The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration continues to reshape the regulatory landscape for commercial trucking in the United States, and Canadian carriers operating south of the border need to pay close attention. The long-debated speed limiter proposal was withdrawn in July 2025, but significant changes in CSA scoring and drug testing procedures mean 2026 still brings a wave of updates that directly impact cross-border operations.
Speed Limiter Mandate: Proposal Withdrawn, No Federal Requirement
Status as of this update (October 10, 2026): withdrawn. FMCSA and NHTSA withdrew the federal speed limiter proposal on July 24, 2025 (90 FR 34822). There is no federal speed limiter requirement, and nothing to comply with. An earlier version of this article described the rule as having "moved into its implementation phase" at a fixed 68 mph, and a later version called it a pending proposal. Both were wrong and have been corrected. See our dedicated page, Speed Limiter Mandate for Trucks, for the full history and the provincial rules that still apply.
After nearly two decades of petitions, proposals and public comment, the federal speed limiter effort ended without a rule. The withdrawal covered the joint 2016 proposal and FMCSA's 2022 follow-up notice, and cited significant policy and safety concerns and continued data gaps that left the costs and benefits too uncertain. No final rule was ever published, so no governed-speed setting is required under federal rules, there is no compliance date, and a truck's speed limiter setting cannot produce a federal violation.
What the withdrawal means:
- Maximum speed setting: none. The 2016 proposal sought comment on speeds from 60 to 68 mph and never settled on one. There is no federal number to re-govern a fleet against.
- Applicability: none. Had a final rule issued, it would have applied to trucks in interstate commerce, including Canadian-plated trucks running in the US. With both proposals withdrawn, no federal speed limiter rule applies to any truck.
- Compliance date: none. There is no final rule, so there is no compliance window.
- Enforcement: none at the federal level. Speed limiter settings cannot generate a federal violation at a Level I or Level II inspection.
For Canadian carriers, the rules that bind are provincial. Ontario and Quebec have required speed limiters set at no more than 105 km/h on most heavy trucks since 2009, and British Columbia has since April 5, 2024. None of the three provinces exempts trucks plated elsewhere, and the US withdrawal does not change any of these rules. A covered truck governed above 105 km/h for US highways is out of compliance as soon as it is driven in Ontario, Quebec or British Columbia. On the US side, the withdrawal notice says operators remain free to limit the speed of their own vehicles, so a governed speed there is a fleet policy choice.
CSA Scoring Methodology Updates
The Compliance, Safety, Accountability program has undergone meaningful changes in 2026 that affect how carriers are evaluated, prioritized for interventions, and perceived by shippers and brokers.
What has changed:
- Data sufficiency thresholds adjusted. The minimum number of inspections required before a BASIC category score becomes active has been recalibrated. Smaller carriers with fewer inspections will see their scores become active sooner, closing the gap that previously allowed some carriers to operate "under the radar."
- Crash preventability program expanded. The FMCSA has broadened the types of crashes eligible for a Not Preventable determination. Rear-end collisions where the CMV was struck, animal strikes, and crashes caused by infrastructure failures (road debris, signal malfunctions) can now be submitted for review and potential removal from the carrier's crash indicator score.
- Severity weighting refined. Violations are now weighted more aggressively based on severity. Critical violations such as operating while fatigued, driving with a suspended CDL, or having non-functional brakes carry heavier point values than in previous iterations of the methodology.
- Public display changes. While percentile rankings for most BASICs remain visible only to carriers and FMCSA, the agency has expanded which data points are visible to the public through the SAFER system, giving shippers and brokers more transparency into carrier performance.
What Canadian carriers should do:
- Request DataQs aggressively. If you have inspection results or crash records that are inaccurate or eligible for review under the expanded preventability program, file a DataQs request promptly.
- Monitor your scores monthly. CSA scores update on a rolling basis. Use the FMCSA's SMS portal or a service like TruckerPro's FMCSA data integration to track your BASICs over time.
- Prioritize clean inspections. With the severity weighting changes, a single critical violation now has a proportionally larger impact on your score. Pre-trip inspections and driver training matter more than ever.
Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Updates
The FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, which has been operational since January 2020, continues to tighten its grip on the industry. Key developments for 2026 include:
- Pre-employment query is now the standard. Carriers are required to query the Clearinghouse before hiring any CDL driver. Canadian carriers employing drivers who will operate in the US must conduct these queries even if the driver holds a Canadian licence.
- Annual query requirement enforced. Carriers must conduct at least one query per year for every driver in their pool. FMCSA audits have begun flagging carriers who miss the annual query deadline.
- Return-to-duty process clarified. Drivers with a violation in the Clearinghouse must complete a return-to-duty process with a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) before they can operate a CMV in the US. The process includes evaluation, treatment (if recommended), a return-to-duty test, and follow-up testing for up to 60 months.
- Canadian driver implications. Canadian drivers are subject to Clearinghouse requirements when operating in the US. A positive drug or alcohol test recorded in the Clearinghouse will prevent the driver from operating in the US regardless of their Canadian licence status.
Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) Rule Impact on Canadian Drivers
The FMCSA's Entry-Level Driver Training rule, which took effect in February 2022, requires new CDL applicants to complete training from a provider listed on the Training Provider Registry (TPR). While this rule primarily targets US-based CDL applicants, it has implications for Canadian drivers:
- Canadian drivers who hold a valid Class 1 licence and are registered with FMCSA do not need to complete ELDT to operate in the US.
- However, Canadian drivers seeking to obtain a US CDL (for example, if they relocate) must complete ELDT from a TPR-listed provider.
- Some US shippers and brokers have begun asking for proof of equivalent training (such as Canadian MELT certification) as part of their carrier qualification process, even though it is not legally required for cross-border operations.
Insurance Requirements: Upward Pressure Continues
While not a new regulation per se, the ongoing push to increase the minimum financial responsibility requirements for motor carriers remains a live issue in 2026. The current federal minimum of $750,000 in liability coverage for general freight carriers has been in place since 1980 and has not been adjusted for inflation.
Several legislative proposals in Congress seek to raise this minimum to $2 million or higher. While none have passed as of this writing, the trend is clear: insurance requirements will increase. Canadian carriers should:
- Review their current US liability coverage limits
- Budget for potential premium increases
- Work with a broker experienced in cross-border commercial auto insurance
- Maintain clean safety records, as insurers increasingly use CSA scores and Clearinghouse data in underwriting
The Bottom Line
For Canadian carriers, staying ahead of FMCSA regulatory changes is not optional: it is a cost of doing cross-border business. The speed limiter proposal is off the table, but CSA scoring updates, Clearinghouse requirements, and insurance pressures all demand proactive compliance management.
The carriers who treat US regulatory compliance as a strategic function rather than an afterthought will maintain their cross-border access and competitive position. Those who do not will find the border increasingly difficult to cross.