CDL Issues

Trucking companies face a liability risk and a capacity crunch due to FMCSA’s new CDL restrictions.

New research finds a correlation between truck drivers who violate English-language proficiency rules and bad carrier safety but does not prove a direct cause.

Legislation introduced in Congress could make it more difficult for Mexican and Canadian truckers to get authority to haul to and from the U.S.

California and Oregon have suspended issuing non-domiciled CDLs following an emergency DOT order, as federal officials cite safety risks.

Legislation would make the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico “states” for CDL purposes and allow their drivers to avoid foreign-driver restrictions on the mainland.

Texas has suspended the issuance of commercial driver licenses to non-citizens following a new federal directive aimed at tightening licensing rules.

Interim final rule immediately limits eligibility following multiple fatal crashes in 2025 and scrutiny from the trucking community.

Federal watchdogs are once again questioning whether we have one CDL standard or 50. With nearly 5,000 truck and bus fatalities last year and English proficiency enforcement under fire, the new OIG audit could reshape how states test, license, and oversee drivers nationwide.

DOT auditors are investigating whether FMCSA is ensuring states are properly testing CDL applicants on their English skills.

New legislation turns weigh stations into English proficiency checkpoints.

Texas is tightening enforcement of federal English-language rules for truckers under Gov. Greg Abbott’s new directive.

The Trump administration threatens to cut funds to California, New Mexico and Washington, over trucker English enforcement.

The Trump administration announced Thursday night it is immediately pausing issuing of worker visas for commercial truck drivers.

FMCSA investigation into last week’s Florida Turnpike crash that killed three people will focus on the driver and his trucking company.

A commercial tractor-trailer’s illegal U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike last week killed three people in a minivan that collided with the trailer at highway speed, putting new focus on critical flaws in commercial driver licensing and training standards that have made America’s highways increasingly dangerous.

The trucking industry finds itself mired in one of the most protracted freight recessions on record, a predicament exacerbated by a flood of capacity that has outstripped demand. This surplus stems from an industry with negligible barriers to entry, where supply can readily overshoot, challenging the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) persistent claim of a perpetual […]

(The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates.) “BE AFRAID OF FREIGHT FRAUD!”  It’s no surprise when another freight fraud headline lands in our inbox, shows up on LinkedIn, or makes its way into a conversation.  Freight fraud is a trending […]

New immigration restrictions could curb driver availability, trigger a massive capacity crunch, and pull the trucking industry out of The Great Freight Recession. The Trump administration’s English Language Proficiency (ELP) mandate, effective June 2025, is already limiting the 3.5 million driver pool, particularly impacting immigrants, who according to the BLS account for at least 20% […]

President Trump is expected to sign legislation that extends business-friendly provisions included in the 2017 tax cuts.

The Freight Fraud Crisis The trucking industry is grappling with a surge in freight fraud, leaving carriers, brokers, and shippers vulnerable to sophisticated scams like identity theft and unauthorized double brokering. These schemes disrupt supply chains, undermine trust, and cause significant financial and logistical challenges. The root cause is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s […]