DOT & Trucking News

A brief outage at one ELD provider prompted questions to OOIDA's compliance staff about what a driver must do when an electronic logging device stops working. Federal rules set specific steps that begin as soon as the malfunction is found.

• The driver must note the malfunction and give the motor carrier written notice within 24 hours.
• The driver must reconstruct the current 24-hour period and the previous 7 consecutive days on graph-grid paper logs, unless those records are already held or retrievable from the ELD, then keep logging on paper until the device is back in compliance.
• The carrier must correct the malfunction within 8 days of discovery or driver notice, whichever comes first. A request for more time goes to the FMCSA Division Administrator for the carrier's home State within 5 days.
• Carriers must keep an ELD information packet in the truck with malfunction instructions and blank graph-grids for at least 8 days (49 CFR 395.22(h)).

What it means: During a malfunction the driver has to hand an inspector manually kept records of duty status, which is only possible if blank paper logs are already on board. Check the packet now, not at roadside.

Source: Land Line: What to do if your ELD stops working (published October 14, 2026)

Official reference: 49 CFR 395.34: ELD malfunctions and data diagnostic events

The comment period has closed on FMCSA's proposed rule to codify the English language proficiency (ELP) driver qualification requirement as an out-of-service violation. FMCSA received 2,203 comments by the October 9, 2026 deadline and is reviewing them before deciding how to proceed.

• Docket No. FMCSA-2026-0826, RIN 2126-AC99; proposed rule published August 10, 2026
• The rule would align the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations with the ELP tolerances already in CVSA's North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria, and responds to a CVSA petition
• OOIDA filed in support on October 9; Land Line reports most comments came from drivers backing strict enforcement

What it means: Roadside ELP out-of-service enforcement continues unchanged while FMCSA reviews the comments. A failed roadside check still takes a driver out of service today, so carriers should keep confirming that drivers meet the 49 CFR 391.11(b)(2) standard.

Source: Federal Register: FMCSA, English Language Proficiency; Out of Service Criteria (published August 10, 2026; comments closed October 9, 2026)

Also reported by Land Line: English proficiency a life-and-death safety standard, OOIDA says (published October 12, 2026)

State police in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont are running a coordinated three-day traffic enforcement operation called Wicked Safe from October 13 through October 15. Patrols target aggressive driving, excessive speed, distracted driving, impaired driving and other high-risk behavior. Massachusetts State Police said its Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section will assign 30 troopers to inspect large trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles during the operation.

• Impaired driving is one of the named enforcement targets
• Priority roadways in Massachusetts include Interstates 90, 91, 84, 93, 95 and 395, plus Route 146
• Commercial vehicle inspections are part of the operation, so any violations found will appear on inspection reports

What it means: Drivers running the Northeast this week face a higher chance of inspection. Before dispatch, confirm each driver carries a valid medical examiner's certificate and that driver qualification files and hours-of-service records are current.

Source: Land Line: Northeast states plan Wicked enforcement blitz (published October 12, 2026)

Official reference: Massachusetts State Police: State Police Partners Announce Operation Wicked Safe to Target Dangerous Driving

Hurricane Isaias came ashore in southwest Florida as a Category 2 storm, and Southeast state emergency declarations have triggered temporary relief from federal hours-of-service rules for carriers and drivers giving direct assistance to the relief effort. FMCSA lists Florida Executive Order 26-202 (October 6 through November 5) and Alabama's second supplemental state of emergency (October 9 through November 8). Georgia has a shorter hours-of-service waiver for emergency response loads, including petroleum products, through October 14.

• Relief under 49 CFR 390.23 is capped at 30 days unless FMCSA extends it
• The exemption reaches only 49 CFR Parts 390-399; it does not waive CDL, drug and alcohol testing, hazmat, size and weight, or registration and tax rules
• Coverage lasts only while the emergency continues and the driver is providing direct assistance

What it means: A driver hauling relief loads may be released from HOS limits, but your testing program does not pause. Random selections, pre-employment and post-accident tests, and Clearinghouse queries stay due on schedule.

