Imagine this: After 13 years of running a successful flatbed and step-deck carrier, on an unremarkable Tuesday, your business comes to a screeching halt. No calls. No bookings. No dollars. All because of a Motus glitch.
Panicking, you open Motus and locate your business. In big, bold letters, your status reads ‘INACTIVE – INVOLUNTARY SUSPENSION.” You are shocked, then baffled. What had you done to have your status suspended? You dig deeper and discover that your general-freight operation has been reclassified as hazmat… despite never having hauled hazmat.
Then, something clicks. You check your insurance premium and, sure enough, the number reads $1 million. Your $750,000 policy no longer qualifies. You lost your authority over an insurance change you never made.
This is the real story of Vasile Sorocean, owner of Dynamic MD. Since this incident, Vasile has not been able to book a single shipment. “As a small company, we cannot hold out long,” laments Vasile. Tragically, 6,000 other carriers met the same fate the week of the 27th.
Here’s how thousands of carriers are having their authorities suspended all because of a glitch in the new FMCSA system.
What Happened to Cause the Glitch?
FMCSA’s new registration system, Motus, has caused industry-wide disruptions before.
On September 1, Motus incorrectly reported that some carriers needed $5 million in coverage when they only need $1 million. This resulted in 1,200 carriers having their authorities suspended despite meeting the correct insurance criteria.
It seems that this bug has reemerged, this time sidelining 6,000 carriers in a week due to incorrectly reported insurance requirements.
The FMCSA has commented that 95% of Motus registrations are error-free; however, “[for] that 5%, that’s still a challenge.”
Though the FMCSA has not published a cause of the glitch, some industry analysts suspect rushed development.
How Does This Glitch Affect All Carriers?
The glitch’s impact extends far beyond the 6,000 affected carriers.
Regardless of reason or cause, the FMCSA doesn’t notify a carrier when they’re being suspended. Because brokering tools automatically pull authority status, business suddenly halts when that status changes—and the carrier has no idea why.
In one sad example, a 16-truck fleet in Wisconsin lost $23,000 in a month because of a suspension they didn’t know about, going 40 days before having any idea of the problem. “We did so much deadheading”, the owner recalls.
This communication gap is an enormous threat to carriers everywhere, presenting an invisible problem with business-defining repercussions.
How to Know If You Were Affected
To find out if you were affected by the glitch, follow these steps:
- Check Motus and review the status of your authority type. To be safe, also glance at the insurance section and verify it matches your current premium. But don’t stop there.
- If your Motus account looks correct, do a quick cross-reference with your SAFER Company Snapshot. The two systems can tell a different story, so it’s important to check both.
- Check weekly until the FMCSA confirms the bug has been patched.
The faster you discover the glitch, the more savings you’ll reap.
If You Were Affected, Here’s How to Get Help
If you discover that your authority status has been affected by the glitch, take these actions immediately:
- Screenshot everything with dates. This will enable you to get the fastest help possible.
- Open a ticket through Contact FMCSA in Motus, or call 1-800-832-5660. Include your USDOT number, company’s official name, your Login.gov email, and proof of ownership.
- Contact your insurance agent and ask them to review the filing.
- Notify your brokers as soon as possible and update them as the problem is remediated.
This glitch can be frustrating for affected carriers, but acting quickly can make a difference of tens of thousands of dollars.
How to Offset Losses
If you’re an affected carrier and have lost funds in deadhead miles, or you are one of the many paddling upstream against diesel prices, the England Carrier Services fuel card can deter difficult diesel conditions with these benefits:
- Discounted fuel at Love’s, TA, and Petro, at 900+ locations.
- Free setup and low transaction fees. Load your card for free, 24/7.
- Set your own limits on driver cards. Get free online reports showing where, how much, and at what price every gallon was bought.
- Qualifying carriers can get a line of credit, which helps when the pump moves faster than your surcharge.
Click here to get started with the England Carrier Services fuel card.
The Motus glitch is causing havoc for thousands of affected carriers, exacerbated by a lack of communication surrounding authority changes. As messy regulations continue to complicate matters for carriers, the England Carrier Services fuel card can provide much-needed relief in a tough market.
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