Motor Carrier Operations: Improvements Needed to Federal System for Collecting and Addressing Complaints against Truck, Moving, and Bus Companies
Fast Facts
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration aims to reduce crashes, injuries, and deaths involving large trucks and buses.
To that end, FMCSA collects complaints against companies that operate these vehicles. The complaints can be related to safety—e.g., speeding or reckless driving—or to problems like unfair business practices. FMCSA reviews these complaints, but its guidance is not clear. Specifically, FMCSA guidance doesn't define key terms or provide clear instructions for its staff. Improving this guidance could help FMCSA respond to safety and other emerging concerns.
Our recommendations are to help FMCSA improve this and other issues.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), within the Department of Transportation, maintains complaint data submitted against large commercial truck, moving, and bus companies—which are types of motor carriers. GAO found that FMCSA makes some but not all of this complaint data available to the public, which is not consistent with Department of Transportation policy. As a result, FMCSA may be missing the opportunity to improve transparency and collaboration with industry partners.
Types of Vehicles Used by Motor Carriers
FMCSA has not designed sufficient controls to help ensure its policy for reviewing complaints related to motor carriers is followed. For example, FMCSA's guidance is organized by seven complaint categories. However, the guidance does not define several key terms, including the complaint categories, or define how the categories align with over 100 possible allegations. Matching the allegation to a category may be challenging without definitions. As a result, FMCSA may not have adequate assurance that staff are consistently applying the appropriate complaint review guidance. Ultimately, this could affect FMCSA's ability to respond to unsafe motor company practices.
GAO also found that FMCSA's public-facing complaint website partially followed leading practices for federal website design and usability. For example, the website works on frequently used web browsers and the content is organized around user-friendly topics, in line with leading practices. However, the complaint website's content is not consistently easy to view on mobile devices. According to FMCSA officials, about half of users access the website on mobile devices. Representatives of industry associations noted that mobile access is particularly important for truck drivers.
FCMSA has conducted some outreach activities for its complaint website, but has not developed a plan to guide these activities. According to GAO's review, FMCSA promotes the website through the “Protect Your Move” education campaign for people who are planning interstate moves. FMCSA's outreach to other audiences—such as truck drivers—has been more limited and all five of the trucking associations GAO interviewed were not aware of such outreach. Without a plan to guide outreach activities, key target audiences may lack awareness of the complaint website, limiting FMCSA's ability to collect motor safety complaints.
Why GAO Did This Study
Large trucks and buses move billions of tons of goods and transport millions of people across the United States each year. FMCSA is responsible for reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. One way FMCSA carries out this responsibility is through its complaint website.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes a provision for GAO to review FMCSA's complaint website. This report examines (1) complaint data FMCSA makes public, (2) control activities FMCSA uses to review complaints, (3) how the complaint website follows leading practices, and (4) user outreach for the complaint website.
GAO analyzed data from the complaint website, reviewed applicable statutes and FMCSA regulations, policy, and guidance, compared the complaint website to leading practices for federal websites, and reviewed FMCSA's actions to promote awareness of the complaint website. GAO also interviewed agency officials and representatives of industry associations.
Recommendations
GAO is making 14 recommendations, including that FMCSA make all categories of its complaint data public as appropriate, update its complaint review guidance, ensure its complaint website fully follows leading practices, and develop an outreach plan for its complaint website. FMCSA agreed with 13 of these recommendations. For the remaining recommendation, FMCSA cited challenges testing the complaint website with external users.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | The FMCSA Administrator should make data on all categories of complaints available to the public, as appropriate, and in line with DOT's Data Management Policy. (Recommendation 1) |
DOT concurred with this recommendation. In its February 2024 180-day letter, DOT stated that FMCSA will make National Consumer Complaint Database (NCCDB) data, as appropriate, available to the public pursuant to DOT policy. FMCSA will achieve this objective through its modernization of the NCCDB, which will include a publicly searchable data component. FMCSA anticipates completing this action by June 30, 2025. GAO will continue to monitor FMCSA's efforts to implement this recommendation.
