Trucking Company vs. Driver Liability in Oregon Truck Crashes

A crash with a commercial truck can involve two different parties on the trucking side: the person driving the truck and the motor carrier the truck was operating for. They may be the same business, or they may be different ones. A motor carrier may take the position that the driver was an independent contractor rather than an employee, and that the carrier is therefore not answerable for the driver's conduct.

This post looks at one narrow part of that question: what the federal motor carrier regulations themselves say about drivers, employees and leased trucks, and what Oregon's motor carrier statute directs. A broader overview of the parties who may share responsibility for a truck crash, including the trucking company's own conduct in hiring, training and maintenance, is in who is liable in an Oregon trucking accident.

How the federal safety rules define "employee"

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations include a definitions section in Part 390. It begins: "Unless specifically defined elsewhere, in this subchapter:"¹ Those words set the reach of every definition that follows.

The definition of "employee" reads, in its first sentence: "Employee means any individual, other than an employer, who is employed by an employer and who in the course of his or her employment directly affects commercial motor vehicle safety."¹ The next sentence is the one that speaks to independent contractors: "Such term includes a driver of a commercial motor vehicle (including an independent contractor while in the course of operating a commercial motor vehicle), a mechanic, and a freight handler."¹

The same section defines the other side of the relationship. "Employer means any person engaged in a business affecting interstate commerce who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle in connection with that business, or assigns employees to operate it, but such term does not include the United States, any State, any political subdivision of a State, or an agency established under a compact between States approved by the Congress of the United States."¹ The definition of "motor carrier" closes with this sentence: "For purposes of this subchapter, this definition includes the terms employer, and exempt motor carrier."¹

Put simply, under this definition a driver does not fall outside the word "employee" just because the driver is an independent contractor. The inclusion has its own limit, set by the same words: it applies "while in the course of operating a commercial motor vehicle".

The definitions section also defines "commercial motor vehicle". The definition covers a vehicle "used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property" when it meets one of four listed conditions, which turn on vehicle weight, passenger count, and the transport of hazardous materials in a quantity requiring placarding.¹

One technical point about where this text lives. The electronic Code of Federal Regulations carries the definitions in two places. Its effective date note on 49 CFR 390.5 includes this sentence: "At 91 FR 45661, July 21, 2026, the suspension was lifted, § 390.5 was amended, and the section was again suspended indefinitely, effective July 21, 2026."² A parallel section, 49 CFR 390.5T, contains the same "employee" definition quoted above.¹

These are definitions written for the federal safety regulations, and their opening words say where they apply: "in this subchapter".

Leased trucks: 49 CFR Part 376

A truck can be owned by one party and operated by a different, authorized carrier. Federal rules on that arrangement are in 49 CFR Part 376, which covers the lease and interchange of vehicles.³ Part 376 states that its regulations apply to listed actions "by motor carriers registered with the Secretary to transport property under 49 U.S.C. subtitle IV, part B". Those actions are the leasing of equipment to perform transportation regulated by the Secretary, the leasing of equipment to private carriers or shippers, and the interchange of equipment between for-hire motor carriers in the performance of transportation regulated by the Secretary.³

Part 376 defines a lease as "A contract or arrangement in which the owner grants the use of equipment, with or without driver, for a specified period to an authorized carrier for use in the regulated transportation of property, in exchange for compensation."⁴ The same section defines an "owner" as a person to whom title to the equipment has been issued, a person who has the right to exclusive use of the equipment without title, or a person who has lawful possession of equipment registered and licensed in any State in that person's name.⁴

The general leasing rule sets conditions on using a truck the carrier does not own: "Other than through the interchange of equipment as set forth in § 376.31, and under the exemptions set forth in subpart C of these regulations, the authorized carrier may perform authorized transportation in equipment it does not own only under the following conditions:"⁵ The first condition is a written lease that meets the requirements of § 376.12.⁵ The section also requires the carrier to identify the equipment as being in its service during the lease.⁵ On trip records, the carrier must prepare and keep documents for each trip showing the name and address of the equipment's owner, the point of origin, the time and date of departure, and the point of final destination.⁵ The same paragraph then provides: "Also, the authorized carrier shall carry documents with the leased equipment during its operation containing this information and identifying the lading and clearly indicating that the transportation is under its responsibility."⁵

What the lease must say about control and responsibility

Section 376.12 lists what the written lease must contain. It begins: "Except as provided in the exemptions set forth in subpart C of this part, the written lease required under § 376.11(a) shall contain the following provisions."⁶ It adds: "The required lease provisions shall be adhered to and performed by the authorized carrier."⁶

