — but just barely. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), as of Dec. 5, the cost sat at $4.967. That’s down from $5.141 on Nov. 28 and $5.233 on Nov. 21. According to energy experts, oil and fuel prices are falling because demand is falling as countries brace for recession and rising coronavirus cases in China, which could disrupt America’s supply chain. EIA officials say that diesel could remain below $5 per gallon on average throughout 2023, with average monthly prices dipping to near $4. In California, which has the highest fuel prices in the nation, a proposal to fine big oil companies for making too much money is being addressed in the Legislature. Gov. Gavin Newsom and his Democratic allies in the state Legislature introduced the proposal Monday as lawmakers returned to the state Capitol in Sacramento for the start of a special legislative session focused solely on the oil industry. Gas and diesel prices are always higher in California because of taxes, fees and environmental regulations that other states don’t have. But in October, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in California was more than $2.60 higher than the national average — the biggest gap ever. Diesel has been above $6 a gallon on average in California since March. It finally dropped below $6 threshold on Dec. 5 at $5.816. Meanwhile, benchmark U.S. crude oil for January delivery fell $2.68 to $74.25 a barrel Tuesday. Brent crude for February delivery fell $3.33 to $79.35 a barrel.  

SAVANNAH, Ga. — The Port of Savannah plans a $410 million overhaul of one of its sprawling terminals to make room for loading and unloading larger ships while focusing its business almost exclusively on cargo shipped in containers. The Georgia Ports Authority’s governing board approved the project Monday under a plan to expand Savannah’s capacity for cargo containers by more than 50% by 2025. “We’re taking the Georgia ports from a Southeast gateway to a global gateway,” said Griff Lynch, executive director of the authority, which has seen over a decade of explosive growth at the state-owned seaports in Savannah and Brunswick. It means major changes for Savannah’s 200-acre (81-hectare) Ocean Terminal, which currently handles most of Georgia’s breakbulk cargo such as lumber, paper and steel. Those operations will move during the next year to the Port of Brunswick about 70 miles (110 kilometers) south of Savannah. Ocean Terminal will be converted to handling cargo in containers — large metal boxes used to move goods from consumer electronics to frozen chicken by ship, train or truck. The terminal’s berths will be upgraded with room to service two large ships simultaneously using eight new ship-to-shore cranes, at an additional cost of $163 million. The changes come as U.S. seaports including Savannah, the nation’s fourth-busiest container port, have spent more than a year scrambling to keep up with a surge in imports that left ships piled up offshore waiting to dock. Mass traffic jams off the West Coast caused shippers to divert cargo to Savannah and other ports along the East and Gulf Coasts. That resulted in Savannah handing a record 5.8 million container units of imports and exports across its docks in the 2022 fiscal year that ended June 30. That volume was just shy of Savannah’s current capacity of 6 million container units. The influx of cargo has begun to subside amid inflation and a shift to increased consumer spending on travel and services as opposed to retail goods. Still, Savannah’s port saw its two busiest months ever in August and October. And it still had 19 ships waiting offshore Monday morning. Lynch said he expects continued growth, just at a slower pace, as the backlog subsides. The port authority’s plan to add capacity for an additional 3 million container units by 2025 would give Savannah more breathing room when the next cargo crush arrives. As Ocean Terminal undergoes its transformation, a newly expanded cargo berth will open next summer at Savannah’s main container terminal. “This is going to get us back to more of a normal schedule as far as capacity, where we try to stay at about 80% so we’ve go room for growth,” said Joel Wooten, the port authority’s board chairman. “It’s going to help the state of Georgia and the whole Southeast.” Lynch said private terminal operators will still move some breakbulk cargo through the Savannah port, which will also continue to handle military equipment shipped overseas and back as needed by Army units at neighboring Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield. The expanded Ocean Terminal berths will be built in phases, with the first opening in 2025 and the second in 2026, Lynch said. He said converting an existing terminal to handle large container ships will be more efficient than building a brand new one, which would take up to five years.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — At Gov. Gavin Newsom’s prompting, California lawmakers kicked off a special legislative session on Monday to consider punishing big oil companies for their supersized profits during a time of record-high gas prices — the start of a likely lengthy process that will test the liberal Legislature’s resolve in the face of fierce industry opposition. California lawmakers briefly returned to the state Capitol on Monday to swear in new members and elect leaders for the 2023 legislative session. But this year, Newsom also has called lawmakers into a special session for the purpose of approving a penalty for oil companies when their profits pass a certain threshold and then returning the money to drivers. It could be a popular proposal with voters, who have been paying more than $6 per gallon of gasoline for much of the year. But the big question is how the measure will be received by California lawmakers, especially because the oil industry is one of the state’s top lobbyists and campaign donors. But Newsom appears ready for the fight. In an unusual move, he attended the swearing-in ceremonies for lawmakers on Monday. When the session began, though, he had not yet revealed the oil profits legislation, and lawmakers likely won’t begin deliberations on it until January. The special session will run alongside the normal session, which also kicks off in January. By dealing with the oil legislation in a special session, lawmakers could move more quickly on it. Adding to the uncertainty is an unusually high number of new members who will take seats in the Legislature for the first time. Roughly a quarter of the Legislature’s 120 members are new. Two close races have not been resolved. “It’s kind of like the first day of school and you get this big ethics test about a job that you’ve never had,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group that has partnered with the Newsom administration to back the gas proposal. Among the state Senate’s new members is Angelique Ashby, a Democrat who narrowly won her seat following an intense campaign. The oil industry spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on radio and TV ads supporting Ashby’s campaign, a trend noticed by critics who tried to use it against her. Ashby said she hasn’t been approached by lobbyists or others from the oil industry asking how she would vote on a potential penalty for oil companies. She noted the oil industry spent the money as “independent expenditures,” meaning she had no control over that spending during the campaign. “Campaign slogans and strategies of my opponent are a thing of the past,” said Ashby, whose district includes Sacramento. “I’m fixated on the people of Senate District 8 and I will make my decision based on what is in their best interest.” Republican leaders have already come out against Newsom’s proposal, arguing penalizing oil companies would only raise prices at the pump. “The last thing that we need to do is increase the cost on Californians who are already paying far too much,” Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher said Monday morning. Last week, the California Energy Commission held a public hearing about why the state’s gas prices are so high. California prices spiked over the summer, but so did the rest of the country — mostly in response to a crude oil price surge after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. California’s prices spiked again in October, even while the price of crude oil dropped. In the first week of October, the average price of a gallon of gas in California was $2.61 higher than the national average — the biggest gap ever. Since then, oil companies reported billions of dollars in profits. Regulators had hoped to question the state’s five big oil refineries: Marathon, Valero, Phillips 66, PBF Energy and Chevron. But no company officials attended the hearing, with most saying that sharing information could violate anti-trust laws. Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president of the Western States Petroleum Association, said the oil industry is volatile, pointing to billions of dollars in losses during the pandemic when demand for gasoline dropped sharply as many people worked from home and canceled travel plans. During Thursday’s hearing, she blamed the state’s taxes and regulations for driving up gas prices. “The governor and the Legislature should focus efforts on removing policy hurdles being imposed on the energy industry so we can focus on providing affordable, reliable and lower carbon energy to all Californians,” Reheis-Boyd said. Severin Borenstein, a University of California-Berkeley professor, said the problem isn’t at the oil refinery level, but at the retail level where gasoline is sold to drivers. California’s gasoline market is dominated by name-brand gasoline, which is more expensive, and the state’s gas prices have been consistently higher than the rest of the country since 2015, Borenstein said. “We just don’t have the competition and discipline from those off-brand stations,” he said.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed a bill Friday to avert a freight rail strike that he said could have plunged the U.S. into a catastrophic recession. At the White House, Biden signed a measure passed Thursday by the Senate and Wednesday by the House. It binds rail companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached between the railroads and union leaders in September but rejected by some of the union workers. The president, for decades a vocal labor ally, called it the “right thing to do” given the risks to an economy that is battling high inflation. “The bill I’m about to sign ends a difficult rail dispute and helps our nation avoid what without a doubt would have been an economic catastrophe at a very bad time in the calendar,” said Biden, adding that his team helped negotiate a “good product, but we still have more work to do in my view.” Members in four of the 12 unions involved had rejected the proposed contract as lacking sufficient paid sick leave. Biden acknowledged the shortcoming as he said he would continue to push for that benefit for every U.S. worker. “I’ve supported paid sick leave for a long time,” he said. “I’m going to continue that fight until we succeed.” Rejection of the settlement had created the risk of a strike beginning Dec. 9, jeopardizing key shipments during the holiday season. Biden and Congress staved off a work stoppage by imposing the agreement on the rail companies and workers. A freight rail strike also would have a big potential impact on passenger rail since Amtrak and many commuter railroads rely on tracks owned by the freight railroads. The president said that a strike would have sunk the U.S. economy, causing roughly 765,000 job losses by rupturing supply chains. Basic goods, food and the chemicals needed to ensure clean drinking water and make gasoline could have gone undelivered. Rising prices already have many Americans afraid of a coming downturn, but the U.S. job market has been steady. The government reported Friday that employers added 263,000 jobs in November as the unemployment rate held at 3.7%. Still, the increases in hourly wages raised concerns among many economists that high inflation could persist in ways that could force aggressive actions by the Federal Reserve to bring down prices. Though Biden is a staunch union ally, he said the rail order was necessary to prevent a strike. The Biden administration helped broker deals between the railroads and union leaders in September, but four of the unions rejected the deals. Eight others approved five-year deals and all 12 are getting back pay for their workers for the 24% raises that are retroactive to 2020. But the absence of a meaningful increase in paid sick leave and other quality-of-life issues was a key concern for many union members whose votes were required for the settlement. The railroads say the unions have agreed in negotiations over the decades to forgo paid sick time in favor of higher wages and strong short-term disability benefits. Union members say railroads could afford the paid leave given their profit margins. House Democrats narrowly adopted a measure to add seven days of paid sick leave to the tentative agreement, but that change fell eight votes shy of the 60-vote threshold needed for Senate passage.

