Truckers to FMCSA: Remove the bad actors
For decades, truckers have been asking the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to do something about the lack of broker transparency in the industry.
In November 2024, the agency finally issued a notice of proposed rulemaking aimed at enforcing and strengthening existing regulations. FMCSA gave the public through Jan. 21 to provide feedback on the proposal.
As of press time in early January, nearly 1,500 comments had been submitted to the docket.
Here are a few of those comments.
Stop the scam
Broker transparency is desperately needed. The current environment allows scams and fraud against the trucking community, resulting in men and women losing their livelihoods. Scams are occurring and services are being provided without the individual doing the work being compensated.
I implore you to take action to prevent bad actors in the broker community from continuing to scam the hard-working men and women of the trucking community.
Patricia Lewis
Why is this not already a thing?
This should have been a law since Day 1. I’m so glad they are finally doing this. Drivers are being ripped off like crazy because of brokers.
Benjamin Gill
Truckers do the heavy lifting
Brokers need regulated. The trucker takes the brunt of the broker’s unfair practices. Truckers are doing the heavy lifting. Brokers need to act appropriately.
Bobbi Graham
As soon as possible
How can we be competitive when we don’t know what the rate is in the first place? We’re just going off of what is offered, (and) the offers are very low … They are putting us out of business by doing this. I want to know what the rules are going to be so I can decide whether to stay in business or not. I can’t afford the repairs on my vehicle because the price has increased – not to mention everything else … That’s why we need transparency. (We) need it ASAP.
Valorie McDonald
Level the playing field
Transparency is essential to honest business. This ruling will guarantee us the information that it is our legal right to have.
Brokers go out of their way to keep rates hidden because it unjustly benefits them. We need this to get the playing field a bit more level.
John Alonso
Asking for a fair cut
Trucking is the backbone of the economy, but right now and for a long time, we have been taken advantage of by more brokers than not.
We bear up to 95% of the costs associated with moving any load but get as little as 45% of the generated revenue. We are being taken advantage of, and we need help.
McGrew Trucking
Prevent double brokering
It would help prevent double and triple brokering scams. It should not be so difficult to share that information if it’s part of (the) contracts. Owners-operators already share so much information with brokers, and they manage to do it efficiently. So it should be as easy for brokers to be transparent by fully sharing all the load information. It’s not uncommon for brokers not sharing even correct information about weight, delivery locations and even what is being transported. Having all these basic facts and all information pertaining to the load would prevent all sorts of fraud and unfair practices.
Paula Rato
Transparency won’t harm honest brokers
Full transparency should boost small-business truckers’ bottom lines, as they will be more able to fairly compete with access to full information, and it will encourage broker honesty in their transactions. Transparency will not hinder the bottom line of honest brokers and should go a long way toward shutting down the fraudulent brokers who are scamming small-business truckers.
Greg Stevenson LL