Enforcement

FMCSA and DHS put 78 drivers out of service in overnight four-state blitz

Operation Saturday Night Fever ran 552 inspections in South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida and Georgia — 12 drivers were cited for English-proficiency violations and 25 vehicles were sidelined.

By CDLWire · Published October 1, 2026 · Updated October 1, 2026, 5:07 PM CT

Summarized from CDLLife.

A semi truck at a nighttime roadside inspection with flashing emergency lights

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Department of Homeland Security ran an overnight enforcement operation dubbed "Operation Saturday Night Fever" on Saturday, Sept. 26, across South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida and Georgia, targeting Southeastern freight corridors including I-95.

Officers conducted 552 inspections. Seventy-eight drivers were placed out of service — including 12 cited for English-language-proficiency violations — and 25 vehicles were sidelined. Inspectors examined credentials, hours of service, ELDs, distracted driving, cargo securement and English proficiency, and screened for criminal activity; some of the drivers inspected held non-domiciled CDLs.

"Our message is simple: safety comes first," FMCSA Administrator Derek D. Barrs said. The operation was joined by state enforcement leaders including SC State Transport Police Col. Dwayne Wilson and North Carolina Highway Patrol Commander Col. Freddy L. Johnson Jr.

Why it matters: Seventy-eight drivers parked in a single night is a reminder that credential, ELD and English-proficiency checks are running at scale — a clean pre-trip on paperwork matters as much as the walkaround.

Source: CDLLife, Sept. 30, 2026.

Update — October 1, 2026, 5:07 PM CT.

Additional reporting Thursday filled out the scale of the crackdown behind the blitz: FMCSA noted that 31,200 drivers have been placed out of service for English-language-proficiency violations since President Trump's trucking-related executive order in April 2025. The agency also said it has shut down nearly 10,000 truck driving schools and revoked more than 31,000 "illegally issued licenses" held by unvetted foreign drivers.

FMCSA's February rule strictly limiting foreign drivers' access to non-domiciled CDLs remains in force while a court challenge plays out — a D.C. federal appeals court decision could come any day. In related actions, FMCSA denied Agri-Tech Aviation's petition to let commercial learner's-permit holders who have passed the CDL skills test drive without a CDL holder in the front seat (the agency received 38 comments, none supporting the exemption), and provisionally renewed and consolidated steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs' hours-of-service and equipment exemptions for six months, through March 23, 2027, with public comments accepted through Oct. 30.

Source: Overdrive, Oct. 1, 2026.