Trucking Safety: Stopping Chameleon Carriers
A senate committee must act next: committee consideration.
While the bill has bipartisan support, it was introduced late in the session and requires complex data sharing between many different government agencies.
Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
Most trucking companies, brokers, and freight forwarders are small businesses. This bill builds a screening tool to catch 'chameleon carriers' that dodge safety fines and insurance requirements by reincorporating under new names, which helps honest small carriers compete fairly since they aren't undercut by unsafe rivals who dodge penalties and insurance costs. At the same time, legitimate small carriers with common ownership structures or shared addresses could occasionally be flagged and face extra paperwork or delays during the appeals process.
“the ability to detect chameleon carrier-like characteristics that support evidence of substantial continuity between entities”
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
U.S. Sens. Todd Young and Andy Kim introduced the SAFE Act to crack down on chameleon carriers—trucking companies that evade oversight by reopening under new identities. The bill directs FMCSA to develop an automated tool to detect fraudulent registration applications.
The Safety and Accountability in Freight Enforcement (SAFE) Act would require a comprehensive study on the scope of chameleon carriers and direct the FMCSA to develop a mechanism to detect them during registration. The bill is backed by major industry groups like the ATA and OOIDA.
Sens. Todd Young and Andy Kim introduced the Senate version of the SAFE Act, which aims to weed out "chameleon carriers" using an advanced automation tool. The bill is identical to the House version and has received strong support from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.
No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
SAFE Act
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