|
| Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | The FMCSA Administrator should ensure FMCSA updates its complaint review guidance to define each category of complaint (i.e., ADA, coercion, harassment, hazardous materials, household goods, safety, and other commercial complaints) and link allegations to these categories. (Recommendation 2) |
DOT concurred with this recommendation. In its February 2024 180-day letter, DOT stated that FMCSA is in the process of developing and promulgating updated complaint review guidance that will define each complaint category to its staff and contractors. FMCSA's updated guidance will encompass all complaint types received by FMCSA and will include information on how to accurately categorize, differentiate, and record customer complaints in the NCCDB. FMCSA anticipates completing this action by December 31, 2024. GAO will continue to monitor FMCSA's efforts to implement this recommendation.
|
| Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | The FMCSA Administrator should ensure FMCSA updates its complaint review guidance to define the characteristics a complaint must have, such as who submitted the complaint and the nature of the incident, to qualify as a motorist complaint. (Recommendation 3) |
DOT concurred with this recommendation. In its February 2024 180-day letter, DOT stated that FMCSA is developing updated complaint review guidance for both the public, agency staff, and contractors to define minimally acceptable details relating to motorist complaints. The guidance will include language clearly explaining to the public what actions FMCSA may take on complaints, and the impact that missing or incomplete information has on the Agency's ability to effectively investigate complaints. FMCSA anticipates completing this action by December 31, 2024. GAO will continue to monitor FMCSA's efforts to implement this recommendation.
|
| Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | The FMCSA Administrator should ensure FMCSA updates its complaint review guidance to define the complaint status options and provide instructions on when to use the complaint status and activity type options. (Recommendation 4) |
DOT concurred with this recommendation. In its February 2024 180-day letter, DOT stated that FMCSA is developing updated complaint review guidance to clearly define terms for the receipt, vetting, reviewing, and closing of complaints. These steps will ensure that consistent and understandable terminology is used across the various complaint types. FMCSA anticipates completing this action by December 31, 2024. GAO will continue to monitor FMCSA's efforts to implement this recommendation.
|
| Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | The FMCSA Administrator should ensure FMCSA updates its complaint review guidance to provide clear and comprehensive procedures on how to review all categories of complaints, such as step-by-step instructions or flow charts. (Recommendation 5) |
DOT concurred with this recommendation. In its February 2024 180-day letter, DOT stated that FMCSA is developing updated complaint review guidance to include procedures on addressing and closing complaints. DOT stated that the new procedures will improve case management performance and identify who is responsible for complaint resolution for each complaint type. FMCSA anticipates completing this action by December 31, 2024. GAO will continue to monitor FMCSA's efforts to implement this recommendation.
|
| Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | The FMCSA Administrator should ensure FMCSA updates its complaint review guidance to require that key determinations are documented in complaint case files. (Recommendation 6) |
DOT concurred with this recommendation. In its February 2024 180-day letter, DOT stated that FMCSA is developing updated complaint review guidance to cover the management of cases from complaint initiation through closeout and will provide necessary supportive resources and process direction to ensure proper documentation of determinations. FMCSA anticipates completing this action by December 31, 2024. GAO will continue to monitor FMCSA's efforts to implement this recommendation.
|
| Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | The FMCSA Administrator should ensure FMCSA updates its complaint review guidance to require that FMCSA staff and managers enable auto-notifications for complaints for which they are responsible. (Recommendation 7) |
DOT concurred with this recommendation. In its February 2024 180-day letter, DOT stated that FMCSA is developing updated complaint review guidance and will complete initial process adjustments to provide notifications to submitters and FMCSA personnel as complaints are addressed, closed, and completed by December 31, 2024. GAO will continue to monitor FMCSA's efforts to implement this recommendation.
|
| Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | The FMCSA Administrator should ensure FMCSA updates its complaint review guidance to require managers to review reports on the status of complaints as part of their oversight of complaint review. (Recommendation 8) |
DOT concurred with this recommendation. In its February 2024 180-day letter, DOT stated that FMCSA is developing updated complaint review guidance procedures for management regarding the availability of reports within the current NCCDB and will implement expectations for review and follow-up by program managers. FMCSA will further update its guidance upon deployment of an updated NCCDB system. FMCSA anticipates completing initial complaint review guidance and program manager training by December 31, 2024. Additional training will be completed when the new system is deployed by June 30, 2025. GAO will continue to monitor FMCSA's efforts to implement this recommendation.
