The federal Transportation Department is cracking down on truck driving schools after a fatal crash killed three people.
According to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy nearly 3,000 truck driving schools might have their accreditation yanked if they don't adhere to federal training requirements in the next 30 days. Another 4,000 schools face warnings.
The actions were prompted by a crash in Florida that occurred when a truck driver, not eligible to hold a commercial license, made an illegal U-Turn.
This review process will likely create immediate disruptions in the driver training pipeline, which is already strained by a persistent shortage of qualified CDL holders (estimated at 60,000-80,000 annually).
By eliminating subpar training, the initiative could prevent up to 8,000 crashes over the next decade, industry observers hope. Reducing the annual toll of about 100,000 truck-related incidents and about 5,000 fatalities (up 40% since 2014). Safer operations mean lower insurance premiums and fewer downtime costs for carriers.
