Many fleets are proud of their documentation. They document driver qualification. They document training. They document inspections, audits, incidents, and corrective actions. They keep complete driver files, run required reports, and maintain records they can be produced quickly when requested. Internally, that documentation often becomes a source of confidence. The thinking goes, if something goes wrong, the paperwork will show we did what we were supposed to do. That belie

In trucking litigation, safety programs often become evidence. This article explores “compliance theater,” where check-the-box compliance creates records but fails to control risk.

On January 7, 2026, FMCSA issued a Final Determination of Substantial Noncompliance against the California Department of Motor Vehicles, formally concluding that the state has failed to comply with federal standards governing the issuance of non-domiciled commercial learner’s permits and commercial driver’s licenses. As a result, FMCSA will withhold millions of dollars in federal highway funding beginning in fiscal year 2027. This determination is notable not only for its fi

If 2024 hinted at regulatory turbulence, 2025 made it impossible to ignore. Over the past year, FMCSA and USDOT unleashed the most aggressive series of compliance initiatives in more than a decade—targeting language proficiency, non-domiciled CDL issuance, electronic logging devices, medical certification, training quality, and core data systems. These moves were not isolated events; collectively, they signaled a larger shift toward enforcement-first policymaking and heighten

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) took long-overdue action this week to clean up the nation’s CDL training landscape. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that nearly 3,000 training providers have been removed from the federal Training Provider Registry (TPR) , and another 4,500 have been placed on notice for noncompliance. That’s 7,500 providers—roughly 17% of the registry—flagged in one sweep. The scale of the problem raises the obvious questi

FMCSA has once again turned its attention to state-level CDL practices, this time issuing a pointed preliminary determination of substantial noncompliance to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania over how it has been issuing non-domiciled commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) and CDLs . The nine-page letter, dated November 19, 2025, reads as both a technical audit and a warning shot, signaling that the Agency’s scrutiny of lawful-presence verification and non-domiciled credentialing

In a major development with nationwide implications for motor carriers, foreign drivers, and state licensing agencies, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has temporarily stayed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) controversial interim final rule (IFR) restricting the issuance of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) . The court’s November 10, 2025 order halts the rule pending further judicial review, creating further uncertainty f

In a bold move underscoring the Trump administration's commitment to enhancing trucking safety and enforcing federal regulations, U.S....

According to a notice published August 21, 2025 , the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has modified its temporary...

Courtesy: Fox10 News On August 14, 2025, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) launched a comprehensive investigation...

Coming on the heels of a rocky transition to the new fully-electronic process for CDL medical certifications , the Federal Motor Carrier...

On June 27, 2025, U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Sean Duffy unveiled a comprehensive set of initiatives , pilot...

Indianapolis, IN – June 24, 2025 – Trucksafe Consulting, LLC, a leading provider of DOT safety consulting and online DOT training, is...

Image Source: CNN On April 28, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road...

On April 14, 2025, Arkansas passed Act 604 into law, a sweeping piece of legislation that reshapes the landscape for commercial driver’s...

On April 11, 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), has...

Learn how FMCSA’s Medical Examiner’s Certification Integration Rule will impact fleets, drivers, and compliance procedures when it takes eff

Achieving DOT compliance can be tricky. Even seasoned safety professionals occasionally fall prey to some regulatory assumptions that...

Managing compliance for regulated drivers in the trucking industry involves a myriad of record-keeping requirements. Among the most...

Commercial driving can be a challenging profession with significant responsibilities, especially when it comes to understanding and...