U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell and Edward Markey sent a letter on July 29 to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Administrator Derek Barrs requesting information about the agency’s tracking of large truck and bus crashes, following a ProPublica/WBUR investigation that found FMCSA undercounting such incidents.
The senators said, “According to the most recent data available, nearly 5,000 people were killed in crashes involving large trucks and buses in 2024.” They noted that FMCSA uses crash information to identify specific truck and bus companies for targeted enforcement. The ProPublica/WBUR report focused on an April 2025 school bus accident in Boston where a kindergartner was killed after being dropped off on the wrong side of the street by a driver hired by Transdev. The investigation found that 42 fatal crashes involving Transdev over ten years were missing from FMCSA records.
The senators wrote, “This raises serious concerns that FMCSA may be undercounting crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses, and thus jeopardizing its mission to reduce such incidents and protect the safety of Americans.” They highlighted that instructions given by FMCSA to law enforcement leave it up to individual officers’ discretion as to which company should be listed as responsible for a crash. This has resulted in variable records, with some Transdev crashes attributed instead to government agencies or acquired companies.
Cantwell and Markey also addressed declining enforcement actions during the Trump administration: “More broadly, FMCSA enforcement actions have declined since President Trump took office,” they wrote. “According to its own data, FMCSA completed approximately 1,400 enforcement cases against motor carriers in fiscal year 2025, compared to nearly 4,000 in fiscal year 2024—a 65 percent decrease.”
The letter requests documentation about how FMCSA monitors commercial motor carriers operating school buses or transporting children; collaborates with other Department of Transportation offices; guides state law enforcement on recording carrier names; verifies record accuracy; tracks inspections involving Transdev-operated vehicles; explains why certain crashes were not recorded; clarifies reasons for fewer closed cases; describes changes made since January 2025 regarding high-risk carrier enforcement thresholds; and details staffing levels responsible for analyzing inspection data from calendar years 2024 through present.
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is tasked with reviewing legislation related to commerce, science, and transportation matters within Congress sessions, according to the official website.