A new tool launched by the federal government aims to improve road safety by modernizing commercial drivers’ registration.

Launched last week, Motus: the U.S. DOT Registration System, replaces what the Trump administration calls “a decades-old network of loosely connected applications rife with fraud, waste, and abuse.”

Leveraging biometrics and data analytics, the new anti-fraud registration system promises to ensure only qualified drivers are approved to operate on U.S. roads.

In the past, the Trump administration said that “bad actors applying for a federal trucking registration number could easily hide their identity, game the system, and endanger American families on the road. It’s estimated that there are several thousand suspicious registration numbers tied to fraudulent carriers.”

The lax oversight is blamed on an a fractured legacy system that only required minimal data. In many cases, all that was needed was a name, email and physical address.

“This vulnerability is compounded by the fact that trucking registration and compliance data are scattered across five or six disconnected applications,” the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration press release explained. “This patchwork has created rampant data sprawl, critical information silos, and systemic blind spots. It’s the perfect storm that lets bad drivers and fraudulent companies easily shed their negative safety records, spin up new corporate identities, and evade federal oversight.”

This resulted in chameleon carriers being created that continued to operate despite the risk of danger posed to others on the road.

The new system is intended to prove that registered commercial drivers are who they say they are and the businesses they represent are legitimate, legal entities.

The modernized platform merges the agency’s fragmented legacy infrastructure into a single, secure digital dashboard, permanently eliminating data silos that illicit operators once exploited.

“By integrating mandatory identity verification protocols (utilizing government-issued IDs and digital facial scans) alongside robust third-party business validation, Motus effectively suffocates fraud at the point of registration,” the FMCSA statement added.

Besides the obvious benefit of reducing the number of dangerous operators on the road, legitimate fleets will benefit from the elimination of administrative friction by streamlining the registration lifecycle into a mobile-friendly, cohesive user experience.

“Dangerous foreign drivers and the shell companies who employ them have been taking advantage of this lax, decrepit federal registration system for years. The lack of accountability is disturbing, and it’s killed American families on our roads,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “Thanks to President Trump, we are delivering a new registration system that will stop fraud dead in its tracks and strengthen oversight on shady carriers. And for good, honest drivers who follow the rules — our new system will improve customer service, enhance reliability, and cut down on red tape. “