Decades in Enforcement and Advocacy Shape Steve Keppler’s Vision for Safer Highways

This profile series spotlights the members of ATA's Law Enforcement Advisory Board (LEAB), which works to strengthen the ties between the trucking industry and law enforcement community. LEAB is comprised of ATA members who have previous experience in federal, state, and local law enforcement, as well as current and retired law enforcement officials who have contributed positively to the partnership between both groups.

When ATA Law Enforcement Advisory Board Second Vice Chair Steve Keppler reflects on his decades in transportation safety, he returns to one central idea: roads are safer when enforcement, industry, and purpose come together.

Having served both sides of enforcement and industry, Keppler, a co-director at Scopelitis Transportation Consulting, brings a rare vantage point, one that reveals the gaps, tensions, and opportunities between them.

A Career Born in the Field

Keppler's 30+ year journey in transportation began in the trenches as an investigator and inspector with the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Motor Carriers (the precursor to FMCSA). He walked the roadside, performed inspections, led safety audits, and launched compliance investigations. That early gritty work, confronting real-world risks and seeing the consequences of noncompliance, planted in him a sense of accountability and urgency.

One case from his early enforcement days still resonates. Investigating a 2,000-driver carrier that repeatedly violated hours-of-service rules, Keppler and his colleagues found pervasive falsified logbooks and a pattern of ignoring enforcement actions.

"It was a very large investigation, and we shut the carrier down," he recalled. "That experience showed me the importance of identifying the bad actors and, when warranted, taking the right action. Most of the industry wants to do things right, but when you find operators who don't care, enforcement has to step in."

From that moment onward, Keppler embraced a philosophy that would carry him into boardrooms and advisory councils: enforcement must be a tool, not the entire solution. Compliance is essential, but it's the companies that choose to go beyond compliance that raise the bar for all.

Broadening the Lens

After his time with FMCSA, Keppler transitioned to the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, serving as Department Director for Vehicle Systems. There, he tackled transportation challenges across the vehicle spectrum, not just trucking, at a moment when technology and mobility were evolving rapidly.

His next chapter came with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA). Over more than 15 years, including six as Executive Director, Keppler worked hand-in-glove with federal, state and provincial enforcement agencies as well as with industry stakeholders to champion safety, compliance, enforcement, and sensible regulation. He then brought that experience to the Intermodal Association of North America, addressing issues that spanned trucking, rail, ports, logistics, and ocean carriers. For the past four years, he's leveraged his three decades of transportation experience to provide valuable consulting expertise.

"I've been in federal government right on the enforcement side, I've conducted enforcement, I've helped with research, regulatory and policy development, and now I've spent the last decade on the private side working directly with carriers and industry service providers," Keppler said. "I think that experience has given me the ability to see what others maybe can't see, and to focus on the things that really impact crashes, which is ultimately the goal for both enforcement and industry."

A fulfilling, yet unexpected trajectory

His trajectory was a bit of a surprise, as he never planned to go into trucking safety. With dual engineering degrees (civil and architectural) from Drexel University, Keppler was wired for problem-solving. He gravitated toward transportation because of the complexity, the stakes, and the opportunity to make a difference. But over the years, that attraction deepened into purpose.

"Safety is more than rules," he says. "The rules are a floor, not a ceiling." He reminds stakeholders that enforcement, regulation, and industry's commitment to safety all play a role. "You only go around once on this earth," he reflects. "I want to leave something good and to help people, and transportation safety offers that chance."

That philosophy is what he brings to the ATA Law Enforcement Advisory Board, where his perspective helps bridge two worlds that sometimes talk past each other.

"Enforcement has a job to do, industry has a job to do, and they can't always appreciate each other's responsibilities," he said. "But they're all trying to get to the same place: keeping our roads safe."

He values the board's diversity, from its interdiction experts to its cargo theft specialists, and believes that collective wisdom is essential in tackling emerging threats. Regardless of the issue, someone on the board can speak to it.

While helping lead LEAB as Second Vice Chair, Keppler urges the industry to get better at telling its own story.

"Too many people think trucks are just these big, bad behemoths on the road," he said. "The truth is, most drivers are highly professional, most carriers do far more than what the rules require, and our industry is absolutely essential to the country. We need to do a better job telling that story."