The provision on control reads: "The lease shall provide that the authorized carrier lessee shall have exclusive possession, control, and use of the equipment for the duration of the lease."⁶ The next sentence goes further: "The lease shall further provide that the authorized carrier lessee shall assume complete responsibility for the operation of the equipment for the duration of the lease."⁶

The lease must also address insurance: "The lease shall clearly specify the legal obligation of the authorized carrier to maintain insurance coverage for the protection of the public pursuant to FMCSA regulations under 49 U.S.C. 13906."⁶

The same section contains a sentence that cuts the other way, and an accurate picture needs it. "Nothing in the provisions required by paragraph (c)(1) of this section is intended to affect whether the lessor or driver provided by the lessor is an independent contractor or an employee of the authorized carrier lessee."⁶ It continues: "An independent contractor relationship may exist when a carrier lessee complies with 49 U.S.C. 14102 and attendant administrative requirements."⁶

So the federal leasing rules do two things at once. They require the lease to place exclusive possession, control and use, and complete responsibility for operation, with the carrier for the length of the lease, except that a lease for household-goods transportation may provide that those provisions apply only while the equipment is operated by or for the authorized carrier lessee. And they state that the provisions required by the control paragraph are not intended to affect whether the lessor, or a driver the lessor provides, is an independent contractor or an employee of the carrier.

Part 376 also has exemptions. Among them, apart from the equipment-identification requirement, the leasing rules do not apply to "Equipment leased without drivers from a person who is principally engaged in such a business."⁷

Oregon's motor carrier safety statute

Oregon law addresses carrier safety obligations in ORS chapter 825. ORS 825.252(1) provides: "The Department of Transportation shall, after public notice and hearing, adopt rules that require for-hire and private carriers to:"⁸ The listed items include these two. One is to "Establish minimum qualifications for persons who drive motor vehicles, as, for, or on behalf of the carrier."⁸ Another is to "Meet and maintain minimum requirements established by the department for safety of operations and equipment of motor vehicles subject to their operations and control."⁸

The statute also speaks to federal alignment: "The rules promulgated under subsection (1) of this section should provide for uniformity between state and federal motor carrier safety and hours of service rules insofar as practicable."⁸ ORS 825.252 is framed as a direction to the Department of Transportation to adopt rules, and it describes what those rules are to require. Federal hours-of-service rules are covered in more detail in FMCSA hours-of-service rules in Oregon truck cases.

How these sources fit together

When a carrier describes a driver as an independent contractor, the documents behind that label are where the federal rules become concrete. The records a lawyer would look at can include the written lease, the receipt given when the carrier took possession of the equipment, the identification showing the truck was in the carrier's service, the trip documents, and the lease's statement of the carrier's insurance obligation. Part 376 addresses each of these for a covered lease.

The federal definitions and leasing rules describe duties and relationships in the words quoted above, and the definitions' own opening words tie them to "this subchapter". More on Oregon truck crash cases generally is on the Oregon trucking accidents page, and crashes between passenger vehicles are covered on the Oregon car accident page.

This article is educational

This article describes Oregon law in general terms. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Time limits matter. Most Oregon personal-injury and auto-accident claims must be filed within two years of the injury or accident. Medical malpractice claims must be filed within two years of when you knew or reasonably should have known of the negligence, with an outer limit of five years from the act itself (with a fraud exception). Wrongful death claims must be filed within three years of the date of death. Claims against public bodies (cities, counties, state agencies, public hospitals) require a notice of claim within 180 days. Missing these deadlines typically ends a case.

If you think you may have a claim, call Huegli Law at 971-317-6436 for a free case review. Todd Huegli is licensed in Oregon and consults on cases in Oregon only.

Footnotes

1. 49 CFR 390.5T — Definitions (eCFR). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-390/subpart-A/section-390.5T ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

2. 49 CFR 390.5 — Definitions (eCFR, effective date note). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-390/subpart-A/section-390.5 ↩

3. 49 CFR 376.1 — Applicability (Part 376, Lease and Interchange of Vehicles; eCFR). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-376/subpart-A/section-376.1 ↩ ↩²

4. 49 CFR 376.2 — Definitions (eCFR). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-376/subpart-A/section-376.2 ↩ ↩²

5. 49 CFR 376.11 — General leasing requirements (eCFR). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-376/subpart-B/section-376.11 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

6. 49 CFR 376.12 — Lease requirements (eCFR). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-376/subpart-B/section-376.12 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

7. 49 CFR 376.21 — General exemptions (eCFR). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-376/subpart-C/section-376.21 ↩

8. ORS 825.252 — Safety regulations relating to drivers or operators; uniformity with federal regulations; rules (ORS chapter 825). https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors825.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