At a roadside inspection, an MCSAP inspector (or any authorized safety official) can obtain an Electronic Logging Device (ELD) output file from the driver’s ELD if the driver is required to use one under the ELD rule.
- Driver must be ELD‑required
The ELD rule applies to most commercial motor vehicle drivers who must keep Records of Duty Status (RODS) under 49 CFR part 395.8(a). This includes most interstate drivers and certain intrastate drivers (with some short‑haul exceptions)
- ELD information packet must be onboard
Before an inspection, the driver’s ELD must have the FMCSA‑required ELD information packetin place. This includes:
- ELD user’s manual for the driver
- Instruction sheet for producing and transferring hours‑of‑service records
- Instruction sheet for ELD malfunction reporting and recordkeeping during malfunctions
- Blank RODS graph‑grids for at least 8 days
- Inspection process
- The inspector approaches the driver and requests the ELD output file.
- The driver must follow the ELD instruction sheet to produce the file.
- The file is typically generated via the ELD’s built‑in software or connected to a compatible computer.
- The inspector downloads or prints the file, ensuring it contains the required duty status records for the inspection period.
- Certification and authority
FMCSA requires MCSAP inspectors to be certifiedunder the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act (MSCIA) and the FAST Act, and to meet CVSA Operational Policy 4 standards for inspector training This certification ensures they are authorized to inspect, review, and obtain ELD data.
- Data use and privacy
The ELD output file is used to verify compliance with FMCSA hours‑of‑service regulations. FMCSA prohibits harassment of drivers based on ELD data, and inspectors must follow applicable privacy and data‑use rules
Summary:
At a roadside inspection, an MCSAP inspector obtains the ELD output file by ensuring the driver is ELD‑required, has the required information packet onboard, and follows the ELD instruction sheet to produce and transfer the file. The inspector must be certified to perform such inspections, and the file is used solely for compliance verification.
Brad Klepper
For truck drivers, there’s no such thing as a “minor” traffic ticket. Treating a ticket like a minor inconvenience is a gamble with your future.
In the trucking world, there is no such thing as a “minor” traffic ticket. As a CDL holder, you are held to a significantly higher legal standard than a non-commercial driver.
We live and breathe CDL law, so let’s take it back to basics. Whether you’re a rookie or have been on the road for decades, protecting your CDL requires careful attention. If you get a ticket — whether in your truck or your personal vehicle — it’s a big deal.
The Myth: “I’ll just pay the fine”
I wish every professional driver knew better, but many don’t. You must remember this: Paying a ticket is legally an admission of guilt. This is true even if you believe you were not actually at fault.
Because of this, the violation is considered a conviction, not just a fine. That conviction is then reported to your home state and added to your driving record. For CDL holders, this can have serious consequences, including impacts on employment, insurance and CDL status, depending on the type of violation.
You must defend every citation.
I cannot stress this enough: A citation is an allegation, not a conviction.
This means there is a specific window of time where you still have power over your career. As long as it’s just a citation (allegation), an attorney can fight to try to keep it off your record.
Why use an attorney? Because they are more qualified to navigate the legal system than you are. Additionally, you might be 500 miles away from home. An attorney can often handle the court appearance for you, ensuring you don’t risk your livelihood in an unfamiliar environment.
Going back to my opening point: There is no such thing as a minor ticket for a CDL holder. For example, a driver might get a citation for “Following Too Closely.” In some states, the fine could be considered relatively small. But the FMCSA classifies this as a Serious Traffic Violation. You don’t lose your license for the first one — but if you get a second “Serious” violation within three years, it triggers an automatic 60-day disqualification.
Furthermore, even if a violation doesn’t suspend your license, it will affect your insurance rates — as well as those of your company —and can potentially lead to your termination. When you apply to a new company, your record is your resume. You may be ineligible for the higher-paying job you want or be deemed “uninsurable” due to your history.
