Tag Archive for ‘Policy’

Bike Path to Nowhere

Even casual observers of transportation policy have noticed DOT’s emphasis on livability and, by extension, their fascination with “active transportation’ (aka biking and walking).  Livability is a worthy goal for all communities and, though it is still a somewhat ill-defined policy concept, biking and bike paths are certainly key components.
In an effort to make Washington, [...]

Hey, That’s My Ox!

A recent article about the truck versus rail debate got me thinking about the old adage, “It all depends on whose ox is being gored.” Though the origin of this unique phrase appears to be largely unknown (my research traces it back to President Abraham Lincoln and before), it’s not too difficult to glean its [...]

Trucks and Rails: A New Era of Cooperation?

The message from BNSF Railway Group Vice President Stephen Branscum was strikingly positive. In a recent letter to Transport Topics magazine, he cited as accurate “BNSF’s willingness to work with shippers and American Trucking Associations to develop progressive changes to TS&W (truck size and weight) rules for the betterment of our nation’s transportation system . [...]

Distracted Driving: Gotta Text? Pull Over!

I was talking to a Con-way Freight driver the other day and we got on the subject of distracted drivers. It really lit him up. “It’s getting worse,” he told me, shaking his head in despair. “If it’s not someone distracted on a cell phone, it’s somebody else trying to read or send a text [...]

Groundhog Day

Most of us probably remember Bill Murray as weatherman Phil Connors in the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day.” In the movie, Phil finds himself continually waking up in Punxsutawney, PA, trapped in the same rewind of Groundhog Day he experienced the day before, and the day before that.
Today, the trucking industry is trapped in its own [...]

‘Greener’ Transportation Shouldn’t Jeopardize Highway Fund

In their discourse over climate change legislation, lawmakers continue to propose reduced vehicle travel as a strategy to lower fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The transportation industry must further its commitment to the environment, but impeding our nation’s mobility by enacting policies to limit growth in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) should not be [...]

Timing is Everything

Two months? Six Months? Eighteen months? Who knows? As policymakers in Washington spar over the length of the next extension of the current surface transportation bill, it strikes me that this focus on the length of time also leads one to consider timing more generally.

100 % Cargo Scanning: A Misguided Mandate That Hurts

The 9/11 Act passed by Congress in 2007 included the requirement to scan 100% of U.S. inbound containerized cargo. In the years since the law passed, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, the Department of Homeland Security and the international community have spoken out loudly in opposition to the mandate and the impact it would have on global trade, economic recovery and the negative effects on security.