FMCSA overhauling DataQ system

How this affects you:

• More success on legitimate challenges: Fleets will no longer face “rubber-stamp” denials from the same officer who issued a citation; the new rule mandates independent, multi-stage reviews to eliminate conflicts of interest.
• Strict timelines for faster score corrections: States are now held to mandatory deadlines, including opening requests within seven days and providing initial decisions within 21 days, helping motor carriers clean up CSA scores and safety records faster than under the previous system.
• Increased transparency in denials: Each denied appeal be accompanied by a comprehensive explanation—including the name of the decision-maker and the specific evidence reviewed—giving fleets and drivers a clearer legal basis to decide whether to escalate to Stage 2 or 3.

Federal regulators are launching the most significant reform of the DataQs system in years, mandating a more independent and timely appeals process for motor carriers challenging safety data, according to a 24-page notice scheduled for publication in the Federal Register April 16.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced the revised requirements following a 2025 proposal that drew 223 public comments from trucking companies, drivers, and safety consultants. The new rules tie state compliance to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) grant funding, providing a financial incentive for states to reform how they handle Request for Data Review (RDR) challenges.

“These changes will ostensibly help the partiality issue fleets have been struggling with for years,” Trucksafe President Brandon Wiseman. “Personally, think it’s a step in the right direction towards sorely needed due process for carriers and drivers whose livelihoods are quite literally hinging on the accuracy of this type of data.”

The overhaul comes as the agency manages a massive volume of data challenges. In 2024, the DataQs system handled 8,314 crash data requests and over 63,500 requests regarding inspections and violations.

FMCSA moving forward with crash risk study

Mark Schremmer

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is moving forward with a study looking at how a truck driver’s work schedule relates to crash risk.

In a notice that was published in the Federal Register on Monday, April 20, FMCSA said the study, “Crash Risks by Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Schedules,” will answer important questions about how work schedules relate to driver performance and fatigue.

“The information collection will be used to examine the relative risk of crashes and inspection violations based on various factors related to the driver’s work schedule and demographics,” FMCSA wrote.

Information from duty logs, as well as incident and crash data, will be collected electronically, and driver data will be sent to a third-party telematics company by motor carriers participating in the study. That data will be married up with data collected by FMCSA in the Motor Carrier Management Information System database – such as recordable crashes and inspection violation records.

The agency first announced the study in November 2025 and accepted public comments for 60 days.

FMCSA received 19 comments focused on topics such as fatigue risks, inflexible hours-of-service regulations, the lack of safe and legal truck parking, the lack of driver autonomy and concerns about the study’s design and recruitment.

In its comments filed in January, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association told the agency that hours-of service logs don’t indicate whether or not a truck driver is tired.

“As proposed, we do not believe the Information Collection Request (ICR) will achieve FMCSA’s objectives of answering questions related to driver schedules and how these factors impact overall driver performance and fatigue,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer wrote. “Hours-of-service logs do not reveal anything about fatigue, simply how many hours a driver was on duty. Additionally, crash rates tend to increase during certain times of day, which may have absolutely no connection with how long a trucker has been on duty. In order for a more accurate analysis, the ICR should incorporate control groups for comparison, which are notably absent from the proposal.”

FMCSA responded that the study is observational and that the study design controls for time-of-day effects by including duty and driving time-of-day as covariates in the modeling framework.

“This separates time-of-day effects from the effects of schedule factors (e.g., long duty) and prevents confounding between these factors,” FMCSA wrote. “While the commenter noted HOS logs do not directly measure fatigue and do not capture all the factors influencing driver fatigue, HOS logs do provide information on sleep opportunity, time awake, and time-on-task, all of which are directly related to fatigue risk.”

CVSA’s International Roadcheck Scheduled for May 12-14

Washington, D.C. (Feb. 12, 2026) – From May 12 to 14, enforcement personnel throughout North America will inspect commercial motor vehicles and commercial motor vehicle drivers for compliance with vehicle, cargo and driver regulatory requirements as part of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) 72-hour inspection, enforcement and data-collection initiative, International Roadcheck.

During International 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. If an inspector identifies driver out-of-service violations, they will place the driver out of service, restricting that driver from operating their vehicle.

For the vehicle portion of the inspection, inspectors assess the vehicle’s brake systems, cargo securement, coupling devices, driveline/driveshaft components, driver’s seat, fuel and exhaust systems, frames, lighting devices, steering mechanisms, suspensions, tires, wheels, rims, hubs, and windshield wipers. Inspections of motorcoaches/buses and other passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicles also include examination of emergency exits, seating, and electrical cables and systems in the engine and battery compartments. If out-of-service violations are found during an inspection, the vehicle will be placed out of service and restricted from movement until all out-of-service violations have been properly addressed.

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.

Each year, International Roadcheck places special emphasis on a driver violation category and a vehicle violation category to highlight those aspects of an inspection.

