The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has so far offered no solutions to one small Houston trucking company recently marked “inactive” during a glitch caused by the transition to the Motus system.
Savoy Transportation out of Houston, Texas says that all of its insurance and other paperwork is in order, but that they have been repeatedly rejected by brokers since the transition to Motus. Truck driver Michael Savoy and his company accountant, Lisa Hall, say that they did not know their DOT number had been marked inactive until the brokers started rejecting them.
“I only heard about it because brokers were saying they couldn’t give us loads because we weren’t active, and I’m like, what’s MOTUS,” Hall said to KHOU 11.
Hall says that she knows the designation is an error, and that she has contacted the FMCSA, but the only response she’s received is that the accidental designation was caused by the recent transition to the Motus online platform.
“[FMCSA] just [said] that it was a computer glitch. It’s a known issue and that they’re working on it,” Hall said, noting that she’s contacted the FMCSA more than 20 times since the issue first started.
The new Motus registration system and platform is intended to cut down on fraud in the trucking industry by using “biometrics and modern data analytics to verify that those who apply for these numbers are who they say they are.” However, bad actors have already started taking advantage of confusion caused by the transition by virtually impersonating the Motus system to steal the information of companies and truckers.
Without any solutions from the FMCSA, Savoy says that it is missing out the loads that keep the company in business, with no end in sight.
“Over three weeks we’ve lost at least 15 to 20 loads,” Hall said. That’s my biggest fear, that we’re going to have to sell the truck and, and close out the business.”
“It hurts a lot not to be in my truck. It hurts a lot not to be able to work… “Financially got me in a big hole,” Savoy said. “Hoping every morning that it comes through. Just a push of a button and I’m back in.”
