FMCSA

The English language. An important aspect of a truck driver’s toolkit, used to communicate with others and understand signs.

If you ever take the time to look up crazy laws (such as it being illegal to eat an orange in the bathtub in California), the most common cause of it is that it was established well over a century and never taken off the books while still being enforced. When it comes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), however, they often enforce old regulations while they are still on the books. In an effort to reduce regulations that have next to no impact on safety, the FMCSA for Trump’s second term is looking to cut old rules.

When it comes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), there are numerous databases, so you would not be penalized if you were not fully aware of DataQ, a database that describes itself as, “an FMCSA system that allows users to request and track a review of Federal and State data issued by FMCSA believed to be incomplete or incorrect.” Recently, the FMCSA made an announcement that they were revising how DataQ was going to work, and that states would have to comply to continue receiving funding.

When going for a drug test, using someone else’s material whether that be hair or urine is illegal. The same can be said about USDOT Numbers and Operating Authorities. In an effort to crack down on chameleon carriers, the Federal Motor Carrier Administration (FMCSA) is reminding trucking businesses that these numbers are non-transferrable.

In an announcement on February 20th, 2026, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Derek Barrs announced a new set of regulations to be put into place to target bad actors in the driving industry, those that put safety not at the top of the list, or even in the first five priorities.

On February 11th, the Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a news release stating what it plans to do in regards to non-domiciled CDLs and their alleged impact on vehicular safety on America’s roads.

It is the same old song and dance: the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced four more ELDs that are to be unviable for the purposes of commercial trucking.

Derek Barrs, Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), announced that he is taking steps to increase safety on the road in a way that was previously ignored by the agency: tackling self-certification of service providers.

The latest chapter in the FMCSA versus states non-domiciled CDL crackdown saga has been published. After going after California and Pennsylvania, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration now has its eyes on Minnesota.

A little under a month ago, we reported how the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) was cracking down on “CDL mills”, training providers who seem to focus on quantity over quality of truckers, in an effort to make the nation’s roads safer. That is exactly what happened in the last month, as the FMCSA has reduced the number of listed training providers on its registry.

Once again, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a notice that they were removing Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs). This time, the count comes to five.

We are in another government shutdown at the time of publishing this article, and to the potential surprise of some, there is little that has changed in the private sector’s day-to-day business operations. Here is what impacts the government shutdown will have on the trucking industry.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) removed three more Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) on September 4th due to the providers’ inability to remain in compliance with the FMCSA’s terms. We will cover which ones they are and what the next steps are if your truck is carrying one of them.

A study commissioned in 2021 by Congress is set to begin soon, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The results may very well impact trucking regulations for years to come.

Much like the REAL ID you have likely heard about in recent years, the transition of medical certification data to the digital era has been met with a slow uptake, and when too many people resist to the point that enforcement is borderline impossible, a compromise is to extend the due date.

By now you likely have heard the news about the flash flooding happening in Texas. To that end, Governor Greg Abbott has signed an Emergency Declaration to provide much-needed relief to the people of Texas quickly.

A hurricane hits North Carolina. A wildfire spreads through southern California. Now that the damage is done, it is time for recovery, something with which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is all too familiar. To decrease support times in future emergencies that will invariably happen, FEMA is opening itself up to contracts to trucking […]

It is a story you have likely heard several times before: the weather outside is frightful. Here are the states that are offering drivers some exemptions to help make the slow season a little faster, and a little warmer.

At the advent of 2020, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, a database to track commercial drivers with a record of using substances on the road that could adversely impact their driving abilities, or at the very least track when they refuse a testing request from an officer. Now, […]

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has declared a State of Emergency in Florida due to the damage caused by Hurricane Milton. Details Hurricane Milton has come and gone, but its lingering effects, the destruction left in its wake, still persists. To that end, the FMCSA is suspending some regulatory requirements from Parts 390-399 […]

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) deals in much more than just road safety; it also partakes in managing financial safety within the greater commercial transportation sector. To that end, the FMCSA has the Truck Leasing Task Force (TLTF), which exists to monitor the terms and conditions of truck leasing agreements, and it will […]

If you have been following trucking industry news for some amount of time, you have probably heard about the purported trucker shortage. One of the reasons for this is the elevated barrier of entry to become a professional driver: time that normally happens after graduation from high school. Connell High School wants to do something […]

On April 19th, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced in the Federal Register that it hopes to replace the Unified Registration System (URS) with a new system called the FMCSA Registration System (FRS).DetailsSo what is the big deal about this new system? The Notice in the Federal Register is thousands of words long, […]

The Mid-America Trucking Show has come and gone, with one of the biggest entities speaking at the event being the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration), which started the conference with some big news: they admit that there is a problem with fraud in the current system, and they are taking steps to fix it.Details”Freight […]

The purported trucker shortage is partially fueled by the barrier of entry to becoming a trucker. It is fantastic that only the best and brightest should be allowed to operate a heavy-duty big rig, but at the same time, the trucking industry is imperative to the nation’s economic vitality. To that end, the FMCSA is […]

February and March are two of the coldest months of the year, but that has not stopped wildfires from rampaging across the second-largest state in the USA, and the largest of the 48 contiguous states. To that end, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has enacted a State of Emergency.DetailsThe Declaration is extremely vague in its wording, […]

This January appears to be one for the record books.We wrote about last week how eleven different states had States of Emergency as a result of extreme winter weather. Well, it appears that the season is not slowing down any time soon, as seven more states have joined in on the Declarations.DetailsThere are seven new […]