WASHINGTON — The movement to provide more safe parking spaces for truck drivers is growing across the nation. On Thursday, Dec. 1, U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) introduced the bipartisan Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act, which is designed to “dramatically increase designated parking for commercial trucks,” according to the legislation’s text. The Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act would invest $755 million in the creation of new truck parking spaces. Funding would be awarded on a competitive basis and applicants would be required to submit detailed proposals to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The primary focus would be to construct new truck parking facilities and convert existing weigh stations and rest areas into functional parking spaces for truck drivers. The bill is similar to legislation introduced by Representatives Mike Bost (R-IL) and Angie Craig (D-MN) earlier this Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives, which was passed by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) quickly offered its support for the Senate’s measure. “OOIDA and the 150,000 small business truckers we represent applaud the leadership of Senator Lummis and Senator Kelly in addressing the truck parking crisis that has been building for decades,” said OOIDA President Todd Spencer. “70% of American freight is transported by truck, yet there is only one parking spot for every 11 trucks on the road. When truck drivers don’t have a designated place to park, they end up parking on the side of the road, near exit ramps, or elsewhere. This isn’t safe for the driver and it’s not safe for others on the road. Senator Lummis and Senator Kelly have heard from small business truckers and are taking meaningful steps to increase truck parking capacity.” The lack of truck parking has been a problem for decades and is only getting worse. Capacity has not kept pace with the increasing number of trucks on the roadways, and there is currently only one parking spot for every 11 trucks, resulting in drivers wasting an average of one hour every day trying to secure parking, according to OOIDA. “Wyoming is home to three major interstates that carry thousands of tons of cargo a day,” Lummis said. “Without safe truck parking, truckers spend an unnecessary amount of time searching for a place to park putting truckers and Wyoming drivers at greater risk for accidents. This is easily solvable, and I am thankful to Senator Kelly for joining me in finding a commonsense solution. People in Wyoming are still feeling the impacts of the supply chain crisis, and unreliable truck parking is another contributing factor to that. Fixing the parking problem will help ease this burden on consumers.” Kelly said that “a lack of accessible and reliable truck parking makes our roads less safe. Our bipartisan legislation will expand freight truck parking to ensure that truck drivers can safely and efficiently move the goods that support our nation’s economy and supply chains.” OOIDA officials said that drivers “need the ability to rest in safe places to best operate on America’s roadways.” “Trucks parked on highway shoulders, exit and entrance ramps, vacant lots, and side streets create an immediate safety hazard for truck drivers and other roadway users,” they added. “Additionally, the time drivers waste finding safe parking is time not spent getting goods to their destination, slowing the supply chain and raising the costs for consumers. Expanding truck parking capacity will improve road safety and supply chain efficiency.” Chris Spear, president of the American Trucking Associations, said that the “carefully crafted legislation provides needed investments to remedy the problem while incentivizing public-private partnerships to further expand truck parking capacity. We thank Senators Lummis and Kelly for their strong leadership. Congress must ensure our nation’s truck drivers have safe and accessible places to park and rest so they can keep delivering for the American people.”

WASHINGTON — Legislation to avert what could have been an economically ruinous freight rail strike won final approval in Congress on Thursday as lawmakers responded quickly to President Joe Biden’s call for federal intervention in a long-running labor dispute. The Senate passed a bill to bind rail companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached between the rail companies and union leaders in September. That settlement had been rejected by four of the 12 unions involved, creating the possibility of a strike beginning Dec. 9. The Senate vote was 80-15. It came one day after the House voted to impose the agreement. The measure now goes to Biden’s desk for his signature. “Communities will maintain access to clean drinking water. Farmers and ranchers will continue to be able to bring food to market and feed their livestock. And hundreds of thousands of Americans in a number of industries will keep their jobs,” Biden said after the vote. “I will sign the bill into law as soon as Congress sends it to my desk.” The American Trucking Associations (ATA) praised the votes in a news release. “The trucking industry thanks Congress for acting swiftly to prevent what could have been a disastrous rail strike,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “Trains move critical goods like hazardous materials and fuel – including diesel which is already in short supply in numerous parts of the country. Any disruption to these critical supply chains would have been catastrophic for the economy and our industry. Spear said that hospitals, businesses and ordinary Americans depend on freight rail and trucking for daily necessities, and the trucking industry has neither the equipment nor the manpower to replace a single day of lost freight rail service. “Truck transportation and railroads are much more complements than substitutes — there is no way the trucking industry can replace all the rail freight. We appreciate Congress stepping up and ensuring that the nation’s wheels — be they steel or rubber — keep moving,” he said. Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition, echoed Spear’s comments. “We are very pleased both the House and the Senate responded quickly to President Biden’s call for Congress to act to prevent a potential railroad strike,” Steenhoek said. “Throughout the negotiation process, we did not take a side between railroads and railroad workers. However, we clearly are on the side of the American farmer, who would have been harmed if a shutdown would have been allowed to occur. Our preference was for the contract negotiations to be conducted and concluded by the two parties alone, but when those negotiations had reached an impasse and a shutdown was increasingly becoming a possibility, many agricultural and other organizations urged the president and Congress to intervene.” The American Chemistry Council said its industry would have been devastated by a strike and it estimated that 33,000 tank cars a week transport vital chemicals, including those used at water filtration plants, and millions of gallons of fuel oil and gasoline from coast to coast. The Senate voted shortly after Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg emphasized to Democratic senators at a Capitol meeting that rail companies would begin shutting down operations well before a potential strike would begin. The administration wanted the bill on Biden’s desk by the weekend. Shortly before Thursday’s votes, Biden defended the contract that four of the unions had rejected, noting the wage increases it contains. “I negotiated a contract no one else could negotiate,” Biden said at a news briefing with French President Emmanuel Macron. “What was negotiated was so much better than anything they ever had.” Critics say the contract that did not receive backing from enough union members lacked sufficient levels of paid sick leave for rail workers. Biden said he wants paid leave for “everybody” so that it wouldn’t have to be negotiated in employment contracts, but Republican lawmakers have blocked measures to require time off work for medical and family reasons. The president said Congress should impose the contract now to avoid a strike that he said could cause 750,000 job losses and a recession. Railways say halting rail service would cause a devastating $2 billion-per-day hit to the economy. A freight rail strike also would have a big potential impact on passenger rail, with Amtrak and many commuter railroads relying on tracks owned by the freight railroads. The rail companies and unions have been engaged in high-stakes negotiations. The Biden administration helped broker deals between the railroads and union leaders in September, but four of the unions rejected the deals. Eight others approved five-year deals and are getting back pay for their workers for the 24% raises that are retroactive to 2020. With a strike looming, Biden called on Congress to impose the tentative agreement reached in September. Congress has the authority to do so and has enacted legislation in the past to delay or prohibit railway and airline strikes. But most lawmakers would prefer the parties work out their differences on their own. The Senate took a series of three votes. The first was