NASTC |

Dummy-Proofed Trucking

Danielle Chaffin — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 15:52:38 +0000

If I had a dollar for every time my car beeps at me for doing something it thinks I shouldn’t, I’d be rich! You see, the way Southern backroads are built, you can take a curve much smoother when you use both lanes to keep driving as straight as possible, as long as no one is coming, of course. But when I do this, my car starts beeping and tells me to “Take a rest.” I don’t need a rest! I pay taxes, and I can use the whole road! How about you stop telling me what to do!

And every time this happens, once I’m finished yelling at my car, I think about the truck drivers, the technology inside and out of modern trucks, and try to imagine, as best as I can, dealing with ‘something’ telling me what to do all day, every day. My car beeping at me is annoying, yes, but the professional truck driver lives with the machine governing his decisions every day, and it never lets up.

Man is designed to work, and his sense of purpose is tied directly to his ability to provide, to complete a task through his own effort, and to exercise real judgment over outcomes for which he is accountable. A man looks at the world around him and knows that his own decisions shaped it. When we take responsibility away from an adult, even gradually and even with seemingly good intentions, we reduce his human agency. When we implement a new ‘thing’ to be “more efficient” or “improve safety,” we often remove an aspect of the driver’s job that makes his work his.

Every year we see more technology, more regulations, more algorithms designed to, or said to, make ‘something’ better. Lane departure warnings and automatic brake systems are meant to save lives. Electronic logging devices are meant to prevent fatigue-related crashes. Optimized routing is meant to cut wasted fuel and wasted time. But what happens when we stack enough of these systems on top of the professional truck driver?

At a certain point, we have quietly relieved him of nearly every decision that once defined his profession. He no longer decides which route to take, or which truck stop to fuel at, or how long to drive before resting, or at what speed he will drive. What we have left is a man sitting in the cab, legally responsible for an 80,000lb+ vehicle, while nearly every decision about how that vehicle moves across the country has already been made somewhere else, by someone else, or by something else.

When automated systems assume the responsibility of making moment-to-moment decisions, human agency begins to erode. The human operator drifts from an active decision-maker to a passive supervisor, someone who watches the system run and steps in only after something has gone wrong. And when something does go wrong, then who is responsible when the routing software sends a truck into a bridge it cannot clear? Who is responsible when an automated braking system misreads a hazard? Who is responsible when the hours of service math forces a driver to stop somewhere unsafe because the clock ran out, regardless of what conditions on the road actually demanded? Is it the computer? Is it the automation? Or is it still, somehow, the man who technically drove the truck, but had almost nothing left to decide?

The erosion of responsibility is eating away at the profession, and at the culture of American trucking. We’ve introduced technologies and lowered the barrier to entry, but how low can we possibly go?! We have built parameters into systems that “dummy proof” the processes and the actions. And once it’s “dummy proof,” it doesn’t really matter who we hire. I’d argue that we’ve effectively killed the culture of American trucking by turning it into a job that seemingly anyone can do. Over time, a respected trade rooted in wisdom and judgment honed over years on the highway is reduced to commodity labor, and the truck driver is rendered almost irrelevant, serving as little more than a legal requirement to sit in the cab.

A man’s work ought never to be downgraded to mere passive surveillance of his environment. Human beings are designed to act as true agents in the world, rather than idle observers governed by systems engineered to circumvent their personal judgment. How can we hold drivers responsible when we have removed everything for which they should be responsible? When we strip the professional driver of all decisions, we are left holding a man accountable for decisions that were never really his to make, and for some reason we’re calling it “progress.”

My car beeping at me around a curve on a back road is such a small thing, and I can yell back at it and move on with my day. For a truck driver, it isn’t a small thing. He doesn’t get to yell and move on. His hours, routes, fuel stops, speed, and everything else are decided for him by someone or something else, every day, for as long as he holds that job. And he still has to answer for whatever happens next.

If we want drivers who are genuinely responsible, we have to leave them something real to be responsible for.

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NASTC Support For The Staged Accident Fraud Prevention Act

David Owen — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 15:54:51 +0000

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

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NASTC Letter to Sean Duffy

David Owen — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 15:44:04 +0000

July 15, 2026

The Honorable Sean P. Duffy
Secretary
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590

Dear Secretary Duffy:

I know it’s over-used and trite, but conventional wisdom contributed this nugget to me which I have found to be almost always correct.

