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🏛️ Highway Bill Will Lead Congress into 2026

2026 is just days away and a big topic of discussion are the Mid-Term elections. Right now Congressional Republicans are lining up an aggressive legislative push focused on transportation, infrastructure, federal funding, and affordability.

House Speaker Mike Johnson says lawmakers plan to move fast once Congress returns, with major bills expected as early as January.

This means some big decisions are coming that will directly affect highways, truck parking, enforcement, emissions, and freight movement.

🛣️ A New Highway Bill Is Coming

Congressional transportation leaders are aiming to advance a multi year highway bill as early as spring 2026.

Key goals are:

• Long term funding stability for roads and bridges

• Modernizing infrastructure for freight movement

• Preparing for emerging technologies like AI

• Fixing the dying Highway Trust Fund

Rep. Sam Graves, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, says the goal is to build a highway bill that looks 20 years ahead, not just patching past problems.

The Highway Trust Fund makes the list because it pays for federal road maintenance, and it’s approaching insolvency, putting pressure on Congress to act.

🚛 Trucking Lobbying Group Makes Demands

Groups like the ATA are calling on Congress to:

• Maintain highway funding levels (at minimum adjusted for inflation)

• Reduce congestion and improve freight corridors

• Streamline environmental permitting that delays projects

Right now, 39% of major U.S. roads are rated poor or mediocre, which directly impacts:

• Safety

• Equipment wear

• Delivery times

• Fuel costs

Infrastructure always seems to be a political talking point, yet in trucking it’s a meme with nihilistic undertones because real drivers believe pain point areas to drive in will never be fixed, and that road work is never ending.

💰 Federal Funding & Truck Parking

Congress is also preparing a fiscal 2026 funding package to avoid another government shutdown.

Senate Proposal Includes:

• $927 million for FMCSA

• $63.3 billion for FHWA

• $22 billion for FAA

• $16.8 billion for public transit

• $2.9 billion for rail

House Version Adds Something Important:

• $200 million specifically for expanding truck parking nationwide

At Truck Parking Club we will always support and endorse anything that contributes to the addition of more truck parking.

🔐 Cargo Theft & Enforcement Priorities

ATA is also pushing for stronger federal action on cargo theft, which has exploded nationwide.

Chris Spear, the ATA President said this:

• Cargo theft costs the industry $18 million per day

• Higher insurance premiums, security costs, and lost freight hit carriers and drivers alike

• Stolen freight contributes to higher prices for consumers

The FBI has done nothing in regards to cargo theft because on an individual basis it doesn’t cross their dollar amount threshold to warrant an investigation, and in their eyes is “non violent.” But spread across the industry it affects everyone.

🌱 Emissions Rules May Be Softened

EPA is reevaluating its 2022 heavy duty emissions rule set to begin in model year 2027.

A revised proposal expected this spring could:

• Reduce the cost of new trucks

• Maintain environmental protections

• Avoid market disruptions

This review was ordered after concerns that the current rule would drive truck prices even higher.

🗳️ This Will Drive Us Into the Election

With midterms approaching:

• Republicans are running on affordability and rolling back “Bidenomics”

• Democrats are campaigning on healthcare costs and consumer prices

Both sides are really focused on cost of living, which includes fuel, food, housing, and transportation costs.

To me it sounds like, Trucking issues are becoming election issues.

🪖 Defense Bill Includes Wins for Drivers

Before leaving town, Congress passed a nearly $900 billion defense bill which included some sleeper wins for truckers:

• Improved restroom access at military installations

• Better rules for moving military freight

• Reforms to military household goods moves

• Enhanced oversight to reduce waste and fraud

These changes directly impact drivers hauling military freight and relocating service members.

The next 12 months can really start reshaping the industry, and couldn’t be a better time for drivers to be involved with having dialogue with their representatives, and becoming active in organizations like OOIDa or their state trucking association.

What are your thoughts? For Driver Submissions, questions, and comments contact me at: [email protected] or Text me directly at 423-275-2444

Tale Lites Throwback

Take a look back on how this driver came to the rescue in 1967

📸 Driver Facing Cameras Lose One in Court

A couple of truck drivers may be opening their mail to an unexpected bonus check soon!

HMD Trucking, a Chicago Ridge, Illinois based carrier, quietly settled a class action lawsuit brought on by one of its own drivers over the use of driver facing cameras. The case was dismissed in December after they reached an out of court settlement. While the settlement amount wasn’t disclosed, eligible drivers may receive compensation.

Before you drivers start calling a lawyer, there’s an important caveat:

This case is very specific to Illinois law.

⚖️ Illinois’ Biometric Privacy Act

The lawsuit hinged on Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) which is one of the strictest privacy laws in the country.