Source: FMCSA: Emergency Declarations, Waivers, Exemptions and Permits (updated October 9, 2026); Land Line: Hurricane Isaias triggers trucking waivers across the Southeast (published October 12, 2026)

Official reference: 49 CFR 390.23

A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration administrative law judge has paused the proceeding that would move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. The stay, issued September 29, 2026, lets the judge weigh adding a new Government Accountability Office report on federal drug scheduling to the record, with responses due October 13, 2026. None of it changes DOT drug testing.

• Marijuana stays prohibited for safety-sensitive employees subject to DOT testing, including CDL drivers, even where state law allows it.
• Under 49 CFR 40.151(e), an MRO must not verify a test negative because a physician recommended a Schedule I drug under a state "medical marijuana" law.
• A separate April 2026 order moving FDA-approved and state-licensed medical marijuana products to Schedule III is unaffected by the stay.

What it means: A marijuana-positive DOT test still brings the same consequences: removal from safety-sensitive duty, a Clearinghouse violation, and the return-to-duty process before driving again.

Source: Heavy Duty Trucking: Marijuana and Trucking's Drug-Testing Dilemma (published October 5, 2026)

Official reference: eCFR: 49 CFR 40.151

FMCSA has granted a five-year exemption letting carriers that operate Level 4 automated driving system (ADS)-equipped commercial motor vehicles use cab-mounted warning beacons instead of placing warning triangles or fusees around a stopped truck. Aurora Operations, Inc. requested it; it also covers other carriers running Level 4 ADS CMVs that notify FMCSA first.

• Effective October 7, 2026; expires October 7, 2031 (Docket FMCSA-2026-0958)
• Waives 49 CFR 392.22(b), 393.25(e) and 393.95(f) for qualifying vehicles
• OOIDA and truck safety groups opposed the request

What it means: Nothing changes for conventional trucks. Drivers must still place warning devices within 10 minutes of stopping on a roadway or shoulder.

Source: Federal Register: Exemption From Aurora Operations, Inc (published October 9, 2026)

Also: Land Line: FMCSA exemption gives driverless trucks a green light

The Food and Drug Administration published a final order on October 6, 2026, effective the same day, that removes the premarket notification (510(k)) requirement for drugs-of-abuse test systems intended for use in federal drug testing programs. The order amends 14 device classification regulations in 21 CFR part 862, including test systems for amphetamines, cannabinoids, cocaine, methamphetamine and opiates (Docket FDA-2026-N-4268).

• Industry groups, including the American Trucking Associations and the National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association, had argued the 510(k) requirement was blocking laboratories from obtaining federal certification for oral fluid and hair testing.
• FDA states in the order that it does not oversee federal drug testing programs and does not decide whether oral fluid or hair testing may be used in them.

What it means: Nothing changes today for DOT-regulated testing. Oral fluid results still cannot be used because no laboratory is yet HHS-certified for oral fluid, and hair is not an authorized DOT specimen. The order clears one obstacle ahead of that lab certification.

Source: FDA: Medical Devices; Exemptions From Premarket Notification: Class II Devices; Certain Clinical Toxicology Test Systems (published October 6, 2026)

Also reported: Transport Topics: FDA clears path for oral fluid, hair drug tests (published October 8, 2026)

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance has released results from Operation Safe Driver Week, its annual driver-behavior enforcement blitz, held in July 2026. Agencies from 36 states, seven Canadian provinces and Mexico took part, interacting with 8,083 drivers and issuing 2,604 unsafe-driving tickets, 1,956 of them to commercial drivers.

• Speeding was the most common commercial-driver citation, at 342.
• Other frequent citations: failure to obey a traffic control device (319), failure to wear a seat belt (270), and texting or handheld phone use (136).
• Twenty-two commercial drivers were cited for use of, or impairment by, drugs or alcohol, and six for operating while ill or fatigued.
• Reckless, careless or dangerous driving, this year's focus area, drew 33 tickets, 22 of them to commercial drivers.

What it means: A roadside impairment citation can put a driver's fitness for duty in question and bring reasonable-suspicion testing into play, so carriers should make sure trained supervisors know the referral steps before a call comes in from the roadside.

