Is Highway Affecting the Livelihoods of Truckers?
Ask any of the older truckers, and they will tell you how much trucking has changed in the last 30 to 40 years. This is not an understatement, with all the technologies like ELD and now fraud-prevention systems.
For thousands of owner-operators, what a carrier vetting platform says about their business could mean the difference between getting a load and getting rejected.
An estimated 80% of owner-operators have encountered a carrier vetting platform, according to an Overdrive 2026 broker vetting survey. Even more concerning, 61% in that survey say they have been denied business because of information found on a vetting platform.
Why All This Hassle and What is Highway?
Highway is a carrier identity and fraud-prevention platform. They designed it as a way to stop the $18 million per day freight fraud business. Sadly, if you’re a carrier labeled as inactive or high-risk, some say it can impact your livelihood.
The scenario here is, let’s say you’ve got a truck in the shop and immobile for more than 9 days. There are alleged reports of people who say they’ve had experiences where that caused other trucks in their fleet to be denied a carrier load.
Some truckers say there’s a system where you’re “guilty until proven innocent,” and it has become very one-sided.
Razor Thin Margins in Trucking
Trucking operates on razor-thin margins. When you sit idle even for a day because your load was denied, it can cost your business between $500 and $1,000 a day. At the same time, you still have truck payments you need to keep making, and you still have to pay for insurance costs.
Brokers now face legal liabilities if they hire a carrier that was not vetted, so they must comply with it. However, it leaves drivers on the phone waiting for hours to deal with the broker’s compliance department. They need to waste time proving they’re real, and in the meantime, some complain they’ve missed the high-paying and time-sensitive loads.
Why Do We Need to Deal with Highway?
Why has this happened? The big changes to carrier vetting came from a legal ruling on May 14, 2026.
In Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, the U.S. Supreme Court made a unanimous decision. The Supreme Court ruled that federal law doesn’t protect freight brokers from state-level negligent hiring lawsuits.
What followed was that brokers could be sued if they failed to exercise enough care when vetting motor carriers, and this made the vetting process more of a hassle.
Some of the most common reasons you could be denied a load as a carrier include:
Another broker’s negative review of your company
Not having a long enough history of authority
Declining to submit photos of your CDL or other information
No recent history of roadside inspections
How to Navigate Highway as an Owner-Operator
We’d like to point out the ways you can do your best to avoid running afoul of Highway or any of the vetting platforms, for that matter. The reason we want to highlight this is to help you get past the risk of a load denial as much as possible.
First, you need to keep your FMCSA data clean. Next, always be sure that your contact details, your address, and your insurance information match what’s found in the FMCSA database. Any discrepancies in your data, and any of the vetting platforms like Highway could issue an automatic alert that could get you denied for a load.
Next, you need to connect your ELD through Highway. This will prove your active operations even when you have a low inspection count.
If you claim to have an ELD exemption, make sure you can pull it up and prove it. Have your supporting documents ready for uploading, which include cab card, loan agreement, vehicle title, driver’s license, and registration.
What are Your Thoughts on Highway?
At Trucker Social, we’re curious about how you choose to deal with the new vetting platforms. Maybe you’re struggling because you’ve experienced having a load denied due to these newer and more rigorous requirements. Let us know your thoughts, and please like and share this article.