The driver focus for this year’s International Roadcheck is on electronic logging device (ELD) tampering, falsification or manipulation. During an inspection, the inspector 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. However, 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, at 58,382 violations. And five out of the top 10 driver violations were related to hours of service or ELDs.

This year’s International Roadcheck vehicle focus is cargo securement. Improper or inadequate cargo securement poses a serious risk to the driver and other motorists by adversely affecting the vehicle’s maneuverability and/or causing unsecured loads to fall or become dislodged, resulting in roadway hazards and/or crashes.

In 2025, 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 the 72 hours of International Roadcheck, data will be collected, and the results will be released later this year.

Truck drivers support changing back to 30-day emergency window

Mark Schremmer

When there’s an emergency, it’s truck drivers who often come to the rescue, delivering critical supplies and assistance to areas of need.

That’s why the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association supports the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposal to widen its emergency relief window back to 30 days.

In 2023, FMCSA published a final rule reducing the duration of automatic regulatory relief for an emergency from 30 days to 14. This past January, FMCSA proposed reverting to 30 days.

Groups like OOIDA and the National Propane Gas Association are all for it.

“We feel the 30-day period provides sufficient time to deliver emergency assistance without negatively impacting safety, and the initial rulemaking did not adequately justify restricting the emergency relief period,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer wrote in comments filed on Tuesday, March 10.

In fact, OOIDA and NPGA helped fuel the potential expansion of the relief window. Soon after FMCSA announced its rule in 2023, the two groups filed a joint petition for reconsideration.

“FMCSA has failed to provide sufficient evidence and explanation to support its conclusions and its departure from longstanding policy and intent,” NPGA and OOIDA wrote. “In addition, the final rule fails to resolve ambiguities relating to pre-disaster emergency declarations. As a result, compliance with various provisions of FMCSA’s final rule is not practicable, is unreasonable and is not in the public interest.”

A crucial factor is that there is no evidence that a wider relief window has deterred safety.

If you recall, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted FMCSA to issue emergency relief for more than two years. The agency was unaware of any increase in crashes related to the regulatory relief.

“The agency has always maintained that a 30-day emergency relief period does not negatively impact road safety,” OOIDA wrote. “During the previous rulemaking process, we also questioned why the agency was considering changes since they indicated that they lack specific data necessary to warrant altering the scope of (the regulation). As such, we are confident that amending the 2023 final rule will provide an equivalent or greater level of safety than the 14-day relief period. We believe that regulatory relief should ensure that any motor carrier providing direct assistance can continue doing so, given the unpredictable and volatile nature of emergency scenarios. This can best be accomplished by restoring the 30-day emergency relief window.”

The proposal to expand the window was also supported by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, the Montana Department of Transportation and several other industry trade groups.

CVSA announces dates for this year’s three-day International Roadcheck

Truckers News

You’ve got 90 days or so to either plan to take time off or get yourself and your truck ready for the annual three-day inspection blitz planned by law enforcement in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

From May 12 to 14, enforcement personnel throughout North America will inspect commercial motor vehicles and commercial motor vehicle drivers for compliance with vehicle, cargo and driver regulatory requirements as part of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s 72-hour inspection, enforcement and data-collection initiative, International Roadcheck.

During International Roadcheck, inspectors at weigh/inspection stations and pop-up inspection sites primarily conduct the North American Standard Level I Inspection. This 37-step procedure 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. If an inspector identifies driver out-of-service violations, they will place the driver out of service, restricting that driver from operating their vehicle.

For the vehicle portion of the inspection, inspectors assess the vehicle’s brake systems, cargo securement, coupling devices, driveline/driveshaft components, driver’s seat, fuel and exhaust systems, frames, lighting devices, steering mechanisms, suspensions, tires, wheels, rims, hubs, and windshield wipers. Inspections of motorcoaches/buses and other passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicles also include examination of emergency exits, seating, and electrical cables and systems in the engine and battery compartments. If out-of-service violations are found during an inspection, the vehicle will be placed out of service and restricted from movement until all out-of-service violations have been properly addressed.

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.

Each year, International Roadcheck places special emphasis on a driver violation category and a vehicle violation category to highlight those aspects of an inspection.

The driver focus for this year’s International Roadcheck is on electronic logging device (ELD) tampering, falsification or manipulation. During an inspection, the inspector 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. However, 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, at 58,382 violations. And five out of the top 10 driver violations were related to hours of service or ELDs.

This year’s International Roadcheck vehicle focus is cargo securement. Improper or inadequate cargo securement poses a serious risk to the driver and other motorists by adversely affecting the vehicle’s maneuverability and/or causing unsecured loads to fall or become dislodged, resulting in roadway hazards and/or crashes.

In 2025, 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.

Getting Ready for the USDOT Registration System