Eight Trucking Associations Endorse SAFE Act To Target Chameleon Carriers

A group of eight trucking associations has endorsed legislation aimed at addressing chameleon carriers, which officials describe as companies that repeatedly shut down and reopen under new names to avoid penalties for safety violations and traffic fines.

In a letter sent Wednesday to the House’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the associations urged Congress to pass the Safety and Accountability in Freight Enforcement (SAFE) Act. The bill was introduced in February 2026. The associations said the measure would help detect these carriers before they operate on public roads.

Chameleon carriers often use the same trucks, drivers and managers while exploiting loopholes in registration and detection systems. The letter noted that government agencies have historically found it difficult to track them. A risk assessment firm found in 2026 that these carriers are four times more likely to commit crashes than legal trucking companies.

They are also linked to the hiring of unqualified or illegally operating drivers, including cases involving illegal alien truck drivers. The associations stated the driver swerved lanes and hit another car head-on. The SAFE Act would leverage advanced automation and emerging technologies within the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s registration system.

This would allow the agency to identify chameleon carriers at the point of registration before they are permitted on the road.

The letter was signed by the American Trucking Associations, the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Truckload Carriers Association, the Truck Safety Coalition, American Truckers United, National Tank Truck Carriers, and the Transportation Intermediaries Association.