A three-day federal enforcement operation led to arrests, vehicle shutdowns, and the removal of hundreds of truck drivers deemed unfit to operate commercial vehicles on American highways.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Nearly 2,000 truck drivers determined to be unqualified to operate commercial vehicles were removed from U.S. roadways during a multi-state enforcement operation conducted in mid-January, the Department of Transportation said in a Feb. 6 statement.
The action marked the first phase of Operation SafeDRIVE, a high-visibility, multi-state enforcement and education initiative aimed at reducing dangerous driving behavior, verifying driver qualifications, and addressing unsafe vehicles on major freight corridors and other high-risk locations.
Inspectors from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, working alongside state and local law enforcement agencies in 26 states and the District of Columbia, conducted the three-day operation from Jan. 13 through Jan. 15. The effort resulted in 8,215 inspections nationwide.
According to the Department of Transportation, 56 truck drivers were arrested during the operation for offenses including driving under the influence and being illegally present in the United States. Inspectors also placed 1,231 commercial vehicles out of service due to safety violations.
Of the nearly 2,000 drivers deemed unfit, 704 were formally removed from service. Nearly 500 of those removals were tied to violations of English-language proficiency standards for commercial drivers. The enforcement followed executive actions taken by President Donald Trump requiring stricter adherence to English proficiency rules in the trucking industry.
In March, Trump signed an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States. The following month, he issued another order directing Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy to remove commercial truck drivers who fail to meet English proficiency requirements. In that order, Trump described English proficiency as a “non-negotiable safety requirement,” emphasizing that drivers must be able to read traffic signs and communicate with law enforcement, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo inspection officials.
Derek D. Barrs, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said the operation was focused on public safety. He said drivers who ignore regulations or operate without proper qualifications put lives at risk on the nation’s highways.
Duffy said Operation SafeDRIVE demonstrated the impact of coordinated enforcement. He said the operation showed “what happens when we work together with our law enforcement partners to pull unqualified drivers and vehicles off American roads,” adding that a “whole-of-government approach” is needed to maintain safety standards and reduce traffic accidents.
The enforcement push comes amid a series of high-profile truck-related crashes involving illegal immigrants. In August, an illegal immigrant truck driver was accused of causing a crash in Florida that killed three people. In September, another illegal immigrant was arrested after a crash involving a commercial truck left a 5-year-old girl critically injured.
More recently, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested an illegal immigrant from Kyrgyzstan after a head-on collision between his truck and a van killed four people in Indiana. Federal officials said the driver had obtained a commercial driver’s license in Pennsylvania.
The administration’s trucking enforcement measures have faced legal challenges. In December, California filed suit after the Department of Transportation moved to withhold $33 million in federal funding, citing the state’s alleged failure to comply with English proficiency requirements for truck drivers. California argued that it enforces existing language rules and described the federal action as arbitrary, unlawful, and economically harmful.
Federal scrutiny of state licensing practices has also intensified. In June, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration launched a nationwide review that identified widespread noncompliance in the issuance of commercial driver’s licenses, particularly in California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington. In September, Duffy announced emergency restrictions on the eligibility of foreign-domiciled drivers to obtain such licenses.
In January, the Department of Transportation reported that a review of North Carolina’s nondomiciled commercial driver’s licenses found that 54 percent had been issued illegally. Duffy called the findings a dangerous situation and urged state leaders to immediately remove unqualified drivers and correct licensing failures.
Federal officials said additional phases of Operation SafeDRIVE are expected as the administration continues its effort to tighten safety standards and enforcement across the trucking industry.
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