Florida Crackdown: Dozens of Unsafe Truckers Removed
Florida law enforcement ran a four-day sweep targeting commercial trucks. They checked more than 3,300 vehicles. It wasn’t pretty.
Authorities removed 176 drivers from the road. About 10% of the drivers they looked at were put out of service. That’s higher than usual.
Officers flagged common safety failures. Major Tom Pikul of Florida Highway Patrol told the outlet, “The most dangerous things we see are cracked brakes and broken airlines.” He added, “If there is an air release in a brake line, they have no brakes.”
Inspectors also found troubling ID problems. Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass revealed, “Some of the driver’s licenses that we would find wouldn’t even have a name on the CDL — literally no name.”
The enforcement led to dozens of arrests. WKMG reported 35 drivers charged with crimes and 42 arrested on immigration violations. Officials say some drivers had limited English skills or shaky knowledge of U.S. traffic rules.
One incident stood out. Video from Florida Highway Patrol showed a semitruck drifting across lanes on I-75. The driver blew a 0.27 on a breath test. That’s seven times the legal limit for commercial drivers. Officers even found alcohol in the cab. The driver lives in New York and is originally from Uzbekistan. Body camera footage showed he had limited English.
Federal policy is changing too. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a final rule to block unqualified foreign drivers from getting commercial licenses. He said, “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.”
The sweep was a mix of safety checks and immigration enforcement. Officials say the goal is simple: safer roads. The numbers show there’s work to do.