DOT Secretary Sean Duffy on Wednesday announced the launch of the "first phase of the National Consumer Complaint Database (NCCDB) modernization" with a new web page that allows users to specifically call out bad brokers.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said the update intends to "improve navigation and enhance functionality of this important tool for enhanced user capabilities for commercial drivers, motor carriers, and consumers."
The NCCDB, where FMCSA directs drivers and consumers to report violations of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations related to safety, fraud, and household goods movement, has long lacked basic functionality for motor carriers. In 2023, the Government Accountability Office called out FMCSA's NCCDB for not meeting the needs of motor carriers in several key areas.
"FMCSA has not designed sufficient controls to help ensure its policy for reviewing complaints related to motor carriers is followed," according to that GAO report.
FMCSA first said it would introduce a clear option for carrier to lodge complaints against brokers in February of 2022.
A new web page, though not reachable from the FMCSA's main page, cleared up some of the category confusion and added a section for reporting property brokers. The page now details nine categories of complaints, rather that the previous five that GAO had criticized for being less than intuitive to navigate.
Previously the site did have a way to report property brokers, but most of those fields related to household goods moves rather than offering a clear way to address things like double brokering.
The old FMCSA NCCDB only featured five categories of complaint, and, as GAO pointed out, didn't offer a clear way for motor carriers to report fraud in brokered freight transactions.
“This overdue tech upgrade is a win for drivers, carriers, and the driving public,” said Duffy in a release. “The modernized database will make it easier to file complaints, access digital tools, and empower individuals to speak up about unsafe practices. With your support, we will continue to take bad actors of the roads to keep the American people safe.”
DOT said the NCCDB update was part of the Pro-Trucker Package, announced by Duffy in June, which has offered new pilot tests of more flexible split-sleeper options in the HOS and withdrew FMCSA's speed limiter rulemaking, among other things.
FMCSA said it will continue to roll out more improvements, and that "Phase two" of the modernization "will introduce additional functionality, performance improvements, and a new name for the database – reflecting FMCSA’s commitment to making this a modern, user-friendly tool for the entire motor carrier industry."
Owner-operator Lee Schmitt has personally called on FMCSA to update the NCCDB dozens of times, and said the update represented "good intentions. ... Drivers' voices need to be heard. We need to see the follow-up investigations improved: faster and more accountability made public."
NCCDB "should be the first thing seen when you open the FMCSA page," he said.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association celebrated the updates, too. “For years, OOIDA and truckers across America have warned that FMCSA’s complaint database wasn’t protecting drivers," OOIDA President Todd Spencer said in a statement sent to Overdrive. "It failed to address coercion, freight fraud, and broker abuse. That’s why it’s encouraging to see Secretary Duffy listen to drivers and take action. The updated system will be easier to use on the road, faster to process complaints, and expanded to cover brokers -- while also ensuring enforcement when bad actors break the law."
[Related: Cracks in the system: Blowing the whistle on coercion]
