Almost 44% of the 16,000 truck driving schools in the U.S. could shutter if they fail to retain students, following a federal Transportation Department review indicating potential non-compliance with government standards.
On Monday, the Transportation Department announced it intends to revoke the accreditation of around 3,000 schools unless they meet training requirements within 30 days. These schools are required to inform their students of their jeopardized accreditation status. An additional 4,500 schools are being cautioned that they may face similar consequences.
Loss of accreditation means these schools will no longer be able to issue the necessary certificates for drivers to obtain licenses, likely leading students to leave these institutions.
In another vein, the Department of Homeland Security is conducting audits on trucking firms in California owned by immigrants, seeking to confirm the qualifications and statuses of their drivers concerning commercial driver’s licenses.
This intensified scrutiny of trucking schools and firms marks the government’s ongoing effort to ensure truck drivers are fully qualified to hold commercial licenses. This initiative follows an incident involving a driver, reportedly unauthorized to be in the U.S., who caused a fatal crash in Florida. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has threatened to withhold federal funding from California and Pennsylvania due to this issue and has proposed stricter regulations for immigrant qualifications for commercial licenses, although courts have temporarily halted these new measures.
“We are cracking down on illegal and reckless practices that allow inadequately trained drivers to operate trucks and school buses,” Duffy stated.
The impact of these actions on the existing driver shortage remains uncertain, although the American Trucking Association estimates approximately 3.58 million truck drivers were active on the roads last year. The Department of Transportation identified the 3,000 targeted schools as falling short of training standards and maintaining inaccurate records, and they are accused of manipulating training data.
Industry groups have supported the initiative to strengthen licensing standards and ensure drivers meet essential English proficiency criteria, a mandate intensified under the Trump administration. However, organizations representing immigrant truck drivers argue that many competent drivers and firms are being unfairly targeted due to their citizenship status. Advocacy groups have indicated that Sikh and immigrant truckers have faced harassment, largely since recent crashes in Florida and California involved Sikh drivers. The United Sikhs advocacy group commented on this situation, emphasizing that lawful drivers are being incorrectly portrayed as risks, which exacerbates xenophobia and may lead to violence on the roads.