Under BIPA, companies cannot collect or use biometric data such as:

• Facial geometry

• Fingerprints

• Retina or iris scans

• Voiceprints

without first:

1. Informing the individual in writing

2. Explaining what data is collected and why

3. Disclosing how long the data will be kept

4. Obtaining written consent

Violations of the law come with these penalties:

• $1,000 per violation

• $5,000 per violation if found intentional or reckless

🚛 Why HMD Got Sued

Drivers at HMD Trucking alleged that:

• Driver facing cameras were used to capture facial geometry

• That biometric data was linked to individual drivers

• The data was used to monitor performance and compliance

The key issue?
Drivers say they were never informed in writing and never gave written consent for biometric data collection.

That’s where the company ran into trouble.

🛑 Carrier’s Defense Came Up Short

HMD Trucking tried to have the case thrown out, arguing that federal law preempts Illinois privacy rules.

Specifically, they pointed to the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (F4A), which prevents states from enforcing laws that affect a carrier’s prices, routes, or services.

Their argument:

• BIPA interferes with safety monitoring

• Requiring consent would create financial burdens

• Those costs would ultimately hit consumers

A federal judge wasn’t buying it.

Earlier this year, the court denied HMD’s motion to dismiss, allowing the case to move forward. By fall, both sides indicated a settlement was imminent — and in December, the case was officially dismissed following a settlement.

🔍 Why It’s Important

Illinois’ biometric law has already triggered massive settlements, including a $650 million payout approved in 2021 involving other industries.

This case may be one of the first involving driver facing cameras in trucking, and it could open the door to:

• More lawsuits against Illinois based carriers

• Increased scrutiny of how driver-facing cameras collect and store data

• More detailed consent forms and disclosures for drivers

Overall this wasn’t a ruling against driver facing cameras, it was a ruling against how the data was collected. Some good things to remember:

For drivers:

• Your state laws matter

• Illinois drivers have stronger privacy protections than most

• Consent and disclosure aren’t optional under BIPA

For carriers:

• Privacy compliance isn’t just a check in the box

• Driver facing cameras may be legal, but how you deploy them matters

I personally don’t agree with driver facing cameras. They exist now solely because of how high turnover is. When turnover remains in the triple digits for so long, safety and training has deteriorated. The driver facing camera is a reactive policy that doesn’t prevent accidents.

📩 What are your thoughts on driver facing cameras?
Reply to this email or text (423) 275-2444 

🩺 Health Tip of the Week: Simplifying New Year Resolutions

Every year when January 1st comes around, it’s become common to set new goals and intentions for how we want the new year to be. Statistics show that most people end up failing on their New Year’s Resolutions, and that fall off period comes just 3 weeks into the year.

Why does this happen? Simply put, peoples’ declared resolutions aren’t just simple goals, they are a lot of times a complete overhaul of your current lifestyle, and without the proper systems in place, you are bound to fail at those lofty goals. Even the simplest of goals like “Lose 20 pounds” is so easily quit on because there was no thought put into how you were going to lose 20 pounds. So instead of putting the pressure of 20 pounds on your mind, a better goal would be “I’m going to start tracking my macros” or at least tracking protein. Instead of “I’ll just join a gym” go with booking an appointment with a personal trainer or online coach.

Small, attainable goals are the keys to success, and your best recipe for success starts with one. It doesn’t need to be buying an expensive gym membership, or overhauling your entire diet, I am talking something as simple as “Walk for at least 30 minutes out of the day.” Start there, and win the month. If you miss a day, it’s simple, do it the next day. Progress over Perfection is how we win at this game of life. You could miss 7-10 days of that walking goal in January, that’s still 20+ days of doing something you said you would do, and THAT is progress.

Save this list, and bookmark this edition of Tale Lites:

• Start embarrassingly small
  Pick a habit so easy it feels almost pointless (5 pushups, 5 minutes walking, one glass of water).

• Anchor it to something you already do
  Attach the habit to a daily trigger: after parking, after brushing teeth, before starting the truck.

• Focus on frequency, not intensity
  Doing it daily matters more than doing it “hard.”

• Make it frictionless
  Lay out what you need ahead of time so there’s no excuse when you’re tired.

• Track it visually
  Use a simple checklist or calendar, seeing streaks builds momentum.

• Miss once, don’t miss twice
  One skipped day is human. Two in a row becomes a pattern.

• Celebrate completion, not perfection
  Showing up counts, even if it’s the bare minimum.

• Upgrade later
  Lock in consistency first. Intensity comes after the habit is automatic.

Partner Post of the Week

Check out our Partner Marko who was inspired to get in some reps while parked at a truck stop! Use the promo code marko20 for $20 off your next booking!

Truck Parking Club Partner Program

Do you create content for truckers, want to help solve the truck parking crisis, and an opportunity to give drivers FREE parking? Let’s work together! Click below to apply for Truck Parking Club’s Partner Program today!