on a measure by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, that would have sent both parties back to the negotiating table. But union groups opposed an extension, as did the Biden administration. The proposal was roundly rejected, with 25 senators in support and 70 opposed. “An extension would simply allow the railroads to maintain their status quo operations while prolonging the workforce’s suffering,” leaders of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO said. The second vote the Senate took would have followed the path the House narrowly adopted the day before, which was to add seven days of paid sick leave to the tentative agreement. But that measure fell eight votes short of the 60-vote threshold needed for passage. The final vote was the measure binding the two parties to the September agreement. It passed with broad bipartisan support, as it had in the House. While lawmakers voiced consternation about having to weigh in, the economic stakes outweighed those concerns. “A strike of that magnitude would have a painful impact on our economy and that is an unacceptable scenario as inflation continues to squeeze West Virginians and Americans heading into the holiday season,” said Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. Democrats have traditionally aligned themselves with the politically powerful labor unions that criticized Biden’s move to intervene and block a strike. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democratic colleagues it was “with great reluctance” that Congress needed to bypass the standard ratification process for union contracts. She did, however, hold an additional vote that would have added the seven days of paid sick leave that union workers wanted. That gave Democratic lawmakers in both chambers the ability to show their support for paid sick leave for rail workers while also avoiding a crippling strike. The call for paid sick leave was a major sticking point in the talks, along with other quality-of-life concerns. The railroads say the unions have agreed in negotiations over the decades to forgo paid sick time in favor of higher wages and strong short-term disability benefits. The unions maintain that railroads can easily afford to add paid sick time when they are recording record profits. Several of the big railroads involved in these contract talks reported more than $1 billion profit in the third quarter. The Association of American Railroads trade group praised the Senate vote to impose the compromise deal that includes the biggest raises in more than four decades. Still, CEO Ian Jefferies acknowledged that many workers remain unhappy with working conditions. “Without a doubt, there is more to be done to further address our employees’ work-life balance concerns, but it is clear this agreement maintains rail’s place among the best jobs in our nation,” Jefferies said. Union groups were unhappy with the final result. “The Senate just failed to pass seven days of paid sick leave for rail workers. We are grateful to the 52 Senators who voted YES and stood with rail workers,” tweeted the Transportation Trades Department labor coalition. “Shame on the 43 elected leaders who abandoned the working class. We will not forget it.” The Trucker Staff contributed to this report.

There are many different tire chain laws throughout the nation, as each state sets its own rules. Below is a roundup of each state’s current laws. Winter has already begun in many areas of the country, so it’s important to know when and where to chain up. ALABAMA The use of tire chains is allowed on any vehicle when required for safety because of snow, rain or other conditions tending to cause a vehicle to slide or skid. ALASKA Truckers are not permitted to use chains from May 1 through Sept. 15 when north of 60 North Latitude. Truckers are not permitted to use chains from April 15 through Sept. 30 when south of 60 North Latitude. If operating a vehicle on Sterling Highway, truckers are not permitted to use chains from May 1 through Sept. 15. Truckers will need to obtain a special permit from the Department of Administration if they would like to use chains in one of these prohibited zones. ARIZONA Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. ARKANSAS Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. CALIFORNIA Drivers must stop and put on chains when highway signs indicate chains are required. Drivers can be cited by the California Highway Patrol and fined if they don’t. Drivers will usually have about a mile between “chains required” signs and the checkpoint to install your chains. During winter weather, it takes at least eight chains for a standard tractor-trailer configuration to comply with the regulations. During the winter months, there might be traction chain controls in the mountain areas. When these are established, truckers will see signs posted along the highway. These signs will also include the type of requirement, which will include one of the following: R1 – Chains, traction devices or snow tires are required on the drive axle of all vehicles except four wheel/ all-wheel drive. R2 – Chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles except four wheel/ all-wheel drive with snow-tread tires on all four wheels. R3 – Chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles, no exceptions. COLORADO From Sept. 1 through May 31, all trucks must carry enough chains on Interstate 70 when traveling between mile marker 259 outside Golden, Colorado, and mile marker 133 in Dotsero, Colorado. If truckers get stopped and do not have chains on, the fine is $50 plus a surcharge of $16. If truckers do not put chains on their trucks when the law is in effect, the fine is $500 plus a $78 surcharge. If truckers do not put chains on and end up blocking the highway, the fine will increase to $1,000 plus a $156 surcharge. Note: Colorado has two different types of chain laws: Level 1 – Single-axle combination commercial vehicles must chain up. Trucks must have all four drive tires in chains. When Level 1 is in effect, all other commercial vehicles must have snow tires or chains. Level 2 – When level 2 is in effect, all commercial vehicles are required to chain up the four drive tires. CONNECTICUT Chains are permitted during hazardous weather from Nov. 15 through April 30. The chains cannot be damaging to the highway’s surface. DELAWARE Trucks are permitted to use chains on highways from Oct.15 through April 15. GEORGIA At any time, the Georgia Department of Transportation may close or limit access to certain highways during inclement weather. If this occurs, signage will be placed to inform drivers that chains are required in order to proceed. For commercial vehicles, chains must be placed on the outermost drive tires. IDAHO Officials with the Idaho Department of Transportation can determine that it is unsafe to drive over Lookout Pass and Fourth of July Pass on I-90, and Lolo Pass on Highway 12. If it is deemed unsafe, then trucks will be required to chain up a minimum of one tire on each drive axle and one axle at or near the rear. ILLINOIS Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. INDIANA Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. IOWA Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. KANSAS Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. KENTUCKY No person shall use on a highway not covered with ice a vehicle with a chained wheel unless the wheel rests upon an ice-shoe at least 6 inches wide. When chains are used on rubber-tired vehicles, the cross chains shall not be more than three-fourths (3/4) of an inch in thickness or diameter and shall be spaced not more than ten inches apart, around the circumference of the tires. LOUISIANA Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. MAINE Vehicles cannot have tires with metal studs, wires, spikes or other metal protruding from the tire tread from May 1 through Oct. 1. Other than that, ttire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice, or another condition that might cause slippery highways. MARYLAND Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice, or another condition that might cause slippery highways. MASSACHUSETTS Massachusetts prohibits the use of studded tires and chains between May 1 and Nov. 1 without a permit. Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice, or another condition that might cause slippery highways. MICHIGAN Tire chains are allowed for safety when snow, ice or other condition are present. If chains are used, they must not come in direct contact with the roads surface. MINNESOTA Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. MISSISSIPPI Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. MISSOURI No person shall operate any motor vehicle upon any road or highway of this state between the first day of April and the first day of November while the motor vehicle is equipped with tires containing metal or carbide studs. The use of tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice, or another condition that might cause slippery highways. MONTANA If the Montana Department of Transportation determines that highways are too dangerous for travel, they may establish the following recommendations on traction devices: Chains or other approved traction devices are recommended for drive wheels. Chains or other approved traction devices are required for drive wheels. Chains required for driver wheels. NEBRASKA Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. NEVADA It is unlawful for any person to operate a motor vehicle, whether it is an emergency vehicle or otherwise, without traction devices, tire chains or snow tires upon any street or highway, under icy or snowy conditions, when the highway is marked or posted with signs for the requirement of traction devices, chains or snow tires. If a highway is marked or posted with signs requiring the use of traction devices, tire chains or snow tires, a motor vehicle or combination of vehicles must be equipped with: Traction devices, tire chains or snow tires if the vehicle has a gross weight or combined gross weight of 10,000 pounds or less. Tire chains if a vehicle has a gross weight or combined gross weight of more than 10,000 pounds. NEW HAMPSHIRE Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. NEW JERSEY Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. NEW MEXICO Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. NEW YORK Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. NORTH CAROLINA Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. NORTH DAKOTA North Dakota allows metal studs within 1/16 inch beyond tread from Oct. 15 through April 15. The use of tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. OHIO Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. OKLAHOMA Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. OREGON Oregon’s law applies to all highways in the state. Signs will tell truckers when they are required to carry chains and when they are required to use them. Truckers will need to have six chains on hand to comply in Oregon. The use of tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice, or another condition that might cause slippery highways. PENNSYLVANIA Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. RHODE ISLAND Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. SOUTH CAROLINA Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. SOUTH DAKOTA The South Dakota DOT has the authority to restrict travel on roads. Signs will alert truckers to these restrictions. Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. TENNESSEE Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. TEXAS Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. UTAH When any designated highway is so restricted, no vehicle shall be allowed or permitted the use of the highway during the period between Oct. 1 and April 30, or when conditions warrant due to adverse, or hazardous weather or roadway conditions, as determined by the Utah Department of Transportation, unless: An operator of a commercial vehicle with four or more drive wheels, other than a bus, shall affix tire chains to at least four of the drive-wheel tires. VERMONT Vermont has a traffic committee that will decide if use of chains will be required. Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. Vehicles with semitrailers or trailers that have a tandem-drive axle towing a trailer shall have chains: On two tires on each side of the primary drive axle, or if both axles of the vehicle are powered by the drive line, one tire on each side of each drive axle; and On one tire of the front axle and one tire on one of the rear axles of the trailer. VIRGINIA Tire chains are allowed when required for safety during a time of snow, ice or another condition that might cause slippery highways. WASHINGTON Any commercial vehicle over 10,000 pounds. Gross vehicle weight rating should carry chains from Nov. 1 to April 1 when driving on one of the following routes: Blewett Pass SR-97 between MP 145 and Milepost 185 Chinook Pass SR-410 Enumclaw (MP 25) to SR-12 (MP 342) Cle Elum to Teanaway SR-970 Cle Elum (MP 0) to Teanaway (MP 10) Gibbons Creek to Intersection of Cliffs Rd. SR-14 Gibbons Creek (MP 18) to Intersection of Cliffs Rd. (MP 108) Mt. Baker Highway (Ellensburg to Selah) SR-542 (MP22) to (MP 57) I-82 from Ellensburg (MP 3) to Selah (MP 26) Newhalem to Winthrop SR-20 Newhalem (MP 120) to Winthrop (MP 192) Omak to Nespelem SR-155 Omak (MP 79) to Nespelem (MP 45) Satus Pass SR-97 Columbia River (MP 00) to Toppenish (MP 59) Sherman Pass SR-20 Tonasket (MP 262) to Kettle Falls (MP 342) Snoqualmie Pass I-90 North Bend (MP 32) and Ellensburg (MP 101) Stevens Pass SR-2 Dryden (MP 108) to Index (MP 36) White Pass SR-12 Packwood (MP 135) to Naches (MP 187) WEST VIRGINIA The use of chains is allowed for safety when snow, ice or other condition are present. If chains are used, they must not come in direct contact with the roads surface. WISCONSIN The use of chains is allowed for safety when snow, ice or other condition are present. If chains are used, they must not come in direct contact with the roads surface. WYOMING When the chain law is in effect due to snow, ice or other conditions, travel on a highway may be restricted to use only by motor vehicles utilizing adequate snow tires or tire chains. There are two levels. Level 1: When conditions are hazardous, travel can be restricted to vehicles equipped with tire chains, vehicles with adequate snow tires, or all-wheel-drive vehicles. Level 2: When conditions are extremely hazardous, travel can be restricted to vehicles equipped with tire chains or all-wheel-drive vehicles equipped with adequate mud and snow or all-weather-rated tires. The operator of a commercial vehicle shall affix tire chains to at least two of the drive wheels of the vehicle at opposite ends of the same drive axle when the vehicle is required to utilize tire chains under this subsection. Any driver that is in violation will face a fine of no more than $250. If the violation results in the closure of all lanes in one or both directions of a highway, truckers will face a fine of no more than $750.

BATON ROUGE, La. — Researchers at Louisiana State University (LSU) have been awarded almost $1 million in grant funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to study why commercial vehicle accidents happen. The money will be used to construct an artificial intelligence (AI) to review the types of driver behavior that lead to crashes, according to a news release from LSU’s Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation Safety (CARTS). “We have very good information on crashes on roads. But we don’t have information regarding driving behavior on roads that may lead to crashes. This grant will help to provide information about driver behavior on roads, especially around commercial vehicles,” said Helmut Schneider, CARTS executive director and the Ourso Family Distinguished Professor of Information Systems in the E. J. Ourso College of Business. Schneider is the lead principal investigator on this project. As is the case around the U.S., the number of fatal crashes involving big trucks is on the rise in Louisiana. From 2020 to 2021, the number jumped by more than 28% — from 89 to 114, according to CARTS Director Cory Hutchinson, who is a co-principal investigator on the project. In the U.S., the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that fatalities involving large trucks surged to 5,600 deaths in 2021, up from 2020’s total of 4,965. “I’ve known people who have survived car crashes, especially those involving large, commercial trucks, and I know they can be devastating,” said computer scientist Supratik Mukhopadhyay, who is an LSU Department of Environmental Science professor and co-principal investigator on this grant. Based on an AI engine trained by Mukhopadhyay, the researchers will analyze videos obtained from video cameras to identify high-risk traffic situations around commercial vehicles. With more than $950,000 in support from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the researchers will be able to build dashboards that provide insights into what factors contribute to crashes with commercial motor vehicles and how distracted driving plays a role, the news release noted. “For instance, a couple of years ago there was an increase in sideswipe crashes with commercial trucks on Interstate 10 in New Orleans,” Schneider said. “It was suspected that some may have been staged by car drivers. These types of crashes could be identified by cameras. Analyzing videos using AI will further help us as researchers to better understand what leads to a crash.” The two-year project will culminate in data dashboards that identify major risk factors that cause crashes to help inform where and when resources can best be deployed to reduce vehicle crashes. During his tenure as U.S. transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg has said that a chief goal is reducing the number highway crashes, especially those that involve commercial vehicles. In October, he met with families of truck crash victims to discuss ways to make big rigs and the trucking industry safer. Among the initiatives discussed were the NHTSA’s proposal to require automatic emergency braking (AEB) technologies, including pedestrian AEB on passenger vehicles and AEB on heavy trucks, as well as the FMCSA’s proposal to require speed limiters on big rigs. On Nov. 20, Buttigieg participated in the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDR), saying that “we mourn those who have lost their lives in traffic crashes.”

OMAHA, Neb. — Railroad unions on Tuesday decried President Joe Biden’s call for Congress to intervene in their contract dispute, saying it undercuts their efforts to address workers’ quality of life concerns, but businesses stressed that it is crucial to avoid a strike next week that would devastate the economy. Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that lawmakers will be asked to vote this week to impose the terms of the deals the 12 unions agreed to before an original strike deadline in September, even though four of those unions representing more than half of the 115,000 rail workers rejected them. Eight other unions ratified the five-year deals that include 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses. Biden said he reluctantly agreed that it would be best to override the union votes because the potential damage to the economy would be too great. “Congress I think has to act to prevent it,” Biden said Tuesday. “It’s not an easy call but I think we have to do it. The economy’s at risk.” Unions and worker groups have been pushing to improve the demanding schedules they say make it hard for workers to ever take a day off and persuade railroads to add paid sick time. They have threatened to strike if new agreements can’t be reached before a Dec. 9 deadline. “It is not enough to ‘share workers’ concerns’,” said the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division union said in a statement. “A call to Congress to act immediately to pass legislation that adopts tentative agreements that exclude paid sick leave ignores the railroad workers’ concerns.” The union is one of the four that rejected their deal. The railroads that include BNSF, Union Pacific, CSX, Kansas City Southern and Norfolk Southern have refused to consider adding sick time because they didn’t want to spend any more on the labor deals than they agreed to in September. They have also argued that rail unions have agreed over the decades to forego paid sick time in favor of higher wages and stronger short-term disability benefits. Conductor Gabe Christenson, who is co chairman of the Railroad Workers United coalition that includes workers from all the rail unions, said Biden and the Democrats are siding with the railroads over workers. “The ‘most labor-friendly president in history’ has proven that he and the Democratic Party are not the friends of labor they have touted themselves to be,” said Christenson, whose group encouraged workers to reject these deals. “These wolves in sheep’s clothing have for decades been in bed with corporate America and have allowed them to continue chipping away at the American middle class and organized labor.” Paul Lindsey, a longtime Union Pacific engineer based in Pocatello, Idaho, who is active with Railroad Workers United, said Congress and Biden seem to be sending the message that “your quality of life, your time off, your days, your standard of living doesn’t matter if you getting a pay increase is going to hurt business.” But business groups that have been pressuring Congress and Biden to intervene in the talks praised the president’s decision and said they hope Republicans and Democrats can work together to resolve this quickly. “Truly, the only thing standing in the way of ensuring the American economy doesn’t take a major hit as a consequence of a catastrophic rail strike is the United States Congress,” said Mike Sommers, president and chief executive officer of the American Petroleum Institute. “We need to make sure that the United States Congress acts on this as quickly as possible.” A rail strike would affect nearly every industry because so many businesses rely on railroads to deliver their raw materials and finished products. The railroads have estimated that a strike would cost the economy $2 billion a day and could force many manufacturers to shut down and lay off workers. Plus, commuter railroads and Amtrak would be disrupted because many of them rely on tracks owned by the freight railroads. Mike Seyfert, CEO of the National Grain and Feed Association, said the widespread severe impact that’s expected if there is a rail strike should inspire bipartisan agreement among lawmakers. The impact of a strike would begin to be felt up to a week before the deadline because railroads would begin halting shipments of hazardous chemicals and perishable products ahead of time to ensure they wouldn’t be stranded along the tracks. “Last time I checked, every constituent of every member of the House and Senate has to eat,” Seyfert said. “And so I would think that when you look at potential impacts to the food and ag supply chain hopefully that would help to move this agreement along.”

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Diesel prices continue to trickle down as U.S. stocks of road diesel show signs of stabilization and even increasing slightly. This news is welcomed as concern built before the Thanksgiving holiday that U.S. diesel stocks were dwindling toward a possible shortage. John Kemp, a senior market analyst specializing in oil and energy systems, said that although the increase is small, “it runs against the normal trend for a drawdown at this time of year and indicates high prices and a slowing economy are starting to rebuild inventories.” Meanwhile, distillate fuel oil inventories increased by 3 million barrels in the six weeks between Oct. 7 and Nov. 18, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA). “In the 10 years before the pandemic, distillate inventories declined by an average of more than 11 million barrels over the same period,” according to Kemp. “Between 2010 and 2019, seasonal drawdowns ranged from ranged from as little as 7 million barrels to as much as 21 million barrels.” Distillate inventories have not increased at this time of year since 2008, when the financial crisis was pushing the economy further into recession, Kemp noted. Stocks are still 21 million barrels (-16% or -1.25 standard deviations) below the pre-pandemic five-year seasonal average. But the deficit to the seasonal average has narrowed from 34 million barrels (-24% or -2.05 standard deviations) on Oct. 7, Kemp said. As for diesel prices, the latest numbers from the EIA show that the national average sits at $5.141 per gallon, down from $5.233 per gallon on Nov. 21, $5.313 per gallon on Nov. 14 and $5.333 on Nov. 7. However, the average national diesel price per gallon is still up more than $1.50 over this time last year.    

WESTLAKE, Texas — According to a new study on trucking fleet safety, many Americans “feel greatly impacted by unsafe fleet driving behaviors.” The study was conducted by Solera Holding LLC, which bills itself as a “vehicle lifecycle management” company. According to a news release, Solera surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults in August 2022 “to uncover insights on the perceptions around safety in the fleet industry.” “The industry has come a long way in improving driver safety standards, and it’s important that we continue on this journey collectively – especially as there are public perceptions to overcome,” said Michal Yariv, vice president and general manager of Strategic Initiatives at Solera. “First and foremost, driver safety needs to be a top priority for fleet managers to ensure drivers can do their job and get home safely at the end of the day, and video technology with built-in driver coaching is the key to achieving optimum safety.” With 88% of Americans noting they have driven next to or near a commercial truck driver in the past year, “it’s clear that fleet safety affects almost everyone,” according to Solera officials. More than half of all respondents (56%) said they’ve felt unsafe driving near a commercial truck driver in this timeframe, with 64% saying they have witnessed unsafe driving behaviors in commercial truck drivers. “Video-based safety and artificial intelligence technology can help overcome these negative perceptions by identifying distracted driving and coaching drivers out of unsafe behaviors and aggressive driving — a top unsafe behavior witnessed by respondents (37%) — ultimately helping to prevent the risk of accidents,” the news release stated. Additional findings from the survey include: Cell phone usage while driving is a concern for respondents. “Almost one-third (31%) say avoiding tech distractions while driving should be the first course of action for commercial truck drivers to become safer on the roads,” the survey noted. “As fleet managers and drivers know, cell phones can be an invaluable tool to map routes, log information and more — but it’s crucial to support hands-free route management and navigation to ensure safer driving.” Safety training is perceived to help improve conditions. “The vast majority of respondents (89%) believe commercial truck drivers could benefit from further safety training,” according to the survey. “In addition, two-thirds believe video-based safety systems would have a positive effect on commercial truck drivers’ ability to drive safely.” Safety perceptions affect interest in becoming a fleet driver. “Almost half (44%) of respondents think the addition of more safety-based technologies — such as in-cab video, road-facing video and AI driving tools — in commercial fleets would lead to more people wanting to become a commercial truck driver,” according to the survey.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — A Jersey City, New Jersey-based data-and information-sharing company working with trucking carriers and law enforcement to combat cargo theft is warning about a rise in Thanksgiving weekend crime. CargoNet officials say they are tracking organized cargo theft groups who are operating in almost every region of the country. From California to Maine, thieves are “carrying out sophisticated targeting operations to steal specific kinds of goods,” according to a new CargoNet report. Over the past five years — from the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to the Monday after — total losses from cargo thefts totaled more than $7.1 million. Of the thefts, 118 were reported, and the average loss was more than $183,000, CargotNet’s report stated. California had the highest number of thefts, followed by Illinois and Texas. Top commodities stolen were electronics, food and beverages and household goods, respectively, CargoNet’s report stated. The top locations for thefts were parking lots, warehouses, distribution centers and truck stops. Theft reports were most frequent the Friday after Thanksgiving, according to CargoNet. Thefts occurred most frequently in San Bernardino County, California, Cook County, Illinois, Los Angeles County, California, and Fulton County, Georgia, respectively. RECENT CARGO THEFT TRENDS There are several regional trends that CargoNet’s analysts say they are most concerned about this upcoming holiday weekend, including: Sophisticated identity fraud and cargo theft schemes targeting truckload shipments of solar panel modules, tree nuts, small appliances and designer apparel in southern California. Theft of loaded trailers of high-end consumer electronics, apparel, housewares in Kentucky and neighboring states. Theft of loaded trailers and containers of building materials, apparel, appliances, and food products in Eastern Georgia, Southern Georgia and Northeastern Florida. Theft of loaded trailers of food and alcohol, apparel, and other various goods in northeastern Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey and New York City. CargoNet officials said they “implore organizations that are tendering shipments over the internet to verify details of all transactions prior accepting a bid. Shippers should warn motor carriers of misdirection theft schemes and verify the intended delivery address with the driver prior to loading. Public cross-dock facilities operating in Southern California should be wary of new customers offering all-cash payment and promising lucrative future business.” Further, CargoNet officials said that industry professionals can protect against trailer burglaries and theft of loaded trailers by arranging for same-day delivery of short-haul shipments, embedding covert tracking devices in shipments and on vehicles, along with using high-security locks. Additionally, drivers should not leave their vehicles or shipments unattended in insecure locations like retail parking lots or truck stops, especially within 250 miles of pickup. If it is necessary to leave property unattended, CargoNet recommends someone check on it as frequently as possible. On average, it took about a day for a victim to notice their property had been stolen in this analysis, but this increased to more than two days if the property was left unattended the day before Thanksgiving. Drivers should also be on the lookout for any vehicles that appear to be following them from the origin point. Click here for a fact sheet and tips about avoiding cargo theft.