State laws differ
This is where it gets tricky. Some states, at the most basic level, are “moving vs. non-moving” violation states, while others use a point system. Each state has its own list of violations, and State A’s list may not directly match State B’s list.
If you’re a professional truck driver and you get a ticket in one state, it’s going to be reported back to your home state, where you hold your CDL. Because the lists don’t always match, your home state must “translate” that ticket into something that exists in its own system.
A low-point ticket in the state where you were driving could be “translated” into a high-point offense back home simply because the codes are different. You could pay a $150 fine for “Careless Driving” in New Jersey thinking you are safe, only to find out weeks later that your home state of Florida suspended your license because they coded it as “Reckless Driving.”
Who do I hire to handle my case?
The time to educate yourself on this is not when you’re holding a ticket on the side of the road. It is now. When looking for CDL ticket defense help, pay attention to these three things:
Since traffic laws and procedures vary by state, a defense that works in one jurisdiction may fail in another. A law firm that has experience in the courtroom where you received your ticket can help navigate these regional differences and increase the odds of a favorable outcome.
If you don’t have a fixed and predictable price (ideally a flat fee), you may be hit with billing surprises. Be careful with clauses that trigger additional fees if a case goes to trial, and have a clear understanding of how your attorney will charge you.
A law firm needs to know when to file a DataQ challenge, and it needs to have the ability to file one. DataQs is an FMCSA system which allows drivers and their representatives, motor carriers and the FMCSA and its state partners to improve the accuracy of FMCSA’s data-driven safety system. Users can request and track a review of federal and state data issued by FMCSA that is believed to be incomplete or incorrect.
The bottom line
Your CDL is the most valuable asset you own. It’s the house you live in and the food on your family’s table. Treating a ticket like a minor inconvenience is a gamble with your future.
Roadcheck check up: Are you ready? – Click here to watch Jeremy Disbrow tell us now not to get parked.
Nuclear verdicts—jury awards exceeding $10M—are rising, impacting fleets through higher insurance costs, reputational risks, and financial strain.
Jenna Hume
142325184 | Lane Erickson | Dreamstime.com
Nuclear verdicts come from lawsuits that result in fleets being ordered to pay more than $10 million in damages to plaintiffs, according to the Marsh McLennan Agency. In the trucking industry, nuclear verdicts mostly arise from on-road accidents. These strict judgments typically stem from injuries or deaths resulting from a crash. According to Pearl Insurance, alleged negligence by trucking companies also contributes to these massive verdicts.
Nuclear verdict payouts have been rising since 2010. According to the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the average size ballooned from $2,305,736 to $22,288,000—a 967% increase—between 2010 and 2018.
ATRI
And the numbers just keep rising. A more recent study from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform showed that between June 2020 and April 2023, the average jury award was $27.5 million.
Factors driving rising nuclear verdicts in trucking
There isn’t one clear reason why nuclear verdicts have grown so much in recent years. More than likely, multiple factors have created this perfect litigation storm. But here are a few potential factors:
Litigation advertising
According to ATRI, part of the problem could be the 1977 Supreme Court case that re-allowed litigation advertising. “The median dollar value of trucking litigation awards from 1985 to 1989 was slightly more than $100,000. And in the next five years, the average award increased by 90% to $190,000.”
The infamous McDonald’s coffee lawsuit
In 1994, a woman who sued McDonald’s after suffering burns from spilling the company’s coffee on herself was awarded in excess of $2.8 million. This isn’t a trucking case, but some argue that it raised the litigation bar in the minds of attorneys and juries.
Increased third-party funding
Litigation financing is becoming increasingly problematic worldwide, but the U.S. is getting hit the hardest. Third-party litigation funding is when third parties, such as bankers, financiers, etc., help fund a plaintiff’s lawsuit. The third party then gets a cut of the payout when the lawsuit is successful.
According to ATRI, the use of litigation finance by U.S. law firms has grown 745% between 2015 and 2019, though some states are suffering more growth than others. With this rapid growth, there is some legislation on third-party funding, but legislators can’t seem to keep up.
