The Interstate Commerce Commission was created by the Motor Carrier Act of 1935 and has since been responsible to develop and enforce safety regulations in the trucking industry. The safety regulations developed by the Interstate Commerce Commission are entitled the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (hereinafter, FMCSR). Despite extensive deregulation of the trucking industry through the 1980's and the transfer of licensing and monitoring of professional truck drivers to the States, the FMCSR remains the sole safety standard by which professional truck drivers and motor carriers are required to follow in the operation of commercial motor vehicles.

The purpose of the FMCSR is to "help reduce or prevent truck and bus accidents, fatalities and injuries by requiring drivers to have a single commercial motor vehicle driver’s license and by disqualifying drivers who operate commercial motor vehicles in an unsafe manner." 49 CFR 383.1(a).