The SCOTUS ruling that just made your safety data a legal asset

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC has signalled to the entire transportation and logistics ecosystem that safety decisions now need to be explainable, documented and defensible.

In a unanimous decision, the Court held that state-level negligent hiring claims against freight brokers are not preempted by federal law. Plainly put, brokers may now face lawsuits for selecting motor carriers with poor safety records. The ruling does not create a new federal safety standard. It instead does something more immediate, in removing a federal shield that many brokers had relied on when defending carrier selection decisions.

That distinction matters. This is not a mandate to use one technology, one scorecard or one carrier qualification process. But it does raise the evidentiary bar. In a post-Montgomery environment, a broker may need to show not only that it checked the obvious boxes, but that it made a reasonable, safety-informed decision based on the information available at the time.

A static check of a carrier’s CSA score may no longer be enough.

The question now is: what does “defensible” look like?

Transportation safety has long been treated as something that is proven after the fact. A collision happens, dashcam footage is reviewed, and an incident report is filed, before corrective action follows. That information can be useful, but it is also retrospective, as it documents what went wrong.

A defensible safety program needs to show what was done before something went wrong.

That is where connected fleet data changes the conversation. The fleets best positioned for this new environment will be those that can demonstrate a continuous cycle of risk identification, intervention and improvement. At Geotab, we think of this as Predict, Prevent, Protect.

Predict means using data to identify risk before it becomes an incident. That may include driver risk scoring, vehicle health signals, speeding patterns, harsh braking trends, seat belt usage, route-level risk and other behavioral or operational indicators.

Prevent means turning those insights into action. A strong safety program is not just a dashboard. It includes documented coaching, targeted training, manager follow-up and measurable improvement over time.

Protect means creating a reliable record. If a carrier is questioned by a broker, insurer, customer or plaintiff’s attorney, the carrier needs more than anecdotes. It needs trend data, intervention history and systems with the data integrity credentials to withstand scrutiny.

This is where the ruling has implications beyond broker liability. For motor carriers with disciplined safety programs, the decision creates a commercial opportunity. Brokers will need greater confidence that the carriers they select are not only compliant, but actively managing risk. Carriers that can prove proactive safety performance may have a stronger story to tell their broker networks.

For carriers relying only on cameras, the ruling should be a prompt to reassess. Dashcams are incredibly valuable and necessary tools, but retroactive footage of an incident is not the same thing as evidence of a proactive safety culture. A broker evaluating risk will increasingly want to understand whether a carrier can identify high-risk drivers, intervene early and show improvement over time.

The same logic applies to brokers. Carrier vetting should evolve from a point-in-time compliance exercise into a documented, risk-based selection process. That does not mean brokers must become safety departments. It does mean they need a stronger record of why a carrier was selected and what data supported that decision.

Geotab’s Commercial Transportation Report 2026, based on nearly six million connected vehicles, found that fleets using Geotab’s safety solutions averaged 28.7% fewer collisions. That kind of evidence matters because it connects safety investment to measurable outcomes.

The key takeaway from Montgomery is that while safety data is an operational asset, increasingly  it is becoming a legal, commercial and reputational asset. The fleets and brokers understanding this shift are better positioned to manage risk, defend decisions and compete in a market where trust is increasingly measured with data.

Disclaimer:This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Geotab makes no guarantee or warranty that its safety products will prevent or limit liability for negligence claims. Geotab accepts no legal responsibility for the negligence of freight brokers or motor carriers. Readers should seek independent legal counsel regarding their specific obligations.