It has been around three months since the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) revised its terms for declaring a State of Emergency, so things must be pretty hectic out there in the winter weather when eleven different states are calling on truckers for help. Details These eleven states in question, along with their Declarations: […]

When it comes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) enforcing safety, usually one thinks of safety from collisions, but could it also include safety from being scammed by bad faith actors? We remember writing an article three years ago where the Transportation Intermediaries Association said this falls out of the purview of the […]

In the first instance since the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) had updated the rules regarding States of Emergency, Governor Andy Beshar of Kentucky has signed off on one that applies to truckers.DetailsThe entire Declaration can be read on the relevant webpage. It starts by mentioning drought that is causing wildfires to emerge statewide, […]

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) seems intent on introducing speed limiter regulation despite negative reception for drivers. Perhaps as an olive branch, the FMCSA is taking a small step back on the subject for the time being. Details The idea of requiring speed limiters was first put on the table in late 2016, […]

The East Coast really is getting a hard time this hurricane season. The number of states near the Atlantic Ocean that have declared a State of Emergency in response to watery winds has increased from seven to ten.MarylandMaryland is worried about general nasty weather, including “inland flooding and isolated tornadoes”, and to that extent the […]

More hurricane news! This time, the hurricane is hitting the northeast, and some states are already declaring emergencies to be ahead of the curve, before Lee hits land as a category five hurricane.MaineMaine’s State of Emergency Declaration, which you can read on the relevant FMCSA webpage, does not directly pertain to truckers. Instead, it is […]

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is stepping up its game when it comes to getting more drivers on the road, but it does not want to sacrifice road safety to do so. To that end, the FMCSA is putting $44 million into grants for CDL training.DetailsThe announcement came on September 14th, 2023. You […]

Hurricane Idalia is hitting the eastern seaboard, and what was once a problem for Florida is now expanding into other states. Here is what that entails for the four states below.GeorgiaGeorgia’s Declaration covers a variety of topics, which you can read on the FMCSA webpage, but what will catch the eye of truckers is the […]

Besides traffic, one of the most aggravating aspects of being a driver is the time spent waiting at facilities for the truck to load and unload. This time is often unpaid, further exacerbating the problem. The FMCSA wants to study what effects this issue plaguing the trucking industry has on safety. If they do something […]

It has been a while since there has been a State of Emergency anywhere in the country that trucking could help with, as things seemed to be moving smoothly throughout the nation. That has finally changed, however, as Kristi Noem, Governor of South Dakota, has declared a State of Emergency regarding the dearth of fuel […]

Federal regulators are trying their hardest to get Americans to eventually switch away from fossil fuels such as petroleum, but that does not mean they do not need it now. Both of the states Nebraska and North Dakota are suffering from fuel shortages at the current moment, and to that extent both governors are issuing […]

When a four-wheel driver decides to do a brake check on a big rig just for fun, and it leads to something catastrophic, it does not impact the carrier’s ranking in the CSA Safety Measurement System. This is because the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) only wants to penalize drivers who find themselves in […]

Nobody becomes a trucker to sit around and twiddle their thumbs while they wait for other people to get moving, so why is detention time so widespread amongst the trucking industry? That is a question the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is hoping to tackle by first conducting a study.DetailsThe Infrastructure Investment and Jobs […]

When Robin Hutcheson was promoted from Deputy Administrator to the top of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), there was a vacancy for the Deputy position. The USDOT has found the person for the role: a man named Earl Adams Jr.The Experience of Earl Adams Jr.Normally, the Deputy Administrator position does not need a […]

Is it just us, or is this winter colder than most? The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) seems to agree, as it is extending a State of Emergency for eight states in the hauling of various fuels.DetailsThe first Declaration was in direct response to the Suncor refinery in Colorado having an unexpected shutdown, leading […]

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is considering increasing the amount of readily-available assets (mostly cash) that a broker must have on hand to pay fleets who have completed deliveries for them, as written on a proposal in the Federal Register. Details The way things are now, a broker is required to keep $75,000 in […]

What do you get when you ask truckers for help but also provide additional stipulations for them to do their jobs? You get a mess. This is what is happening in the state of New York, as the state government has declared both a State of Emergency and road closures for commercial vehicles. State of […]

In a period of excessive inflation, this news is sure to bring a smile to any fleet owner’s face.The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced via the Federal Register that it would reduce the United Carrier Registration fees by an average of 31% for 2023 and beyond.DetailsThe price cuts are as follows:0-2 vehicles: $59 to […]

On August 24th, the BP Whiting refinery suffered a fire and for the time being is shut down for safety reasons. It is one of the largest refineries in the United States, processing around 440,000 barrels of crude oil per day. As a result of its closure, there is a shortage of various fuels in […]

Truckers helping truckers!On July 15, 2022, Jim Walz, the Governor of Minnesota, issued a declaration suspending the hours-of-service regulations in regards to the hauling of various petroleum-based fuels.DetailsThe entire problem is a logistics Catch-22, as truckers needing to haul fuels such as diesel and gasoline need diesel to haul them. Governor Walz hopes that by […]

Soon, a new rule will go into effect to improve entry-level driver training (ELDT). Here are the things you should know about this program so that you do not get blindsided by changes happening in the trucking industry.1. It parallels obtaining a standard driver’s license.Like obtaining a normal driver’s license for a 4-wheeler, the new […]