“To continue to do the same thing over and over and expect a different result is a sure sign of insanity”

Let’s apply this axiom to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) from a historical perspective in search of an answer as to why they never admit they got it wrong, never roll anything back, and never apologize for the harm, expense, and “unintended consequences” that have devastated small carriers and owner/operators for over 25 years now. Let me say up front, NASTC very happily acknowledges all the positive changes you have made for trucking already. We greatly appreciate your strong leadership and responsiveness addressing major challenges in our industry.

I’m including in this package enclosure (1) which is one of the last remaining copies of, “In the Crosshairs” – America’s Truckers at Risk. This book was written and compiled almost at the same time FMCSA was officially created. It was a last ditch and desperate effort from Henry Seaton, our transportation attorney and myself to point out the idiocy of the Hours-of-Service proposal pushed through at the end of the Clinton Administration in 1999. Following our comments on the substance and process of the proposed rule, we were able to recruit several of our members to hypothetically run their trucks employing the proposed HOS. Though it spelled out how out of touch with reality the proposal was, FMCSA didn’t change a thing! Thank goodness Congress stepped in and refused to fund the rule and sent FMCSA back to the drawing board. Four years later in 2004, the new rule came out, and it remains the same rule that we’ve operated under since with the exception of some flexibility alterations made during Raymond Martinez’s tenure as the Administrator. NASTC’s comments are mentioned several times in that final rule.

On or about the same time, 1999, one of the largest for-hire carrier’s safety numbers had deteriorated to the point that they requested and received a waiver to install electronic logging devices in their trucks. They utilize these devices still today. When ELD’s were mandated in 2019, they had been using them for almost 2 decades. It would be interesting to compare their true safety numbers, i.e., accident frequency, property damage, and fatalities before and after ELD implementation to see if there has been a measurable improvement. When CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) came into being in 2010, we did a study using the government’s Safestat data on the 36 largest carriers and based on the three safety criteria mentioned above, this carrier was the fifth worst. (See Enclosure

(2)). Had the agency used a little common sense and used WERNER’s safety numbers as a benchmark from 1999 to 2019, they might have come to the same conclusion that we did after their 1st decade and that is: mandating ELD’s will have very little, if any positive effect on safety numbers – hold the mandate and let the companies that need it to compete in the SAFETY marketplace, use it.

The industry’s true safety numbers i.e., accidents, fatalities, and property damage have worsened to an alarming degree since 2010, the year CSA came out. And, by the way, if you were to mandate the universal use of ELD’s by everyone, wouldn’t it have made some sense to standardize the specs uniformly for creating them? Who could possibly predict the disasters caused by the agency who decided to allow manufactures to SELF-CERTIFY the equipment? I believe the GAO or someone with common sense needs to put his arms around the billions of dollars wasted by small carriers to retrofit ELD’s. To make matters worse, it’s obvious to small carriers and owner-operators that a simple rule requiring all MC holders to audit all driver logs, every trip, every day with a simple and affordable app, would have eliminated the need entirely for mandated ELD’s. The agency would have had the data to hold all MC holders accountable based on LOG AUDITS. To my knowledge there is no such regulation in the 800-page rule book.

I could go on with my arm chair quarterbacking historical condemnation of FMCSA and there’s plenty more to add, but I’m going to return to my original definition of insanity doing the same things over and over will not produce different results, nor improve trucking safety numbers. And, me making the same arguments that fall on deaf ears over and over again will not give different results.

I have been making those arguments on behalf of the unrepresented and unappreciated in trucking for 37 years. I’m hoping this package or parting gift will be opened and read. I have a large amount of confidence in the current administration, the current FMCSA director, and the current Secretary of Transportation. Here are some parting questions and suggestions going forward:

All the FMCSA administrators have been political appointments at the behest of large trucking, i.e. the American Trucking Association (ATA). Challenge some of their suggestions as self-serving and monopolistic notions designed to thwart small carriers and OO/Ops from being competitive.
Get more input from million-mile drivers and replace some of the so called safety advocates with industry folks on the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee.
Don’t always look to the enforcement community for policy – they are naturally adversarial to truckers in general and curry favor with the safety organizations as if in a popularity contest.
Don’t look always to CVSA for policy – they are an NGO (non-governmental organization), funded by FMCSA’s budget (the taxpayers), and populated by non-elected ex enforcement folks that demand a bigger budget and more illegitimate power each year – a bureaucratic group that’s more autonomous than the agency. I think they primarily authored the debacle of all debacles – CSA.
Hold the agency and Congress responsible for the following:

Why were the goal posts moved with trucking statistically by very quietly adding class 7 trucks into our numbers?

