Chameleon Carriers and Colorado Truck Accidents: What the 60 Minutes Investigation Reveals

A recent 60 Minutes investigation drew attention to a dangerous practice affecting more than one in five trucking companies in the United States. The investigation focused on so-called “chameleon carriers,” trucking companies that evade fines and federal regulators by shutting down and reopening under a different name and business entity. (Featured Image Source: CBS News)

Source: 60 Minutes/CBS

Chameleon carriers exploit the Department of Transportation (DOT) registration system to evade penalties and consequences as regulatory violations, crashes, injuries, and deaths mount.

What is a Chameleon Carrier?

A chameleon carrier is a trucking company or motor carrier that dissolves and re-registers under a new name and DOT number. This reincarnation usually occurs after the motor carrier builds up a substantial and dangerous history of violations or crashes and is in danger of losing its operating authority. The chameleon carrier will have the same owner, business address, trucks, and drivers as the previous entity. All that changes is the name and DOT number used to track it.

Risk analysts estimate that 10 to 20 percent of the 700,000 motor carriers registered with the DOT operate as chameleon carriers. In fact, analysts have found that these carriers were  three times more likely to cause a crash than compliant operators.

The chameleon carrier’s quick reincarnation is possible due to the ease with which a new motor carrier can be formed and cleared to operate. All that is required is a new DOT number and Motor Carrier Authority. The entire process can be done online in minutes and costs less than $1,000.

A carrier can obtain a new DOT number at no cost by completing a few steps on the FMCSA portal. The carrier obtains motor carrier authority just as easily paying a nominal filing fee and waiting out a 21-day protest period during which the new company must secure insurance. Once the 21-day period ends and insurance is on file, the FMCSA considers the motor carrier “active” and it can begin hauling freight.

The chameleon carrier will often register to the same address, utilize the same trucks, and employ the same drivers. This is possible because there is no meaningful vetting or background check necessary to start hauling freight.

Dangers of Chameleon Carriers

Chameleon carriers pose significant dangers to the public. The motor carrier behind one of the worst semi-truck crashes in Colorado utilized this method to quickly get back on the road.

Castellano 03 Trucking LLC, the motor carrier behind the fiery 2019 I-70 crash, established a new entity, Volt Trucking LLC, the day after its truck’s brakes failed, causing the April 2019 crash. Castellano 03 Trucking, LLC and Volt Trucking LLC shared the same business address and owner. The new entity quickly amassed a startling history of its own brake issues.

These trucking companies are able to skirt regulatory enforcement with little to no consequences because the FMCSA lacks the ability to meaningfully oversee the registration process. Currently, the FMCSA has only 350 investigators nationally to monitor the 700,000 registered motor carriers. The FMCSA is working to hire additional investigators and to modernize the registration system and other infrastructure.

Modernizing the registration system and adding investigators should curtail some of the abuses of chameleon carriers. When a brand-new entity emerges with the same names, addresses, and equipment as one that had an abysmal safety record, it should not be difficult to flag that registration.

What Your Colorado Truck Accident Attorney Needs To Do Right Now

If you have been injured in a semi-truck crash in Colorado, uncovering a chameleon carrier can require a significant amount of research and investigation. It will not always be obvious to even experienced personal injury attorneys that a motor carrier may have a long and hidden history of bad conduct. An experienced Colorado truck crash attorney will know what red flags to look for. The investigation begins by simply looking at the semi-truck involved in the crash. Federal regulations require DOT and motor carrier identification numbers to be displayed on the tractor, and those numbers are enough to start an investigation of the trucking company. The DOT number allows you to quickly obtain information on the motor carrier from the DOT’s Safety and Fitness Electronic Records System (“SAFER”).

From the SAFER search you can begin to determine if you are dealing with a true chameleon carrier. There are several red flags to watch for:

• A trucking company that has a short operation history and a high out-of-service percentage (meaning its vehicles or drivers are pulled off the road frequently when they are inspected) should prompt an experienced truck crash attorney to dig deeper.
• A business address associated with multiple other entities that have been dissolved or abandoned. Most chameleon carriers will not put the effort in to obscure this connection. In fact, many are homes or P.O. Boxes.
• Evidence that commercial motor vehicles have changed the associated DOT numbers multiple times can signal frequent carrier turnover. As the 60 Minutes investigation found, some drivers will simply duct tape over the existing number and add the new one.
• Inexperienced or improperly vetted drivers. Many chameleon carriers are content to burn through drivers to maximize profit. Inexperienced truck crash lawyers will focus on the driver’s failings and may miss the underlying reason they were behind the wheel in the first place.

These are only a few of the steps necessary to uncover whether you were injured by a chameleon carrier. Defense lawyers and insurance companies know will do their best to downplay and obscure any connections and will do their best to divert focus to the driver or other circumstances. This is why you need experienced truck crash lawyers to fight to uncover the truth.

The Colorado truck crash attorneys at Bowman Law know how these networks are built and how to dismantle them in litigation. We have handled commercial trucking cases across the state and understand the FMCSA regulatory framework these carriers are designed to evade.

If you or a family member has been seriously injured in a Colorado truck accident involving a commercial truck, call us before the carrier disappears. Call Bowman Law, LLC, Colorado Truck Crash Lawyers, today at 720-863-6904 for a free consultation.