Highway safety is a basic assurance every American relies on each time they merge onto an interstate. But that trust has been shaken, as recent catastrophic crashes involving unqualified or improperly licensed truck drivers have drawn national attention. The lives of innocent motorists have been lost in multiple preventable accidents from California to Florida and beyond.
The public is paying attention, and so is the federal government, which is why we applaud the Department of Transportation’s nationwide crackdown on commercial driver’s license mills and noncompliant training programs. Federal regulators recently revealed that thousands of schools may be operating in violation of safety and training requirements, with over 3,000 programs facing possible removal from the national registry unless they can prove they meet federal standards.
This national enforcement surge would not have been possible without the leadership of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Derek Barrs. Under their direction, the Transportation Department deployed hundreds of FMCSA investigators who conducted more than 1,500 random, boots-on-the-ground audits of training providers across the country, the most sweeping CDL training compliance action in federal history. Their willingness to confront CDL mills head-on marks a turning point for highway safety and driver professionalism.
We further thank Duffy and Barrs for recognizing and elevating a matter that the Commercial Vehicle Training Association’s Entry-Level Driver Training Task Force has been fighting for years. The task force has long served as the tip of the spear in identifying noncompliant providers, strengthening federal oversight, and helping to clean up an industry too often exploited by bad actors. CVTA’s continued collaboration with federal partners is ushering in a new era of safer roadways and greater prosperity across the trucking industry.
The decisive federal action underway reflects the very reforms CVTA members have championed: meaningful enforcement, real audits, and the removal of fraudulent programs that endanger the public. We are grateful that the Transportation Department’s leadership has transformed these long-standing concerns into nationwide action.
CVTA members welcomed this scrutiny and passed with flying colors, demonstrating once again that high-quality, compliant schools stand ready to meet the nation’s safety expectations. These actions affirm that rigorous training is not a burden; it is a safeguard for the public and a foundation for a stronger, more reputable trucking workforce.
The scale of the enforcement action underscores a long-standing and dangerous problem: fraudulent or substandard CDL training operations that cut corners, falsify records, and send unprepared drivers onto America’s highways often exist unfettered. These CDL mills are undermining the integrity of the profession and threatening highway safety for all of us. These are the bad actors of the driver education world. Easily found by a search as simple as “one day CDL,” they churn out graduates with little to no behind-the-wheel experience, falsify training records, and exploit regulatory loopholes, all with devastating consequences. The stakes are measured not only in lives lost, but in the erosion of public confidence in an industry that keeps America’s economy moving.
The timing could not be more critical. Many of the recent highway fatalities have been linked to drivers who were either in the country illegally or obtained their CDLs despite repeated test failures or falsified records. These incidents are tragic reminders of what happens when unqualified drivers are allowed behind the wheel of 80,000-pound vehicles.
Professional driver training is not just a bureaucratic requirement. It is the foundation of highway safety. High-quality schools teach far more than how to shift gears and navigate tight turns. They start in the classroom, instilling defensive driving habits, situational awareness, and adherence to federal safety protocols. Students learn to manage fatigue, handle hazardous weather, and properly inspect their vehicles before every trip. The education given is not limited merely to operating commercial vehicles. Compliant and well-managed schools also stress the importance of safety, professionalism, and respecting those who share the road. These are the skills and driver responsibilities that prevent crashes — skills and a mindset that cannot be learned in a few hours or purchased with a fraudulent certificate.
The trucking industry has a proud record of safety and professionalism. Millions of licensed commercial drivers operate on the road with discipline and respect every day. But that record depends on vigilance — not only from regulators, but from within the industry. We must enforce entry-level driver training standards, expand compliance audits, and ensure that every training provider registered with FMCSA meets rigorous curriculum, facility, and instructor requirements.
ILLINOIS CONGRESSWOMAN WILLING TO WITHHOLD HIGHWAY DOLLARS OVER CDL ISSUES
We recognize that America’s demand for drivers is real. The trucking sector moves 72% of the nation’s freight, and retirements continue to outpace new entrants. But quantity must never come at the expense of quality. Cutting corners on training may fill short-term labor gaps, but it endangers the very public we serve. As Duffy aptly noted, “Our highways are not classrooms.” Training must happen in controlled, professional environments, not in live traffic with unprepared drivers.
Our message is simple: no shortcuts, no exceptions, no compromises. Safer roads start with stronger training.
Andrew Poliakoff is the executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Training Association, the nation’s largest association representing professional truck driver training programs.