Source: Land Line: Truckers hit with nearly 2,000 tickets during Operation Safe Driver Week (published October 8, 2026)

FMCSA has narrowed the relief that let carriers and CDL drivers rely on a paper copy of the medical examiner's certificate (MEC). In a notice published October 8, 2026, the agency provisionally renewed the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance exemption for one year, but only for drivers whose CDL or CLP was issued by Alaska, the one state that has not implemented the Medical Examiner's Certification Integration (NRII) rule.

• Effective October 12, 2026 through October 12, 2027 (Docket FMCSA-2026-0265).
• Alaska-licensed drivers and their carriers may keep using a copy of the MEC as proof of medical certification for up to 60 days after it was issued.
• In all other states and the District of Columbia, a paper MEC is no longer proof of certification for any period as of October 12, 2026.
• Covered drivers must still carry a valid MEC issued within the prior 60 days, and the carrier must hold a copy.

What it means: Outside Alaska, medical certification must be confirmed from the driver's CDLIS motor vehicle record, not a paper card. Carriers should verify the electronic posting before dispatching a newly examined driver.

Source: Federal Register: Qualification of Drivers; Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance; Application for Exemption (published October 8, 2026)

FMCSA has published the information collection notice for its Flexible Sleeper Berth pilot program, the companion to the Split Duty Period pilot noticed a day earlier. Participating drivers would get an exemption reducing the longer sleeper berth period to a minimum of 5 consecutive hours, allowing a 5/5 or 6/4 split instead of today's 7/3 or 8/2. As with the other pilot, a Clearinghouse record is disqualifying.

• A driver is not eligible if identified in FMCSA's Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, regardless of whether the return-to-duty process has been completed.
• A driver is also ineligible if their license was suspended, revoked, or cancelled, or they were disqualified for an offense listed in 49 CFR 383.51, in the preceding 2 years.
• Drivers must hold a valid CDL and maintain a valid medical certificate from a National Registry examiner throughout the study.
• Carriers must not be high or moderate risk, must have no Unsatisfactory safety rating, no FMCSA enforcement action in the past 3 years, and driver and vehicle out-of-service rates at or below the national averages.
• 256 drivers, 16 weeks. Comments are due December 7, 2026, under Docket FMCSA-2026-2080.

What it means: No hours-of-service or testing requirement changes today. Carriers weighing either pilot should expect a driver's Clearinghouse history and current medical certification to be screened before enrollment.

Source: Federal Register: FMCSA, Pilot Program To Allow Commercial Drivers To Split Sleeper Berth Time (published October 7, 2026)

Official reference: eCFR: 49 CFR 395.1(g), sleeper berth provisions

FMCSA has published the information collection notice for its Split Duty Period pilot program, which would let 256 volunteer drivers pause the 14-hour driving window for up to 3 hours a day. The notice sets out who may take part, and a Clearinghouse record is disqualifying.

• A driver is not eligible if the driver is identified in FMCSA's Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, regardless of whether the return-to-duty process has been completed.
• Drivers must hold a valid CDL and keep a valid medical certificate from a National Registry examiner throughout the study.
• Carriers must not be high or moderate risk, must have no FMCSA enforcement action in the past 3 years, and must be at or below the national out-of-service rates.
• Participation runs 16 weeks. Comments are due December 7, 2026, under Docket FMCSA-2026-2081.

What it means: No hours-of-service or testing requirement changes today. But for carriers considering the pilot, a Clearinghouse violation rules a driver out even after a completed return-to-duty process.

Source: Federal Register: Pilot Program To Allow Commercial Drivers To Pause Their 14-Hour Driving Window (published October 6, 2026)

The 2027 Unified Carrier Registration filing window opened October 1, 2026. Entities subject to UCR must register with their base state and pay the annual fee before January 1 of the registration year. After that date the fee is still owed, and a non-registrant may face state enforcement action.

• The UCR Plan's National Registration System portal for 2027 opened October 1; filings run through December 31.
• UCR covers carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing companies with an active interstate U.S. DOT number, used or not.
• Every state enforces UCR, including states that do not share in the fee revenue.
• 2027 IFTA decals must be displayed by December 31, and New Mexico weight/distance permits renew in the same window.

