In the past decade, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has attempted to tighten control over multiple aspects of the trucking industry with the creation of various registries.
The start of FMCSA initiatives like the Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP), the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) registry and the CDL Training Provider Registry were all intended to add federal oversight to areas regulated by the agency.
Unfortunately, the agency’s dependence on self-certification for qualification has created turmoil and uncertainty in the very areas it attempts to regulate.
Hardly a month goes by without another story of ELDs being yanked from the list of “approved” devices, medical professionals removed from the provider registry — and, most recently, as many as 7,500 self-certified CDL training providers barred from training new drivers.
Nearly 1 in 5 CDL training providers removed
In a Dec. 1, 2025, press conference, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that 3,000 training providers have been removed from the registry for noncompliance, with another 4,500 more flagged for potential removal.
The entire registry contains about 16,000 training providers, so Duffy’s announcement means that nearly one in five (19%) have already been removed — and the total could climb as high as 47% when the current crackdown ends. New drivers who signed up for CDL training in the months before the announcement can take comfort in the fact that the training provider they chose has at least a 53% chance of being legitimate, according to the FMCSA.
The training provider crackdown comes as a part of the Trump administration’s efforts to correct safety deficiencies in the trucking industry, particularly where issue of CDLs is concerned.
In recent months, the FMCSA has stepped up enforcement of English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards and the agency’s efforts to curtail issuance of CDLs to non-domiciled drivers continues, if delayed by litigation.
“Under President Trump, we are reigning in illegal and reckless practices that let poorly trained drivers get behind the wheel of semi-trucks and school buses,” Duffy said when announcing the action against training providers.
ELDT regulations
Current Entry Level Driver Training (ELDT) regulations were issued in 2016 but didn’t go into effect until February 2022 due to numerous court battles. The regulations cover training curricula topics; facilities, including classroom and range; instructor qualifications; state licensing of training operations; vehicles used in training; and more. The complete list can be found here.
Failure to meet the required standards disqualifies that training provider. So does failure to maintain required training data, providing false data or failing to provide data to the FMCSA when requested.
Once a training provider receives a notice of proposed removal, they have 30 days to respond to the FMCSA and provide evidence that they are in compliance. During that time, the training provider’s name is included on the Training Provider Registry (TPR) Proposed Removal List — and the provider is required to notify all current and scheduled trainees of the school’s status.
When safety enters the political arena
While it’s popular for a presidential administration to blame its predecessor for shortcomings it finds, the FMCSA — like any federal agency — is required to perform the functions defined by Congress in the initial legislation that created it. The top leadership of the agency is appointed by the president, with confirmation by the Senate. The choice and the confirmation can be political in nature, and the mission of the agency is often adjusted to follow the political agenda of one party or the other.
Safety should never be a political issue.
Minimal ELDT standards aren’t being enforced when up to 47% of registered, “self-certified” trainers are not, in fact, qualified.
It’s impossible to tell how many commercial vehicle drivers that are on the road today received their CDL after graduating from a training provider that has since been removed from the registry for noncompliance.
Effective oversight is essential
If the intent of the program is to create safer, better educated truck drivers, there must be effective oversight of the certification program that includes more than self-certification.
After all, if self-certification is an effective process, why couldn’t each operator of a commercial motor vehicle simply self-certify to the FMCSA that they meet CDL qualifications? Just fill out the form, put your electronic signature at the bottom and “choose your payment method below.”
Roadside inspections could include a check of the “CDL registry.” There’d be no need to carry a CDL card. If a driver demonstrates an unacceptable level of safety, the FMCSA could give them 30 days before removing them from the registry.
Impact on commercial drivers
The self-certification process has a cost to drivers, too.
Those who passed DOT physical exams provided by medical professionals who were later removed from the registry don’t get refunds, and they might have to pay for another exam.
Drivers using ELDs that get removed don’t get refunds, either. They just need to select, and pay for, another device. It makes little difference that carriers often pay the price rather than drivers. It’s still an unnecessary expense caused by regulatory failure.
Then, how does one count the safety cost involved when an improperly-trained driver takes the wheel of an 80,000-pound tractor-trailer?
Many professional drivers would undoubtedly say that they learn something new every day — but drivers who graduate from unqualified training programs begin their careers with a training deficit and a safety disadvantage. If those unqualified drivers are caught in time, they can be retrained … at an additional cost.
However, the cost in lives, injuries and property damage can’t be overlooked.
“If you are unwilling to follow the rules, you have no place training America’s commercial drivers,” said FMCSA Administrator Derek D. Barrs at the Dec. 1 press conference, adding, “We will not tolerate negligence.”
While any effort to improve enforcement of safety regulations is laudable, what happens when another priority takes precedence — or another administration picks up the reins of leadership?
Does “negligence” creep into enforcement, too?
Safety has to be more than a finger-pointing exercise. A system to monitor and enforce the regulations must be in place.
Commercial vehicle drivers are required to demonstrate that they meet CDL qualifications with written and performance testing. Allowing them to self-certify isn’t an option — and it shouldn’t be an option for those who train or medically qualify drivers, or for those that sell safety products like ELDs.
Cliff Abbott is an experienced commercial vehicle driver and owner-operator who still holds a CDL in his home state of Alabama. In nearly 40 years in trucking, he’s been an instructor and trainer and has managed safety and recruiting operations for several carriers. Having never lost his love of the road, Cliff has written a book and hundreds of songs and has been writing for The Trucker for more than a decade.
