The Department of Transportation has ordered nearly 3,000 truck driving schools and training providers to come into compliance with federal rules within 30 days or face having their accreditation revoked, and has warned about 4,000 more that they could face similar enforcement. Together those programs represent more than 40 percent of the roughly 16,000 authorized training providers nationwide. The department has not immediately released the names of the schools under scrutiny.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the action is aimed at stopping unlawful and reckless practices that allow inadequately trained drivers to operate large commercial vehicles, including semis and school buses. The DOT alleges many programs have falsified or altered training records, failed to meet required curriculum and instructor standards, and neglected to keep or share accurate records of training.
Officials described the crackdown as part of a broader push to ensure commercial drivers receive proper training and are eligible for a commercial driver’s license. The DOT also proposed new limits on which immigrants could obtain CDLs, though a federal appeals court recently put those proposed rules on hold. The effort for stricter oversight intensified after several high-profile crashes involving foreign-born drivers, including a fatal three-vehicle collision in Florida in August.
Duffy has argued that tougher standards are urgently needed because some foreign-born drivers lack English proficiency and an understanding of U.S. traffic rules. Critics counter that there is no evidence immigrant drivers are disproportionately unsafe and contend the policy amounts to an immigration crackdown by another name.
The developments have increased anxiety among many immigrant truckers, including seasoned drivers. Pawan Singh, who runs a small Northern Virginia trucking company, said a focus on safety is overdue and warned that poorly trained drivers are dangerous behind the wheel regardless of where they were born.