US trucking industry hit by privacy lawsuit and safety legislation

Truck drivers Adam Dean and Christian Erickson filed a class‑action suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Motive Technologies Inc., alleging that the company's AI‑powered dash cams use automatic license‑plate readers (ALPRs) to collect vehicle images, license‑plate numbers, location data and associate identities without required public disclosures, violating California’s ALPR law. The complaint claims the surveillance affects roughly 1.3 million drivers and cites invasion of privacy, emotional distress and statutory damages.

Separately, U.S. Senators Todd Young and Andy Kim introduced the Safety and Accountability in Freight Enforcement (SAFE) Act, legislation aimed at curbing “chameleon carriers” – unsafe trucking companies that evade regulators by re‑branding. The bill would direct the Government Accountability Office to study the prevalence and crash impact of such carriers and require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to develop an advanced tool for detecting them. The measure has bipartisan support from major trucking associations.