Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025:
Colorado lawmakers consider allowing chain-assistance companies at roadside
Following an expansion of the state’s mandatory chain laws for truck drivers in 2024, Colorado lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow private companies to install or remove tire chains at designated roadside locations.
Senate Bill 69 would create a permit that could be issued by the state DOT allowing the permit holder to, for a fee, install or remove tire chains or alternate traction devices at a location designated in the permit.
A provision of the bill instructs the Colorado DOT to avoid monopoly-type situations at specific locations, not allowing a sole person, to the extent possible, to be the only permit holder for a specific location.
The bill says it’s intended to improve compliance with the new chain laws signed into law last year in the state.
That law, which took effect Aug. 7, 2024, requires, from Sept. 1 to May 31, all commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) over 16,000 pounds to carry four snow chains or adequate alternate traction devices on their trucks if they are using any of the following roads:
- I-70 west of milepost 259 (Morrison)
- Colorado Hwy 9 milepost 63 to milepost 97 (Frisco to Fairplay)
- Route 40 west of milepost 256 (Empire)
- US Route 50 west of milepost 225 (Salida)
- US Route 160 west of milepost 250 (Morrison)
- US Route 550 from milepost 0 to 130 (State line south of Durango to Montrose)
The law also bars trucks from using the left lane in the following areas:
- Glenwood Canyon
- Dowd Junction (The curvy section of I-70 between Avon and Vail)
- The west side of Vail Pass
- The tunnel grade on both sides of the Eisenhower-Johnson tunnels
- Georgetown Hill
- Floyd Hill
[Related: Wyoming I-80 tunnel crash of 26 vehicles kills 3, partially closes road]
Former NHTSA chief counsel tapped to lead agency
Jonathan Morrison, who served as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Chief Counsel during the first Trump administration, has been nominated to lead NHTSA as the agency’s administrator.
According to Morrison’s LinkedIn profile, he has worked for Apple since March 2021. Prior to that, he was NHTSA’s Chief Counsel from November 2017 to January 2021.
He has also previously worked as the Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs at the California New Car Dealers Association, and the president of Auto Advisory Services.
Morrison's was among a slew of nominations sent to the Senate by President Trump on Feb. 12 -- they didn't include a nominee named for either the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or Federal Highway Administration.
NHTSA is the regulatory agency within the Department of Transportation tasked with writing and enforcing vehicle safety standards.
In recent times, NHTSA has worked with FMCSA to develop a rulemaking that would mandate automatic emergency braking systems on heavy-duty trucks. That rulemaking is currently on hold with the transition to a new administration. It was previously expected to be published in January. NHTSA has also been exploring a potential requirement for side underride guards on trailers.
[Related: The heated debate over recommendations to improve underride guard regulations]
More carriers needed to pull Vietnam memorial replica
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) has issued a call for carriers to transport “The Wall that Heals,” a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, for the 2025 season.
VVMF has partnered with the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) to bring The Wall That Heals to communities across America.
The three quarter-scale replica of the The Wall and a mobile Education Center spread The Wall’s healing legacy across the nation. VVMF is looking for drivers and/or trucking companies to volunteer to haul The Wall That Heals to a single event or to multiple locations.
Owner-operators and trucking companies can sign up to volunteer here.
The 2025 schedule for The Wall That Heals begins March 6 in Sebring, Florida, and runs cross-country through the summer and into fall before concluding in Crystal Springs, Mississippi, in November.
