Today marks the start of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s five-day Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative across the United States. Through Jan. 16, law enforcement agencies, motor carriers, and transportation safety organizations will conduct coordinated outreach at truck stops, weigh stations, and carrier facilities to educate drivers on how to recognize and report this crime.
If you have been driving for any length of time, you have probably heard the pitch: Truckers are the eyes and ears of America’s highways. It has become something of a cliche. But here is the thing. When it comes to human trafficking, that statement is not marketing copy. It is an operational reality.
Human trafficking is a $150 billion global criminal enterprise that has been reported in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, on tribal lands, and within U.S. territories. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, over 9,600 potential cases encompassing nearly 17,000 potential victims were reported in 2023 alone. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was informed about more than 18,400 possible cases of child sex trafficking that same year.
Those numbers only scratch the surface. The underground nature of this crime means hundreds of thousands of cases go unseen and unreported every year.
The Rise of Truckers Against Trafficking
In 2009, Lyn Leeburg and her daughters founded Truckers Against Trafficking in Oklahoma with a simple insight: truck drivers are uniquely positioned to recognize and report human trafficking because they operate in the same spaces traffickers use. Truck stops, rest areas, and motels along highway corridors. The places where victims are moved, sold, and exploited.
Before TAT launched, the National Human Trafficking Hotline had received exactly three calls from truck drivers. Today, TAT has trained over 1.8 million transportation professionals. Those TAT-certified individuals have generated thousands of hotline calls resulting in over 1,200 identified potential victims and hundreds of likely trafficking cases.
TAT Executive Director Kendis Paris puts it this way: At any given time in the United States, there are more truckers on the road than there are law enforcement officers. The organization’s goal is to raise up a mobile army that can report these situations instead of having them take place under their noses.
When Drivers Made the Call
These are not abstract statistics. Real drivers have saved real lives.
In January 2015, trucker Kevin Kimmel pulled into a Pilot station in New Kent County, Virginia, and noticed an old RV with black curtains that did not look right. He watched a man approach the RV, knock, then enter. Moments later, it began rocking. Then he spotted what appeared to be a young woman behind the curtain, who abruptly disappeared.
Kimmel called the police. The woman inside was a 20-year-old sex trafficking victim who had been lured from her home in Iowa, held against her will, and subjected to torture, sexual assault, and forced prostitution. Her captors had driven nails into her feet and burned her with heated metal instruments. They pimped her out at truck stops to men who answered online ads. Laura Sorenson and Aldair Hodza were subsequently sentenced to 40 and 42 years in prison. Without Kimmel’s call, that woman might never have been found.
In Idaho, WinCo Foods driver Joe Aguayo spotted a trafficking victim in distress during his regular route. The 27-year-old woman was nude, drugged, wounded, and her head had been shaved. Aguayo had received TAT training at a company safety meeting just months earlier. He knew what to do. The woman was rescued, received counseling and, according to Aguayo, was all smiles knowing she had escaped. TAT honored Aguayo with its Harriet Tubman Award, named for the famed abolitionist who transported 300 slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad.
In Missouri, an anonymous trucker at the Midway Truck Stop on I-70 was approached by a man offering him a good time with a young woman. The woman had a scared expression and matted hair. The trucker declined but gave her his contact information. She eventually escaped, and when connected with victim services, she was starting to eat and was very grateful that she had gotten away.
Perhaps the most dramatic example: One trucker’s call led to the arrest and conviction of 31 traffickers, the release of nine people from the sex industry, and the takedown of an organized crime ring that had been active in 13 states.
The Red Flags You Need to Recognize
The Department of Transportation and TAT have identified specific indicators that should trigger concern. At truck stops specifically, watch for:
CB radio chatter about commercial companies or flashing lights signaling buyer locations. A van or RV parked among semi-trucks that seems out of place. A vehicle dropping someone off at a truck and returning 15 to 20 minutes later. An individual going from truck to truck or spending excessive time near showers and restrooms.