What it means: File UCR for 2027 before the January 1 cutoff and budget the higher 2027 fee brackets. This is a registration obligation only and changes no drug and alcohol testing or driver qualification requirement.

Source: Land Line: 2027 permit renewals now open (published October 2, 2026)

Official reference: UCR Plan: Fee Brackets

FMCSA's nationwide exemption letting carriers and drivers treat a paper copy of the medical examiner's certificate (MEC) as proof of medical certification for up to 60 days ends October 11, 2026. For CDL and CLP holders licensed in a State that has not implemented National Registry II (NRII), FMCSA's standing paper-based guidance then governs again.

• Carriers may use a copy of the driver's current MEC as proof for up to 15 days after issue, and must place a copy in the driver qualification file.
• Medical examiners must check the driver's State of licensure against FMCSA's list of non-implementing States before the exam, issue a paper MCSA-5876, and report the result to the National Registry by midnight local time the next calendar day.
• Drivers licensed in those States still submit a paper MCSA-5876 to their State licensing agency.

What it means: Check each driver's State of licensure against FMCSA's current list at the NRII Learning Center, and plan for the 15-day file window where the State still relies on paper.

Source: FMCSA: Guidance for non-NRII States (issued July 7, 2025)

The FAA is seeking public comment before asking OMB to renew the information collection behind its drug and alcohol testing program for personnel engaged in specified aviation activities. This is the 30-day notice; the 60-day notice published April 24, 2026. No change to current testing requirements is announced.

• Comments are due November 2, 2026, under Docket No. FAA-2026-1985.
• FAA uses the collection to determine compliance of regulated aviation employers and contractors, including certificated foreign repair stations.
• It also supports oversight planning and identifies which employers must submit annual Management Information System (MIS) testing data.

What it means: FAA-regulated employers and the service agents that run their testing programs can comment on the scope and reporting burden, including the annual MIS report. Nothing here changes FMCSA testing duties for motor carriers.

Source: Federal Register: FAA Drug and Alcohol Testing Program Information Collection (published October 2, 2026)

FMCSA has issued a final rule lengthening the automatic emergency relief triggered by a regional declaration of emergency from 14 days to 30 days. It takes effect October 5, 2026 and reverses a change FMCSA made in October 2023, responding to petitions for reconsideration.

• The rule makes one amendment: in 49 CFR 390.23(b), "14" becomes "30." Docket No. FMCSA-2025-0124.
• The automatic exemption covers commercial motor vehicles giving direct assistance after an emergency declared by a State Governor, the Governor's authorized representative, or FMCSA, and exempts those operations from the hours of service limits in 49 CFR 395.3 and 395.5.
• Relief still ends with the emergency period if that period is shorter than 30 days, and FMCSA may extend beyond 30 days under 49 CFR 390.25.
• Petitions for reconsideration are due November 4, 2026.

What it means: Carriers providing direct assistance after a regional emergency declaration get the full 30 days without filing an extension request. The exemption reaches only hours of service — drug and alcohol testing and medical certification requirements continue to apply.

Source: Federal Register: FMCSA, Clarification to the Applicability of Emergency Exemptions (published October 5, 2026)

Official reference: eCFR: 49 CFR 390.23

FMCSA has denied a request from Agri-Tech Aviation to let its commercial learner's permit (CLP) holders who passed the CDL skills test drive company trucks without a CDL holder in the passenger seat. The agency said the application did not show an equivalent level of safety, citing the likelihood those drivers would haul placarded hazardous materials.

• Decision published September 30, 2026, Docket FMCSA-2025-0226; of 38 comments received, none supported the request.
• Under 49 CFR 383.93(a)(2) the only endorsements allowed on a CLP are passenger (P), school bus (S) and tank vehicle (N), so a CLP holder cannot hold a hazardous materials endorsement.
• FMCSA has granted similar CLP exemptions to several large carriers in the past.

What it means: Without its own exemption, a carrier still needs an accompanying CDL holder for a driver operating between the skills test and CDL issuance, and such a request is unlikely to succeed where placarded hazmat is involved.

