NASTC Support For The Staged Accident Fraud Prevention Act

August 6, 2026

The Honorable Mike Collins                                  The Honorable Ashley Moody

2251 Rayburn House Office Building                   387 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515                                        Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Rep. Collins and Sen. Moody:

The National Association of Small Trucking Companies (NASTC) writes to express its deepest appreciation and strongest support for the Staged Accident Fraud Prevention Act (H.R. 2662, S. 5058). We applaud your leadership in addressing at the federal level deliberate crashes instigated by criminals.

NASTC is a member-based organization whose members range from the single power unit owner-operator to small motor carriers with more than 100 power units, averaging 12 power units. These carriers largely operate in the long-haul, over-the-road, full-truckload, for-hire sector of interstate trucking.

Crimes targeting commercial vehicles, including staged, fraudulent traffic “accidents,” involve organized crime. These crimes plague truckers and carriers traveling our roads and highways, putting them at risk of serious injury or worse, and at a minimum of damaged property, often rendering their vehicles unfit for continuing their route. Staged accidents have grown epically in scale, size of loss, danger level, and more.

These crimes impose a heavy cost on innocent victims, such as shippers, motor carriers, insurers, and vehicle drivers and passengers on the scene at the wrong place at the wrong time, not to mention the victimized commercial drivers and their traumatized families. The economic impact casts a wide net, driving up insurance costs, nuclear verdicts, and the price of goods.

Moreover, staged crashes typically involve victims involved in interstate commerce. Thus, having in federal law what the Staged Accident Fraud Prevention Act would provide will change the game immensely. NASTC strongly supports the penalties for staging an accident with a commercial vehicle of a fine, a prison sentence up to 20 years, or both and, in a staged crash that causes serious bodily injury or death, a fine 20 years in prison as a minimum, or both. We also appreciate that the legislative language includes holding coconspirators, such as corrupt doctors and lawyers, accountable for their roles in a criminal web.

On behalf of NASTC and our 14,000 member companies, thank you very much for standing in the gap to provide the statutory tools to make a dent in combating staged-crash fraud crimes. We stand at your service to help advance this worthwhile legislation.

Sincerely,

David Owen

President