Trucking news and briefs for Friday, June 5, 2026:
- Congress takes on stinger-steer warning-flag exemption.
- Has your state held its truck driving championship yet? New York's and several others kick off today.
- More driver-friendly over-the-air updates coming for Volvo trucks.
- Construction materials company’s scale operator guilty of theft.
Legislation introduced to codify stinger-steer car haulers’ warning-flag exemption
A coalition of trucking advocates is backing new bipartisan legislation aimed at permanently cutting red tape for auto transporters by eliminating a rule requiring warning flags on extended loads.
The American Trucking Associations’ Automobile Carriers Conference on Thursday applauded the bill, introduced by Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska) and Gary Peters (D-Michigan), along with Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Michigan).
The measure would remove the requirement for stinger-steered automobile transporters to display warning flags on vehicles that overhang the back of a trailer.
A version of it also sits in the BUILD America 250 Act draft highway bill after Rep. Barrett's efforts. That legislation cleared the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last month.
Under the 2015 FAST Act, the allowable rear overhang for stinger-steer haulers increased from 4 feet to 6 feet. Yet standard federal regulations still require warning flags on any cargo extending past 4 feet.
Industry leaders argue the flags are redundant and risk damaging new cars.
"The vehicles we transport, by their very nature, meet federal conspicuity requirements," said Brian Suhre, executive vice president of Cassens Transport, noting that manufacturers prohibit attaching items to vehicles during transit. "This solves multiple problems and preserves highway safety."
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration previously granted a five-year waiver from the flag requirement in 2019 and renewed it in 2024, citing no adverse impacts on highway safety.
"Modern vehicles already have reflective safety features, such as taillights and headlights, so warning flags are entirely redundant," said Mike Matousek, director of the ATA’s Automobile Carriers Conference.
[Related: Parking, predatory lease-purchase, ELD certification: Highway bill advances]
Truck driving championship heats up in New York
Starting today, Friday, June 5, the Trucking Association of New York (TANY) Safety Council hosts the New York State Truck Driving Championships. The highly competitive contest showcases state's top drivers, shining a light on the professional men and women who are the driving force behind the trucking industry.
To be eligible, all competing drivers must have maintained an accident-free record for the past year.
During the event, happening at Destiny USA in Syracuse, pro drivers compete across nine different vehicle classes. All face a demanding skills course featuring various obstacles, in addition to completing a written exam and a pre-trip inspection test.
The competition wraps up Saturday evening with an awards ceremony held in the Liberty Ballroom at the Embassy Suites in Syracuse.
Each class winner will earns a spot in the National Truck Driving Championships, slated for August in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. State championship event have been ongoing since March, many happening this weekend from Colorado to Maryland and points in between -- for a full list of competitions around the nation through June, visit this link.
According to TANY, New York's trucking industry supports 1 in every 25 jobs in the state, totaling more than 300,000 positions.
The Championships provide a platform for these hardworking professionals to showcase their dedication to safety on the road, TANY noted. Recognizing and rewarding safe driving practices is crucial to ensuring reliability and security of the state's supply chain. Nearly 90% of all New York communities rely solely on trucks to deliver essential goods.
[Related: Koch & Sons driver's adventure at Minnesota's driving championships]
Volvo enhances over-the-air update process
Volvo Trucks is introducing unattended over-the-air software updates.
The new capability is a unique advancement, the company said, expanding how fleets manage software, helping keep vehicles up to date without interrupting operations.
“We are always striving to maximize our customers’ uptime, and this is an important milestone,” said Peter Voorhoeve, president, Volvo Trucks North America. “Drivers will be able to start a software update, lock the truck and walk away, whether that’s for a break or at the end of the day, and return to an updated vehicle. It’s a simpler way for fleets to keep trucks current without interrupting operations.”
The new feature is possible with Volvo Trucks' new, connected 24-volt platform in North America. It allows updates to run overnight, during driver breaks, or while trucks are parked, without requiring drivers to remain with the vehicle. The new feature will be launched later this year.
The expansion of over-the-air updates has enabled more than 80% of connected Volvo trucks operating on the latest software and a 24% reduction in unplanned stops. These updates enable continuous improvements to critical systems such as engine performance, transmission, and battery management.
“While this type of functionality is becoming standard in the passenger car industry, its impact is significantly greater in trucking, where vehicles are in operation for eight to eleven hours a day,” added Voorhoeve.
Volvo Trucks completed more than 18,000 over-the-air software updates in May, with systems capable of dispatching up to 10,000 updates per day across its connected fleet.
[Related: The new Volvo VNL, inside and out]
Florida private scale operator found guilty of Grand Theft
A scale operator at a materials business in Florida was recently found guilty of First-Degree Grand Theft.
Ray Richard Bernaldez Sotomayor had been employed by a materials company, utilized in building and construction, as the operator of a scale to weigh trucks after they were filled with rocks.
Sotomayor was allowing dump trucks full of rocks to leave the business without printing a load ticket and requiring payment. Instead, he was getting financial kickbacks.
The crime was discovered by the company when management noticed truck drivers waiting to go through Sotomayor’s line, even when other lines that had scales were open. The company then began watching hours of surveillance video that spanned over a year and contacted law enforcement.
The defendant was arrested at his workplace by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office in April 2025 following their investigation. Sentencing is scheduled for July 31.
