DOT News Updates

Members of Congress are urging DOT to investigate so-called CDL mills and enforce English proficiency rules as part of broader efforts to improve driver training and highway safety.

Sponsored primarily by Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-N.C.), the SAFE Drivers Act is meant to guarantee commercial drivers have a proficient understanding of English.

The autonomous trucks will be manufactured at Volvo Trucks North America’s New River Valley production plant in Dublin, Va. The first batch was built there in the final quarter of 2024.

Secretary Sean Duffy is turning up the heat on California after another truck driver holding a non-domiciled CDL issued by the state was involved in a fatal crash. But California is pushing back.

A truck driver accused of being under the influence and causing a fiery crash that killed three people on a California freeway is in the country illegally, U.S. Homeland Security officials said.

“California does require ELP and tests for it as a condition of receiving a CDL, and you can read that for yourself,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a social media post.

States are detailing their responses to a U.S. Department of Transportation edict to restrict access to commercial driver licenses and permits for non-domiciled drivers.

An FMCSA audit recently found compliance issues in California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington. South Dakota was first to acknowledge them.

The Senate on Oct. 7 confirmed Barrs to manage the nation’s trucking regulatory agency even as the federal government remained locked in a partial shutdown.

The department’s plan, released Sept. 30, shows that highway and trucking agencies are among the least affected in a lapse of annual appropriations.