Why were the criteria for AHI events (Apnea-Hypopnea Index) tightened up by almost 50% several years ago? Results: what was a very acceptable AHI of 15 was suddenly alarmingly high at 28 by moving the goal posts. Why were certified medical advisors ever put into play and why were they all trained to exercise STOP BANG protocol for apnea?

Why rollout policies before they’re ready – ELD’s, CSA, Certified Medical Examiners, Driver Physical cards going cardless, self-certified ELD makers and now, MOTUS?

I have just received a white paper written by the head of the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA). His resume is impressive and solid and many of his points I somewhat agree with. I’m curious as to how much of his “white paper” was generated by AI? It’s obvious he’s from large trucking, and its obvious that many of his proposals fall into the category of doing the same old things over and over and expecting a different result. Right out of the gate he asks for more funding and more resources. I understand that there are 1,000 folks in FMCSA and almost 50% of them are coming to work at least 3 days per week! I don’t know how many folks there are in CVSA, but for an NGO, they have a huge budget and number in the 100’s. FMCSA- has been charged with auditing all new entrants and rating carriers. The agency is auditing timely about 10% or less of the new carriers and as far as ratings go, because they’re too safe to have enough events to get into the system, only a small percentage have a rating at all. This is unacceptable. We have offered suggestions on how to rate all carriers by contracting this function out to the individual states and having the carriers pay for such ratings, not the taxpayers. This suggestion, as with many others, has received no response.

Scrap CSA entirely and start over. Stop allowing CVSA’s unfettered and questionable authority to make policy and rules without respect for the Administrative Procedure Act. I see that they just issued new criteria to put trucks out of service – they can’t legally do this.

Our new administrator comes from CVSA and the enforcement community. He’s already stated that “we need to be careful what we ask for.”

I fear his solution to cleaning up the safety mess we’re in the midst of in trucking will mean more funding and more regulations. I don’t think that’s the answer. There is simply too large a disparity between compliance and true safety. Better rule making will close that gap considerably.

I would suggest strongly as I have for 30+ years:

The number one safety issue in trucking is driver turnover. All the large carriers and many TCA members have turnover rates north of 100%. And, there is not now nor has there ever been a driver shortage.
Hold all states (blue or red) accountable for applying the rules to all MC holders and all CDL holders. Several very identifiable states are guilty of ignoring the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution and allowing unqualified and sometimes illegal folks behind the wheel of MC holder’s trucks.
Help fight fraud and start to reel in the lawyers with strong tort reform.

I am also including as Enclosure (3) a copy of our latest newsletter in which you’ll find related articles.

Please accept this package in the spirit in which it’s meant. As always, NASTC would like to be considered as part of the solution, not part of the problem. Again, thank you for listening to us and acting to improve the lives and livelihoods of America’s trucking sector.

Sincerely,

David Owen,
President, NASTC

CC: Jim Edwards
Derek Barrs

Enclosure: (1) “In the CrossHairs” (2) Statistical data from 2010 (3) 2nd Quarter, NASTC Newsletter

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Thank You Letter To EPA Administrator Zeldin

David Owen — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 13:26:24 +0000

February 13, 2026

The Honorable Lee Zeldin
Administrator
Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20004

Dear Administrator Zeldin:

On behalf of the 14,000 member companies of the National Association of Small Trucking Companies (NASTC), thank you very much for acting boldly and prudently in recent actions that will have the positive, beneficial effect of restoring appropriate balance between protecting our environment and the commercial activity vital to America’s economy and prosperity.

As you know, NASTC is the industry voice for a distinct segment of the trucking industry not expressly represented by any other trucking association. NASTC is a member-based organization whose motor carrier members range from a single power unit to more than 100 power units, the average being 12 power units. These carriers for the most part operate in the long-haul, over-the road, full-truckload, for-hire sector of interstate trucking. NASTC’s members are small motor carrier businesses, the largest segment of America’s long-haul trucking.

NASTC strongly supports the Trump administration’s broad deregulatory agenda. And we tremendously appreciate and fully back the consequential step of withdrawing EPA’s “endangerment finding.” Designating greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, a threat to public health and welfare under the Clean Air Act has defied sound science and mocked responsible environmental policy. This finding has empowered big-government politicians and eco-extremists to impose on American citizens and essential business sectors green mandates that neither the American public nor market forces have sought (nor under which can compete with foreign competitors).

Moreover, NASTC commends and fully backs your decisions that will rectify the overreaching GHG3 and NOx rules, which have hung over the trucking industry and have inflicted very significant operational and financial hardships on truck drivers and motor carriers, particularly small trucking businesses.

