Trucking

Rob Carpenter Monday, February 9, 2026

A Billion-Dollar Fix for a Distraction Problem Disguised as an Underride Problem

The Stop Underrides Act 2.0 is back. Should trucking companies be forced to spend billions armoring their trailers against crashes that are overwhelmingly caused by the other driver? The bill’s sponsors say at least 300 people die annually in underride crashes. Meanwhile, distracted driving kills more than 3,200 people a year and is a contributing factor in the very side-impact crashes this bill claims to address.

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Rob Carpenter Saturday, February 7, 2026

Sam Express, AJ Partners, and Sham CDL School Aydana in Investigation of Fatal Indiana Amish Crash

A fatal Indiana crash has exposed a pipeline stretching from Kyrgyzstan to Chicago to Philadelphia, chameleon carriers sharing trucks and DOT numbers, a CDL school with no public footprint, an ELD allegedly built with a backdoor, and a driver whose immigration status passed a federal database check. Secretary Duffy is investigating. Will the investigation follow the money?

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Mary O'Connell Friday, February 6, 2026

How St. Christopher Fund supports drivers beyond emergencies and its record-breaking support from TravelCenters of America

TravelCenters of America’s (TA) most recent charity golf tournament did more than set a fundraising record. It showed that industry support for driver health and hardship relief is not only growing, but becoming more intentional. The tournament raised more than $100,000 for the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund, the largest single-year contribution since the partnership […]

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Rob Carpenter Friday, February 6, 2026

REAL-ID, Mail-Order CDLs, and America’s CDL Free-for-All.

A Mexican licencia federal de conductor can be obtained without a behind-the-wheel road test. Third-party brokers advertise mail-order processing for as little as $200. Under existing reciprocity agreements, that license can be converted to an American CDL in states that accept foreign credentials, and at least six of those states have been flagged by FMCSA for failing to verify the legal presence of non-domiciled applicants.

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Rob Carpenter Friday, January 30, 2026

Congress Proposes Taking the Fox Out of the Henhouse

When a driver or carrier challenges bad data through FMCSA’s DataQs system, the appeal often goes right back to the same officer who issued the violation. That’s about to change. The Motor Carrier Safety Screening Modernization Act finally brings independent review to the challenge process, and that’s the real game changer buried in this bill.

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Rob Carpenter Friday, January 30, 2026

FMCSA Counts Inspections. Nobody Counts Compliance.

FMCSA and its state partners conduct 3.3 million roadside inspections annually, placing nearly a million vehicles and drivers out of service, but states are measured on inspection volume, not enforcement outcomes. The inspectors’ own alliance wants to eliminate the requirement that carriers confirm they fixed the problems. There are 800,000 carriers and 12,000 audits a year. Texas has a state law that conflicts with federal ELP requirements, so drivers get licensed there and are placed out of service elsewhere. We’re counting inspections. Nobody’s counting compliance.

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Rob Carpenter Friday, January 30, 2026

Non-Domiciled Rule Stayed, But FMCSA Is Still Stacking Paper

The D.C. Circuit stayed FMCSA’s non-domiciled CDL rule in November. The agency asked to place the litigation on hold while it works on a final rule. FMCSA is still seeking three-year approval for the information collection requirements, states must retain ID documents and SAVE queries for two years, and produce them within 48 hours of request.

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Rob Carpenter Thursday, January 29, 2026

The $75,000 Bond and Truckers Left Holding The Bag

Nearly 88,000 trucking companies closed in 2023. Fraud losses topped $455 million in 2024. Carriers filing claims against $75,000 surety bonds are discovering that the pot’s already been split 50 ways. As the Supreme Court prepares to rule on whether brokers can be held liable for hiring bad carriers, it’s time to ask: who really bears the risk in freight, and is the system rigged against the people actually moving the loads?

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Rob Carpenter Thursday, January 29, 2026

Bomb Cyclone Bearing Down on Mid-Atlantic and New England: What Drivers and Fleets Need to Know

The National Weather Service is forecasting a “significant East Coast winter storm threat” for this weekend, with a coastal low forming Friday and rapidly intensifying into a bomb cyclone as it tracks up the Eastern Seaboard. If you’re running freight anywhere from the Carolinas to Boston over the next five days, you need to pay attention right now.

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Rob Carpenter Wednesday, January 28, 2026

The Military Doesn’t Just Train Drivers. It Builds Citizens. Maybe That’s What We’re Missing.

The favorite argument from those supporting the ATA’s teen trucker push is “if they can go to war at 18, they can drive a truck at 18.” Military service transforms young people into disciplined, responsible adults who understand that their decisions affect others. That’s why military-trained drivers have 42% fewer accidents. The solution isn’t younger drivers; it’s requiring the standards that make military drivers safer. We’ve lost something fundamental in how we raise our young people, and the highway data proves it.

