Most trucking enterprises begin the same way a single individual, a solitary truck and an unwavering conviction in a better tomorrow. From the original pioneers to today’s professional drivers steering our modern supply chains, trucking has always represented the epitome of opportunity and determination.
Take, for example, Groendyke Transport, 93 years in operation, still family-owned, now managed by the third generation of the Groendyke family. Their story reflects the spirit of the industry: forged in the tough times of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, surviving waves of deregulation and economic turbulence, and throughout it all anchored by the values of safety, service and integrity. I am deeply proud to lead this team of highly skilled, safety-award-winning personnel who deliver critical goods across the nation each day.
And yet, in 2025 we face a challenge unlike any in our past, one that threatens not just livelihoods but the very backbone of our supply chain. Operating costs have soared while freight volumes and demand remain stagnant or decline. Numerous factors contribute, but one stands out as especially unfair and unsustainable: the surge of litigation misuse.
Let’s call a spade a spade an assault on an industry built by hard work and perseverance. Trial attorneys have transformed trucking into what I call “jackpot justice,” leveraging the courts to secure enormous verdicts that have little to do with fairness and everything to do with financial gain. They manipulate juries with fear and sensationalism, portraying our robust safety cultures as insufficient or negligent for their own advantage.
What does this lead to? A skewed system where multimillion-dollar verdicts inflate insurance premiums, push small carriers out of business and threaten family-run companies. Indeed, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) found in its 2025 survey that “lawsuit abuse reform” surged to the No. 2 concern for motor carriers, marking the highest ranking for that issue in its 21-year history.
Make no mistake, our industry is not trying to dodge responsibility. Quite the contrary: we are proud of our safety records and the investments we make to constantly raise the bar. Year after year, trucking companies collectively commit billions of dollars into state-of-the-art safety technologies, rigorous driver training programmes and operational enhancements. We exceed regulatory standards in countless cases to ensure every driver returns home safely. Safety isn’t merely a slogan, it’s an integral part of our identity.
However, when highway billboards present courtrooms as casinos, safety becomes secondary. When the promise of justice is supplanted by the pursuit of payout, the human cost is profound. Every time a carrier folds under unfair litigation pressure, communities lose good jobs, consumers pay more and the resilience of our supply chain weakens.
As chairman of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), my mission is straightforward: to push back against this injustice and restore fairness to our legal arena. Our association is spearheading a determined, well-resourced strategy to do exactly that. We’ve already achieved meaningful advances: in the last few years, 15 states have passed tort reform legislation thanks to the advocacy efforts of ATA and its state-level partners. At the federal level, we are championing reforms to increase transparency in third-party litigation financing, to criminalise staged-accident rings and to shift high-value claims into federal courts where they can be evaluated with consistency and expertise. These are not party-line issues they are commonsense solutions to maintain jobs, safeguard safety and protect access to justice for all.
This matters because trucking isn’t simply an industry, it is a lifeline. Each day, millions of dedicated drivers deliver the goods that keep our economy moving and our communities thriving. We aren’t seeking recognition or fanfare; we’re simply doing the job. By 9 a.m., our teams often have accomplished more than many in a full workday not as a boast, but as a testament to who we are and what we stand for.
Trucking is a noble profession, and it has been my privilege to dedicate my career to it. As I undertake my role with the ATA, I do so with deep respect for every truck driver the individuals who keep our promises. In the year ahead, I pledge to work tirelessly on their behalf to ensure our voice resonates in every statehouse and on Capitol Hill.
Together, we will defend our industry, protect our workforce and drive forward toward a future where justice rides with us not against us.
