Blinding fog and smoke eyed as a cause of deadly Florida pileup
Survivors of a deadly multi-vehicle pileup on Interstate 75 south of Gainesville, Florida, blamed a blinding mixture of fog and smoke from a brush fire for the crash that killed 10 people and injured 18 others, some of them seriously. Much like the deadly December 29 pileup on I-10 in New Orleans, the Florida crashes involved a number of commercial vehicles, including six tractor trailers and what appeared to be a tour bus. At least a dozen other cars were involved in the crash.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced its final rule on hours-of-service (HOS) regulations that govern work and rest periods for commercial truck drivers. Trucking companies and drivers have until July 1, 2013, to comply with the rule changes, which Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said “will help prevent fatigue-related truck crashes and save lives.”
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued an immediate cease and desist order against a Pennsylvania bus company that federal inspectors ordered off the road in December after deeming it to be an “immediate hazard” to public safety.
The first lawsuit against a commercial carrier blaming sleep apnea for contributing to a fatal highway crash was settled earlier this month in Texas. 
A harrowing crash near the Southern California town of Buellton Thursday left a tractor trailer driver dead and three people in a mangled BMW hanging perilously over the side of a bridge on a mountainous stretch of Highway 101.
Personal-injury and wrongful-death lawsuits continue to pile up against 
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has been receiving numerous inquiries regarding third-party inspectors offering “safety certifications” to commercial motorcoach companies, prompting the agency to issue a warning to the bus companies and passengers alike that such certifications aren’t approved by federal regulators.
Commercial driver applications with incomplete or inaccurate information jumped 20 percent from 11.78 percent in 2010 to 31.42 percent in 2011, according to the 2011 LexisNexis Commercial Driver Safety report, prepared by the risk analysis company to help commercial carriers improve safety and compliance.
Interstate truck and bus drivers can no longer use handheld cell phones while driving, according to a final rule issued jointly by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The new rule went into effect January 3.