The American Truckers’ United (ATU) organization is reporting that, in response to an alleged shortage of over-the-road truckers, the Biden administration in 2022 claimed to have brought 876,000 new drivers into the market, effectively doubling the average yearly entry of new drivers into the labor market.
Where did the Biden government find those drivers?
It claimed to have done so by “cutting red-tape in Commercial Driver’s licensing.” The Biden DOT made it easier for states to grant new commercial driver’s licenses. As a result many states began handling out so-called “non-domicile commercial driver licenses (CDLs)” like candy, many to refugees and other migrants. Not only had the requirement that an applicant be able to speak and understand English been abolished, in most cases, those granted non-domicile CDLs were given them without any vetting and sometimes to individuals who were not even required to give over their full name. Since January 2021, more than 876,000 such CDLs have been issued.
What has been the result of this wholesale granting of CDLs to so many unknown persons?
According to the ATU, since 2016, there has been an alarming increase in fatal truck crashes, in spite of continual improvements in truck safety technology. A major part of the problem has been the licensing of unqualified drivers. The ATU:
[A] significant factor contributing to this trend can be attributed to open borders and rampant labor dumping within the trucking industry. Labor dumping has led to the illegal employment of untrained, unvetted, and often unlicensed drivers who are hired to cut costs and maximize profits. This practice undermines the potential benefits of new safety technologies by placing inexperienced or unqualified drivers behind the wheels of large, complex vehicles, thereby not only nullifying the advancements in truck safety technology but also increasing the likelihood of accidents on the roads.
The safety of our roads is of paramount national interest. As an example, just a few weeks ago in Austin, Texas, a migrant driver who spoke little English holding a non-domicile commercial driver’s license (CDL) was involved in a crash that killed five and injured 11.
For more, see this post on X from American Truckers.