FMCSA's Barrs: about 1,000 bad non-domiciled CDLs coming off the rolls each month

FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs told a crowd of truckers parked on the National Mall that the agency is now removing improperly issued non-domiciled CDLs at a pace of about a thousand a month, according to Overdrive on Oct. 2. Barrs was addressing the annual TenFour D.C. event, where he took on fraud, non-domiciled CDLs, and "sham" CDL schools.

"We have around 1,000 or so a month [non-domiciled CDLs] that are coming off the rolls where these CDLs were issued improperly," Barrs said. On fraud more broadly, he was blunt: "Fraud in this industry is rampant."

Barrs highlighted FMCSA and the broader Department of Transportation's partnership with federal law enforcement and state prosecutors — including the recently announced Joint Task Force Crossroads of America, launched by the White House anti-fraud task force and nine state attorneys general in Detroit — plus shutdowns of "sham" CDL schools and DHS investigations into DMV corruption and companies hiring what he called illegal drivers.

Taking questions, Barrs fielded one from Overdrive contributor Long Haul Paul Marhoefer about intrusive broker calls during rest breaks. He would not commit to new regulatory guidance on brokers, but offered the agency's view plainly: "There's a requirement for you to be on rest break because of regulations. I think that answers the question. If you are on your break and resting when you should be sleeping, sounds like you shouldn't be interrupted." He also promised new Entry Level Driver Training updates are coming.