Trucking news and briefs for Monday, April 13, 2026:
- Five states still noncompliant with electronic medical card rule.
- Insurance hike coming? Congress takes another shot.
- More truck parking in Alabama.
FMCSA extends paper medical card waiver, likely for final time
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has granted a waiver request from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance that allows motor carriers and drivers in all states and the District of Columbia to rely on a paper copy of the medical examiner’s certificate (MEC) as proof of the driver’s medical certification for up to 60 days after the MEC was issued.
Previous waivers were granted in the wake of FMCSA’s rollout of its National Registry II rule (NRII) that makes the medical certificate process electronic -- with medical examiners transmitting exam results to FMCSA via the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners and FMCSA transmitting the results to state driver’s licensing agencies to post to the driver’s motor vehicle record (MVR).
The first waiver was issued in July 2025 that allowed drivers to continue to rely on paper medical cards. The agency followed that waiver with an expansion and extension of the waiver in August. Other extensions were granted by FMCSA in October and January.
Now, as of April 10, FMCSA has issued a six-month waiver through Oct. 11, 2026. The agency said it “does not anticipate granting additional, nationwide NRII waivers or exemptions after the six-month duration of this exemption.”
As of the granting of the new waiver, five states have still yet to reach full compliance with the NRII rule -- Alaska, California, Kentucky, Louisiana and New Hampshire.
CVSA requested in February that FMCSA provide guidance to enforcement officials related to the ongoing implementation of NRII. At that time, eight states had yet to fully comply with the rule. FMCSA received nine comments on CVSA’s request, one of which was unrelated to the request. Of the eight relevant comments, six supported granting the exemption.
Under terms of the waiver, CDL and CLP holders can continue to use a paper copy of the MEC carried on his or her person as proof of the driver’s medical certification for up to 60 days from the date of the medical certification, and motor carriers can continue to use a paper copy of the MEC in the driver qualification file for up to 60 days from the date the certificate was issued.
The waiver does not apply to a driver or motor carrier if they do not have a copy of the driver’s current, valid MEC that was issued by a certified medical examiner within the prior 60 days.
Congress again floats $5 million liability insurance minimum
Last week, U.S. Reps. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Illinois) and Derek Tran (D-California) reintroduced the “Fair Compensation for Truck Crash Victims Act,” which would increase insurance requirements for interstate motor carriers.
The legislation was previously introduced near the end of 2023 but never made it to a subcommittee vote. García has also previously authored the “Improving National Safety by Updating the Required Amount of Insurance Needed by Commercial Motor Vehicles per Event (INSURANCE) Act.”
The bill, which now has five co-sponsors, would:
- Increase the minimum insurance required for interstate motor carriers from $750,000 to $5 million, which García said “accurately accounts for inflation and the current cost of medical care and other expenses.”
- Indexes the new minimum requirement to inflation to ensure “that financial protection for crash victims does not erode over time, keeping pace with the rising cost of health care and other expenses.”
Garcia called it “unacceptable that outdated minimum insurance requirements continue to leave victims without the support they need to cover medical care and losses. The Fair Compensation for Truck Crash Victims Act would help address this by ensuring trucking companies carry adequate insurance to cover the high costs of the devastating accidents their trucks can cause.”
According to García, the bill has been endorsed by the Institute for Safer Trucking, American Association for Justice, Truck Safety Coalition, Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways, Parents Against Tired Truckers, and Road Safe America.
In a report to Congress last month, FMCSA acknowledged that “in the rare instances that fatal and severe/critical injury crashes do occur, the costs of resulting property damage, injuries, and fatalities can exceed the minimum levels of financial responsibility.” The agency added, however, that it doesn’t have access to enough information and data to justify an increase to the liability insurance minimum.
[Related: Liability insurance hike? FMCSA lacks data to justify new minimum]
Love’s adds 123 truck parking spaces along I-22
Truck drivers traveling in West Alabama have a new option for parking, refueling and more with the opening of a new Love’s Travel Stop in Quinton, Alabama, along I-22.
Located at 220 Elza's Way (I-22, Exit 78), the new travel stop has 123 truck parking spaces and provides free parking for customers. So far in 2026, Love’s has added 464 truck parking spaces across the country.
In addition to parking, the new Love’s also offers an Arby’s restaurant, nine diesel bays, seven showers, a Cat Scale and more.
