Key takeaways
- FMCSA plans to implement major revisions to the CSA scoring system.
- The Department of Labor may revert to the Trump-era contractor classification rules.
- The new Motus registration system remains in development.
- Other regulatory topics include autonomous driving, safety fitness determinations, broker transparency, and driver safety initiatives.
This is the fourth and final part in a series of articles on the 2026 regulatory outlook. Click below for:
Despite the Trump administration's rapid crackdowns on trucking safety and its deregulation agenda (particularly for emissions standards), some things stay the same. The administration is still utilizing the rulemaking process to make changes to trucking's legal landscape.
Federal agencies have several rules in the works that fleets will want to watch.
“The regulatory agenda is still there, and it remains to be seen what comes out of it as time goes by,” David Heller, SVP of safety and government affairs for the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA), told FleetOwner.
As always, not all the rules will see major updates this year, and many will likely miss their suggested publication dates.
“They have 41 items on the regulatory agenda right now, so they’re going to have to pick and choose where they put their resources,” Sue Lawless, partner with Scopelitis Law Firm and former chief safety officer and acting deputy administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), said.
CSA score improvements
Overhauls to the Safety Measurement System’s (SMS) Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program are still in the pipeline. FMCSA proposed major revisions to CSA scores in 2023 and 2024.
“They’ve had up forever this new proposed scoring system, so they should pull the trigger on it this year,” Lawless said. “Even with the updates, there are still some criticisms of SMS in terms of how you are identified, what that means, how hard it is.”
SMS is a major component for modern operations, influencing client relations, insurance rates, and federal investigations. However, industry groups have criticized SMS for misrepresenting carriers’ true safety.
The American Transportation Research Institute’s annual surveys found that CSA scoring was one of the top industry issues facing carriers in 2024 (No. 7) and in 2025 (No. 6). Some of the top criticisms are geographic enforcement disparities and a sluggish DataQ process.
The CSA overhaul might not address those concerns, but it would make several other improvements, including:
- Reorganizing violation groups
- Renaming scoring categories
- Consolidating violations (from 973 to 116)
- Simplifying violation severity weights
- Placing greater emphasis on more recent violations
- Expanding the Utilization Factor (from up to 200,000 vehicle miles traveled per power unit to 250,000)
FMCSA has allowed carriers to preview the new scoring system through the CSA Prioritization Preview website since 2023.
Independent contractor classification
Independent contractor classifications might undergo yet another revision. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) could revise its definition of independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act to resemble the previous Trump-era interpretation from 2021.
FMCSA's regulatory agenda
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's regulatory agenda includes many other topics that the agency might propose changes in:
- Automatic emergency braking
- Autonomous driving systems
- Safety fitness determinations
- Broker transparency
- Clearinghouse violation info
- Driver seizure exemptions
- Spare fuse requirements
- New applicant carrier exams
- CDL administration flexibility
- Driver violation self-reporting
- ELD manual requirements
- Hazmat rules for rail crossings
- Medical examiners registry
- Household goods carrier registration
- Physical safety of women drivers
“We should be reverting back to the Trump 1.0 regulation that they put forward at DOL. Our industry is expecting that to happen at some point,” Heller said. “I think it’s just that there are so many things going on in the enforcement world that it’s going to take some time, but I think it’ll be more expedient than your traditional rulemaking process that we generally see.”
The first Trump administration’s DOL almost passed an interpretive rule that would have changed how courts determined whether a worker was an employee or an independent contractor. In many situations, the rule would have made it easier for commercial carriers to classify their workers as independent contractors, specifically even if the carriers required devices like speed limiters.
The Biden administration canceled the Trump-era guidance and instituted its own rule that more closely resembled historical Supreme Court rulings—but was not as beneficial for carriers. Industry groups tend to prefer the Trump DOL’s proposed interpretation.
The rules are written only for the Federal Labor Standards Act, which, for truck drivers, would concern recordkeeping rules and minimum wage protections. However, the interpretation influences other readings of federal and state labor law. The interpretation could have ripple effects across unionization, taxation, workplace safety, unemployment, insurance, time off, sick days, and more.
Registration system overhaul
FMCSA is still working on a centralized online registration system. The new system, which the agency is calling Motus, would replace the Unified Registration System. Motus is currently partially online, allowing third-party registration, but it does not yet support carrier registration.
“FMCSA has already rolled out phase one of the modernization of its registration system, and that allows third parties to register as entities within the system,” Lawless said. “Now is not the time for motor carriers to use the system, but the hope is that [FMCSA is] going to plug significant holes in the registration process, so that you are verifying people’s identity when they apply to become a motor carrier.”
A busy year
FMCSA (and the federal government broadly) is likely to have a busy year ahead: continuing to push the boundaries of its enforcement authority, working through as much of its lengthy regulatory agenda as it can, and facing several legal challenges in court.
“It’s going to be a marathon for the people working there,” Lawless said.
About the Author
Jeremy Wolfe
Editor
Editor Jeremy Wolfe joined the FleetOwner team in February 2024. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with majors in English and Philosophy. He previously served as Editor for Endeavor Business Media's Water Group publications.