Transflo’s Scott Stofer spent time in Chicago last month as part of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Driver-Traffic Enforcement Committee at the CVSA Workshop. The Driver-Traffic Enforcement Committee is a group that reviews proposed regulations, debates enforcement standards, and helps update Out of Service criteria for the industry. 

Three main topics from that workshop and committee meeting deserve wider attention. Here’s what came out of those conversations and what they mean for fleets. 

DataQs gets a long-overdue overhaul 

The DataQs system, which is FMCSA’s process for challenging inaccurate crash and inspection records, has long frustrated carriers and drivers who felt the deck was stacked against them. A denial from a state agency often meant a dead end, with the issuing officer effectively having the final say. 

That’s changing. FMCSA has announced revised DataQs requirements tied to Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) funding, with a compliance deadline of September 14, 2026. The overhaul includes a mandatory three-stage review process that removes the issuing officer from the outcome. 

Here’s how it works: 

• Initial review: The issuing officer can no longer be the sole decision-maker when denying a correction request. 
• Reconsideration: A separate, independent reviewer with subject matter expertise takes over. No involvement from the original officer or their immediate supervisor. 
• Final review: Escalated to a senior decision-maker or an independent panel entirely removed from the prior stages. 

FMCSA has also put teeth into the timelines. States must open a request within seven days of submission, issue an initial decision within 21 days, complete reconsideration within 21 days, and wrap up any final review within 45 days. Flat denials are no longer acceptable. States must explain their reasoning, cite the evidence reviewed (ELD records, body cam footage, etc.), and provide instructions for appeal. 

For carriers and drivers who’ve had legitimate challenges dismissed without explanation, this is meaningful progress. It won’t solve every dispute, and carriers will have to provide cause for reconsideration, but it creates accountability where it was previously lacking. 

Motus, a new registration system, is now live 

FMCSA’s new registration platform, Motus, is now replacing the Unified Registration System and the FMCSA Portal as the single point of access for registration, company information, and interaction with FMCSA systems, including the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. The system consolidates what had been a 30-year-old patchwork of three separate platforms. 

Fraud prevention is central to the redesign. FMCSA has seen a significant rise in fraudulent activity involving erroneous registration information being used to facilitate cargo and monetary theft — including identity theft, fake initial registrations, account hijacking, and the selling of MC numbers and PINs. Motus addresses this with identity and business verification requirements, real-time data validation, and smart logic designed to flag suspicious applications before they make it onto the registry.  

FMCSA recently sent 2.2 million letters to registered users, and 18% were undeliverable. That figure illustrates the scale of the problem the new system is designed to address.  

For legitimate carriers, the practical impact should be minimal, but it’s worth confirming that your Company Official information and login credentials are accurate in the new system, since the company official must use the same Login.gov email to claim an existing USDOT number in Motus. FMCSA has a contact center available to assist with any transition issues. 

FMCSA tightens ELD vetting, prepares for new certification standards 

On the ELD front, FMCSA has taken its first major steps toward overhauling its device approval process. Under current ELD regulations, manufacturers self-certify that their devices meet federal standards, and, until recently, there was essentially no independent verification before hitting the market.  

Now, a new vetting process announced by FMCSA introduces a four-tier review framework — approved, information requested, further review, or denied — with upfront vetting of contact information, technical specifications, and device images before anything makes it onto the registry. Cross-checking against active, revoked, and in-process applications is now built in, targeting bad actors who have rebranded and resubmitted under new names.  

FMCSA says 290 invalid ELDs have already been stopped from reaching the market. In addition to improving the vetting process, the agency has also ramped up its investigation of existing ELD’s with nearly one-third of the 105 Non-Compliant ELD Revocations occurring within just the last six months. With a staggering 975 previously approved ELD’s still on the registry, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) scheduled to be published later this year is expected to include additional changes to further address ELD certification and vendor management. 

For carriers, this means fewer compliance surprises down the road, but the guidance remains: verify your ELD’s registration status regularly and know your provider’s track record. 

Conclusion 

Staying ahead of regulatory changes is part of running a compliant operation — and it’s exactly the kind of intelligence Transflo brings back from industry events like the CVSA Workshop. We’ll continue monitoring these developments and share updates as they evolve.