Beyond location-specific signs, general indicators include a person who does not control their own identification or appears unaware of their whereabouts. Someone who will not speak for themselves or defers to a third party before answering questions. Visible signs of physical abuse, branding, or tattoos that appear to be ownership marks. A minor unaccompanied at night who cannot explain who they are with or what they are doing.
Clothing that is inappropriately sexual or wrong for the weather. Someone who seems coached on what to say or gives scripted-sounding answers. Signs of malnourishment. Avoidance of eye contact or authority figures.
What to Do and What Not to Do
Do not approach or confront suspected traffickers. These are often violent criminals with nothing to lose. Attempting to intervene puts you and potential victims at greater risk.
Instead, report what you observe. If someone appears to be in immediate danger, call 911. For situations that do not require emergency response, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888. You can also text HELP to 233733 or use their online chat. The hotline operates 24/7 with support in more than 200 languages. All calls are confidential and answered by trained anti-trafficking advocates.
Document what you can without putting yourself at risk: vehicle descriptions, license plates, physical descriptions of individuals involved, location, and time. This information helps law enforcement build cases.
The Training and Legal Landscape
Twelve states now mandate anti-trafficking training for entry-level CDL holders. Forty-eight states have adopted TAT’s Iowa Motor Vehicle Enforcement model, in whole or in part. This framework activates commercial vehicle enforcement units to integrate trafficking awareness into their existing oversight of the industry through ports of entry, weigh stations, interdiction stops, and mandatory safety compliance meetings.
The U.S. Department of State’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report confirms that in 2022, 1,656 individuals were prosecuted for human trafficking offenses, with 1,118 convictions. Those numbers represent only the cases that get reported and prosecuted. The underground nature of this crime means countless victims never come forward due to fear, stigma, shame, or lack of resources.
According to the Department of Transportation, 76 percent of surveyed human trafficking survivors reported using some mode of transportation during their exploitation. Traffickers rely on the fact that most people are not paying attention. They count on bystanders dismissing warning signs. But when 3.5 million CDL holders know what to look for, the calculus changes.
A North American Effort
This week’s U.S. initiative is part of a broader continental effort. Canada will conduct its Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative Feb. 23-27, and Mexico will follow with its initiative March 16-20. CVSA will compile data from all three countries and release combined results this summer.
Leading up to this week, CVSA conducted webinars, training sessions, radio appearances, and social media campaigns. TAT has been distributing wallet cards, posters, and window decals that carriers can order at no cost. A nationwide digital media campaign featuring videos with a trafficking survivor, a truck driver, and a CMV enforcement officer is currently running, with 30-second and five-minute versions available in English and Spanish.
Michigan State Police, Indiana State Police, and enforcement agencies across the country are conducting presentations and educational outreach at truck stops this week, working directly with drivers during roadside inspections to share TAT materials and discuss recognition and reporting.
Human trafficking is one of the great moral atrocities of our time. It happens in every community, on every highway, at rest stops and truck stops across this country. And unlike many problems in trucking, this one has a clear role for individual drivers.
You do not need special equipment to make a difference. TAT’s training resources are free. You do not need to be a hero or confront anyone. You just need to pay attention and make a phone call when something does not look right.
Kevin Kimmel still drives a truck and speaks about his experience at anti-trafficking events across the country. Joe Aguayo continues his route through Idaho, now on constant alert. The anonymous trucker in Missouri said he did not want any medals or publicity. He just did what any person should do.
That is the standard. One phone call. One life saved.
Make the call.
RESOURCES
National Human Trafficking Hotline: 888-373-7888
Text: HELP to 233733
TAT Training and Materials: tatnonprofit.org
CVSA Resources: cvsa.org/programs/human-trafficking-prevention
Order Free Materials: Fill out the form at cvsa.org to receive wallet cards, posters and window decals
