Transport Topics (Nov. 15, 2021)

A divided federal appeals court has thrown out portions of the 2016 Phase 2 greenhouse gas emissions truck rule that would have required heavy- and medium-duty tractor truck trailers for the first time to adopt some combination of fuel-saving technologies. Circuit Judge Justin Walker of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, wrote in the decision Friday, “Trailers have no motor. They are therefore not ‘motor vehicles.’ Nor are they ‘vehicles’ when that term is used in the context of a vehicle’s fuel economy, since motorless vehicles use no fuel.” The rule would have required trailer manufacturers to adopt some combination of fuel-saving technologies, such as side skirts and automatic tire pressure systems. The decision came in a petition for the court’s review of the rule requested by the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices