PRESIDENT'S CORNER
By Donna England, President & CEO, Tennessee Trucking Association
December 1, 2025
As an Association, we work hard every day to save lives on the road and to make sure our members are treated fairly. Our mission is to safely keep Tennessee on the move, and Tennessee does a great job of doing that.
As you all know, we live in a world full of fraud. People are stealing loads, falsifying information, and undercutting the good, honest truckers who’ve been in this industry for generations. Lying, stealing, cheating — it’s everywhere.
Tennessee does not issue non-domiciled CDLs, and we administer all CDL written and skills tests only in English. The state is one of just two actively monitoring Entry Level Driver Training schools to ensure compliance with FMCSA requirements. In May, the Tennessee Highway Patrol signed a 287(g) Memorandum of Understanding with ICE, strengthening its ability to enforce federal immigration laws. Tennessee has also become one of the nation’s leading states in English Language Proficiency (ELP) enforcement, placing 482 drivers out of service for ELP violations as of October 31, ranking third in the country behind Texas and Wyoming.
The Problem Is Real
Across America—and right here in Tennessee—unscrupulous operators are exploiting gaps in our regulatory systems. They obtain commercial licenses without proper training, manipulate electronic logs to hide hours-of-service violations, use stolen identities to commit freight fraud, and repeatedly reopen under new names to escape poor safety records.
Tennessee has seen its share of these “chameleon” carriers, including one that was indicted last year by a Williamson County Grand Jury for forgery, three counts of identity theft, and computer offenses. Unfortunately, it took years to build the case, and during that time the company continued to operate under new names. Some of our carriers have also reported a record number of thefts due to double-brokering schemes.
The numbers are staggering: 90% of trucking carriers operate without safety ratings because our data systems are broken. More than 150,000 commercial drivers lack the basic English proficiency needed to understand road signs and safety instructions. Fraudulent freight brokers are stealing millions of dollars from legitimate carriers and shippers.
These aren’t victimless crimes. When unqualified drivers get behind the wheel of 80,000-pound vehicles, everyone on the highway is at risk. When carriers fake their safety records, accidents happen. When fraudsters undercut legitimate businesses, good jobs disappear.
Solutions, Not Just Problems
The Trucking Association Executive Council – representing state associations from across the country – has developed a comprehensive plan to address seven critical vulnerabilities that bad actors exploit. These aren’t pie-in-the-sky proposals. They’re practical, technology-driven solutions that leverage existing data to identify and eliminate fraud without creating new burdens for legitimate operators.
The reforms include: modernizing our broken safety data system with AI-powered analysis to catch repeat offenders who constantly change identities; establishing integrated databases to track driver qualifications from training through licensing; cracking down on freight brokers who use identity theft and fake credentials; ensuring all commercial drivers can communicate in English well enough to understand safety instructions; and ending the manipulation of electronic logs that enables fatigued driving.
This Isn’t About Red Tape
Some might worry these reforms will create new bureaucratic hurdles or worsen the driver shortage. Neither is true. We’re not asking for new paperwork or restricting legitimate workers. We’re asking for smarter use of data we already collect and better enforcement of rules already on the books.
Good carriers – the family businesses, the professional owner-operators, the safety-conscious companies that employ 219,830 people in Tennessee – already follow these rules. These reforms simply ensure everyone else has to follow them too.
And here’s what critics of enforcement miss: A fair, safe industry actually attracts more quality drivers. When professional truckers see an industry that values their skills and protects them from unfair competition, they want to be part of it. When they see an industry where cheaters prosper, they look elsewhere.
An Industry Coming Together
What makes this moment significant is the broad coalition behind these reforms. State trucking associations from across America – from the coasts to the heartland, from border states to the industrial Midwest – have come together to say: enough is enough. This represents a powerful industry voice demanding action.
Several of our carriers, both large and small, have reached out to us over the last few months and told me the same thing: they’re tired of competing against operators who don’t play fairly. They want action, not excuses.
We’re now calling on Congress, federal regulators, and state agencies to implement these reforms. Recent actions – like Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s enforcement of English proficiency requirements and crackdown on non-domiciled CDLs, which took unsafe drivers off the road in just a few months – show what’s possible when there’s political will to act.
Protecting the Good Guys
America’s trucking industry is the backbone of our economy. It employs millions of hardworking professionals who keep our shelves stocked and our businesses running. It’s time we give them the protection they deserve from those who would exploit the system for profit while putting everyone else at risk.
The fight for fairness and safety in trucking starts now. And it starts with eliminating the bad actors who undermine the professionals who make this industry great.