Dive Brief:
- The Department of Transportation in partnership with federal and state agencies has launched a national effort targeting fraud in the trucking industry, the agency announced Monday.
- The initiative is tackling many fronts, including seeking emergency shutdowns of 110 commercial driver’s license schools, per the release. The DOT will also launch a nationwide audit on third-party CDL skills testers and states’ oversight of testers as part of a broad effort to improve safety and reduce highway fatalities.
- The DOT said the interagency campaign is meant to root out fraud, waste and abuse in trucking. “By aligning USDOT’s regulatory authorities with federal law enforcement operations, the [Trump] administration is taking aggressive action to safeguard American roads against unqualified and unvetted illegal truckers,” the DOT said in the release.
Dive Insight:
The latest government effort comes as carriers are reporting driver shortages amid an improving freight environment. Trucking executives have also welcomed the moves to improve safety and remove excess capacity from the marketplace.
Further exacerbating driver supply are federal crackdowns on CDL schools for possible violations of Federal Motor Carrier Safety standards, such as improperly training drivers. Many states also have been threatened with potential loss of federal funds over compliance issues with non-domiciled permits and licenses, which involve foreigners working in the U.S.
The Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice will also have roles in the initiative, according to the release. The targeted plans included Homeland Security officials conducting a synchronized single-day sweep of over 200 training schools across 23 states, followed by the agency and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement providing updates to ongoing investigations of CDL-related businesses and schools.
Additionally, the DOJ will form the Joint Task Force Crossroads of America “to safeguard the nation’s highway system and strengthen the security of our borders,” the press release said. The task force is partnering with U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio; state and local enforcement, prosecutors, and other federal agencies such as the FMCSA, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Trucking groups lauded the government's latest enforcement measures addressing safety and issuance of CDLs.
Henry Hanscom, chief advocacy and public affairs officer for the American Trucking Associations, in an emailed statement, said strong enforcement measures send a clear message that commercial trucking is a profession that demands skill, responsibility and adherence to the highest standards.
“Removing noncompliant carriers, unqualified drivers, and fraudulent training operations strengthens public confidence in our industry while ensuring that the next generation of professional drivers enters the workforce properly trained and fully qualified,” Hanscom said.
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President and CEO Todd Spencer said in an emailed statement that no one cares more about highway safety than professional truck drivers.
“[It] is basic common sense that anyone operating an 80,000-pound commercial vehicle on public roadways should be properly trained, able to read critical road signs, follow emergency instructions, and communicate with law enforcement and first responders in English,” Spencer said.
