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Washington — Two Senate Democrats are questioning the accuracy of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data on crashes involving large trucks and buses while calling attention to a significant decline in agency enforcement actions.
In a July 29 letter addressed to FMCSA head Derek Barrs, Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Ed Markey (D-MA) cite a recent ProPublica and WBUR report.
The lawmakers claim, per the June 8 report, that FMCSA is “missing critical crash data for a company that operates school buses, making it impossible for the agency to accurately identify and target high-risk motor carriers like these.”
The senators add that the report shows FMCSA records neglected to identify more than 40 of the company’s fatal crashes over the past decade.
“This raises serious concerns that FMCSA may be undercounting crashes, injuries and fatalities involving large trucks and buses, and thus jeopardizing its mission to reduce such incidents and protect the safety of Americans,” the letter states.
Further, Cantwell and Markey highlight agency data showing that FMCSA enforcement actions have fallen during President Donald Trump’s second term. The letter notes that the agency logged about 1,400 enforcement cases against motor carriers in fiscal year 2025, a 65% decrease from the previous fiscal year.
The lawmakers ask for various documents and information by Aug. 12. Among the items requested:
- All FMCSA or other Department of Transportation guidance provided to state law enforcement on the processes for recording the name of the motor carrier involved in a crash, including for intrastate motor carriers
- Documents sufficient to demonstrate FMCSA’s internal processes to verify the accuracy and completeness of state law enforcement records of motor carrier crashes, including for intrastate motor carriers
- Documents sufficient to demonstrate why the number of FMCSA closed enforcement cases declined in FY 2025
- A list and description of any changes FMCSA has made to its processes or thresholds for pursuing enforcement actions against high-risk motor carriers from Jan. 20, 2025, to present
- The number of FMCSA staff responsible for analyzing inspection and crash data to identify high-risk carriers in calendar years 2024 and 2025 and January 2026 to present, respectively
- Description of FMCSA’s mechanisms to monitor the safety performance of commercial motor carriers operating school buses or otherwise transporting children or students, including for intrastate operations
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Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication