Truck Accident Recordkeeping Renewal: Ultimate Bureaucratic Snooze
Published Date: 9/9/2026
Notice
Summary
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is renewing its rules that require truck and bus companies to keep records of any accidents involving their vehicles. These companies don’t have to report accidents right away but must show the records if officials ask. The renewal keeps things running smoothly with no new costs, and comments on the plan are open until November 9, 2026.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Motor Carrier Accident Recordkeeping Rule
If you operate a motor carrier (a trucking or bus company), you must keep an "accident register" for each crash with your commercial motor vehicles. The register must record date, location, driver name, number of injuries, number of fatalities, and whether certain hazardous materials were released, and you must keep copies of insurer or government accident reports for 3 years after the accident.
No Proactive Accident Reporting Required
Motor carriers are not required to submit accident records to FMCSA on their own. You do not have to report after a crash, but must produce your accident register and related reports if requested by authorized Federal, State, or local officials.
Renewal Raises Estimated Burden & Costs
FMCSA updated estimates for the renewed information collection: estimated annual respondents rose from 93,280 to 115,547; reportable accidents from 162,533 to 172,203 per year; total annual burden increased from 48,760 to 51,661 hours (based on 18 minutes per response); estimated labor cost rose from $1,507,169 to $1,534,344; and non-labor costs rose from $93,944 to $99,107.
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Key Dates
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