CVSA Pushes Universal Truck ID in Highway Bill Priorities

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is reintroducing a controversial proposal: requiring universal electronic identifiers on all new commercial trucks. This initiative tops the organization’s new list of legislative priorities for the upcoming highway bill reauthorization.

The CVSA’s 2025 policy agenda outlines broad reforms across safety technology, grant funding, regulatory enforcement, and inspection practices. However it’s the Universal Electronic Vehicle Identifier (UEVI) proposal that has reignited industry debate.

Digital Truck Tracking Resurfaces

Under CVSA’s plan, all newly manufactured commercial motor vehicles would be required to carry an electronic identifier that enforcement officers could detect at short range while trucks are in motion.

According to CVSA, this technology would allow law enforcement to:

• Identify carriers electronically without stopping them,
• Prioritize inspections using real-time data,
• Expand monitoring capacity without additional staffing.

“Deployment of this technology would revolutionize the way commercial motor vehicle roadside monitoring, inspection and enforcement are conducted,” CVSA wrote in its proposal.

But not everyone sees it that way. Some in the trucking community argue this raises privacy concerns and oversteps what’s needed for road safety.

The UEVI concept was previously shelved by FMCSA in 2022 following industry opposition, but CVSA now wants it embedded in law through a manufacturing requirement.

Other Key Safety and Enforcement Proposals

Beyond vehicle identification, CVSA’s reauthorization priorities touch on long-standing issues affecting how commercial vehicle safety is funded, enforced, and regulated:

1. Grant Funding Flexibility

• CVSA is urging longer timelines for states to spend federal grants, citing delays in the funding process.
• Supports redistribution of unused funds rather than returning them to the U.S. Treasury.

2. Exemptions Reform

• Opposes new exemptions from federal motor carrier safety rules, arguing they create enforcement inconsistencies.
• Wants drivers to carry proof (digital or printed) when operating under any granted exemption.

3. Regulatory and Inspection Modernization

• Proposes reforming outdated benchmarks for state enforcement funding based on 20-year-old data.
• Seeks formal federal recognition of state-issued out-of-service orders and better tools for sharing those records.

4. Drug Testing Standards

• Recommends replacing mandatory urine testing with more effective hair or oral fluid drug testing.
• Argues that dual-testing burdens carriers financially and disincentivizes better safety practices.

5. Safety Technology and Spectrum Use

• Advocates for proven technologies like automatic braking, fatigue-monitoring systems, and connected infrastructure.
• Wants to protect the 5.9 GHz wireless spectrum exclusively for vehicle-to-everything (V2X) safety communications.

A Broader Vision for Safety Standardization

The CVSA’s legislative goals are ultimately about strengthening enforcement consistency across jurisdictions. The organization emphasizes that uniformity—not just innovation—is key to national roadway safety.

This includes:

• Maintaining ELD requirements without rollback or exemptions,
• Preserving the federal oversight model instead of shifting regulatory power back to individual states,
• Securing Highway Trust Fund solvency to ensure long-term federal safety program funding.

Source: CVSA