ROAD SAFETY: Foreign big rig drivers lose licenses by the thousands, but ride-shares still use illiterate drivers.

For CDLs, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) can audit, set minimum standards states must follow, and enforce safety rules nationwide for commercial trucks. Rideshare & taxis are treated as local services; therefore, the federal DOT (Department of Transportation) has almost no authority over driver licensing or day-to-day operations.

Even though states print and hand out the licenses, federal law, via the FMCSA, sets the minimum qualifications every state must follow. That includes the long-standing rule that commercial drivers must “speak and read English sufficiently” to understand road signs, talk to law enforcement, and handle emergencies.

The Trump/Duffy DOT used that federal leverage to identify and remove the 17,000 unqualified big-rig drivers (many of whom got CDLs through the previous administration’s lax “self-certifying” truck schools). States still have to cooperate on enforcement, which is why Duffy said he needs “partnership” (he even noted California Governor Gavin Newsom is starting to play ball).

Only because Newsom’s eye is on 2028.