# Motor Carrier Safety Selection Standard Act

This bill creates a clear legal standard for companies that hire trucking companies to transport their goods. Right now, if something goes wrong during a shipment—like an accident or theft—companies that hired the trucker can sometimes be held legally responsible for not doing enough to check if the trucker was safe and legitimate. This bill changes that by saying companies will be considered responsible and prudent if they do three basic checks before hiring a trucker.

Specifically, companies need to verify that the trucking company is officially registered with the federal government, has the minimum insurance required by law, and hasn't been declared unsafe or shut down by federal or state authorities. These checks need to happen between 45 days and the actual shipping date. Once a company confirms these three things, they've done their legal duty—they can't be blamed later for hiring an unsafe or unregistered trucker. This protects companies from lawsuits when they've done their homework on a carrier that later turns out to have problems.

The bill also directs the Secretary of Transportation to create official regulations within 18 months that spell out exactly how to determine when a trucking company is unfit to operate and how to revoke their registration. The temporary standard in this bill will automatically expire once those new regulations take effect. The bill specifically says it won't interfere with state laws about local trucking operations, so states can still set their own rules for that type of transportation.

Motor Carrier Safety Selection Standard Act

Gallagher, Mike

Motor Carrier Safety Selection Standard Act This bill establishes a standard of care for the selection of brokers and other entities that contract with motor carriers for the shipment of goods or household goods. A broker is a person, other than a motor carrier or an employee or agent of a motor carrier, that as a principal or agent sells, offers for sale, negotiates for, or holds itself out by solicitation, advertisement, or otherwise as selling, providing, or arranging for, transportation by motor carrier for compensation. Specifically, the bill requires such entities to verify that a transporting motor carrier (1) is properly registered with the Department of Transportation (DOT); (2) has obtained the minimum required insurance coverage; and (3) is not determined unfit to safely operate commercial motor vehicles, or otherwise ordered to discontinue operations by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or a state. DOT must prescribe by regulation a process for revoking the registration of an owner or operator determined unfit to safely operate a commercial motor vehicle.