We applaud your initiative and the goal of discontinuation of DEF derates. We applaud that the forthcoming rule to accomplish this most welcome outcome will be evidence-based, relying on data gathered from DEF product makers related to DEF system failures. We applaud your pursuit of details about DEF systems’ warranty claims, failure rates, and repair information for commercial vehicle model years 2016, 2019, and 2023.

NASTC and its member companies were encouraged by last year’s EPA and Small Business Administration guidance that requires manufacturers to provide a software solution replacing the radical derate schedule with one more reasonable: gradual torque reductions over 340 engine hours with a slowest speed of 25 mph. This deregulatory move was a good first step. Eliminating DEF derates entirely will be the optimal final outcome.

NASTC thanks you for and strongly supports the intended withdrawal of the 2022 Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle NOx rule, scrapping the derate approach for trucks model year 2027 and newer. We also appreciate that EPA’s final rule disapproves the California Clean Truck Check, relieving out-of-state trucks from certain California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulations.

In our correspondence of August 27, 2025, NASTC “urge[d] you to push the envelope as hard as you can to ease and, if achievable, eliminate the derate framework altogether. We urge[d] you to expel CARB from having any regulatory power outside the confines of the state of California and, in cases where federal law is controlling, preempt CARB and state regulators. We urge[d] you to enact a transparency regime at EPA.”

It appears you took NASTC’s requests to heart. We are thrilled with your deregulatory initiatives and greatly appreciate your common-sense, reasonable, beneficial actions. The American trucking sector will be better off for them.

NASTC stands ready to work with you and lend support for achieving as much deregulatory progress as possible. Please let us know how we may be of assistance.

Sincerely,

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More ELD Companies Decertified (Part 2)

David Owen — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 13:03:50 +0000

Below is part 2 of an article that was featured in last quarter’s newsletter from David Owen’s desk concerning the shortsighted nature of many rules, regulations, and laws that come out of Washington. If you recall, the letter was directed at the cost to small trucking companies and owner-operators because FMCSA allowed ELD manufacturers to self-certify.

Does anyone inside the beltway ever consider the tremendous amount of money that must be absorbed by trucking companies, drivers, shippers, receivers, and the consuming customer at the end of the supply chain, to “re-do” over and over the mandates from DOT and FMCSA?

Going back some twenty-five years when the FMCSA was formed, please humor us while we exercise a little critical questioning concerning performance:

Why were ELD’s mandated in the first place?

As we have made clear for almost 35 years, NASTC is and has always been adamantly opposed to the MANDATE! We have always maintained that the decision to use ELD’s or paper should be a COMPANY POLICY decision not a one-size-fits-all requirement. More than 50% of companies forced to use ELD’s never approach an hour-of-service violation.

Besides that, the almost eleven-year experiment with Werner Enterprises proved that there continued to be a huge gap between HOS compliance and actual safety (i.e., accidents, fatalities, and property damage). FMCSA’s own study on the cost-benefit analysis came up with 17 lives saved annually which is in fact and retrospect, statistically insignificant. Our safety numbers have gone up drastically, and many believe that the ELD mandate has cost lives, not saved them.

Why is it that there is zero requirement in the regs for companies to audit logs?

NASTC has maintained that it should be a requirement for all active MC credentialed carriers to audit all driver logs and be responsible for on-going enforcement and training with the HOS. This would have codified a high level of HOS compliance at a fraction of the cost of ELD’s.

Why were companies supplying mandated ELD’s allowed to self-certify? Why were companies required to start using this technology before it was clear to the product providers, FMCSA, and the trucking companies exactly how they were to be designed? Why were they demanded before the enforcement community was trained to read the data uniformly and supplied with the proper technology to do their respective jobs?

If this were an isolated example of Congress, FMCSA, CVSA and ATA promulgating and developing well-meaning but half-baked laws, regs, and guidances that were rolled out for our industry indiscriminately without any regard for small carriers, owner-operators, or the driving public, NASTC might be inclined to give them a pass. However, that is just not the case. I have grown tired of “unintended consequences.”

Other examples include:

The establishment of the Certified Medical Examiners Directory

This well-meaning, half-baked idea has had the following UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES:

– It effectively eliminated a qualified MD pool in rural areas and small towns and replaced them with chiropractors, nurse practitioners and inside the beltway MDs connected to sleep doctors.

– This directory was established to mitigate the chance that practicing MDs in rural areas could be taking payoffs under the table to pass unqualified drivers to get their medical cards. Ironically, it wasn’t until after this directory was in place that a chiropractor in South Georgia was convicted of this exact practice and 10,000+ medical cards were decertified because of this pay-for-play scheme.

