Reaction was swift to Wednesday’s announcement from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) announcing that 550 CDL training schools found in violation of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)’s standards of safety received notices of proposed removal from FMCSA’s national training provider registry.
Jeff Burkhardt, who serves a dual role as the Chairman of the Commercial Vehicle Training Association and the Senior Director of CDL Operations at Ancora Training provided some insight exclusively to The Trucker to what was found during some of FMCSA’s audits.
“There were findings where they literally went to where there were some home addresses listed for a training provider,” Burkhardt said. “There were parking lots that would no way shape or form be able to conduct tractor-trailer training.”
Burkhardt said those types of due diligence actions that the industry had been “clamoring for.”
“Just go look,” Burkhardt said. “The efforts of Operation Driver Training, which is what it was, technically, has tangible results.”
Burkhardt stated that schools in his organization were also looked into with five schools being asked for clarifying documents, but were cleared of any potential violations, and that the actions taken were not the results of a simple “gotcha audit.”
In fact, Burkhardt called the initial actions a “survey” with schools being given the opportunity to provide clarifying paperwork and to correct minor violations.
“There is s review mechanism established where these results and findings and discoveries that are made at each one of these locations, there is a review, and there was an opportunity to provide clarifying documentation, or whatever the case may be,” Burkardt said. “There was a very calculated approach, a very strategic approach.”
Answering a letter from the training provider registry (TPR) was the extent of those schools’ compliance requirements.
“I applaud the FMCSA for having their ducks in a row as far as the review process and setting up the avenues by which these things can be resolved,” Burkhardt said.
Burkhardt said the actions taken on Wednesday were just the beginning of what he expected to be coming from USDOT officials, with the help of the CVTA, as he outlined in his comments via a CVTA press release.
“CVTA has been the tip of the spear in identifying noncompliant providers and pushing for meaningful federal oversight,” Burkhardt said. “Our ELDT Task Force has worked tirelessly to clean up this industry and help usher in a new era of safer roadways and greater opportunity in trucking. We commend Secretary Duffy and Administrator Barrs for transforming these long-standing concerns into real enforcement that protects the public and supports reputable schools.”
Can we expect an “enforcement 2.0?
Burkhardt seemed to think so.
“The next phase or stage of enforcement will have the capacity to do those precise audits, a true audit,” Burkhardt said.
Burkhardt echoed the industry when he said the ultimate goal is weed out bad actors and create an environment of reputable training organizations, and to do that, more enforcement will have to be done.
“At the end of the day, it is going to whittle away at the training provider registry so that it is truly a sterile environment of legitimate providers.”
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
