While a bill number had yet to be filed, Rep. Baron Hill (D-IN) was preparing language for only the third presidential proclamation recognizing the safety of school buses and the drivers responsible for getting some 26 million students to and from school each day.

The U.S. Senate passed a bill last month that would amend language in federal law that strikes the terms "mental retardation" and "mentally retarded" in favor of "intellectual disabilities," the phrase of choice used by the Centers for Disease Control and the White House.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced that it will make its new medical examiner training specifications available to interstate fleet operators.

Ninety-eight school districts in 28 states will divvy up a pot of $28.8 million in fiscal year 2010 from the education department to strengthen emergency management plans, which a leading safety expert said must be used to bring support staff such as transportation personnel to the table.

Effective Oct. 1, 2010, a new final rule governing alcohol and drug testing for commercial drivers includes guidance on the types of drugs tested as well as the procedures and protocols to be used.