WASHINGTON — During his tenure as U.S. transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg has made it clear that he’s laser-focused on improving highway safety. In October, he met with families of truck crash victims to discuss ways to make big rigs and the trucking industry safer. Among the initiatives discussed were the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) proposal to require automatic emergency braking (AEB) technologies, including pedestrian AEB on passenger vehicles and AEB on heavy trucks, as well as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposal to require speed limiters on big rigs. On Nov. 20, Buttigieg participated in the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDR), saying that “we mourn those who have lost their lives in traffic crashes.” The event happens on the third Sunday of November each year. However, “mourning is not enough,” Buttigieg noted. “We must all dedicate ourselves to ending this crisis on our roadways and creating a safer transportation system so that more families do not have to share this grief.” The statistics on fatal crashes involving big rigs are grim. NHTSA reports that fatalities involving large trucks surged to 5,600 deaths in 2021, up from 2020’s total of 4,965. In a Sept. 19 report, members of Congress and the Truck Safety Coalition (TSC) called for immediate action to advance truck safety reforms following the release of the “Deadliest Truck Crash States” report. “The roadway safety crisis does not receive the attention it deserves,” said Rep. Elanor Holmes-Norton, D-D.C., who chairs the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure. “One of the fundamental roles of government is to protect people. With that in mind, I have made safety one of my top priorities as chair of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. I will continue to work toward safer roadways for all users, including in my run for chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in the 118th Congress. Thank you to the Truck Safety Coalition for preparing this landmark report on truck crashes.” USDOT officials are touting multiple efforts they have adopted to help cull the number of traffic fatalities. According to the USDOT news release: USDOT has issued a National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS). USDOT has published an on-line dashboard to track progress against NRSS commitments. USDOT has launched the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program, which will provide $5 billion over five years to communities to plan and implement road safety actions and is funded by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The first round of awards for this program are expected to be announced in early 2023. USDOT is incorporating safety for all users in our guidance, grant awards and review processes. USDOT has committed to making Complete Streets our default approach as we work with State and local agencies. USDOT’s Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Tribal Transportation Safety Fund awarded $8.9 million in grants to 51 Tribes for 58 projects to improve transportation safety and announced an additional $120 million in funding through FY26 made possible by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. USDOT’s Federal Highway Administration worked with State and local governments to obligate $3.4 billion in Highway Safety Improvement Program funding to support the progress of more than 5300 projects. FHWA has issued an updated collection of proven safety countermeasures and strategies – including nine new additions – to reduce highway fatalities and serious injuries on our nation’s roadways. These countermeasures are widely accessible, but underutilized roadway safety elements such as speed limit signage that can be adjusted based on weather or road condition, wider edge lines for increased visibility, and the implementation of roundabouts and bike lanes. FHWA has issued the Vulnerable Road User Safety Assessment Guidance to States, providing them tools to conduct a comprehensive assessment of pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities in order to inform strategies and projects States can implement to make roadways safer for vulnerable road users. FHWA continues to work on updating the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices and expects to have completed work in the first half of 2023. USDOT’s NHTSA has issued a final rulemaking on rear impact guards and is in the final steps of assembling the advisory committee on underride protection. NHTSA has made public and continued to collect more data about crashes that occur when advance technologies, specifically Automated Driving Systems (ADS) and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are engaged, through its Standing General Order. NHTSA has overseen the first two ADS recalls in history. NHTSA has resolved enforcement actions against three regulated entities for violations of the Vehicle Safety Act, with civil penalties of more than $6 million. “We know roadway deaths are preventable because some places are doing a much better job at preventing them — both abroad and within certain U.S. communities,” Buttigieg said. “The U.S. Department of Transportation is committed to making real progress towards ending traffic fatalities, and we call on everyone to join us in this national effort that can only succeed when we work together.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said the TSC report highlights the need for urgent action by Congress to stem the rising tide of truck crashes and fatalities. “NHTSA’s data makes it clear that without stronger precautions and safety measures, commercial motor vehicle incidents … will continue to plague our roads,” he said. “I’m proud to stand with advocates and families of victims to demand comprehensive, lifesaving solutions.”

