New CAVRA Standard Transforms Carrier Selection Best Practices

Cassandra Gaines, founder of Carrier Assure and a transportation attorney, has released the CAVRA Standard, a comprehensive 54-page framework designed to help brokers, shippers, and freight forwarders establish reasonable and defensible carrier-selection processes. The standard was developed in response to heightened industry scrutiny following recent Supreme Court decisions, particularly the Montgomery case, which intensified concerns about broker liability in carrier selection.

The CAVRA Standard moves beyond traditional vetting criteria—operating authority and insurance—to encompass a holistic risk assessment approach. The framework establishes nine core principles centered on carrier assessment, verification, risk management, and accountability, including continuous monitoring, identity verification, fraud prevention, and comprehensive documentation of vetting decisions.

Gaines intentionally positioned the standard as a public industry resource rather than a proprietary product, recognizing that the transportation sector lacks a shared benchmark for carrier selection. This signals a structural shift in how the industry approaches carrier risk, with significant implications for freight brokers and shippers who must now adopt more rigorous vetting protocols to defend their carrier-selection decisions in litigation.