WASHINGTON — A government audit has determined that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration should make its complaint database more transparent to improve its usefulness for truck drivers.
A report published on Tuesday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office concluded that FMCSA does not make all categories of complaint data publicly available — contrary to U.S. Department of Transportation policy.
“Specifically, FMCSA does not make public any information on complaints against truck companies, bus companies, or electronic logging device providers,” the 60-page report states. “As a result, FMCSA may be missing the opportunity to improve transparency and collaboration with industry partners.”
The agency hasn’t made public release of the information a priority, FMCSA officials told GAO. “FMCSA officials said that they have no current plans to make all categories of complaint data public, but may consider doing so in the future.”
But GAO recommends FMCSA change that stance. Recommendation 1 — among 14 in the report — is that the FMCSA administrator “make data on all categories of complaints available to the public, as appropriate, and in line with DOT’s Data Management Policy.”
GAO’s audit, which ran from April 2022 to September 2023, analyzed complaints submitted from January 2016 through December 2021. Roughly 37,700 of those complaints were made against truck companies, 29,400 were against moving companies and moving brokers, and 200 were against bus companies.
The review found that FMCSA provided detailed internal guidance on how FMCSA staff should review and respond to some categories of complaints but not for others. Supplemental guidance was provided for coercion and harassment complaints made by drivers against trucking companies, for instance, including examples of what a complaint must allege to be considered coercion or harassment.
“In contrast, the complaint review guidance for safety, hazardous materials, household goods, and other commercial complaints does not contain step-by-step instructions on how to respond, review, and close complaints,” according to GAO.
Trucker outreach lacking
Providing outreach to its target audiences is important for FMCSA to ensure its database remains useful, GAO asserted. But the watchdog agency found that FMCSA’s outreach varied by audience, with more going to those in the general public who plan to use household movers and less going to commercial truck drivers.
In fact, representatives from five trucking associations interviewed by GAO — including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and the Truckload Carriers Association — were not aware of FMCSA’s outreach to promote its complaint website.
“These representatives said they hear from truck drivers about incidents that could be reported to the complaint website, giving examples such as employers coercing drivers to exceed the hours-of-service limit and not addressing workplace safety concerns,” GAO stated.
In response, FMCSA officials told GAO that the focus on its household goods program “is in line with the priorities and direction of FMCSA leadership,” and that the $4 million in funding available each fiscal year for outreach and education “must also be used for other programs and initiatives.”
GAO also found that the complaint website “is not consistently easy to view on mobile devices,” an issue that should be corrected given that trucking industry representatives consider it particularly important for truck drivers.
Agency pushes back on user testing
FMCSA officials told GAO that the website has not undergone testing with external users because the feedback the agency receives from internal testing and user surveys “is sufficient for its purposes.”
However, because FMCSA may be missing opportunities to learn about real-world user needs, GAO recommended that such testing be conducted with truck drivers or other trucking industry professionals. This was the only recommendation that FMCSA pushed back on, telling GAO that conducting external user testing is not a “sustainable” approach.
“FMCSA further stated it plans to modernize the complaint website to ensure it follows industry standards for design and integrates user feedback,” GAO noted.
However, while GAO acknowledged that modernizing would be a good first step, “we maintain that testing the website with external users — a leading practice for federal websites — would provide FMCSA with critical insight on how useful the website is for its target audiences before launching any changes to the complaint website,” the audit stated.
Darlene Gardner
I am a customer who used FMCS three interstate moving and storage companies to provide their services, moving and storage of our household goods. Without going into a lot of details, two of the companies damaged 99%of our furniture, household goods and personal items that cannot be replaced or repaired. The third company removed our personal possessions and allegedly had fire in his storage facility and filed a claim with his insurance company including our inventory to receive over $700,000. After the company notified his insurance company of our damages the company indicated to his insurance company that he wished not to file the claim or reimburse us for our losses. In your data base two of the companies indicated that they had insurance coverage. We learned later that coverage listed is false. The third company represents themselves as a premier dry cleaning of furniture, textiles and rugs. This company removed our personal property is not a regulated interstate company but operates a fleet of cargo trucks pickup and deliver throughout the DC, MD and Virginia regions. Yes, all company complaints should be published and penalties for each violation and the data base should also indicate the status as to how they should resolve the matters with customers. Companies that do business without oversight has been able to avoid paying for their wrongdoing and will continue doing so until they are caught.