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Rob Carpenter Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Teen Truckers Won’t Fix a Problem That Doesn’t Exist

The ATA wants FMCSA to extend a failed pilot program that produced 42 graduates out of a planned 3,000. Meanwhile, we’re handing CDLs to drivers who can’t pass basic safety screenings, and carriers who kill people on our highways are walking away with slaps on the wrist. Lowering the age requirement doesn’t solve a labor problem; it creates a safety catastrophe.

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Adam Wingfield Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Power-Only Programs in Trucking – Why They Exist, Why They’re Criticized, and What Happens If They Disappear

Power-only trucking sometimes is one of the most misunderstood pieces of the freight industry. Scroll social media long enough and you’ll see it framed as everything from a liability dodge to a race-to-the-bottom strategy that hurts drivers, safety, and rates. Others defend it as one of the few flexible tools left in a market that […]

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Thomas Wasson Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Phillips Connect launches integration with McLeod Software

Phillips Connect has launched a new integration with McLeod Software that brings real-time smart trailer insights directly into the McLeod Transportation Management System (TMS). The integration delivers critical data including tire, lights, and brake health, location, and advanced AI-powered cargo intelligence to help fleets gain a clearer and more complete picture of their operations. The […]

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Rob Carpenter Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Why Robotaxis Keep Failing While AV Trucks Take the Slow Road to Safety

In December 2025, Waymo recalled 3,067 robotaxis after its vehicles ran red lights and blew through school bus stop signs at least 20 times in Austin alone, including one incident that occurred moments after a child crossed in front of a vehicle. Meanwhile, Aurora’s autonomous trucks have completed over 100,000 driverless miles in Texas without a single school bus incident. The difference is methodology, and understanding that difference might just save your life.

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Craig Fuller, CEO at FreightWaves Saturday, January 17, 2026

Trucking rates have dropped 27% versus CPI

The U.S. trucking industry continues to face a harsh economic reality: spot rates have failed to keep pace with inflation, squeezing carrier margins and contributing to significant financial pressure on truckers nationwide. Here’s a clear visual of the disconnect — spot trucking rates (via the SONAR National Truckload Index) overlaid against the Consumer Price Index […]

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Rob Carpenter Friday, January 16, 2026

The Stagecoach Robbing Era and The Evolution of Freight Fraud

The freight industry moved $14 trillion in goods last year. It cannot function without trust, trust that the carrier picking up your load is who they claim to be, trust that the broker paying you will actually pay, and trust that the load you accepted exists. That trust has been systematically exploited for decades. At its root, every form of freight fraud, chameleon carriers, double brokering, cargo theft, identity spoofing, comes down to one question: Are you who you say you are?

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Rob Carpenter Thursday, January 15, 2026

The Trucking Fraud Network That Killed Seven Marines and The Last Defendant in The Crash Faces Trial

Dartanyan Gasanov, co-owner of Westfield Transport, is scheduled to stand trial on March 2, 2026, in Springfield, Massachusetts, on federal charges related to the June 2019 crash that killed seven Jarheads Motorcycle Club members. He reportedly rejected a no-time plea agreement and chose to fight the charges at trial. Meanwhile, the driver who killed seven people was acquitted, remains free under an immigration supervision order, and becomes eligible to petition for his license back in June 2026.

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Adam Wingfield Wednesday, January 14, 2026

What OOIDA Is Really Fighting For on Right to Repair

The conversation around Right to Repair has been floating around trucking for years, but it’s usually talked about in vague terms. More access. More fairness. More competition. What Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is pushing for right now is much more specific — and much more urgent. At its core, this is about who controls […]

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Matt Herr Wednesday, January 14, 2026

The Silent Profit Killer in Transportation & Logistics

The transportation and logistics sector has proven its resilience through several major disruptions and supply chain upheavals including events like the pandemic, the blockage of the Suez Canal, the Russia-Ukraine War, but today’s operational realities present a new set of challenges that can’t be solved simply by adding more hands to the deck. The traditional […]

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Rob Carpenter Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Trump Administration Waves White Flag on Transportation Funding Immigration Fight, But the War is Far From Over

The Trump administration’s decision to drop its appeal that tied billions in transportation funding to immigration enforcement represents a significant legal setback, but don’t mistake this tactical retreat for surrender. For motor carriers employing non-domiciled CDL holders, the regulatory battlefield has only shifted, not cleared.

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Matt Herr Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Why Buying and Selling Heavy Equipment Still Feels Stuck in 2005

The trucking and heavy equipment industries have undergone a dramatic transformation since the pandemic. Fleet operators have adapted their business models, and buyer behaviors have shifted fundamentally. The demand for speed and efficiency has never been higher. Yet somehow, the marketplaces where trucks, trailers, and heavy-duty equipment change hands are still stuck in the past.

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