While FMCSA ponders how best to rate truckers, two members of the U.S. Senate have introduced a bill to establish a carrier selection standard for shippers, brokers and others until FMCSA completes a rulemaking to revise safety fitness determination standards. Under the legislation, a shipper or broker must verify no earlier than 45 days prior to the date of the shipment that the carrier is licensed, registered, and insured, and requires FMCSA to proactively affirm that the carrier complies with all required federal safety standards.
The Senate bill also requires FMCSA to complete a safety fitness rulemaking within one year and states that the agency “shall consider the use of all available data to determine the fitness of a motor carrier.”
A similar bipartisan House bill was approved in May by the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. The House bill creates a safe harbor for shippers and brokers in the selection of a carrier as long as they have verified a carrier’s registration and insurance and determined that FMCSA has not found the carrier unfit to operate. Unlike the Senate version, the House legislation does not require FMCSA to proactively affirm the carrier’s compliance.
ICSA will keep you informed on this legislation as well as the ongoing Safety Fitness Determination rulemaking.
In today's complicated business landscape, setting up a Limited Liability Company, or an LLC, as an independent contractor is extremely important both personally and professionally. The reason is simple - as an independent contractor, you operate your own business and are responsible for your own assets and liabilities.
Here are some interesting facts from American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) for you to consider. Even if you are a single truck operator, knowing these facts and changing your driving behavior can reduce your odds of being in a crash.
Thanks to Lisa Cox from All Nite Truckin’ Inc. who spoke with ICSA about her background and the small fleet she operates. Oklahoma-based All Nite Truckin’, Inc. has been a part of ICSA since 2021. The company started in 2017 when Lisa's daughter - Lindsey - first entered the world of trucking by purchasing a one-ton truck to work with an oilfield hotshot group.