DOT holding CDL mills, motor carriers and drivers accountable

Removing an unqualified driver from the road is certainly a move in the right direction.

But how did this unqualified driver get behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound commercial motor vehicle in the first place? If he or she has a CDL, that means somebody signed off on it. It also means that a trucking company hired the driver and handed over the keys.

For the past several months, the U.S. Department of Transportation has been taking a hard look at CDL holders who are unable to read warnings on electronic highway signs or understand directions from a law enforcement officer.

The DOT ordered drivers who lack English-proficiency skills to be placed out of service. But Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs made it clear in October that they’re not stopping there. They’re also coming for the CDL mills that rush unqualified drivers through training and the motor carriers who knowingly hire truckers who don’t comply with the regulations or possess the necessary skills.

One might guess that a trucking company willing to hand the keys over to someone who can’t read or speak English may also look the other way when it comes to plenty of other safety regulations. According to research from professors at the University of Tennessee, that guess would be correct.

A study released on Oct. 1 titled, “Are English-Language Violations Associated with Unsafe Carriers,” found that motor carriers with English-proficiency violations have received poor safety scores from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“The safety ratings of the carriers with ELP violations were considerably worse on average than carriers without ELP violations,” University of Tennessee professor Alex Scott wrote in the study.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Safety Measurement System assigns scores to various safety categories, such as vehicle maintenance, unsafe driving and hours-of-service compliance. In each category, a score of zero indicates the best performance.

The results are nothing short of alarming, as trucking companies with English-proficiency violations (6.23) earned scores for unsafe driving that were nearly five times worse than motor carriers without an ELP violation (1.32).

Even more, carriers with English-proficiency violations averaged a 9.06 vehicle maintenance score while all other carriers averaged a 1.32. Hours-of-service violations were nearly twice as prevalent with a score of 0.71 compared to 0.42.

“Inspections with ELP violations have much higher rates of overall violations compared to inspections without ELP violations, including elevated rates of the most egregious violations,” the study stated.

The researchers note that the study’s findings do not suggest that a lack of English proficiency causes these violations or poor carrier safety scores.

Instead, it may reflect carriers willing to cut corners at the cost of safety.

“It is possible that non-English-speaking drivers are taken advantage of by unscrupulous carriers and managers at those carriers,” the study concluded. “It is possible that unsafe carriers hire drivers who cannot speak English and then push them to perform unsafely. If that is the case, then actions should be taken to protect drivers from those management practices.”

During a news conference in October, the DOT and FMCSA said that drivers, CDL training schools and motor carriers all need to start complying with safety regulations.

“If you don’t want to follow our standards, then you need to stay out of the profession,” said Barrs, who was confirmed as FMCSA’s administrator in October. “If you are not following the rules, we’re going to make sure we’re going to put you out of business. We’re going to come after you.” LL