OMAHA, Neb. — Railroad engineers accepted their deal with the railroads that will deliver 24% raises but conductors rejected theirs, threatening the health of the economy just before the holidays and casting more doubt on whether the industry will be able to resolve the labor dispute before next month’s deadline without the help of Congress. Even the threat of a work stoppage could tangle the nation’s supply chain as railroads will freeze shipments of chemicals and other goods that could create hazards if disrupted midway to their destination. A split vote Monday from the two biggest railroad unions follows the rejection by three other unions of their deals with the railroads that the Biden administration helped broker before the original strike deadline in September. Seven smaller unions have approved the five-year deal that, on top of the 24% raise, includes $5,000 in bonuses. But many union members have voted to reject the contracts because, they say, they fail to address demanding schedules and quality of life issues for employees. All 12 must approve the contracts to prevent a strike that could cripple supply chains and hamper a stressed U.S. economy still emerging from the pandemic. The Retail Industry Leaders Association said a rail strike “would cause enormous disruption to the flow of goods nationwide” although retail stores are well stocked for the crucial holiday shopping season. “Fortunately, this year’s holiday gifts have already landed on store shelves. But an interruption to rail transportation does pose a significant challenge to getting items like perishable food products and e-commerce shipments delivered on time, and it will undoubtedly add to the inflationary pressures already hitting the U.S. economy,” said Jess Dankert with the group that represents more than 200 major retailers. The unions that rejected their deals agreed to return to the bargaining table to try to hash out a new agreement before a new strike deadline early next month. But those talks have deadlocked because the railroads refuse to consider adding paid sick time to what was already offered. It appears increasingly likely that Congress will have to step in to settle the dispute. Lawmakers have the power to impose contract terms if both sides can’t reach an agreement. Hundreds of business groups have urged Congress and President Joe Biden to be ready to intervene if needed. Workers frustrated with the demanding schedules and deep job cuts in the industry pushed to reject these contracts because they don’t resolve workers’ key quality-of-life concerns. The deals for the engineers and conductors did include a promise to try to improve the scheduling of regular days off and negotiate the details of those schedules further at each railroad. The unions that represent engineers and conductors also received three unpaid days off a year to tend to medical needs as long they were scheduled at least 30 days in advance. The railroads also lost out on their bid to cut crew sizes down to one person as part of the negotiations. But the conductors in the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers union still narrowly rejected the deal with roughly 51% voting against it. A smaller division of the SMART-TD union that represents about 1,300 yardmasters did approve the deal. “The ball is now in the railroads’ court. Let’s see what they do. They can settle this at the bargaining table,” SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson said. “But, the railroad executives who constantly complain about government interference and regularly bad-mouth regulators and Congress now want Congress to do the bargaining for them.” The railroads maintain that the deals with the unions should closely follow the recommendations made this summer by a special panel of arbitrators Biden appointed. That’s part of the reason why they don’t want to offer paid sick time. Plus, the railroads say the unions have agreed over the years to forgo paid sick time in favor of higher pay and strong short-term disability benefits. The unions say it is long overdue for the railroads to offer paid sick time to workers, and the pandemic highlighted the need for it. The group that negotiates on behalf of the railroads said Monday that the unions that rejected their deals shouldn’t expect to receive more than the Presidential Emergency Board of arbitrators recommended. The National Carriers Conference Committee said businesses could start to be affected by the threat of a strike even before the deadline because railroads will start curtailing shipments of dangerous chemicals and perishable cargo days ahead of the deadline. “A national rail strike would severely impact the economy and the public. Now, the continued, near-term threat of one will require that freight railroads and passenger carriers soon begin to take responsible steps to safely secure the network in advance of any deadline,” the railroads said. It’s unclear what Congress might do given the deep political divisions in Washington D.C. and a single lawmaker could hold up a resolution. But the head of the Association of American Railroads trade group, Ian Jefferies, said “if the remaining unions do not accept an agreement, Congress should be prepared to act and avoid a disastrous $2 billion a day hit to our economy.” Republicans may try to impose a deal that includes only what the Presidential Emergency Board recommended while Democrats who still narrowly hold control of both the House and Senate during this lame-duck period might be willing to force the railroads to make additional concessions. The unions that voted Monday represent more than half of the roughly 115,000 rail workers involved in the contract dispute with Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, BNSF, Kansas City Southern, CSX and other railroads.

NEW YORK — Parts of New York finally caught a break Sunday after a storm spent days dumping a potentially record-setting amount of snow on cities and towns east of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The commercial vehicle ban remains in place on Route 219 from Route 39 to I-90 as the road remains closed. On I-81 from exit 33 to the Canadian border, trucks are still required to use the right lane only. DOT has lifted its full commercial vehicle ban at the following locations: Interstate 190 – Route 62 to I-90. Interstate 290 – full length. Interstate 990 – full length. Route 33 – expressway portion only. Buffalo Skyway Route 5 – full length. Route 400 – full length. The New York Thruway has reopened to all traffic and there are no commercial vehicle restrictions at this time with the following exceptions: Thruway (I-90) exit 55 (Lackawanna) remains closed to all traffic to support the closure of Route 219. Additionally, exit 56 (Blasdell) and exit 57 (Hamburg) remain closed to commercial traffic to facilitate cleanup efforts in these areas. Thruway Authority personnel continue cleanup efforts following the significant lake effect storm with 657 operators and supervisors ready to respond statewide. Thruway has shifted and deployed additional staff and equipment from its New York, Syracuse, and Albany Divisions to support snow and ice operations and snow removal efforts in Western New York. Deployed resources include operators and supervisors, mechanics, large plow trucks, and large snowblowers. Many businesses in the hardest-hit areas remained closed, but highways reopened and travel bans in many areas were lifted, though bands of lake-effect snow were expected to bring up to 2 feet by Monday morning in some parts of the state that were largely spared in earlier rounds. “This has been a historic storm. Without a doubt, this is one for the record books,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a briefing Sunday. Snow began falling Thursday in towns south of Buffalo. By Saturday, the National Weather Service recorded 77 inches in Orchard Park, home to the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, and 72 inches in Natural Bridge, a hamlet near Watertown off the eastern end of Lake Ontario. Similar multiday storms have brought bigger snowfall totals than that in the past to New York, but the ferocity of the storm on Friday appeared to threaten the state’s record for most snowfall in a 24 hour period: the 50 inches that fell on Camden, New York, on Feb. 1, 1966. National Weather Service meteorologist Jason Alumbaugh, who is based in Buffalo, said it was too early to say whether any of this year’s snowfalls exceeded that record. Hochul is asking for a federal disaster declaration for the affected areas, which would potentially unlock some aid. She said teams were checking on residents of mobile home parks in areas that got enough snow to potentially crumple roofs. Due to the heavy snowfall, a Sunday football game between the Buffalo Bills’ and Cleveland Browns was moved to Detroit. New York is no stranger to dramatic lake-effect snow, which is caused by cool air picking up moisture from the warmer water, then releasing it in bands of windblown snow over land. This month’s storm is at least the worst in the state since November 2014, when some communities south of Buffalo were hit with 7 feet (2 meters) of snow over the course of three days, collapsing roofs and trapping drivers on a stretch of the New York State Thruway.

