The freight industry has a CDL issue, and it’s deeper than it seems 

The freight and logistics industry is facing a critical issue: Many drivers are under-qualified, skirting regulations and avoiding responsibility. Industry stakeholders are asking, “Are our roads less safe due to these drivers?” and conversation across various groups has raised additional questions about the validity of non-domiciled CDL holders. 

The problems

This issue is complex and multifaceted and comes down to a handful of points worthy of investigation:

1. There has been a significant influx of non-domiciled CDL holders across multiple states in the past three years. What is driving that and why is it happening despite a weak freight market that has driven dozens of companies out of business?
2. There are stark discrepancies among state regulation, federal regulation and enforcement: Why do states differ from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on guidance for road rules, and how do lawmakers find alignment on the regulations? Is it possible to truly enforce interstate regulation when the FMCSA is understaffed and underfunded?
3. Transportation companies are not held accountable to a uniform standard for training and hiring drivers: How do so many unqualified drivers make it through training programs and behind the wheel of a truck?
4. There are other forces at play, including things like black market CDL sales, identity fraud and loopholes.

What do we do?

So where do we go from here?

Addressing this issue will require more than a single law or FMCSA rulemaking or state DOT enforcement protocol; real, systemic changes in the way carriers target drivers and source labor are needed. A reliance on outsourced labor provided by various visa programs should be examined and assessed for necessity. Links between an assumed decrease in roadway safety and the influx of non-domiciled CDL holders should be evaluated and assessed for validity.

Deeper analysis is needed, so that’s what will happen. 

Read more

Keep reading for more on this incredibly complex issue, including stories like: 

• How Arkansas learned about fraudulent CDL holders from Texas, by Thomas Wasson.
• How some Mexican CDL holders are skirting proper training by bribing people for a license, by Noi Mahoney.
• What a new executive order signed by President Donald Trump could mean for companies looking to crack down on inadequate English proficiency, by John Gallagher. 

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