Department of Transportation August 23, 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Surface Transportation Board (Board) has issued a decision in its investigation of the causes of substandard on-time performance of Amtrak's Sunset Limited that, among other things, establishes a procedural schedule for the filing of pleadings and provides guidance on subjects to be addressed in those pleadings. Under the procedural schedule, non-parties will be permitted to submit replies to the opening briefs filed by Amtrak and railroad parties' replies.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will hold a public meeting from October 28 to October 30, 2024, as a joint effort between the Agency's Vehicle Safety Research and Behavioral Safety Research offices to share information on activities within the Agency's research programs. The meeting will be held in a virtual format with representatives from across the two research offices presenting the information in panels. Questions from the audience will be addressed following presentations. Each presentation will include visual slides that will be available in a public docket after the public meeting. A recording of the panels will also be available on the NHTSA website.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is amending its regulations to allow aircraft to operate either with "No Smoking" signs continuously illuminated or with "No Smoking" signs a crewmember can turn on and off. Currently, crewmembers must be able to manually turn aircraft "No Smoking" signs on and off. However, the current regulations were drafted when the Department of Transportation (DOT) permitted smoking at times on commercial flights. These amendments bring FAA regulations into alignment with current practice for aircraft manufacturing and operations.