Inside the I-90 HotShot Inspection Initiative: How the Midwest Region Is Driving Smarter, Safer Enforcement
As the Midwest Commercial Vehicle Safety Summit (MCVSS) convenes today in Kansas City, attendees are taking a deep dive into the region’s evolving commercial motor vehicle safety landscape. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Midwestern Service Center oversees ten states that are home to more than 449,000 carriers, 2.2 million vehicles, and 2.3 million drivers. With nearly 22,000 new carriers added this year and almost half of regional crashes involving out-of-area carriers, the importance of coordinated, corridor-based enforcement is front and center in Summit discussions.
Midwestern Service Center: By the Numbers
In FY 2025, federal and state investigators conducted nearly 2,900 compliance investigations across the region. The most frequent violations involved unsafe driving, drug and alcohol testing requirements, falsified hours-of-service records, and failure to maintain essential vehicle and driver qualification standards. Roadside enforcement is equally intensive: inspectors conducted more than 497,000 inspections so far this fiscal year, identifying over 161,000 out-of-service violations and nearly 757,000 additional violations.
The region’s safety performance reflects both the scale and complexity of its freight network. In FY 2024, the Midwest recorded 39,356 commercial motor vehicle crashes, including 943 fatalities. Despite these numbers, the region achieved a 5 percent drop in overall crashes and a 7 percent decline in fatal crashes compared to the previous year. Nearly half of crashes involved carriers based outside the Midwest, highlighting the interconnected nature of interstate freight movement and the need for coordinated, corridor-based enforcement strategies.
Amid these challenges, the Midwestern Service Center continues to advance innovative enforcement approaches — most notably through the recent I-90 HotShot Inspection Initiative.
A Nationwide Mission Exemplified in the Midwest
Hotshot carriers — smaller operations handling time-sensitive loads — have expanded quickly, bringing new safety risks, inconsistent compliance, and documented cases of fraud involving front or concealed companies. To address these emerging issues, FMCSA’s Midwest Region helped lead a major multi-state initiative along the I-90 corridor from October 20–24. The effort spanned 13 states across the Western, Midwestern, and Eastern regions, applying unified, targeted enforcement to a sector increasingly linked to derated trailers, incomplete paperwork, and attempts to obscure business ownership.
Before inspections began, the Midwestern Service Center hosted a “Hotshot 101” training session led by experts from the Colorado State Patrol and Wyoming Highway Patrol. The training equipped FMCSA staff and state partners with updated fraud indicators, inspection techniques, and reference tools designed to support consistent evidence collection throughout the initiative.
What Inspectors Found
Under the leadership of the Midwestern Service Center’s Hotshot Working Group, participating states conducted 259 targeted inspections. The results offered a clearer picture of risks within the hotshot segment:
- 24 potential front companies
- 42 possibly concealed companies
- Widespread use of derated trailers
- Evidence gathered through driver interviews, shipper verification, document-fraud detection, and identification of suspected stolen vehicles
These findings support immediate enforcement action while strengthening FMCSA’s broader understanding of high-risk patterns.
Why This Work Matters
The Midwestern Service Center launched the initiative to promote consistent inspections, deepen understanding of emerging business models, and better protect the traveling public along one of the country’s most heavily used freight corridors. The effort now serves as a blueprint for future multi-state enforcement initiatives.
This work was made possible by the Midwestern Service Center Hotshot Working Group: Safety Operations Program Manager Chelsea Castaneda, Federal Program Specialist Darrell Colvin, Michigan Division Administrator Matt Fabry, Servce Center Director DaVina Farmer, Program Analyst Leslie Feeny, Midwest Regional Field Administrator Winsome Lenfert, Field Administrator Matthew Marrin, Enforcement Program Manager Luis Meza, Safety Investigator Zufar Suleimenov, and Federal Program Specialist Michael Underwood.
Be Part of the Solution
To learn more about FMCSA’s activities in the Midwest, explore the sessions, speakers, and materials now being presented at the Midwest Commercial Vehicle Safety Summit. The event — hosted by Kansas State University–Olathe and featuring keynote remarks from FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs — is already underway in Kansas City. Visit the Summit website for details.
