FMCSA to ban commercial drivers convicted of human trafficking

Commercial drivers convicted of human trafficking will be permanently banned from operating a commercial motor vehicle, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced in a news release on Tuesday, Sept. 16.

“This is an important step in the departmentwide campaign to keep America’s roadways, railways, airways and waterways from being used for human trafficking,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said in the news release.

The rule stems from the passage of the No Human Trafficking on Our Roads Act, which was introduced by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. It will prohibit an individual from operating a commercial motor vehicle for life if the individual uses a commercial motor vehicle in committing a felony involving a severe form of human trafficking.

“The commercial motor vehicle industry is uniquely positioned to help detect and report human trafficking and, thankfully, professional drivers’ efforts often bring an end to these tragic situations. Sadly, however, some human trafficking activities are facilitated by the use of commercial trucks or buses,” FMCSA Administrator Ray Martinez said. “By enforcing a lifetime ban on any commercial motor vehicle driver convicted of severe human trafficking, we aim to deliver a strong and effective deterrent to this abhorrent behavior.”

While strongly against human trafficking, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association said there seems to be little justification for singling out commercial drivers.

“The No Human Trafficking on Our Roads Act is largely redundant, considering any trucker convicted of human trafficking would be in prison, be unable to get insurance, never pass a pre-employment background check, or all of the above,” said Mike Matousek, OOIDA’s manager of government affairs. “While OOIDA obviously doesn’t support human trafficking, Congress passed another ‘feel good’ bill while repeatedly ignoring dozens of other trucking related issues that need immediate attention.

“If Congress thanks this approach is effective in addressing human trafficking, they should impose a similar ban on anyone convicted of human trafficking while using a car, plane, boat or train and anyone employed in any other profession that requires a government license. The government often praises the trucking industry as a first line of defense to spot and report human trafficking yet singles out the trucking industry in its ‘solution.’”

According to the Truckers Against Trafficking website, more than 730,000 truck drivers have completed training to spot human trafficking. In addition, truck drivers have made more than 2,200 calls to the organization’s hotline, helping identify more than 1,100 victims.

Kendis Paris, executive director for Truckers Against Trafficking, said the organization supports severe consequences for human trafficking but doesn’t think those consequences should be limited to commercial drivers.

“Truckers Against Trafficking is working to build a mobile army of transportation professionals dedicated to recognizing and reporting cases of human trafficking,” she said. “Any person, regardless of their livelihood, who is convicted of his heinous crime should face severe consequences in order to prevent future exploitation.”