Amazon faces lawsuit over carrier vetting
Lawsuit alleges Amazon ignored its own 180-day active authority rule for trucking carrier Road Warriors Logistic.
A trucking company with a history of lost operating authority and a trail of safety violations was hauling Amazon freight when its driver lost control, crossed a New Mexico interstate median, and collided with multiple vehicles, injuring three people.
The collision occurred on Oct. 25, 2024, when Harmanpreet Singh, driving a Road Warriors tractor pulling an Amazon trailer, veered into opposing traffic on a New Mexico interstate. The truck struck another commercial vehicle before jackknifing across both eastbound lanes, crashing into the plaintiffs’ cars and causing serious injuries. New Mexico State Police cited Singh for careless driving, though the investigating officer noted the truck crossed the median “for unknown reasons.”
Why Amazon’s 180-day rule matters in carrier selection
At the heart of the lawsuit is Road Warriors’ operating history. The company first received its federal operating authority in May 2021, but that authority was involuntarily revoked in May 2022.
Amazon’s public 2023 Relay requirements explicitly state that carriers must have a minimum of 180 days of active operating authority to qualify for freight assignments. The rule is not arbitrary. If a carrier does not meet that rule, the question becomes who allowed the load to move and why.”
Gaines, who specializes in broker liability and carrier selection, added that operating authority history is critical for assessing a carrier’s experience and safety record. “Limited or interrupted authority may leave less recent history to evaluate, and an interruption calls for a closer look at why it occurred.
The warning signs Amazon allegedly missed
The lawsuit alleges that Road Warriors’ safety violations were not isolated incidents but part of a pattern that should have raised red flags. In July and August 2024, the carrier was cited for hours of service violations, a critical issue in trucking safety as it relates to driver fatigue. On Sept. 13, 2024, Road Warriors racked up six vehicle maintenance violations, followed by another crash on Sept. 30, 2024, while operating for Amazon Relay. That same day, the carrier was cited for an unsafe driving violation and three additional maintenance violations.
The plaintiffs’ complaint goes further, alleging that Amazon exercised extensive control over the transportation process, including load assignments, delivery appointments, routing expectations, and performance monitoring. This level of involvement, the plaintiffs argue, suggests Amazon was not merely a broker but an active participant in the logistics chain, raising questions about its responsibility for carrier oversight.
“If you have a rule, follow it. If you can’t follow it, change the rule. But don’t ignore it and hope no one notices.” The lawsuit alleges that Amazon did just that, ignoring its own 180-day requirement and allowing Road Warriors to transport freight despite its checkered history.
The implications extend beyond Amazon. The trucking industry relies heavily on federal operating authority as a baseline for safety and reliability. When a carrier loses that authority, it signals potential issues with compliance, safety, or financial stability. Reinstatement does not erase past problems, which is why many companies, including Amazon, set minimum active authority periods to ensure carriers have a sustained track record of safe operations. Road Warriors’ case highlights what can go wrong when those safeguards are bypassed.
As the lawsuit progresses, the focus will likely shift to whether Amazon’s actions, or inactions, contributed to the crash. The plaintiffs’ allegations have not been proven in court, and Amazon has not yet filed a formal defense in the materials reviewed for this article. However, the case has already sparked broader discussions about carrier vetting practices in the logistics industry, particularly as e-commerce giants like Amazon increasingly rely on third-party carriers to meet growing demand.
For now, the crash serves as a stark reminder of the stakes involved in carrier selection. With three people injured and a trucking company’s history under scrutiny, the case underscores the need for rigorous, consistent vetting standards, and the consequences when those standards are ignored.
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