People who are looking for a quick and cheap way to get the minimal truck driver training to get their commercial driver’s license may soon be out of luck.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Tuesday that more than 550 shady training schools are on the chopping block after failing to meet Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration standards. The crackdown wasn’t small potatoes. More than 300 investigators ran 1,400 sting operations in all 50 states.
What did they find? Schools with unqualified instructors, fake addresses and drivers who never received proper hazmat training.
This is the part that should raise even more eyebrows: One of the schools being kicked out had been training school bus drivers.
“For too long, the trucking industry has operated like the Wild, Wild West, where anything goes and nobody asks any questions. The buck stops with me. Under President Trump, my team is cracking down on every link in the trucking chain that has allowed this lawlessness to impact the safety of America’s roads. American families should have confidence that our school bus and truck drivers are following every letter of the law and that starts with receiving proper training before getting behind the wheel,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy.
Over the course of five days, the FMCSA conducted 1,426 on-site investigations of driver training providers, which resulted in:
- 448 notices of proposed removals issued to schools that failed to meet basic safety standards.
- 109 training providers voluntarily removed themselves from the Training Provider Registry upon hearing that investigators were on the way.
Some of the violations found include:
- Unqualified teachers: Instructors did not even hold the correct licenses or permits—such as for school buses—for the vehicles they were teaching their students to drive.
- Improper vehicles: Schools were using vehicles that didn’t match the type of training being offered.
- Incomplete assessments: Providers failed to properly test students on basic requirements.
OOIDA on the bandwagon
Just days before the DOT’s crackdown announcement, OOIDA filed comments signed by President Todd Spencer pushing for stronger driver training standards.
“Far too many drivers still lack the basic skills necessary to safely operate a commercial vehicle,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer wrote in comments filed on Thursday, Feb. 12. “USDOT must take steps to further enhance safety by implementing measured and widely-supported improvements to entry-level driver training regulations.”
The DOT announcement was met with immediate praise from OOIDA.
“OOIDA and professional truck drivers across America commend the Trump Administration for taking decisive action to restore integrity to the CDL training system. Shutting down hundreds of sham trucking schools that fail to meet even basic federal standards is a significant step toward protecting the motoring public and defending the professionalism of America’s truck drivers,” Spencer said.
“For years, CDL mills have fueled a destructive churn driven by the false narrative of a nationwide truck driver shortage. Rather than fix retention problems and working conditions, some in the industry chose to cut corners and push undertrained drivers onto the road. That approach has undermined safety and devalued the entire trucking profession.
“Secretary Duffy and Administrator Barrs are sending a clear message today that safety comes first and that training is a priority.” LL
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