1 in 5 Roadside Inspections Put Motor Carriers Out of Service in 2025
What’s the biggest compliance challenge facing carriers in 2026? If fiscal year 2025 data is any indication, it’s avoiding the roadside inspection that puts your driver out of service. Almost 1 in 5 inspections (19.98%) ended with an OOS order this past year—and the problem is getting worse. With fiscal year data through September 26, […]
Understanding Your DOT Recordkeeping Requirements
Missing paperwork has become one of the most expensive problems in trucking. While carriers focus on driver safety and vehicle maintenance, documentation violations quietly pile up during DOT audits — often catching even well-run operations off guard. So far this year, paperwork-related violations have made up about 22% of all audit violations. Knowing exactly what […]
DOT Proposes Fentanyl Testing for CDL Drivers
On September 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would add fentanyl and its metabolite norfentanyl to the mandatory drug testing panel for commercial truck drivers. If finalized, this would mark the first major expansion of DOT’s testing program since 2017, reflecting the growing threat of […]
Is Your UCR Renewal Due for 2026?
It’s that time of year again. Annual Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) opens on October 1, 2025, and carriers have until December 31, 2025, to renew for the 2026 registration year. Miss the deadline, and you won’t be operating legally in interstate commerce come January 1. For many fleets, the last quarter of the year is […]
What Is FMCSA 392.2 and Why Is It the Top Audit Violation?
What’s the most common FMCSA audit violation? If you guessed hours of service, drug and alcohol testing, or vehicle maintenance, you’d be wrong. The answer has held steady for every year on record: 49 CFR §392.2, Violation of Local Laws. This single regulation has generated 34,278 violations across 22,485 investigations from 2021 to 2025. That’s […]
FMCSA Clearinghouse Update: One in 30 CDL Drivers Is in Prohibited Status
The FMCSA’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse was designed to close a critical gap in trucking safety. Before 2020, drivers who failed or refused drug and alcohol tests could move between carriers without their violations following them. The Clearinghouse created a centralized system to track these violations, and the June 2025 report shows just how essential […]
CVSA Cracks Down on ELD Tampering: What to Know
Electronic logging devices (ELDs) were meant to take the guesswork out of logbooks and keep fatigued drivers off the road. But it didn’t take long for some to figure out how to game the system. Now, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is drafting a new inspection bulletin aimed at stopping ELD tampering in its […]
How FMCSA Audits Are Changing This Year
If you’re a DOT-regulated motor carrier with any compliance weak spots, the FMCSA’s latest audit trends are worth paying attention to. In 2025, the agency has been quietly shifting how it conducts audits, with on-site focused reviews projected to reach their highest level in the past five years. Carriers with known issues are feeling the […]
FMCSA Grants Digital Medical Card Waiver Until October 12, 2025
Ah, the best laid plans. The FMCSA’s long-awaited Medical Examiner’s Certification Integration rule (also known as the National Registry II rule) was supposed to go into effect on June 23, 2025. However, because twelve states are still transitioning to a fully electronic system, the FMCSA has issued a temporary waiver until October 12, 2025. Below, […]
Why Digital Recordkeeping Is Now Essential for DOT Compliance
Digital driver qualification files are no longer a nice-to-have. For FMCSA-regulated motor carriers, they’re a must. The federal government has been pushing for electronic records for years, and now that push is showing up at the state level, too. Consider this: As of June 2025, the FMCSA requires medical examiners to upload DOT physical results […]