WASHINGTON — The comment period on the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) proposal to require trucks with pre-2000 engines to comply with the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate ended on Nov. 15 with a variety of opinions. More than 1,300 comments were received. Among them was a representative from The Truckload Carriers Association, who wrote that ELDs “should be required on as many trucks as possible, including rebuilt or remanufactured engines or glider kits that can accommodate ELD technology. FMCSA should push for expanded ELD adoption, because it is an important tool to track compliance for the hours-of-service regulations, which were designed to improve safety.” On the other side, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) wrote against the measure. “CVSA was and continues to be a strong supporter of the ELD requirement,” the CVSA comment stated. “While expanding the ELD requirement to include these types of vehicles would bring more vehicles under the ELD requirement and help improve hours-of-service compliance and roadway safety for those vehicles, this change would be difficult to enforce, eroding any intended safety benefit. “It is very difficult to verify roadside whether or not a vehicle is subject to the ELD regulations based on the engine manufacture date. Expanding the ELD requirements to include these vehicles will result in confusion and inconsistencies in enforcement of the regulations.” The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) also opposes the proposed measure. “The agency lacks data confirming the ELD mandate has improved highway safety and has failed to demonstrate how the expansion of existing requirements to vehicles operating on pre-2000 and rebuilt pre-2000 engines would enhance safety,” the Association wrote. “OOIDA is unaware of any research that demonstrates vehicles operating under the pre-2000 exemption fail to meet the same level of safety as vehicles with ELDs.” Many professional truck drivers are also against the proposal. C.M. Jenkins wrote: “As an owner operator of a 1987 379 tractor I do Not want the law to change an make our trucks start using ELDs ! I believe that we should be able to remain under the current exemption due to the excessive cost an unreliability of the units that are available for manual engine trucks ! This is an unreasonable an costly issue that will put many small companies an owner operators out of business in this day an time that is one of the hardest times ever seen in the trucking industry to date to be profitable an successful !!! We have an impeccable safety record an have always strived to be compliant with saftey an customer service in mind !!” The FMCSA’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking considers changes to the ELD mandate in five areas: Applicability to pre-2000 engines. Addressing ELD malfunctions. The process for removing an ELD from FMCSA’s list of certified devices. Technical specifications. ELD certification. In 2012, Congress acted to require the use of ELDs by law. As a part of a highway funding bill, MAP-21 (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st century), the FMCSA was required by law to mandate ELDs. After conducting a number of studies, the rule was published in December 2015. Dec. 18, 2017, was the deadline for most carriers to implement ELDs. The FMCSA soon reported that, as predicted, compliance with hours-of-service regulations had improved considerably. Drivers who had previously been able to manipulate their record-of-duty status (RODS) on paper logs (often at the behest of the carriers they worked for) found it more difficult to do so with ELDs that recorded truck movements. Carriers spent less time auditing piles of logbook pages submitted by drivers. But then carriers began to experience what drivers had been telling them all along. Productivity plummeted when drivers used ELDs. For example, drivers, who were taught to “save” as many hours as possible by recording waiting time at shippers and receivers as “off duty” could no longer do so, because the ELD started the 14-hour clock as soon as the truck moved. On-duty time increased dramatically, and many drivers found that those extra on-duty hours ate into their available driving time. Drivers who are compensated by the mile saw their earnings drop. At the same time, carriers could no longer count on established transit times and were forced to adjust schedules and deal with service failures caused by the changes. Some imposed strict time requirements on shippers and receivers to minimize the issue. ELDs also had an impact on driver retention. The industry was already experiencing an aging driver fleet, with the average driver age getting closer to 50 each year. In many cases, drivers who were close to or past retirement age — and unhappy over reduced income and increased oversight — decided to leave the industry. Other drivers chose careers outside of the trucking industry. With the mandatory use of ELDs and, at many carriers, the use of inward-facing camera systems that record the driver’s every action, new drivers are becoming harder to attract. A profession that traditionally attracts independent-minded individuals to work with a minimum of supervision is hemorrhaging drivers due to perceived micromanagement. Another unintended consequence of the ELD mandate was a boom in sales of pre-2000 model year trucks, which have alwaysa exempt from the ELD requirement. By law, ELDs must connect to the vehicle’s electronic control module, which records details of vehicle operation. Prior to 2000, many vehicles operated entirely by mechanical means or had simpler computer systems that did not retain operational information. Some truck manufacturers had been offering “glider kits” — essentially new trucks without powertrains — and relying on dealers to install pre-2000 components that were usually rebuilt before installation. While these kits first appeared as cheaper alternatives to brand-new vehicles, they gained popularity for other reasons: The older engines were exempt from some of the Environmental Protection Agency’s unpopular emissions regulations that were imposed between 2000 and 2010, in addition to exempting the driver from ELD use. Sales of trucks based on glider kits grew exponentially as carriers and independent owners sought to avoid the pitfalls of both newer engines and ELDs. Perhaps most importantly, the safety benefits promised by ELDs didn’t materialize. As the miles traveled by large trucks and buses increased each year, so did the number of those vehicles involved in crashes, according to FMCSA statistics. In 2015, before ELDs were mandated, the number of large trucks and buses involved in fatal crashes per 100 million miles traveled (by ALL motor vehicles) was 0.140. That number increased to 0.151 in 2016, then to 0.157 for both 2017 and 2018. The total number of fatalities reported in crashes involving large trucks or buses was 0.125 per 100 million vehicle miles in 2015. The following year it rose to 0.138, then to 0.143 for 2017 and 2018. The FMCSA data did not include numbers for 2019 and 2020. Numbers for 2020 will likely be impacted by greatly reduced traffic due to the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Reasons for higher crash numbers vary, but many drivers point to the lack of flexibility in the regulations. With the 14-hour clock rigidly enforced, for example, drivers who lose time waiting at docks find themselves hurrying, and sometimes speeding, to drive the required number of miles before time runs out on their shift. In another example, the practice of avoiding peak congestion times in metropolitan areas allowed drivers to record a break (off-duty) or even a nap (sleeper berth), and then continue their journey later when traffic cleared. With the 14-hour clock ticking away on the ELD, those breaks now use up driving time. This forces the driver to keep going, increasing the risk of an accident while losing more valuable time stuck in a line of traffic. Back in the FMCSA’s comment section, truck driver Don Henry wrote an extensive comment against the issue. “The number 1 reason this should not happen is there is no data that shows ELD logging is safer then the truck that run paper,” he stated. “ELD logging has made Trucking more dangerous then it ever has been. Reason 2 .most of they truck that do run paper logs simply can’t afford the Additional expenses that comes with ELD’s. I have spent 34 years in Trucking and I can tell you this . If you are truly about safety on the highway and not about pushing mega carriers agenda. It starts with training before they get on the highway. All the ELDs in the world can’t teach how to handle a truck. All that is going to happen if you pass this mandate is your going to push more and more drivers out of the industry. If you say that this new rule is about safety it’s not.. look at the crashes that involve EDL equipped trucks versus non ELD or paper logging I promise the numbers with EDL equipped trucks is going to be way higher. That is the safety side not big carriers side. Thanks for your time.” Back on the pro side, the Truck Safety Coalition wrote that it strongly urges the FMCSA to end the exemption for pre-2000 engines, and the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety announced that the benefits from ELDs are “obvious and substantial in lives saved, crashes prevented and economic savings.” The FMCSA will consider all comments before making a ruling on the issue. The Trucker’s Cliff Abbott contributed to this report.

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has issued a State of Emergency ahead of a winter storm forecast to impact portions of upstate New York with intense lake effect snow through Sunday. The most significant snowfall is expected Thursday and Friday with accumulations of up to 3 feet of snow possible in the Buffalo area and up to 2 feet of snow possible in the Watertown area, with snowfall rates of 3 inches per hour, according to a news release from the governor’s office. Hazardous travel conditions and local power outages as a result of the storm are likely due to the combination of snow, ice and wind in the forecast. Hochul urged New Yorkers to stay alert and avoid unnecessary travel in the Buffalo and Watertown areas Thursday evening through Friday. The New York Department of Transportation is implementing a full commercial vehicle ban at the following locations beginning at 4 p.m. Thursday: Interstate 190 – Route 62 to I-90. Interstate 290 – full length. Interstate 990 – full length. Route 33 – full length. Route 219 – Route 39 to I-90. Route 400 – full length. Buffalo Skyway Route 5 – full length. I-81 – Exit 33 to Canadian border – trucks use right lane only. Beginning at 4 p.m. Thursday, all commercial traffic will be banned on the New York State Thruway (I-90) from exit 46 (Rochester I-390) to the Pennsylvania border. All commercial traffic heading eastbound on the Thruway must exit at exit 61 (Ripley – Shortman Rd). Commercial traffic heading westbound on the Thruway towards Pennsylvania from points east should use exit 46 (Rochester – I-390) for I-390 to I-86 West. The Thruway Authority encourages motorists to download its mobile app which is available for free on iPhone and Android devices. The app provides motorists direct access to real-time traffic information, live traffic cameras, and navigation assistance while on the go. Motorists can also sign up for TRANSalert e-mails which provide the latest traffic conditions along the Thruway. You can follow the Thruway Authority on Twitter: @ThruwayTraffic and @NYSThruway and on Facebook at NYS Thruway Authority. “Parts of Western New York, the Finger Lakes, Central New York and the North Country are about to get their first snowstorm of the season, which means we need everyone in these impacted regions to be ready for dangerous travel conditions,” Hochul said. “My team and I are deploying emergency response assets ahead of the storm, remain in constant contact with local officials, and are laser focused on the forecast. New Yorkers should remain vigilant ahead of the storm and avoid any unnecessary travel during these hazardous conditions.” Lake effect snow warning and winter storm watches are in effect through Sunday evening for several counties in the Western New York, Finger Lakes, Central New York and North Country regions. As of Wednesday, the National Weather Service forecast anticipates several feet of snow over the duration of this storm.