Transportation

Washington — OSHA has published a fact sheet intended to help employers comply with the agency’s standard on worker exposure to respirable crystalline silica (1926.1153) for general industry and maritime.

Grain Valley, MO — The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has sent a petition to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration seeking to alter current hours-of-service regulations, the association announced Feb. 14.

Washington — Raymond Martinez is the new chief of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and Ronald Batory takes over as head of the Federal Railroad Administration, after the pair received Senate confirmation on Feb. 13.

Washington — Inadequate training and certification of cargo tank inspectors may be a “widespread problem,” putting tanker truck drivers and motorists at risk, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report issued after an investigation of a crash involving a tanker truck carrying propane.

Washington — The National Transportation Safety Board on Feb. 6 renewed its call for sleep apnea screenings and treatment after investigating two separate commuter railroad collisions in the New York City metro area.

Washington — The Department of Transportation is initiating two pilot projects intended to update the department’s data analysis and integrate its current datasets with new sources, the agency announced during a Jan. 8 meeting of the Transportation Research Board.

Ames, IA — Iowa’s truck parking information management system is slated to be fully operational by Jan. 4, 2019 – providing commercial truck drivers with “real-time, in-cab information on truck parking availability at public rest areas and private truck stops” along Interstate 80 – the state’s Department of Transportation announced Dec. 7.

Washington — The Federal Railroad Administration is proposing to delay by one year the dates for railroads to comply with training requirements in the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, a notice published in the Dec. 20 Federal Register states.

Washington — A high-speed collision with a drone would leave an airliner with more structural damage than if a bird of similar weight struck the plane, according to a recent study from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence.

Washington — A total of 5,190 workers died from on-the-job injuries in 2016 – a 7 percent increase from 2015 and the highest number of fatalities since 5,214 workers died in 2008, according to data released Dec. 19 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.