It was designed to weed out the bad actors, and touted as a one stop shop that would reduce redundancies in the registration process for the good carriers while locking out fraudsters.
Yet the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Motus registration system and its rickety rollout ongoing raises serious questions with respect to the elimination of 23 positions in the office of the Chief Technology Officer last year with Motus under development. The cuts drew down that particular department to zero staff, and didn't stop there.
Reporting in Overdrive charted drawdowns in communications and registration offices, too. These are both where failure points are most frequently seen, according to many I've spoken to.
In light of our sister publication CCJ’s recent code-level examination of Motus with compliance consultant Bailey Hoak, who pinned system glitches in part on AI shortcuts and shoddy front-end architecture, it appears to this gearjammer that the agency, having scuttled its technological team, had no choice but to send in boys and bots to fight a man’s war.
[Related: FMCSA confident in fraud fight despite staff reduction]
For folks on the ground, meanwhile, the real-world consequences of the agency's cuts in communication and registration staff smacks of something worse than run-of-the-mill bureaucratic ineptitude, judging by the commentary offered below.
For this edition of The Weigh-In, I asked for Motus experiences and where things stood today and heard from independents, leased fleet owners, and more than one safety/compliance consultant. Here's the result:
Seven hours on hold, all for naught
Shanna Grey, S&D Transportation, South Dakota
“I was on hold for seven hours and forty-seven minutes," she said. When someone on the other end "finally picked up," though, the call disconnected.
"Click," Grey said. "There are lots of stumbling blocks with Motus. You can’t get logged in. You still can’t get signed into the drug clearinghouse. You still can’t get the DataQ. I’m not even accepting new clients with Motus issues.”
Perhaps worst -- "They never call you back," she added, echoing testimonies of carriers and others reported elsewhere by Overdrive.
“I’ve been hauling grain since I was 18," said Bobby Brooks of Indiana. "I’m 69 now. 51 years. I’ve always felt what I do puts food on the table."
Bobby Brooks
Brooks described himself as an "old-time guy, not very good on the computer. They told me they had suspended my password. I was told I had to call to get a new one. I’ve called three times. They’d always say it’s a 45-minute hold, 'leave your number, we’ll call you back.' They never call you back."
Brooks wonders whether "the whole thing is a scam just so they can hit you with bigger fines," he said. "I’d like to [hire] a man. Sure could use the help. I think I’ll just hold off for now.”
[Related: What's wrong with this picture? Motus mess costing small fleets thousands]
'That has not been helpful'
Independent owner-operator Kenneth Osborne Jr., headquartered in New Hampshire, remained "locked out of [Motus] with an 'application has expired' message that I’m told needs a supervisor to correct," he said. He had been trying to update his MCS-150. "Six-to-eight-week wait for a supervisor to be available is what I’m hearing."
Kenneth Osborne Jr.
The MCS-150 update is required every two years during normal times, so Osborne "did mail in a paper MCS-150 update, figuring that Motus wouldn’t be fixed in time."
FMCSA, regular readers may remember, suspended DOT# deactivations that result when a carrier misses that update back in late June, when MCS-150 updates were proving problematic in Motus.
Osborne said he hadn't "gotten word that they’ve accepted it or not," speaking of his paper version mailed in, "but a friend who has always submitted his by mail was rejected and told it had to be done through Motus. So far the response I’ve gotten from the FMCSA is just a copy of the setup instructions. That has not been helpful in resolving my 'expired application' message.”
Luckily, his Motus profile currently shows a due date in 2028 for his next MCS-150, commensurate with FMCSA's June promise to give carriers more time to make the required updates.
[Related: FMCSA suspends USDOT deactivations as Motus issues mount for carriers]
Owner-operator Mark Yelton of Indiana, then, dubbed Motus “typical government 'efficiency' at its finest!" he said. "I couldn’t get logged in for the longest time." When he finally did, then, "for some unknown reason the system won’t associate my MC/DOT numbers with my email address. I was on hold for hours and finally had to get off the phone. Still trying to sort it out.”
Mark Yelton (left)
Brokers wouldn't book "loads with my trucks for a few hours and the broker we were hauling for at the time was freaking out!" he said of a known glitch that suspended an untold number of carriers due to insurance. At once, he noted, "we worked through it. Motus was the entire issue -- the platform showed [the company we are leased to] with no insurance.”
While the FMCSA administrator gets high marks all around for outreach to and engagement with working owner-operators and other drivers this past year and more, and the development of this registration system has been ongoing for years, it’s hard not to wonder whether keeping technical staff around at FMCSA might have enabled a more smooth transition for Motus.
'Put off non-essential updates'
One final weigh-in here from Cottingham & Butler Safety Management Services' Kara Vines, who nonetheless offered guarded optimism. Vines pegged the "most substantial system disruption" to the date of Sept. 1, 2026, three days following Overdrive's first illustration with sister Fusable company Central Analysis Bureau of a growing "involuntary suspension" problem in Motus due to incorrectly mismatched insurance requirements. Here's our chart published Aug. 28 (the reference to "Crise" on the chart is to owner-operator Jeffrey Crise, who'd been trying to get his own authority's suspension correct then for several weeks; he was ultimately successful):
Cottingham & Butler Senior Safety Consultant Kara Vines
The issues "created significant frustration, operational delays, and financial hardship for many of Cottingham & Butler's clients," she said. "For motor carriers operating on tight margins, the disruptions affected not only their businesses but also the drivers, employees, and families who depend on them."
She finished with this, including some advice for carriers attempting to interact with their registration profiles, and a word of hope:
Throughout this process, I have worked tirelessly to help our clients navigate these issues and restore their operating authority. By working closely with the staff within FMCSA's Office of Registration, I have been able to successfully resolve issues for many affected motor carriers and help get them back on the road as quickly as possible.
My greatest concern remains for the smaller fleets that may not have access to the resources, expertise, or support needed to navigate these challenges. For many of these motor carriers, even a brief interruption can have substantial financial and operational consequences, and I understand how difficult and stressful that can be.
FMCSA has waived the biennial update requirement for motor carriers whose updates were due on or after June 1, 2026, and we have advised our clients to postpone non-essential updates while the system continues to stabilize.
While challenges remain, I am seeing fewer reported issues each day, which gives me confidence that meaningful progress is being made. Although the Motus rollout has created significant disruption for many of the motor carriers I work with, I am encouraged by FMCSA's efforts to address outstanding concerns and improve system functionality. I recognize the burden these issues have placed on carriers, their employees, and their families, and I remain hopeful that continued enhancements will result in a more stable and reliable platform moving forward. In the meantime, I remain committed to supporting our clients, advocating on their behalf, and helping them navigate these challenges every step of the way.
And with that, I’ll sign off. Give me a shout anytime: [email protected].
[Related: FMCSA cleaning up Motus mess one carrier at a time]
