The Playbook

Adam Wingfield Thursday, July 30, 2026

DOT Says Freedom Haulers Opens an Express Lane for Veterans. Much of That Lane Was Already Built.

What Was Announced U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced Freedom Haulers, describing it as a patriotic hiring campaign to move veterans into trucking careers. The Department of Transportation leads it, with contributions from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Labor and the Department of War. The launch package included a digital ad, […]

Read More »
Contributed Content Wednesday, July 29, 2026

C.H. Robinson Faces $604 Million Verdict: What Vicarious Liability and Negligent Hiring Mean for Brokers After Montgomery and Home Depot

(The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates.) A Dallas County jury last week hit freight broker C.H. Robinson with a share of a $604 million verdict in Peyton Lipe et al. v. Lupus Superior, LLC et al. The case stems […]

Read More »
Adam Wingfield Sunday, July 26, 2026

Georgia Is Building 41 Miles of Toll-Free, Truck-Only Lanes on I-75. GDOT Thinks Nearly Every Truck Will Use Them.

Georgia is moving ahead with an idea that most of the country has only talked about: a stretch of interstate where the trucks get their own road. The Georgia Department of Transportation has released a construction timeline for its I-75 Commercial Vehicle Lanes project, and the plan is concrete. Design work will be finalized and […]

Read More »
Adam Wingfield Sunday, July 26, 2026

The Safety Audit Comes After the Trucks Are Already Rolling. A Long-Dormant Rule Asks Whether That’s Backwards.

Here is how a person becomes a federally authorized motor carrier today. You apply for a USDOT number. As part of that application, you certify on a form, the MCS-150, that you are knowledgeable about the applicable federal motor carrier safety regulations and, where relevant, the hazardous materials regulations. You check the box. You get […]

Read More »
Adam Wingfield Thursday, July 23, 2026

“It Ain’t That Bad That I Got to Pay Somebody to Come Here.” Why a Man Who Runs 65 Owner-Operators Says Sign-On Bonuses Repel the Drivers You Actually Want.

Sixty-five owner-operators is not the same thing as sixty-five trucks. That distinction sits underneath everything Christian Martinez does. As director of operations at Voyager Nation in Mulberry, Florida, he manages a fleet that is 100% owner-operator, which means he manages 65 independent business owners who have no obligation to stay and every other option available […]

Read More »
Contributed Content Thursday, July 23, 2026

The Wrong Truck at the Dock Can Create Shipper Liability

(The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates.) The Supreme Court’s Montgomery decision changed the litigation landscape for the trucking industry. Although the case addressed a negligent selection claim against a freight broker, plaintiffs will not limit their investigations to the […]

Read More »
Adam Wingfield Thursday, July 23, 2026

FMCSA Says the Broker Transparency Proposal Is Coming This Month. It Could Be the Most Important Rule for Owner-Operators in Years, or It Could Change Almost Nothing.

The regulation at the center of this fight is not new. It has been sitting in the Code of Federal Regulations since 1980. 49 CFR 371.3 requires property brokers to keep a record of each transaction, and it gives each party to that transaction the right to review the record. On paper, an owner-operator who […]

Read More »