This field is for recording the name of the entity (motor carrier, renter, etc.) responsible for the safety of this motor vehicle at the time of the crash. Do not record partial names or abbreviations, because they make it more difficult to match names in a database during analysis. A name can usually be found on both sides of the cab of the vehicle, but this may not be the name of the carrier responsible for safety if the vehicle is leased or rented. Therefore, it is necessary to keep on looking as detailed in the following figure:
Source: FMCSA
Enter "Not Applicable" in this field if this motor vehicle is NOT a:
- commercial motor vehicle (see definition for commercial motor vehicle here),
- government vehicle, or
- personal rental vehicle over 10,000 lbs. operated by a private individual.
John Smith owns his own truck tractor, operating under John Smith Trucking. He contracts with White Manufacturing to take one of its trailers loaded with its goods from Anchorage to Los Angeles.
Answer: John Smith is the motor carrier, because he is the entity that has agreed to carry this particular load.
John Smith, driving his truck tractor, utilizes a cargo broker, K&S Trucking, to obtain goods from Intermodal Inc. shipping company for his return trip back to Anchorage.
Answer: John Smith is again the carrier because K&S transferred the load to him.
John Smith, driving his truck tractor, leases his services to Polyester Chemical Co. Polyester directs Smith to deliver a semi-trailer from Anchorage to St. Louis.
Answer: In this case, Polyester is the motor carrier because it told Mr. Smith to take this particular load.