Trucking news and briefs for Friday, May 15, 2026:
- "Chameleon carrier" opposition brings trucking orgs together.
- Have any info on cabotage? ATRI wants to hear from you.
- “It was intense. We knew we had to act fast.” --Highway Angel Chris Wetzel on his response to a crash involving a police officer and a tractor-trailer
Trucking orgs urge passage of chameleon carrier legislation
Some of the nation’s largest trucking organizations have found common ground in a fight against the scourge of "chameleon carriers" skirting safety regulations and starting new motor carriers to avoid penalties for poor safety performance.
A new letter sent by a coalition of eight trucking organizations to Reps. Sam Graves (R-Missouri) and Rick Larsen (D-Washington), the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, urges reps to advance the Safety and Accountability in Freight Enforcement (SAFE) Act, introduced by Rep. Harriett Hageman (R-Wyoming) in February.
The coalition said chameleon carriers “are high-risk CMV operators that routinely shut down and reopen under different identities, cycling through names, ownership structures, or Department of Transportation (DOT) numbers to escape penalties, enforcement actions, and other accountability measures. … Permitting these dangerous carriers to simply affix a new name and DOT number to get back on the road without further repercussions cannot continue, as the consequences can be devastating.”
Hageman’s bill would require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to “conduct a study on chameleon carriers in the United States and plan, develop, and test an advanced automation tool to help enforcement personnel detect chameleon carrier applications under the registration process of the Department of Transportation,” according to the text of the bill.
[Related: Super Ego's 'chameleon' network includes some of the most dangerous fleets in trucking]
A report submitted to Congress within a year of the bill being enacted would include:
- The estimated number of chameleon carriers on U.S. roadways at any given time
- The prevalence of chameleon carriers on U.S. roadways since the issuance of a 2012 report from the Government Accountability Office related to chameleon carriers
- The estimated number of fatalities, serious bodily injuries and amount of property damage caused by chameleon carriers since the GAO report, including the number of fatalities broken down by state
- An identification and analysis of the methods and techniques used by chameleon carriers to evade federal enforcement, including how such methods and techniques have evolved over time
- An identification and analysis of the existing monitoring and enforcement capabilities, along with any shortcomings, of the DOT to detect and mitigate chameleon carrier activity
- Any other relevant priorities deemed necessary by the DOT, and any legislative recommendations to address chameleon carriers
The tool required by the bill would include the ability to detect chameleon carrier-like characteristics that support evidence of substantial continuity between entities. Likewise: the ability to detect lapses in insurance coverage, among other features.
The trucking groups said the bill “leverages advanced automation and other forms of emerging technologies for use in” FMCSA’s “registration system to accurately and promptly catch these chameleon carriers at the start before they are ever allowed on the road.”
FMCSA just yesterday, May 14, began the transition to a new registration system, Motus, taking current registration functionality offline for data transfer and a planned relaunch as Motus as soon as early next week.
Agency Office of Registration Director Ken Riddle, speaking in this week's edition of the Overdrive Radio podcast, noted the agency's goal ultimately is to stop chameleon entities "at the front door," to not let them register to begin with. "Motus is going to help with that. ... If we see that the person coming in has already had a USDOT number, they're going to be challenged."
If they don't have a "legitimate" reason for operating multiple business entities, Riddle added, and "are just trying to get the extra numbers to avoid detection and circumvent regulations, ... we're going to challenge and stop" them.
[Related: FMCSA registration to go dark: How truckers can prep for Motus]
The coalition of trucking groups acknowledged Motus and other federal efforts through investigations to make progress on the issue, stressing Congress passing "the SAFE Act will codify ongoing efforts, thereby establishing clear, Congressional guardrails while providing certainty for the future.
“We urge the advancement of the SAFE Act at the earliest possible opportunity and believe it would be right for inclusion in the upcoming Surface Transportation Reauthorization.”
Organizations that signed onto the letter include the American Trucking Associations, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, international Brotherhood of Teamsters, Truckload Carriers Association, Truck Safety Coalition, American Truckers United, National Tank Truck Carriers, and the Transportation Intermediaries Association.
[Related: New bill targets 'chameleon carriers']
ATRI requests driver, carrier input on cabotage
With federal law prohibiting the use of foreign B-1 visa-holding truck drivers from engaging in point-to-point service while operating in the U.S., known as cabotage, the American Transportation Research Institute is beginning to conduct research on the scale and impact of such hauling activity in the U.S.
ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee identified the topic as a top research priority in 2025.
While B-1 visa-holders are generally allowed to make one pick-up after delivery in the U.S., anecdotal evidence indicates that some cross-border truck drivers actively conduct new business throughout the U.S. and beyond the border commercial zones.
ATRI’s cabotage research includes a trucking industry survey that asks truck drivers and motor carriers to provide input on when and where this illegal activity is most often observed.
The survey findings will help develop an economic model that will calculate the real costs and impacts that cabotage has on U.S. truck drivers and trucking companies.
“Cabotage laws were created to protect U.S. jobs and ensure that a level playing field exists,” said Kaitlyn Holmecki, American Trucking Associations’ Director of International Policy. “When illegal low-cost transportation services undercut domestic freight operations, the entire trucking industry pays the price.”
All survey responses will be kept strictly confidential and used only in summary statistics.
The survey can be found here and is open through Friday, June 12.
[Related: Cabotage violators caught]
Trucker’s quick action to help injured deputy after crash
Chris Wetzel, a truck driver with Anderson Trucking Service, has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association for his swift actions and assistance following a serious crash involving a law enforcement officer in Missouri.
Chris Wetzel
Wetzel said he does not consider his response unusual and believes he simply did what anyone would do in that situation.
“It was intense. We knew we had to act fast,” said Wetzel.
Recognizing the severity of the crash, Wetzel immediately stopped and rushed to assist. Working alongside others at the scene, he helped extract the injured deputy from the vehicle and stayed focused on getting help to the officer as quickly as possible.
“We were able to get him out and call for help right away,” said Wetzel.
Demonstrating quick thinking under pressure, Wetzel also used the officer’s radio to issue a 10-33 emergency call, alerting dispatch to an officer-down situation and providing their exact location.
Emergency responders arrived shortly after, and the deputy was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where he was reported to be in stable condition. Wetzel remained on scene to assist as needed following the incident.
