On July 9, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rendered its long-awaited decision in Dilts vs. Penske Logistics.

The issue was whether California’s meal and rest break laws as applied to truck – and possibly bus – drivers were preempted by the 1994 Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (“FAAAA”). Penske argued the state’s meal and rest break laws are preempted under the FAAAA, which provides that the “states may not enact or enforce a law … related to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier … with respect to the transportation of property.” 

Differing truck enforcement between states means CSA numbers are not consistent, study finds.

A new study has confirmed that state enforcement disparities create uneven safety playing fields for motor carriers that have different operating patterns and mileage exposure in the lower 48 states. The American Transportation Research Institute, the research arm of the American Trucking Associations, this week released its study, Evaluating the Impact of Commercial Motor Vehicle Enforcement Disparities on Carrier Safety Performance.