U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Department of Transportation has launched multi-state sting operations targeting commercial truck drivers to verify licensing credentials and compliance with English-language proficiency requirements, part of a broader effort to tighten safety standards on U.S. roads.
“We’ve also set up a sting operation. We have a number of states that are partnering with us, where our local law enforcement, along with motor carriers, they’re going out and basically stopping our eighteen-wheelers, our big rigs,” Duffy said. “And in those stops, verifying their licenses, but also that they are proficient in the English language.”
🚨18-wheelers across the country are being stopped in @FMCSA sting operations verifying licenses and English language proficiency from their truck drivers. @USDOT will not stop until every driver behind the wheel of a big rig is qualified to drive on the same roads as you and… pic.twitter.com/Gnl6qqXfTA
— USDOT Rapid Response (@USDOTRapid) February 20, 2026
The remarks came as the Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced new enforcement actions aimed at strengthening oversight of commercial drivers and carriers. The measures include requiring commercial driver’s license tests to be administered in English, upgrading federal registration systems with identity verification, and cracking down on non-compliant training centers and carriers.
Duffy said the administration’s focus is ensuring that drivers of heavy trucks are properly trained and qualified. “When we get on the road, we should expect that we should be safe,” he said, adding that operators of large trucks should meet uniform national standards.
FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs said the agency is expanding targeted inspections and enforcement efforts designed to remove unsafe drivers and vehicles from service. “When drivers ignore the rules, operate without proper qualifications, or get behind the wheel impaired, they put all of our lives at risk,” Barrs said.
The new actions build on Operation SafeDRIVE, a multi-state enforcement campaign launched earlier this year. During a three-day crackdown across 26 states and Washington, D.C., federal and state inspectors conducted more than 8,000 roadside inspections and removed nearly 2,000 unqualified drivers and vehicles from service.
Authorities said hundreds of drivers were placed out of service for failing to meet English proficiency standards, while others were cited for licensing violations, safety defects and impaired driving.
🚨Operation SafeDRIVE – a THREE DAY NATIONAL crackdown – arrested more than 50 UNQUALIFIED DRIVERS and took THOUSANDS out of service for violations 🚨
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) February 6, 2026
The work at USDOT never stops and we will make sure Americans are safe on our roads! pic.twitter.com/YD4DFgb0yl
According to the Transportation Department, the administration has increased audits of state motor vehicle agencies, shut down hundreds of commercial driver training centers found to be out of compliance, and tightened vetting of electronic logging devices used to track drivers’ hours, according to a departmental policy summary.
Future steps will include expanding roadside enforcement operations, strengthening license revocation procedures for drivers who fail language proficiency tests, and upgrading a decades-old federal registration system with biometric verification.
Officials said the campaign is intended to restore confidence in the trucking industry and reduce accidents involving large commercial vehicles. The FMCSA said it will continue working with state and local law enforcement to conduct surprise inspections and shut down carriers and schools that do not meet federal standards.
With freight traffic expected to grow, Duffy said the department will maintain what he called a “whole-of-government” approach to road safety. “Americans deserve safe roads,” he said, “and that starts with making sure the people driving these trucks are qualified to be there.”
