49 U.S.C. § 31131
Section 31131 · Purposes and findings
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 22 court decisions — leading case Omega Contracting, Inc. v. Torres (2006)
Most recently applied in Hamer v. Duffy, Cornerstone Poured Foundations, Inc. (February 2026)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) Purposes.—The purposes of this subchapter are—
(1) to promote the safe operation of commercial motor vehicles;
(2) to minimize dangers to the health of operators of commercial motor vehicles and other employees whose employment directly affects motor carrier safety; and
(3) to ensure increased compliance with traffic laws and with the commercial motor vehicle safety and health regulations and standards prescribed and orders issued under this chapter.
(b) Findings.—Congress finds—
(1) it is in the public interest to enhance commercial motor vehicle safety and thereby reduce highway fatalities, injuries, and property damage;
(2) improved, more uniform commercial motor vehicle safety measures and strengthened enforcement would reduce the number of fatalities and injuries and the level of property damage related to commercial motor vehicle operations;
(3) enhanced protection of the health of commercial motor vehicle operators is in the public interest; and
(4) interested State governments can provide valuable assistance to the United States Government in ensuring that commercial motor vehicle operations are conducted safely and healthfully.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
In subsection (a)(3), the words “this chapter” are substituted for “this Act” because title II of the Act of October 30, 1984 (Public Law 98–554, 98 Stat. 2832), amended and enacted provisions restated in this chapter.