The United States federal government announced on August 31 a large-scale overhaul of the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training industry, with the Department of Transportation urgently removing 110 truck driver training schools from the federal Training Provider Registry. These schools involved over 5,000 drivers who had not passed English proficiency tests.
Additionally, the federal government declared a nationwide review of third-party CDL skills testing systems. The Department of Homeland Security also collaborated with the Department of Transportation in conducting single-day enforcement actions at over 200 training schools in 23 states. The investigation also touched on allegations of bribery involving Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) officials in certain states assisting unqualified individuals in bypassing the CDL licensing requirements.
A coach named Cao, who had previously worked in Chinese truck driver training in Virginia, told the press on the 31st that he had noticed a “fast track” phenomenon in CDL training for the Chinese community in the area.
During the pandemic, there has been a shortage of truck drivers in the United States, leading to a significant influx of new immigrants, including Chinese immigrants with limited English proficiency, entering the trucking industry.
On September 7, 2024, a Chinese individual with the account name “@tiange999 (Tian Ge)” on a platform uploaded a video detailing his experience undergoing CDL training. In the post, he claimed that the school he attended had trained over 1,000 Chinese students, with no failures so far. He mentioned that students with some driving experience could pass in a week, while those without experience could pass in about a month.
After watching the video, Coach Cao identified the training location as the “7 CDL” driving school in Manassas, Virginia, operated by individuals of Indian descent. He mentioned that the school had collaborated with a job placement agency in Flushing to refer Chinese students to Virginia for truck driver training.
Subsequently, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) launched an investigation into the 7 CDL school due to its association with a fatal truck accident in Virginia on May 29, where five people died. The driver involved in the accident, Jingsheng Dong, had been trained by the 7 CDL school. Following the accident, the school garnered nationwide attention.
Coach Cao stated that the CDL written test in Virginia was available in Chinese, which attracted Chinese individuals from New York to take the test in Virginia since New York did not provide a Chinese version of the CDL written test at that time. Some students originally residing in New York changed their addresses to Virginia with the help of relevant parties to take the CDL test as Virginia residents. After obtaining a Virginia CDL, they would switch it back to a New York license.
He mentioned that at the 7 CDL school, some students could complete a training cycle in about two weeks, roughly 10 working days, and take the exam. He emphasized the distinction between passing the test and possessing the actual ability to safely operate large trucks.
He stressed that when training truck drivers, it was crucial to instill in students the importance of not exceeding driving hours, weight limits, or speed limits, and to impart practical experience in long-distance driving, highway driving, and compliance with regulations, rather than just focusing on passing the exam. Among the batch of students he trained before, none had to retake the exam, which he viewed as a testament to his responsible teaching methods.
Regarding the training approach at the 7 CDL school, Coach Cao mentioned that the school mainly emphasized teaching test-taking techniques, such as having students memorize fixed reference points on the vehicle and at the training site, teaching them exam strategies to help them easily pass, like “turning at one point, then at another point, and then at another point…”
He noted that students were primarily concerned with how quickly they could obtain their CDL, and the school’s emphasis on swift exam pass rates might overshadow the necessary safety knowledge required once they hit the road.
Moreover, an Indian individual associated with the 7 CDL school had reportedly disclosed to Coach Cao in the past that he had previously worked in the local transportation department. Attempts to contact the 7 CDL school for verification went unanswered, with the school’s phone line disconnected and no response received to an email inquiry by the deadline. Google’s business information indicated that the school was closed.