AUSTIN (KXAN) — U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy, during a Friday announcement on restrictions to who is eligible for trucking licenses, referenced a deadly pileup crash that happened on Interstate 35 in Austin earlier this year.
According to the Associated Press, Duffy’s announcement called for emergency action to drastically restricts who is eligible for a non-domiciled commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) and commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs).
Transportation Department tightens noncitizen truck driver rules after fatal crash in Florida
The rule is effective immediately and is in response to an ongoing nationwide audit by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and a recent series of fatal crashes caused by non-domiciled drivers, the announcement said. Under the new rule, the Department of Transportation will tighten up requirements for noncitizens to get commercial drivers’ licenses after three fatal crashes this year that officials say were caused by immigrant truck drivers who never should have received licenses, the AP reported.
According to the AP, the nationwide audit of these licenses began after a fatal U-turn crash in Florida that killed two people caused by a truck driver who officials said was in the country illegally. But Duffy said fatal crashes caused by truck drivers who shouldn’t have had licenses were also found in Texas and Alabama earlier this year…