– This also led to the out-of-control Apnea scare that was promulgated by CME’s trained in STOP-BANG protocol implying that, to quote Joan Claybrook, Co-Founder of Parents Against Tired Truckers (PATT) “that 65% of America’s truck drivers have apnea and that is equal to or worse than, driving drunk.” The connection between apnea and driver fatigue was exaggerated out of context so badly that almost all male drivers over fifty were forced to take sleep studies to prove they didn’t have an ailment that WE ALL HAVE. By the way, this entire blunder was put in play through GUIDANCE and as such didn’t have to accommodate The Administrative Procedures Act.

– The latest unintended negative consequence is going on as we speak. FMCSA in an effort to go paperless without the proper preparation, came out with the “improvement” that did away with the requirement for drivers to have a physical medical card on their person. Unfortunately for the industry, our companies, and our drivers, FMCSA didn’t co-ordinate with a dozen or so states who weren’t prepared to go paperless.

Since our guys and gals are in interstate commerce, they could possibly be in 10-15 states in a single week whereby they may be legal in some and put out of service in others. Why couldn’t someone in the beltway anticipate this?

Another example is the not-so-new requirement for pre-CDL entry level driver training. NASTC was one of 26 organizations asked to participate in a “reg-neg” or negotiated rule making concerning this requirement. There have only been two of these in transportation’s history and this one was ordered because Congress had passed a resolution requiring such training back in the 1980’s and no one within the government could figure out how to implement it without violating The Administrative Procedures Act. We were advised at the beginning of this year-long exercise that FMCSA could only implement our complete recommendations if there was a consensus of at least twenty-four of the twenty-six represented groups. NASTC was one of 2 dissenting votes. Without digging into the details, we dissented because we wanted more “behind-the-wheel” training, and we felt there was no evidence that there would be a cost benefit. We also felt that a negative or unintended consequence would be that a young individual would have to spend a substantial amount of time and money with a “self-certifying” training school, only to find out he was not cut out for long haul trucking. That last objection has proven to be correct and our pool of potential new entrants as CDL holders has been flooded with non-citizens, non-English speaking and sometimes, illegal immigrants that have circumvented the proper and legal path to a CDL. Once again this is an example of poor communication and procedural guidance from FMCSA to the various State Motor Vehicle Administrators. Also, it brings into question the many CDL schools that have sprung up around the country without proper vetting. Can we expect in a few years to start getting notices from FMCSA listing training schools that are no longer certified?
There are other glaring examples of mismanagement and negligence by FMCSA over their very short twenty-five year history such as allowing EPA to go beyond low sulfur diesel to ultra-low sulfur diesel, the introduction of catalytic converters, DEF, and all the associated and expensive problems caused by false positives, poor design, and parts and supply issues put in place in conjunction with the EPA and The Green New Deal. The not ready for prime time mandate for automatic braking systems, and the grandaddy of them all, The Compliance, Accountability, and Safety debacle that continues to not only be dysfunctional in rating carriers but has put 100’s of perfectly safe carriers out of business because of distorted data and design flaws.

What went so badly wrong?

To begin with FMCSA became a DEI, political football that has only listened to self-serving, inside the beltway, ideas and proposals. CVSA, The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is a Non-government Ad hoc committee that is dominated by safety organizations, labor unions, and retired enforcement people. They are non-elected, and they answer only to FMCSA and The American Trucking Association, who funds them with tax-payer dollars. They pick and choose who will be FMCSA’s administrator and who will sit on the Motor Carrier Advisory Board. With the exception of Todd Spencer and OOIDA, there is no representation from our hundreds of thousands of million-mile drivers, and their policies and programs seem to be designed not only to make entry into trucking difficult but also to eliminate the owner/operator model entirely.

As I stated before I’m weary of unintended consequences and after the fact apologies when practices from inside the beltway, classrooms and laboratories have an obvious and measurable negative outcome for our industry and the safety of the driving public.

NOTE: As we speak (mid-February 2026), there is underway a restructuring of the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Board. I certainly hope that our industry is more equitably represented going forward. NASTC is on record as recommending a couple of appropriate candidates who have shown an interest in serving and who are very qualified to speak on behalf of owner-operators and small companies. We have further recommended that the advisory board consider forming a driver group that rotates every year or two that would include current multi-million mile drivers. These drivers could be supplied through ATA’s Road Team, TA/Petro’s Citizen Drivers of the Year, NASTC’s Drivers of the Year, recipients of OOIDA’s Safe Driver Awards, and Women in Trucking’s Driver of the Year. Such a group could help mitigate some of the laboratory, classroom, and inside the beltway foolishness that ends up in the regulations.

