Dire Warning On Unsafe Highways Amid Flood Of Migrant Drivers

Well, Zerohedge has once again posted an article highlighted how dangerous the highways are with the dramatic increase in CDLs going to non-domiciled immigrants during the last administration.

Not only have they flooded the industry with unsafe foreign drivers, but they've actually reduced the standards for getting a CDL in many places.

Here is a link to the article:

American Truckers United Issues Dire Warning On 'Unsafe' Highways Amid Flood Of Migrant Drivers, Crashes

Here are a few of the most important facts highlighted in the piece that really stuck with me:

• Concerns over Unvetted Drivers: ATU has found that truck-involved incidents and fatalities have been on a steady rise since 2016, and the correlations with federal immigration policies under the previous administration saw a spike in non-domiciled CDLs.
• ATU revealed that Walmart and Amazon displayed navigational signs at their trucking hubs in foreign languages
• ATU has previously noted that the Biden-Harris regime "bragged about bringing 876,000 new drivers into the market, effectively doubling the average annual output of new drivers."

"Our highways are no longer safe. Reckless immigration policies and weakened licensing standards have unleashed a deadly crisis on our roads."

- Shannon Everett of the trucking advocacy group American Truckers United

Self-driving trucks are not currently a threat to safe highways or driver wages. Flooding the industry with immigrants is the greatest threat to our industry. Just ask the business owners in landscaping, farming, and many construction trades what would happen to their businesses if they had to pay wages to American workers. They would go bankrupt in short order.

But it's worse than that. They're not making more profits than they would be with American labor, because their competitors are using foreign labor as well. There is no advantage to be gained from something if everyone is doing it.

• Hiring foreigners does not increase your profits for long.
• It ruins good paying jobs for American workers.
• Foreign workers send their wages home, draining our economy of the spending that would have come from those wages as well.

The trucking industry is still an amazing blue-collar opportunity in our society today, one of the few remaining ones left. It's a career that will challenge you, one you can be proud of, and it's an adventure like no other.

I strongly believe the current administration is fixing this problem, and companies are already looking harder for drivers than they have been the past few years. I think they will dramatically reduce the number of foreign drivers back to what it was historically, and our great industry will continue on as it has for many decades.

Time will tell.

What do you guys think? What have you seen lately on the highways? Has anything changed over the past six months since the new administration took over?

I haven't seen any improvements. If anything, it continues to get worse. Drivers on their phones, tablets in the window with movies playing, speeding and tailgating especially in construction zones and the inability to follow specific signage. Combine that with shippers and receivers happy that a driver arrives who can understand and for instructions and you have just some of the issues we're facing. I wanted to be impressed with the current administration, at least give them a fighting chance but they keep proving that they are more of the same.

I think the guidance needs to be stronger at the federal level, its a start, but its not enough. I'd like to see a blitz week on this, with weight stations and ports of entry specifically targeting this issue. States that fail to comply in enforcement should loose their federal funding for highways.

Not only is it a safety issue, its also a wage issue. I'm guessing that the lobbying groups for the large carriers and shippers, retailers and manufacturers alike are fighting this and actively pouring money into stalling it.

We're still very deep into a recession despite what the media says. Corporations are going to have raise wages and have better conditions if they hope to capture any of Gen Z for blue collar trades. The kids simply will not work for low wages.

Notice that the big Corporations are also saying there's a shortage of operators and freight handlers and industrial mechanics. There's just a shortage of people willing to work for low wages is what it means. Any time there's a claimed shortage it equates to companies not trading enough value for people's time or skills that took time to build.

It is not just a foreign driver problem. I see too many "good old boys" tailgating to the point they are a couple feet off the other vehicle, speeding, speeding in construction zones, weaving in and out of traffic, playing on their phones, watching a tablet, eating and driving with their knees.

Bad drivers of all kinds, colors, and creeds exist.

Let us not confuse the matter: this isn't an immigration issue; it's a driver safety issue.

Correct, its not an immigration issue, its a national security issue and a wages issue and a safety issue.

Correct, its not an immigration issue, its a national security issue and a wages issue and a safety issue.

Exactly!

It's also about protecting our industry, bolstering our economy, and preserving our culture and our way of life.

There are right and wrong ways to approach immigration and allow foreign workers to participate in our society. We already have laws to protect us, and they need to be followed.

Many experienced drivers here have called out the headlines about driver shortages as fake news, and for good reason. The 'driver shortage' is the perfect excuse to demand the allowance of foreign drivers and reduced CDL requirements, neither of which is in the best interest of the general public, current drivers, future drivers, or the overwhelming majority of people in our country.

The cost of transporting goods is a tiny percentage of the overall cost of goods on shelves. We don't need to reduce the cost of shipping overall because our industry is already incredibly efficient. We can move 23 tons of goods 3,000 miles in a climate-controlled environment on very short notice in two days for a few thousand bucks. That's incredible!

Our industry is phenomenal. Trucking is one of the last great American blue-collar jobs, and it's the ultimate American adventure. If people want to be part of it, they can earn their way into our industry, just like we had to.

I have absolutely nothing against immigrants; my family was exactly that a few generations ago. But we did things the right way. We came here legally, learned the language, earned citizenship, abided by the laws, and assimilated into the Amercan culture. I see no reason we can't expect the same from others.

You must be 18 to drive a commercial vehicle for the purpose of Interstate commerce. I would support a law that requires you to be a U.S. citizen to do the same. That would protect our wages and defend trucking as one of the best blue-collar careers in America, one of the few left that pays a salary that can support a family.

I got called into the Ridgefield, WA scalehouse last month. The trooper performing the inspection told me that nationwide, 4% of CMV drivers were using a FAKE CDL.

Under 49 CFR § 391.11(b)(2), all U.S.-based CDL holders must be able to speak and understand English well enough to:

Converse with law enforcement

Understand and respond to traffic signs and signals

Complete required reports and paperwork

The law has been on the books since 1937, but largely ignored the last few years.

In April, President Trump signed an executive order (Effective June 25th, 2025) requiring CDL holders to demonstrate English proficiency. If a driver cannot effectively communicate in English during a roadside inspection, they may be placed out of service immediately. Inspectors will assess English proficiency with a brief conversation and may ask about traffic signs or safety instructions.