Florida authorities announced that they recently conducted an enforcement crackdown for commercial trucks, resulting in 176 drivers being removed from service — and a few dozen immigration arrests.
Over the course of four days, Florida Highway Patrol and other agencies examined over 3,300 vehicles, according to a report from WKMG.
They observed many safety issues and tried to resolve them.
“The most dangerous things we see are cracked brakes and broken airlines,” Major Tom Pikul of Florida Highway Patrol told the outlet.
“If there is an air release in a brake line, they have no brakes.”
Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass meanwhile said that authorities came across serious identification issues.
“Some of the driver’s licenses that we would find wouldn’t even have a name on the CDL — literally no name,” he revealed.
The enforcement action resulted in dozens of arrests — including 35 drivers on criminal charges and 42 on immigration violations.
Florida agencies put about 10 percent of the drivers they inspected out of service.
That level marked an uptick from past enforcement efforts.
The operation comes as state and federal authorities draw attention to the dangers of unqualified foreign truck drivers — some of whom are illegal aliens, and some of whom have limited English proficiency or familiarity with traffic laws.
In one recent example, a video from Florida Highway Patrol showed a semitruck moving across lanes on Interstate 75 — prompting several other drivers to call the police.
WOFL reported that the driver blew a 0.27 — seven times the legal alcohol limit for commercial drivers — during a breathalyzer test.
They even found alcohol in the front seat.
The driver lives in New York but originally comes from Uzbekistan, and body camera footage indicated that he had limited understanding of English.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently issued a final rule banning “unqualified foreign drivers from obtaining licenses to drive commercial trucks and buses.”
“For far too long, America has allowed dangerous foreign drivers to abuse our truck licensing systems — wreaking havoc on our roadways. This safety loophole ends today,” he said in a statement.
“Moving forward, unqualified foreign drivers will be unable to get a license to operate an 80,000-pound big rig. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are putting the safety of the driving public first. From enforcing English language standards to holding fraudulent carriers accountable, we will continue to attack this crisis on our roads head on.”
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
