CVTA Discusses TPR Enforcement with Secretary Duffy During National Truck Driver Appreciation Week
- andrew.poliakoff
- 60 minutes ago
- 3 min read
On Monday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy traveled to a truck stop in New Jersey to speak with truckers and other industry stakeholders as part of National Truck Driver Appreciation Week.
In conversations at the event, CVTA highlighted the urgent and ongoing need to protect the integrity of commercial vehicle training. Executive Director Andrew Poliakoff emphasized that removal of bad actors in the training space should be viewed through the same lens as English Language Proficiency violations (ELP) and CDL licensing fraud. ELP violations and CDL fraud came sharply into focus in the aftermath of the August 12 crash in Florida and have precipitated a surging enforcement strategy at USDOT. (Read below for links to previous CVTA, NAPFTDS and ATA requests for increased enforcement).
Indeed, real safety improvements depend on vigorous enforcement of the Training Provider Registry (TPR) and the Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) rule. Fraudulent training providers and “CDL mills” pose risks similar to those that have prompted USDOT to increase resources against English Language Proficiency (ELP) violations and CDL fraud.
The Florida crash, in which an unqualified driver with multiple state-issued CDLs caused numerous deaths, led the current administration to direct significant resources toward cracking down on ELP, licensing fraud, and unqualified drivers. CVTA’s message to the Secretary was clear: the same urgency must be applied to rooting out fraudulent training providers, whose shortcuts put equally unprepared drivers on the road.
Poliakoff was able to engage the Secretary on the ELDT issue for several minutes—
remarkable at a high-profile event where time is often limited. But what stood out most was the vigorous echoing of CVTA's concerns by truckers and other attendees. Drivers and industry voices repeatedly raised issues of ELP enforcement, CDL fraud, and the dangers posed by substandard training providers, reinforcing that enforcement is not just a CVTA policy priority but a large-scale grassroots concern across the industry.
The Secretary noted that USDOT is pursuing cross-agency partnerships, including with Customs and Border Protection, to address ELP violations. (CVTA asserts that this same creativity could be extended to TPR enforcement, ensuring that fraudulent training providers are removed from the system and that ELDT delivers the safety benefits it was designed to achieve).
Together, these conversations underscored a clear theme: truckers, training providers, and the broader industry are united in calling for stronger enforcement. As USDOT and FMCSA begin to surge on such enforcement initiatives, CVTA will continue to advocate for policies that strengthen safety, support drivers, and protect the credibility of commercial driver training.
CVTA, the National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools (NAPFTDS) and the American Trucking Associations (ATA) have been highlighting this issue for some time through formal communications to FMSCA and USDOT.
April 2025 Letter from ATA to USDOT August 2025 Letter from CVTA & NAPFTDS to USDOT
Read the National Truck Driver Appreciation Week Press Release Department of Transportation Press release describing two pilot programs to improve truckers' life on the road. Read about those here.
Split Duty Period pilot program: This will allow participating drivers to pause their 14-hour “driving window” for no less than 30 minutes and no more than three hours. The program seeks to collect data and assess whether added flexibility can maintain or improve safety outcomes.
Flexible Sleeper Berth pilot program: This will explore additional sleeper berth split options beyond the current “8/2” and “7/3” configurations. FMCSA will test the safety implications of allowing drivers to divide their 10-hour off-duty requirement into “6/4” and “5/5” split periods. The research will examine how these alternatives affect driver fatigue and overall safety performance in order to determine whether a wider range of rest options could benefit both drivers and the motoring public.