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How NASTC’s NEST Class Helps Carriers Beat the Odds in Their First Two Years

James Caperton (Member Sales & Technology) — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 15:38:00 +0000

Starting a trucking company is an exciting step — but for many, it’s also a short-lived one. Industry data shows that 85–90% of new trucking companies fail within their first 2–3 years. The reasons vary, but most come down to the same core challenges:

Cash flow mismanagement
Inability to find consistent, profitable freight
Underestimating costs
Lack of compliance knowledge and operational structure

At NASTC, we’ve worked with thousands of small carriers — and we’ve seen firsthand what separates the companies that make it from those that don’t.

That’s why we created NEST — the New Entrant Survival Training class — a focused, two-day training program designed to help new carriers build a solid, sustainable foundation from the start.

The Results: NEST Graduates Outperform the Industry

We don’t just believe in the power of NEST — we’ve measured it.

87% of NASTC members who attend the NEST class are still in business two years later.

That’s a remarkable contrast to the national average. And it’s no coincidence.
NEST gives new carriers the education, strategy, and tools they need to navigate those early years with confidence.

What Makes NEST Different

NEST isn’t a webinar, a sales pitch, or a generic training. It’s a hands-on, two-day classroom experience taught at NASTC headquarters in Nashville, TN — led by industry professionals who understand the unique challenges small carriers face.

Here’s what’s covered:

DOT & FMCSA Compliance
We break down regulations into practical, real-world steps to help carriers avoid shutdowns, violations, and audit risk.

Financial and Cash Flow Strategy
We dive into the financial realities of trucking — from managing receivables and factoring to understanding true operating costs and avoiding common financial traps.

Insurance and Risk Management
Attendees learn how to manage insurance costs while maintaining the coverage required to stay on the road and grow responsibly.

Fuel Strategy
Fuel is one of your largest expenses. NEST provides insight into how professional fleets manage fuel purchasing — and how to avoid retail traps that eat away at profit.

Driver Hiring & Retention
From building a compliant hiring process to finding (and keeping) quality drivers, we help carriers develop systems to build a strong team from day one.

2026 NEST Class Schedule
All classes are held at NASTC Headquarters in Nashville, TN.

January 16–17
February 20–21
March 20–21
April 17–18
May 15–16
June 12–13
July 17–18
August 21–22
September 18–19
October – NASTC Annual Conference
November 13–14
December 11–12

Don’t Just Launch a Trucking Company — Build One That Lasts

The majority of new carriers won’t make it to year three — but you don’t have to be one of them.

Whether you’ve just activated your authority or are navigating your first year of operations, NEST (New Entrant Survival Training) is your opportunity to take control of your future, avoid common mistakes, and build a business that lasts.

Secure your spot in an upcoming class and let’s build your success story — together.

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Best Three Days in Trucking Insurance Perspective

Mike Jordan — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 13:49:24 +0000

I have been involved with NASTC’s Annual Conference for 16 years now and I can say that I do not think that I could be prouder of what we accomplished in those 3 days. The breakout sessions and topics were on par with any previous annual meeting. We, as conference goers and venders, were graced with the presence of trucking and transportation treasures, like Rick Gobbell and Jeff Davis. Love both those guys. If with one of those fellas cannot get you out of trouble and compliant, I do not know who can. David Owen and Kevin Rutherford ended up in a many spirited debates throughout the weekend ending in agreement a time or two.

I was unable to attend our Broker Carrier Trust Forum dinner that Thursday night which featured a set from Killer Beaz and, most importantly of all, Overdrive Online’ s Small Fleet Championship. I was so proud to have learned that not only one of our members, but one of our insureds, was up for the title this year. We have had the pleasure of working with Oberman Logistics LLC dba Oberman Logistics for the last three years. Wesley Oberman is a great example of an owner that believes in strong partnerships with his vendors, willingness to embrace technology, and promote a no non-sense attitude to generate success in this challenging market and freight climate.

As part of our breakout session, Jeff Davis and I discussed how to surpass the insurance market’s expectations with telematic data. Wesley is a perfect example of a carrier that uses his telematic data to his advantage. He shares his ELD data with his insurance provider and they supply him with a vast array of reporting data back. Welsey actively, coaches and mentors his Owner Operator fleet with the real time data provided by his ELD provider. This active approach has helped Oberman retain and in some cases help encourage the operator on to his/her next employment
stop depending upon the outcome of the session.