|
| Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | The FMCSA Administrator should ensure the National Consumer Complaint Database website is consistently mobile-friendly. (Recommendation 9) |
DOT concurred with this recommendation. In its February 2024 180-day letter, DOT stated that FMCSA will address this through its IT modernization effort, which will update the NCCDB and website accessibility. These enhancements will follow leading practices for design and usability, creating a modernized look and feel that improves the user's experience. FMCSA anticipates completing this action by June 30, 2025. GAO will continue to monitor FMCSA's efforts to implement this recommendation.
|
| Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | The FMCSA Administrator should ensure the National Consumer Complaint Database website appropriately targets key audiences, including by defining acronyms and technical terms, and providing more detailed or relevant examples of complaints that may be filed by truck and bus drivers. (Recommendation 10) |
DOT concurred with this recommendation. In its February 2024 180-day letter, DOT stated that FMCSA will update the NCCDB website as part of its new complaint system, using plain language that ensures complaint types are clearly delineated, with relevant examples, to its targeted audiences. FMCSA will develop educational resources on the website for submitters (i.e., videos, how-to guides, checklists, etc.) and, to improve efficiency, will further clarify documentation that is required when submitting complaints. FMCSA anticipates completing this action by June 30, 2025. GAO will continue to monitor FMCSA's efforts to implement this recommendation.
|
| Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | The FMCSA Administrator should ensure the National Consumer Complaint Database website contains information that is appropriately accessible for users with limited English proficiency. (Recommendation 11) |
DOT concurred with this recommendation. In its February 2024 180-day letter, DOT stated that FMCSA will update the NCCDB website to contain information for individuals with limited English proficiency and adhere to appropriate standards for the provision of information to individuals with limited English proficiency. FMCSA anticipates completing this action by December 31, 2024. GAO will continue to monitor FMCSA's efforts to implement this recommendation. GAO will continue to monitor FMCSA's efforts to implement this recommendation.
|
| Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | The FMCSA Administrator should ensure the National Consumer Complaint Database website has performance standards, such as goals and measures, and that the website is assessed against the performance standards. (Recommendation 12) |
DOT concurred with this recommendation. In its February 2024 180-day letter, DOT stated that FMCSA will undertake this effort as a part of its NCCDB and IT modernization project. DOT stated that FMCSA will assess pertinent data points to identify performance measures that align with user experience and complaint feedback and will utilize these metrics to assess progress toward future customer service and complaint response goals and objectives. FMCSA anticipates completing this action by June 30, 2025. GAO will continue to monitor FMCSA's efforts to implement this recommendation.
|
| Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | The FMCSA Administrator should ensure the National Consumer Complaint Database website is tested with external users on a regular basis. (Recommendation 13) |
DOT partially concurred with this recommendation. In its February 2024 180-day letter, DOT stated that open public testing is not a sustainable approach to determine external user experience. However, DOT said, FMCSA is currently planning a large-scale modernization of the NCCDB and will ensure its future platform follows industry standards for human-centered design and user feedback. FMCSA anticipates completing this action by June 30, 2025. GAO will continue to monitor FMCSA's efforts to implement this recommendation.
|
| Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | The FMCSA Administrator should develop an outreach plan for its National Consumer Complaint Database website that aligns with leading practices for outreach. (Recommendation 14) |
DOT concurred with this recommendation. In its February 2024 180-day letter, DOT stated that as part of FMCSA's planning and outreach efforts, FMCSA intends to use preliminary feedback from focus groups to assist in the development of an NCCDB-specific communications plan that aligns the functions of the complaint system with public expectations and transparency. DOT said that this communications strategy will also clearly describe FMCSA's jurisdiction and responsibilities as they relate to complaint response and will highlight changes to the NCCDB that improve the user experience. FMCSA anticipates completing this action by June 30, 2025. GAO will continue to monitor FMCSA's efforts to implement this recommendation.
|