The James Madison Institute released an analysis on April 7, in which it recommended that Congress could use the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization bill to extend the Graves Amendment’s liability framework to ridesharing companies and create more consistent national rules for modern transportation platforms.
The report says today’s patchwork of state vicarious liability laws can raise costs for rideshare and app-based delivery services that operate across multiple states. It argues that a federal standard could provide clearer rules for companies and consumers without creating new layers of bureaucracy or significant federal spending.
The analysis comes as lawmakers prepare to update federal surface transportation law before current provisions expire on September 30. It focuses on how liability rules affect transportation network companies and other app-based mobility services operating across state lines.
Texas has already moved in this direction with House Bill 1745, which limits vicarious liability for rideshare companies unless there is clear and convincing evidence of gross negligence by the company. The American Tort Reform Association has pointed to the law as a model for clarifying liability standards in the industry.
The James Madison Institute is a Florida-based research and educational organization that promotes free markets, limited government, and individual liberty through policy analysis and civic education. It operates the George Gibbs Center for Economic Prosperity, which focuses on economic issues, including transportation and liability reform.
