Dave Griffin is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN with a degree in business management. Dave had a desire to serve his fellow man and chose to work in the public sector for the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Motor Carriers via the “Outstanding Scholar” program where he worked for 21 years as a field safety specialist, special agent, and compliance investigator. Dave worked for the Federal Highway Administration until he was transferred into the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration once it was established.
Through complex safety and compliance investigations of stakeholders in the US transportation supply chain, Dave ensured motor carriers, brokers, HM shippers, and others met the regulatory and industry standards to operate safely and reasonably in interstate and intrastate commerce on US highways. A significant portion of Dave’s duties was to investigate motor carriers to evaluate whether the carrier met the safety fitness standard defined via the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). His training and experience required that he be able to properly identify entities within the transportation community, and then to properly apply regulatory and industry standards of care to them. As carriers either met the standard or failed to meet the standard, it was ultimately Dave’s job to make that crucial determination and to recommend disciplinary action against the parties involved.
Upon his separation from USDOT, Dave went to work for Transportation Safety Services (TSS) as a Compliance Expert and Safety Consultant. Dave’s job remained remarkably similar to his role with USDOT; however, his audits and investigations no longer led to the assignment of a Safety Fitness Determination. Dave’s expert advice to motor carriers, brokers, and others in the US transportation supply chain has proven invaluable in assisting with regulatory compliance and meeting applicable industry standards. Dave’s employment was transferred to Transportation Compliance Experts (TCE) when TSS spun its expert witness business into a stand-alone entity.
In recent years, Dave’s assignments have increased in respect to expert witness and litigation support roles wherein he partners with legal counsel and insurers as a subject matter expert regarding the application and interpretation of the FMCSRs as it applies to commercial drivers, non-commercial drivers, motor carriers, shippers, and freight brokers. Dave provides deposition and trial testimony on a broad range of issues related to the application of the FMCSRs and applicable state safety regulations.