Brian
This is not about safety at all this is a continued push to move truck drivers out the way especially owner operators also why have brokers not been made to be transparent the guys in office now have dragged trucking to its core not caring about the owner op who only wants to provide for his family or the company guy who wants to start a career I’ve been I trucking since 2000 and all these mandates are to help California epa laws but in reality it’s hurting all the other 49states just to get cali vote and they trying to do it under the radar electric trucks and self drive trucks and all these lies about there is a driver shortage man they aught to be ashamed
Steve Warrell
We Drivers need more support from Federal government on dealing with bad companies.
Example, Trans Routes Unlimited llc out of Overland Park KS owned by Faith and Josh Khan just stole my pay of $5,600+, abandoned me in Kansas City Mo. Got no help from Labor dept or FMCSR. These carriers and individuals should be prosecuted for treating us drivers like garbage and for illegally classifying us as 1099. What help do we get as drivers??? So yes all complaints should be open to all of the public.
Franklin James
The regulations are confusing for most dot collectors and a refusal to test is too easily misconstrued by the collectors. I lost my Trucking career to a DOT specimen collector who filed a refusal to test report and I cannot find an attorney who will take on my case.
I have passed every single drug screen including the one the very next day and I have studied a lot of regulations that say I was compliant with everything that I should have been compliant with but the medical review officer does not want to help and the designated employer representative has been replaced by somebody else and the Collector at the medical clinic does not want to communicate with me and I have basically just gotten cheated out of a brand new career because nobody will hire me if I go through a return to duty program with 5 days experience I have lots of documentation from numerous drug screens and they have all come back negative including the observed and the hair follicle exams and I still have not found a lawyer who will tackle this
Kinfolk
Why do they not want truck drivers input? According to the article they have no problems accepting input from the motoring public i.e. 4 wheelers. I mean truck drivers are considered professionals. Truck drivers travel interstates U.S. highways County roads you name it truck drivers drive it. You would think the FMCSA would welcome truck drivers input. According to the article though that’s the one input they said they didn’t want if I am not mistaken. Then they complain about safety and accidents. They will naw your ear off about driver shortages and increase in trucker related offenses on the road. They do nothing to educate the motoring public about driving safely around a semi class vehicle. They want to force trucks to stay in the right lane and now they wanna pass a deal to limit truck speeds. I get freight cost is the driving force behind all of it. This plan to subjugate and keep truck drivers docile is not gonna work. They keep it up it’s gonna be Jimmy Hoffa all over again. Then these college educated people who think they know what’s best are gonna be running around in circles wondering what went wrong. People can only take so much. I hope they realize that before they cause another Depression. It will make what happened in 1930 look like a day in the park!!!
JaNay StClair
FMCSA regulates Safety in the Freight Carrier industry; it includes certifying CDL Drivers violations database regarding Drugs & Alcohol inclusive of health & wellness certification. FMCSA misinformation seems to be floating vigorously throughout the industry. When the industry understands how each regulation under FMCSA applies to each and every entity, we may be able to sort out the bottle neck of irregularities.
U.S. Dept of Transportation has a duty and responsibilities to provide data of complaints as well. FMCSA’s provides Safety & Health database, may or may not provide the D&A information due to privacy issues, litigations and / or investigations.
Transparency is critical, in order to improve or make policy changes. Carriers, Operators, Drivers have duty to make improvements, safety compliance, reporting of irregularities including complaints.
Kenny lainhart
The government, needs to stop these companies NOT paying overtime after 40hrs!! I understand a driver who’s OTR and paid mileage! I don’t get how a company is allowed to pay a driver or anyone no OT after 40 hrs, !!!?? Sherwin Williams, R&l and they are many more companies doing this!! I know many people feel if you’re a hourly employee you should be paid OT after 40 hrs!!! Thanks
Big
The FMCSA doesn’t want to make public all the complaints lodged against “their constituents” (i.e. the big carriers) because many of these same carriers are their main dues paying members. It’s smoke & mirrors. A bureaucracy of crony Capitalism.
You want to know why the turnover is so high in the trucking industry? Because nobody likes being underpaid most of the time, and end up working for free the rest of the time. All the while, supposedly being “led” by people with attitudes sitting in front of keyboards that have never even driven a truck. The office people and dispatchers that think they’re “better” or “above” the actual drivers. Those very same people that only have THEIR job because other people actually go out, make the sacrifices, and do the real work. Those very same office employees that are always the first ones to waddle out of their cubicles at the office to be first to belly up in the chow line with their plates in their hands on “driver appreciation days”. So, if a driver does show up mid- afternoon at the terminal, the office hogs and mechanics have already pretty much eaten everything up. Most of the food gone. Yeah, “Driver Appreciation”.
It’s a farce. You think we don’t notice. We know how you are.
You’ve got it backwards. And, until that kind of behavior changes, nothing else will.