Strategies plaintiffs use in high-dollar trucking lawsuits
To help protect your fleet, it’s important to know the techniques used in nuclear verdicts.
Reptile Theory
According to National Interstate Insurance, the Reptile Theory was created in the 1960s by neuroscientist Paul MacLean. The theory “seeks to render all of these basic facts irrelevant and instead appeal to the jury’s primitive, ‘Reptilian Brain.’”
Plaintiffs in trucking lawsuits use the Reptile Theory to convince the jury that the motor carrier and/or driver in question is a danger to society. Attorneys will often point to safety rules that the driver or carrier allegedly broke to convince the jury of the threat they pose.
Negligent hiring and/or training
Plaintiff attorneys may also try to convince the jury that the carrier in question knowingly hired a driver with a poor driving record. According to Captive Resources, attorneys may try to prove that the driver in question was not adequately trained or supervised on safety.
Emotional appeals
According to the PrePass Safety Alliance, attorneys may also focus on the emotional aspect of the case, especially if there have been any injuries or deaths as a result of the accident. Emotional appeals can be used to increase the payouts in nuclear verdicts.
Financial, reputational, and operational impacts on fleets
When a trucking company loses in a nuclear verdict, they lose more than just money. Fleets also face rising insurance costs and worsening reputations, in addition to budget challenges.
Rising insurance costs
According to ATRI, insurers are raising premiums to account for the possibility of nuclear verdicts. In 2023, premiums rose 12.5% primarily due to nuclear verdicts. For many fleets, especially smaller carriers, these rising costs aren’t sustainable.
Worsening reputations
In and out of the trucking industry, nuclear verdicts are big news because of their high impact and memorable payouts. So in the aftermath of a nuclear verdict, trucking companies have to worry about their tarnished reputations in addition to financial issues.
According to Pearl Insurance, nuclear verdicts can hurt customer relationships and employee morale. Companies may also experience increased regulatory scrutiny.
Driver stress
With nuclear verdicts, there is one factor that cannot be overlooked: the impact they have on truck drivers, who are the ones on the road facing the possibility of a serious accident
Whether a nuclear verdict happens in a driver’s company or is just featured in the news, drivers can feel the stress of an accident, according to PrePass Safety Alliance. Drivers already deal with numerous stressors on the road—lack of truck parking, hours of service, extreme weather, etc.—and too much stress can take a toll not only on drivers’ health but also on their focus and working to the best of their ability.
Financial challenges
Most obviously, nuclear verdicts can lead to financial issues for trucking companies. According to Pearl Insurance, “when an insurer pays beyond policy limits or a verdict exceeds coverage, the trucking company’s own assets are at stake, potentially leading to bankruptcy or major restructuring.” Smaller carriers, especially, are at risk when nuclear verdicts occur.
Fleet strategies to mitigate risk and prevent massive verdicts
With payouts on the rise, there are multiple ways fleets can prepare for and prevent nuclear verdicts.
Focus on driver safety training
According to SambaSafety, drivers forget up to 90% of what they learn within a single week. This means you can’t stop safety training after the initial driver onboarding. Ongoing training and personalized coaching are needed to reinforce safety behaviors and knowledge of safety requirements.
Invest in safety technology
In addition to driver training, there are multiple technology options fleets can use to help drivers stay safe and serve as evidence that a driver isn’t responsible in the event of a crash. The available technologies include dashcams, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warnings, collision mitigation systems, blind-spot monitoring, and more.
Dashcams can help identify who was responsible for an accident, while the other technology features above can help ensure driver safety and provide opportunities for coaching.
Have a plan for accidents
At the Truckload Carriers Association’s 2025 Safety & Security Meeting in June 2025, a panel discussed what to do and what not to do when a driver reports an accident.
They emphasized the importance of having a plan in place for when an accident occurs. According to the panel, this plan should include confirming the safety of the driver and anyone else involved, contacting emergency services, securing the scene, notifying company leadership and legal services, collecting evidence, and beyond.
While no fleet wants to deal with a crash, it’s important to be ready if an accident happens.
Be prepared legally
After an accident occurs, it’s important to immediately begin working with legal counsel before memories fade, according to Pearl Insurance. Legal experts will assist with accident reconstruction, evidence collection, and communication with investigators. The earlier you contact legal counsel, the more time they have to prepare a defense.
Review insurance options
In the face of nuclear verdicts, fleets still have some control over their insurance options. According to Pearl Insurance, “many fleets have raised their liability coverage limits (e.g., carrying $5 million or $10 million primary policies instead of the statutory $750,000 minimum) or purchase umbrella policies to provide a larger cushion if a big verdict strikes. Some large carriers have turned to captive insurance arrangements or self-insurance for more control over claims and costs.”
Overdrive Staff
It didn’t take long for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance to highlight one of its newest out-of-service violations.
Earlier this week, the alliance of state/federal enforcement and industry announced false-log violations as a result of ELD tampering will be an out-of-service violation, effective April Fool’s Day, citing 49 CFR 395.8(e)(2).
On Thursday, CVSA announced its annual International Roadcheck inspection blitz will be held May 12-14 and place special emphasis on ELD tampering, falsification or manipulation.
During the three-day Roadcheck, inspectors at weigh/inspection stations and pop-up inspection sites primarily conduct the North American Standard Level I Inspection, a 37-step procedure that includes two major parts — an examination of the driver’s operating requirements and an assessment of the vehicle’s mechanical fitness.
For the driver portion of the inspection, inspectors check the driver’s qualifications, license, record of duty status, medical examiner’s certificate, seat belt usage, skill performance evaluation certificate (if applicable), and status in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (in the U.S.).
Inspectors also look for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment.
For the vehicle portion, it’s more than just the biggies: Lights, tires and brakes. Inspectors assess a whole host of components from the coupling devices and driveline/driveshaft components to the driver’s seat and securement of cargo.
Other mechanical components inspected include fuel and exhaust systems, frames, steering mechanisms, suspensions, wheels, rims, hubs and windshield wipers.
A vehicle that successfully passes a Level I or V Inspection without any critical vehicle inspection item violations may receive a CVSA decal, which is valid for up to three months. A valid decal signals to commercial motor vehicle enforcement personnel that the vehicle was recently inspected and did not have out-of-service violations.
For the emphasis on ELD tampering, during Roadcheck inspectors will review the driver’s record of duty status as usual and check for false or manipulated entries, with a focus on ELD tampering.
Inaccurate ELD entries may result from a driver’s lack of understanding of the federal regulations and exemptions, CVSA noted, but in some cases, inaccurate entries are purposefully used to conceal hours-of-service violations, and some records are manipulated to conceal driving time (with no indication the record was edited as required by federal regulations).
Last year, falsification of record of duty status was the second most-cited driver violation, according to CVSA. The false logs violations saw a sizable uptick in issuance last year, according to Overdrive/RigDig analysis published earlier this week.
During Roadcheck in 2025, “false logs” was the No. 4 overall driver violation, and five out of the top 10 driver violations were related to hours of service or ELDs.
Where’s violation risk most likely? It’s instructive to review the intensity of focus individual states’ inspectors put on the hours of service violation category, generally. The map below, charting Overdrive sister company RigDig analysis, illustrates which states issued the most HOS violations as part of their total mix — where the likelihood of hours attention is high.
The vehicle focus for this year’s Roadcheck is improper/inadequate cargo securement, which as any serious owner-operator knows can pose serious risk to the driver and others on the road. Adverse impacts on the vehicle’s maneuverability, unsecured loads falling or becoming dislodged — all can result in roadway hazards and/or crashes, CVSA noted.
Overdrive/RigDig analysis shows a generally less-intense focus on cargo securement among states than hours, yet plenty variability state-to-state, too.
