Abstract
The safety record of trucks carrying hazardous materials is exceptional despite a patchwork of unrealistic and confusing rules. The trucking industry is seeking to persuade the federal government to make all hazardous materials rules as uniform, realistic, and enforceable as possible. It is noted that some states and local communitieshave placed expensive, unfair, and often unworkable restrictions ontrucks that carry hazardous materials. The trucking industry favorsnew rules that relate to routing, standards for equipment and operations, incident reporting, and safety registration.