Feature, Freight News, Logistics, Road

DOT Proposal Would Slash Trucking Regulations

[ June 20, 2025   //   Gary Burrows ]

The U.S. Department of Transportation has proposed slashing or amending about two dozen federal trucking regulations — major and minor — that the agency said were outdated or punishing truckers.

“My department is slashing duplicative and outdated regulations that are unnecessarily burdensome, waste taxpayer dollars, and fail to ensure safety,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said May 29. “These are common-sense changes that will help us build a more efficient government that better reflects the needs of the American people.”

The proposal would rescind the requirement that a truck’s rear-impact guard be permanently marked or labeled with a certification by the manufacturer and remove a regulation that requires commercial driver license holders to self-report motor vehicle violations to their home state, Transport Topics reported.

Other regulations listing in a May 29 news release included:

• Exempt lamp and reflective device requirements for rear tractor license plate lamps on the tractors while towing a trailer

• Revise the FMCSA requirements to no longer require load restriction markings on the sidewalls.

• Remove obsolete requirements from Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 207 seating systems, FMVSS No. 214 side impact protection; and FMVSS No. 210, seat belt assembly anchorages; and FMVSS No. 216, related to roof crush resistance.

• No longer require retroreflective sheeting on semitrailers and trailers because most of the trailers on the nation’s highways already use it.

• Rescind the in-vehicle electronic logging device operator’s manual requirement for CMVs to maintain a list of the ELD vendors who have self-certified their products.

• Revise the requirement that motor carriers and intermodal equipment providers sign and return a completed roadside inspection form to the issuing state agency.

• Amend the definition of the term “medical treatment” for the purpose of accident reporting to incorporate revised regulatory guidance issued by FMCSA regarding medical treatment away from the accident scene.

While many of the revisions seem minor, DOT said the deregulatory package will rescind, withdraw or amend burdensome regulations that do not enhance safety. These actions also help streamline the Code of Federal Regulations by deleting more than 73,000 words from the Federal Register, DOT said.

In April, Trump further advanced his attack on Mexicans and Latinx in an executive order requiring commercial drivers to be proficient speaking and reading English. It also directs the federal government to monitor commercial driver’s licenses issued to non-U.S. residents. That order also directed Duffy to undo an Obama-era English proficiency policy, outlined in a 2016 memo, which paused regulations mandating that drivers during roadside inspections be placed out of service if they were not fluent in reading and understanding English.

The DOT said it has reached out to trade organizations and small businesses for ideas on how to vet and replace regulations and control regulatory costs.

Trump’s Day One executive orders on Jan. 20 including requiring the DOT and other government agencies to target at least 10 regulations to repeal and propose new regulations.

Tags: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Administration, U.S. Deptartment of Transportation