Three thousand CDL training providers have been removed from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s registry. Another 4,000 have been placed on notice.
It’s all part of an FMCSA effort to make sure that CDLs are awarded only to qualified drivers.
“This administration is cracking down on every link in the illegal trucking chain,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who went on to blame the previous administration for allowing unqualified drivers to flood the system. “Under President Trump, we are reigning in illegal and reckless practices that let poorly trained drivers get behind the wheel of semi-trucks and school buses.”
FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry aims to improve highway safety by ensuring that prospective drivers complete Entry-Level Driving Training requirements before testing for a CDL and CDL endorsements. The registry lists all providers who are authorized to offer Entry-Level Driver Training for CDL applicants.
According to the agency, the removal of 3,000 training providers is the first step in a review of the 16,000 training providers listed on the registry. The list of removed providers can be found here.
FMCSA said training providers are being removed from the registry for:
- Falsifying or manipulating training data
- Neglecting to meet required curriculum standards, facility conditions or instructor qualifications
- Failing to maintain accurate, complete documentation or refusing to provide records during federal audits or investigations
“If you are unwilling to follow the rules, you have no place training America’s commercial drivers,” FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs said. “We will not tolerate negligence.”
The 4,000 training providers placed on notice have 30 days to respond to FMCSA and provide evidence of compliance to avoid removal from the registry. During this time, the provider’s name will be included on a “proposed removal list,” and the provider must notify all current and scheduled driver trainees of its status. The training providers who were issued a notice of proposed removal can be found here.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is supportive of FMCSA’s efforts to make sure that anyone who receives a CDL is qualified and well-trained.
“OOIDA has long warned that allowing CDL training providers to self-certify invites fraud into the trucking industry and puts road safety at risk for all motorists,” Association President Todd Spencer said. “When training standards are weak, or in some instances totally non-existent, drivers are unprepared, and everyone on the road pays the price. FMCSA’s crackdown on fraudulent CDL training providers is a necessary and overdue step to restore accountability to the Entry-Level Driver Training system. Professional truckers across America appreciate that Secretary Duffy and Administrator Barrs are listening to the men and women behind the wheel and taking concrete action to raise professional standards and improve safety on our roadways.”
In addition, OOIDA recently submitted comments in support of FMCSA’s interim final rule focused on non-domiciled CDLs. OOIDA said that CDLs should be limited to drivers who are trained, vetted and qualified. LL
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