Back in June, the U.S. Department of Transportation launched an audit into the practice of state-issued non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses.
Now, another audit will look into how CDLs are being issued.
The DOT’s Office of Inspector General announced on Friday, Sept. 19 that it was initiating an audit of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s CDL knowledge and skills testing programs.
According to a news release from the Office of Inspector General, a significant part of FMCSA’s safety mission is focused on reducing crashes by verifying that only qualified drivers possess a CDL.
“Given the importance of the CDL program in helping ensure the safety of the nation’s roadways, we are initiating this audit,” the DOT’s Office of Inspector General wrote. “Our objective is to assess FMCSA’s oversight of states’ CDL program compliance with regulatory requirements related to CDL knowledge and skills tests.”
To receive a CDL, applicants must demonstrate they are qualified by passing both a knowledge test and a skills test. The tests are performed by either a state driver’s licensing agency or by state-approved third-party testers and examiners. FMCSA is responsible for verifying that the states are complying with regulations regarding knowledge and skills testing.
Non-domiciled CDLs
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced on June 27 that a nationwide audit would attempt to determine whether the use of non-domiciled CDLs was allowing unqualified individuals to operate commercial motor vehicles.
“The open borders policies of the last administration allowed millions to flood our country – leading to serious allegations that the trucking licensing system is being exploited,” Duffy said. “We are launching a nationwide audit to get to the bottom of this. Our audit is about protecting the safety of families on the road and upholding the integrity of CDLs held by America’s truckers. Every state must follow federal regulations and ensure only qualified, properly documented drivers are getting behind the wheel of a truck.”
Following a high-profile fatality crash in August, OOIDA called for the immediate suspension of non-domiciled CDLs.
“Due to ongoing safety concerns, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association strongly encourages you to immediately suspend states’ authority to issue non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses for interstate commerce,” the Association wrote in comments signed by President Todd Spencer. “At a minimum, this suspension must remain in place until the U.S. Department of Transportation has completed its review of non-domiciled CDL issuance and implemented appropriate measures to ensure CDLs are only issued to qualified drivers.”
On Aug. 12 in St. Lucie County, Fla., a minivan crashed into a tractor-trailer driven by 28-year-old Harjinder Singh when he made an illegal U-turn. All three of the van’s occupants were killed in the crash. The crash prompted questions about whether Singh should have been operating a commercial motor vehicle in the United States.
Department of Transportation officials said its preliminary investigation found that Singh was incorrectly issued a full-term CDL by Washington in 2023 before being given a non-domiciled CDL by California in 2024. FMCSA officials reported that he failed an English-language proficiency assessment administered after the crash. LL
Credit: Source link
