Commentary: Most trucking companies have no safety rating

By DAVID ABELL
President and CEO
A. M. Transport Services Inc.

Imagine if most airlines operated without a safety rating. The public would demand immediate action.

Yet something similar is happening in trucking.

Roughly 94 percent of motor carriers currently operate without an official federal safety rating.

As a transportation broker, evaluating carriers is a critical part of my role. Before assigning a shipment, brokers typically review safety records, insurance coverage, and compliance history.

But without comprehensive safety ratings, it becomes harder to distinguish responsible carriers from those that may be cutting corners.

At the same time, brokers are often expected to carry carrier-level accountability without carrier-level control. We do not operate trucks, hire drivers, or manage day-to-day safety practices, yet we are asked to make decisions without a complete, standardized system.

Congress directed regulators years ago to implement a stronger system for evaluating carrier safety, known as the Safety Fitness Determination rule. Unfortunately, it has never been fully implemented.

A modern safety rating system would help regulators identify unsafe carriers more quickly and provide greater transparency across the industry.

Transportation brokers, shippers, and the public all benefit from stronger safety oversight.

Safer highways should never be optional.