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 […]
The English Language Proficiency (ELP) rule, now in effect, could significantly reduce trucking capacity. For a decade, large truckload carriers have embraced regulations like the ELD mandate and Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse to limit market capacity, but effects were typically short-lived. The ELP mandate, enforced by a DOT Executive Order, requires commercial drivers to demonstrate […]
New legislation would mandate that all truck drivers be tested for proficiency in speaking and reading English before being allowed on the road.
If you think you know where new trucking companies are planting roots, think again. Yes, Texas and California still lead the nation in raw numbers of new MCs granted. But something very different is happening when you zoom in. Quiet ZIP codes like 93722 (Fresno, CA) and 78045 (Laredo, TX) are quietly leading the nation […]
The trucking industry has faced its longest and deepest downturn in history, beginning in March 2022. This prolonged slump, known as the Great Freight Recession, has driven many trucking companies out of business. A sluggish goods economy contributed, but the primary cause is excess capacity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, high freight rates and government stimulus, […]
Digging into data on U.S. truck drivers reveals a scary fact: 4 out of every 100 drivers on the road are driving without valid licenses.