In 2025, CVSA said, 18,108 violations were issued because cargo was not secured to prevent leaking/spilling/blowing/falling, and 16,054 violations were issued for vehicle components or dunnage not being secured.
During Roadcheck 2025, cargo securement was the No. 5 overall vehicle violation across North America.
During the 72 hours of International Roadcheck, data will be collected, and the results will be released later this year.
Mark Murrell
The human toll of a collision should never be underestimated – even if there are no physical injuries, the mental stress can be enormous. However, during that experience, drivers still have responsibilities and need to follow some best practices when it comes to accident scene reporting. One of the ways you can help is by making sure they’re clear on what they need to do after you’ve established that they are safe.
Some of those driver responsibilities include stopping and securing the cargo and reporting the incident to the authorities. However, one of the things that sometimes gets missed is how much a driver should document for the company’s own files (and the insurer’s) so that the event can be understood by everyone who gets involved later. With that in mind, here is a documentation cheat sheet you can use when developing a response plan for your drivers to follow.
Note: This covers a small (but extremely important) requirement when a crash occurs, but it shouldn’t take priority over other obligations the safety manager or crash response team has – including finding out if the driver is okay, notifying loved ones, and so on. Consult with your executive team or legal counsel for a fuller view of these responsibilities.
Reinforce with your drivers that they should record:
Basic information
This may seem too basic to be needed, but remember that the event will be pieced together later on by people who were not there, so having your driver get even the most basic information down can be crucial:
- Driver information should include their name, address, phone number, date of birth and license number, expiration date, and state or province of issue.
- Carrier information should include their DOT or CVOR number, insurance policy details, company name, address, and phone number.
- Vehicle info includes the year, make and model, color, unit numbers for the tractor and the trailer, and plate numbers.
- And don’t forget to include the time and location of the event!
Incident details
A standard accident report will ask for information like the make, model, and color of the other vehicles involved, as well as personal information about the other drivers and any passengers. It will also help if your driver can write down, while the memory is still fresh, an account of vehicle movements during the incident, including direction, points of impact, traffic signals, and vehicle movements such as making a turn, backing up, skidding or weaving, and more. Note: it will also be important to detail your driver’s own status, including on-duty status and driving hours, distance traveled on the current trip, speed at the time of the incident, and any warning signals they gave or witnessed, such as brakes, indicator lights, horn, etc.
External factors
People looking at the incident much later on (especially insurers) will be keen to know about the road conditions at the time of the incident. Be sure your drivers take note of its physical condition, like how wet or slippery it is, the presence of debris or other obstacles, its grade, curve, and whether the road has potholes or cracks. They should also take note of the traffic conditions – were people trying to merge, was there a railway crossing, was traffic heavy or light, and what was the posted speed limit? Make sure they describe the weather conditions, including how sunny or dark it was, whether there was fog, sleet, or other precipitation, and, in case of darkness, what the road lighting was like.
Legal and other players
While the police may be busy collecting information themselves, it’s important for the driver to take down details about the authorities involved—including badge numbers, who contacted them, the agency the police belong to, whether anyone was charged, and what the charge was (as well as arrests, if any). There will also likely be towing and cleanup vehicles present – make sure to keep detailed notes on these! Unscrupulous towing companies will sometimes exaggerate the number of vehicles present or the time spent, so making clear notes about this can help later on if there is a dispute about exaggerated fees.
Photograph…everything?
The point of all of this is that more information is better when it comes to figuring out what happened. But even if everything else is written down in great detail, there may be some critical scene information that’s not on this list. Encourage your drivers to take photos of the scene (respectfully, of course). Even just a panoramic shot of everything can sometimes reveal details that might have otherwise been missed or forgotten.
Again, this is not to suggest that worrying about documenting the scene of a crash should take precedence over looking out for your driver’s well-being. But navigating a crash incident is a bit of a long game—you’ll be dealing with stakeholders sometimes for years after the fact, so if you can help your drivers remember everything they need to do once they are safe, you’ll be able to deploy resources more effectively when you’ve got the information you need.