Source: Land Line: Company's CLP exemption denied over hazmat concerns (published October 2, 2026)

Official reference: Federal Register: Application for Exemption; Agri-Tech Aviation

HHS published its monthly list of certified drug testing laboratories on September 30, 2026, and it again states that no laboratory is certified to conduct drug and specimen validity tests on oral fluid specimens. DOT authorized oral fluid testing as an alternative to urine effective June 1, 2023, but more than three years later the method still cannot be used.

• Under 49 CFR 40.81(a), a U.S. laboratory may take part in DOT drug testing only if HHS certifies it under the National Laboratory Certification Program for each specimen testing methodology it performs. With no oral fluid certifications, no laboratory may test a DOT oral fluid specimen.
• The urine side of the list is unchanged from the September 1 notice: 14 certified laboratories, two of them limited to Veterans Affairs or Defense Department employees, plus one Instrumented Initial Testing Facility, which DOT does not permit to test DOT-regulated specimens.
• DOT's final rule published May 11, 2026 and effective June 10, 2026 requires a directly observed urine collection where Part 40 would otherwise call for an oral fluid test, precisely because oral fluid testing is not yet available.

What it means: Urine remains the only usable specimen type for DOT testing. Employers and C/TPAs should not write oral fluid into a DOT testing policy or collection site instructions yet, and the first oral fluid certification on this monthly list is the event to watch.

Source: Federal Register: HHS/SAMHSA, Current List of HHS-Certified Laboratories and Instrumented Initial Testing Facilities (published September 30, 2026)

Official reference: eCFR: 49 CFR 40.81 and the DOT final rule effective June 10, 2026

FMCSA has posted a notice on the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse website covering two service interruptions on Sunday, October 4, 2026. The first is an eleven-hour window in which the Clearinghouse cannot verify driver CDL information, because of maintenance on the Commercial Driver Licensing Information System (CDLIS).

• Sunday, October 4, 2026, 2 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern Time: Clearinghouse users will not be able to verify driver CDL information.
• Sunday, October 4, 2026, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET: Pay.gov services will be temporarily unavailable, and FMCSA asks employers not to attempt to purchase Clearinghouse query plans during that interruption.

What it means: Any Clearinghouse action that depends on CDL verification, including registration steps and queries, should be scheduled outside the morning window. If you need query plan credits for pre-employment or annual queries, buy them before 6 p.m. ET Sunday or wait until after 8 p.m. ET so a purchase does not fail mid-transaction.

Source: FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse: Clearinghouse News site notice (retrieved October 2, 2026)

The U.S. Department of Transportation has published a petition for rulemaking asking it to amend 49 CFR Part 40 to add structured medical verification steps when an employee offers a medical explanation for an abnormal specimen validity finding, such as an out-of-range pH. DOT is taking comment on whether to grant the petition. It has not proposed a rule.

• Docket No. DOT-OST-2026-3664. Comments are due November 2, 2026.
• The petition would give the employee up to 72 hours to submit documentation from a licensed medical provider, and require a written MRO determination before a directly observed recollection under 49 CFR 40.67.
• It also asks the MRO to consider consulting a urologist or mental health professional when a diagnosed voiding disorder such as paruresis is asserted, and to document that review before verifying a refusal to test.
• DOT notes the petition cites 49 CFR 40.193, but that 49 CFR 40.159 appears to be the provision to consider amending.

What it means: Nothing changes today, and current invalid-result and insufficient-specimen procedures still apply. MROs, collectors, employers, and drivers can comment through November 2.

Source: Federal Register: DOT, Petition for Rulemaking; Invalid Specimen Determinations (published October 1, 2026)

FMCSA has denied an application from the Federation of Professional Truckers that would have let professional drivers choose to record their records of duty status on paper instead of using an electronic logging device. The agency published its final disposition on September 30, 2026.

• Docket No. FMCSA-2025-1282, notice of final disposition and denial of the application for exemption.
• FMCSA reviewed the application and the public comments and concluded the exemption would not achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than the level achieved without it.

What it means: Nothing changes. Carriers and drivers subject to the electronic logging device rule must continue using a registered ELD to record hours of service unless they qualify for an exception already written into 49 CFR Part 395.

Source: Federal Register: FMCSA, Electronic Logging Device Requirements; Application for Exemption, Federation of Professional Truckers (published September 30, 2026)