A growing number of trucking associations are urging Congress to act quickly against what they say is one of the most dangerous forms of illegal activity on the highways today.
In a letter sent Wednesday to the House’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (TIC), a total of eight trucking associations endorsed the Safety and Accountability in Freight Enforcement (SAFE) Act, the Daily Caller learned exclusively.
Introduced by Republican Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman in February 2026, the SAFE Act targets chameleon carrier companies which are reportedly responsible for a large portion of accidents, safety violations, and illegal activity on the roads.
Read the full letter:
Rep. Hageman – SAFE Act Stakeholder Letter of Support
Chameleon carriers are trucking companies that regularly shut down and reopen under a new name to avoid punishments, traffic fines, and other accountability measures. These networks often commit hundreds of traffic violations and accidents in the process.
The risk assessment firm Fusable found in 2026 that these illegal companies are 4 times more likely to commit car crashes than legal trucking companies.
Chameleon carriers are also directly linked to illegal alien truck drivers, often hiring unqualified or illegally operating drivers to evade safety regulations. A February highway crash killed four people after an illegal migrant truck driver allegedly swerved lanes and hit another car head-on. According to the letter sent by the trucking associations, the driver was linked to a chameleon carrier network operating out of Chicago.
Congress must pass my bill, the SAFE Act, to help @USDOT detect and hold these carriers accountable before tragedies happen.
Thank you @SecDuffy for your efforts to make trucking great again!🚛 https://t.co/fFCKQVkoFq
— Rep. Harriet Hageman (@RepHageman) March 13, 2026
But the government has historically found it difficult to track down chameleon carriers. Often using the same trucks, drivers, and managers, these companies have “continued to operate by exploiting loopholes and deficiencies in our registration and detection systems,” the letter notes.
“[T]he SAFE Act leverages advanced automation and other forms of emerging technologies for use in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) registration system to accurately and promptly catch these chameleon carriers at the start before they are ever allowed on the road,” the letter says. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: GOP’s Illegal Trucker Crackdown Gets Powerful Backer)
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.
Rep. Hageman told the Caller she is “grateful the trucking industry is rallying” behind the SAFE Act.
“Chameleon carriers are compromising the safety of our highways across the country. These companies game the system, ignore our laws, and put families at risk while undermining the hard-working men and women who keep America moving,” Hageman said.
According to the trucking associations’ letter, the SAFE Act would create an advanced vetting tool for companies and their drivers, giving the associations “much-needed and up-to-date information on the scope and frequency of chameleon carriers and the harm they have caused.”
This week’s letter follows a broader effort to ensure the safety of America’s roads. In his Executive Order 14286, President Donald Trump required a standard of proficiency in English for all truck drivers. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the largest and most powerful unions in the country, also sent an individual March endorsement of the SAFE Act in a letter to Congress.
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