(From Overdrive):

Wes Oberman noted surprise at the win when it happened for his now-11-truck all-owner-operator business, headquartered in Huntingdon, Tennessee, a couple of hours west of Nashville. He noted he had been a NASTC member from the start when he was but a one-truck, one-driver outfit, with himself behind the wheel. He continues to lead by example, as it were, in that regard behind the wheel of a 10-plus-mpg Kenworth T680 these days. “I would like to thank NASTC. … Their fuel card is second to none, and I’d also like to thank their insurance department” he said. “Without them, I don’t think we’d even be around at this point.”

Way to go Wesley, Job Well done, sir. All of us here at NASTC/NASTC Insurance Services, LLC, are proud to call you part of our family.

The bar has been set. Who will be the next NASTC member to qualify for this prestigious honor?

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Why NASTC Wants Active Members

James Caperton (Member Sales & Technology) — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 21:21:35 +0000

At NASTC, we’re not just building a membership list — we’re building a community of successful small trucking companies. That’s why we care about more than just enrollment. We want active members — companies who stay engaged, use the programs, ask questions, and grow with us.

But why does that matter?

Because your success is our success. And the more active you are, the more value you — and everyone in the NASTC family — can receive.

We’re Not a Discount Club — We’re a Business Partner

NASTC offers some of the most competitive programs in the industry — from fuel savings to compliance support and factoring. But what sets us apart is how we work with our members. We’re not here just to offer a card and disappear.

We want to:

Know your business
Understand your goals
Help you stay compliant, profitable, and sustainable

Active members give us the feedback and interaction we need to serve better, improve our offerings, and advocate for your needs in the industry.

Engagement Makes Programs Work Better

Programs like:

Fuel discounts
Safety compliance
Driver training
Factoring
Insurance

… all work best when you use them consistently and strategically. When members are engaged, they:

Save more
Reduce risk
Operate more efficiently
Grow faster

When members stay inactive or disconnected, they miss out — and that’s a loss for everyone.

Your Voice Shapes Our Direction

NASTC is built for small trucking companies — and we rely on the voice of our members to:

Advocate on regulatory issues
Negotiate better vendor deals
Refine the services we offer

When you stay engaged — whether through events, feedback, or program participation — you help shape the future of NASTC for all members.

Engaged Members See the Best Results

We’ve seen it time and time again:

The members who attend the NEST class, use their fuel cards weekly, check in with our compliance team, and stay involved are the same ones who:

Grow their fleets
Retain better drivers
Avoid costly compliance issues
Build long-term, profitable businesses

They treat NASTC as a strategic partner — and it pays off.

What Active Membership Looks Like

You don’t have to attend every meeting or call every week. Being active just means:

Using the programs available to you
Reaching out when you need support
Staying current with compliance and safety resources
Letting us know how we can help

We’re In This Together

NASTC isn’t a vendor — it’s a network of businesses committed to helping small fleets compete in a big-fleet world. When our members are active, everyone benefits. Our programs get stronger. Our voice gets louder. And your business gets the tools it needs to succeed.

So if you’re part of NASTC — stay engaged. And if you’re thinking about joining, know that we’re ready to be more than just a card in your wallet.

We’re ready to be in your corner.

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In Loving Memory of Charlie Owen – NASTC’s First Field Rep)

David Owen — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:40:06 +0000

Owen Charles Owen, Jr. (Charlie), passed away peacefully in his sleep on November 9th at the age of 82. Charlie is preceded in death by his parents, Owen Charles Owen, Sr. and Bonnie Johnson Owen, both of Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Charlie is survived by two brothers, David Owen (Bonnie) of Hendersonville, Tennessee and Neal Francis Owen of Asheville, North Carolina, by his companion and roommate of 40 years, Justine Luecke, his two daughters Missy Mann (Jeff) of St. Cloud, Florida and Shelly Wright (Rob) of Deltona, Florida, and three grandchildren, Kelsey Wright, Alex Mann, and Dani Mann.

Charlie, in his early days, was a Boy Scouts of America executive for 25 years in charge of the greater Orlando metropolitan area division in Orlando, Florida. Following that, he did another twenty-five years with the National Association of Small Trucking Companies (NASTC, Inc.) in Hendersonville, Tennessee as its first field representative. His territory with NASTC, Inc. was Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia. He was honored several years as their Salesperson of the Year.

