Trucking news and briefs for Monday, June 22, 2026:
- Ban foreign entities from ELD edits? New legislation takes aim.
- Traveling through Arizona on I-10 this week? Watch for new Buc-ee’s traffic.
- Van trailers recalled for rear impact guard issue.
- “With an injury like that, you’ve got about 90 seconds before somebody bleeds out. Had we not done something, he’d have been dead by the time help got there.” --Highway Angel James Brown
New legislation takes aim at foreign-based ELD manipulation
A new bill introduced in the U.S. House looks to put an end to electronic logging device records editing by foreign-based dispatchers.
U.S. Reps. Greg Steube (R-Florida) and Dave Taylor (R-Ohio) on Sunday, June 21, introduced the “Guarding Hours-of-Service Oversight and Stopping Tampering by Remote Unofficial Carrier Keeper,” or “GHOSTRUCK Act.” Text of the bill is available here.
The bill would require that any edits or annotations to an ELD record be made only by a carrier, dispatcher or driver physically located in North America, while preserving the existing requirement that all edits remain subject to driver approval.
“Foreign dispatchers should not be able to manipulate trucking safety records from halfway around the world and put American lives at risk,” said Rep. Steube. “Reports have exposed how overseas actors are falsifying driver logs, overworking truckers beyond safe limits, and avoiding accountability when tragedies occur. The GHOSTRUCK Act closes this loophole and helps keep our roads safe.”
[Related: Arizona logs 281 ELD-cheat OOS violations from just 115 driver inspections]
A press release from Steube’s office noted that while American drivers or dispatchers can face severe penalties for ELD tampering, “current law does not clearly prohibit foreign-based personnel from making edits or annotations” to ELDs and “foreign-based actors often avoid similar accountability.”
The issue of illegal ELD tampering has emerged in recent months, becoming a big enough issue that it was added to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria this year. It’s also been a focus of reports around “chameleon carriers,” who have been accused to using services to add time to drivers’ HOS on the fly.
The legislation has received support from trucking industry organizations, including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, American Trucking Associations, Truckload Carriers Association, among others.
“OOIDA is proud to support Representative Steube and Taylor’s GHOSTRUCK Act, which would prevent foreign nationals in places like Eastern Europe and Asia from altering the ELD records of American truckers,” said OOIDA President Todd Spencer. “Importantly, the bill ensures that a driver has final approval for any edits suggested by their motor carrier. Together, these provisions will improve highway safety, reduce driver coercion and help combat freight fraud.”
[Related: How troopers tackle remote ELD manipulation, 'chameleon' operations]
New Buc-ee’s in Arizona prompts traffic warning
Even through truck drivers are famously barred from parking at the mega convenience store and fuel stop Buc-ee’s, those traveling along I-10 out West this week might still be impacted by the big roadside beaver.
The much-anticipated opening week of a Buc-ee’s travel center in Goodyear, Arizona, is expected create heavier traffic conditions along Interstate 10 both at and near Bullard Avenue starting Monday, June 22, the Arizona Department of Transportation said in a press release.
Drivers in the area should allow extra travel time and expect slow traffic conditions, ADOT noted. Commuters not traveling to the opening should consider using alternate routes away from Bullard Avenue.
Drivers should also expect freeway ramp closures in the area at times, ADOT added. Law enforcement officers will be on site to let drivers know that parking along freeways, including shoulders, is not permitted.
The city of Goodyear has prepared and will oversee a traffic control plan for the special event. The city has provided this information about the travel center’s opening.
Rear impact guard issues prompts van trailer recall
Wabash National Corporation is recalling approximately 920 model year 2027 van trailers due to an issue with the units’ rear impact guards, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents.
In the affected units, the bumper tube bolts may have been improperly tightened, reducing the protection provided by the rear impact guard. As such, the recalled trailers fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 223, "Rear Impact Guards."
Wabash said it determined the recall population using manufacturing records and information from a supplier concerning a deviation from the torque specification for the bumper tube bolts.
Dealers will tighten the bumper tube bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed Aug. 14. Owners can contact Wabash customer service at 1-765-771-5404. NHTSA’s recall number is 26V-391.
Military veteran truck driver named Highway Angel
Melton Truck Lines driver James Brown has bene named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association for his actions following a serious crash near Little Rock, Arkansas.
James Brown
“It was raining pretty hard that day,” Brown said. “My visibility was probably 25 to 30 feet from my truck. I had slowed down to about 50 or 55 because in that kind of weather, you should be.”
As he watched, another truck sped past him before leaving the roadway and overturning.
“I thought he was going to keep it upright,” Brown said. “But when he came back onto the asphalt, I figured he overcorrected. The truck slid about 65 to 75 feet.”
Brown safely pulled his truck to the shoulder and ran to the wrecked vehicle. As he helped the driver escape, he noticed a piece of metal lodged in the man’s leg.
“Before I could tell him, ‘Don’t pull that out,’ he pulled it out,” Brown said.
The object had severed a major artery, causing severe bleeding. Drawing on skills he learned during 12 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, Brown immediately took action.
“I had battlefield medical training,” he said. “I cut a seatbelt up, and we made a tourniquet and got it on his leg.”
Brown’s quick thinking slowed the blood loss and stabilized the injured driver until emergency responders arrived.
“He was conscious when I got there,” Brown said. “By the time I got the tourniquet on, he was still conscious, but he wasn’t making much sense. He had lost quite a bit of blood.”
Brown believes the tourniquet made the critical difference.
“With an injury like that, you’ve got about 90 seconds before somebody bleeds out,” he said. “Had we not done something, he’d have been dead by the time help got there.”
After first responders arrived, Brown remained at the scene for nearly two hours, providing witness statements and assisting investigators before continuing on to complete his delivery.
“If that had been me in that truck, I would hope somebody would stop and help,” he said. “My wife, my children -- I’d hope somebody would stop and do the same for them.”
