In addition to nine initiatives aimed at improving the truck driving profession, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced last week that it is launching an audit into state-issued non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses.
The nationwide audit will attempt to determine the likelihood of unqualified individuals receiving CDLs and assess the potential risks to highway safety.
“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,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a June 27 news release. “Today, 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.”
Prompted by President Donald Trump’s executive order, the DOT directed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to conduct a compliance review of states that issue non-domiciled CDLs. According to the DOT news release, the review will examine state procedures regarding non-domiciled CDLs to identify and stop abuse and “ensure federal standards are being met across the country.”
In May, the DOT announced it would begin enforcing an existing regulation that requires CDL holders to possess basic English skills in order to read critical highway messages and communicate with law enforcement officers. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance started enforcing English-proficiency regulations on June 25.
“Federal law has always been very clear. Commercial drivers must be proficient in English,” Duffy said at the May 20 event in Austin, Texas. “English is the language of opportunity in America. Allowing drivers who cannot read stop signs or understand police officers’ instructions to operate an 80,000-pound big rig threatens the safety of every American on our roadways. There are numerous examples across the country where we’ve had people who are operating this kind of equipment who can’t speak the language, and the results have been devastating and taken the lives of so many American families. That’s going to end right now.”
‘Pro-trucker’ package
Last week, the DOT also announced nine initiatives “designed to improve the lives of America’s truck drivers.”
The nine initiatives:
- Increase truck parking capacity
- Withdraw speed limiter rulemaking
- Increase hours-of-service flexibility
- Improve driver resource page
- Reform DataQ
- Modernize National Consumer Complaint Database
- Address unlawful brokering
- Maintain ELD exemption on pre-2000 engines
- Remove “needless” regulations
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association played a big role in advocating for all nine initiatives in the “Pro-trucker” package.
“These steps not only improve the daily lives of truckers across America but also enhance safety for everyone on the road,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said. “For years, truckers have urged Washington to address the severe shortage of truck parking, eliminate the dangers posed by a national speed limiter mandate and give drivers greater control over their hours of service.” LL
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