Though afflicted with Polio at the age of 12, his handicap never slowed him down in achieving great things for his family, The Boy Scouts and the National Association of Small Trucking Companies. In many ways, he often did with one arm what many could not do with two.

Charlie will be cremated, and a celebration of life will be held in Palatka, Florida at a date to be determined.

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The Best Three Days in Trucking: Highlights from the 2024 NASTC Conference

Brittney McMillan (NASTC New Member Sales & Conference Coordinator) — Sat, 21 Dec 2024 20:37:43 +0000

We are just off the heels of the 2024 NASTC Conference, and if you didn’t make it, you truly missed “The Best Three Days in Trucking”. This year’s event brought together the industry’s brightest minds to address challenges, share innovative solutions, and celebrate trucking excellence.

The conference opened with an impressive lineup of workshops, offering deep dives into critical industry topics. From Nicole Gifford’s training on on-site drug and alcohol testing to Homer Hogg’s expert guidance on SCR maintenance and repair, attendees walked away with actionable strategies to improve their operations. James Caperton showcased MYSTC Software, while Jeff Davis and Mike Jordan explored strategies to lower insurance costs by analyzing risk profiles and implementing proactive safety measures. Thursday’s sessions also included valuable discussions on fraud protection strategies, led by Kathy Dasal and Chuck Naab, and insights into trucking policy in an election year, presented by Jim Edwards.

Thursday: Celebrating Excellence

Winding down from a full day’s agenda, attendees networked with vendors, speakers and industry colleagues at the Meet Our Partners Cocktail Party hosted by Castrol. The Transportation Trust Forum was a cornerstone of the evening, filled with awards, recognitions, and industry insights. Lisa Smartt delivered an engaging keynote that set the tone for an evening of celebration. Roar Logistics took home the coveted Broker of the Year award, while the Overdrive Small Fleet Champions were recognized for their outstanding contributions, with honorees including Paul Rissler Transportation and C.W. Express.

Friday: Education and Networking

The second day offered a mix of training sessions and engaging discussions. Rick Gobbell’s class on DataQs updates and Kevin Rutherford’s ROTC session for remarkable one-truck companies provided targeted strategies for small fleets. Industry leaders, including Steve Keppler, Thomas Liberatore and Katie Morton, dissected the state of federal safety rulemaking, while Jeff Davis presented the “20 Must-Do’s” for compliance to safeguard operations. Tom Robertson and Carlos Austin unveiled new PrePass solutions, including a mobile app for bypassing tolls and managing costs and Trent Daum and Travis Rhodes showcased SambaSafety’s tool for assessing driver risk, helping companies reduce potential safety hazards.

Throughout the day, attendees explored the NASTC Vendor & Best Broker Showcase, an expo highlighting cutting-edge solutions for trucking professionals.

The night came alive with the Grand O Trucking Cocktail Party and Driver of the Year Showcase at the Country Music Hall of Fame sponsored by our partner, TravelCenters of America. Hosted by Kelly Lang & T.G. Sheppard and with performances by John Schneider, Kitty Steadman and Dave Karl this event celebrated the heart of the industry: its drivers, with the spotlight on remarkable individuals who embody safety and excellence.

Saturday: A Vision for the Future

Saturday’s general sessions featured a panel discussion with industry experts Rick Gobbell, Kevin Rutherford, Jim Edwards, Joe Rajkovacz, Jeff Davis, and Steve Keppler, focusing on the current state and future of over-the-road trucking. Broughton’s economic outlook gave attendees an in-depth analysis of freight flow trends and their implications for the industry.

The conference wrapped up with a luncheon and the Driver of the Year Award Ceremony honoring our 2024 Driver of the Year Team. Former Governor Mike Huckabee delivered an inspiring keynote, honoring the achievements of outstanding drivers who have collectively logged over 54 million accident-free miles.

A poignant moment during the ceremony was the posthumous recognition of Buster Anderson as the 2024 Transportation Professional of the Year. Anderson’s contributions to the trucking industry were celebrated with heartfelt tributes, highlighting his unwavering dedication and lasting impact. This award served as a powerful reminder of his legacy, which continues to inspire the trucking community.

Takeaways from the 2024 Conference

This year’s NASTC Conference offered more than just education—it delivered inspiration, practical solutions, and a renewed sense of community for trucking professionals. From addressing safety and compliance challenges to exploring emerging technologies, attendees left with the tools and confidence to drive their businesses forward.

As we look to the future, the dedication, professionalism, and innovation showcased during these three days remind us why this event is the cornerstone of the trucking industry. Here’s to the next year of excellence on the road! Mark your calendars for October 23-25, 2025!

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