This oversized load was stopped on Interstate 10 heading from Mesa, Arizona to Tonopah. A total of 32 violations were found. (AZDPS Highway Patrol via Facebook)
key takeaways:
- Law enforcement agencies are citing truck drivers’ lack of valid commercial licenses during stops, inspections and accident investigations.
- Recent incidents in several states revealed violations including suspended licenses, missing documents and unsafe operating conditions.
- Officials have linked these trends to the repealed nonresident CDLs and anticipated federal regulations that could further reduce the driver workforce.
As access to non-domiciled commercial driver licenses becomes more stringent, law enforcement officers across the country are citing truck drivers without a valid certificate during traffic stops, roadside inspections and crash investigations.
These incidents are occurring after 28,000 foreign truck drivers lost their non-domiciled CDLs when states revoked their illegally issued licenses. Stricter federal regulations are expected to remove about 200,000 drivers from freight transportation.
oregon
Recent public scrutiny in Oregon has focused on a video recently released by the Washington State Patrol, showing a trooper citing Juan Hernandez-Santos, an undocumented Mexican truck driver, for not having a CDL, log book or medical card.
According to local media reports, the video showed that the driver lacked English proficiency and was ordered not to drive. Apparently the driver was released. It appears that his truck was parked but had not been removed.
The recent release of the video raised questions about how Hernandez-Santos drove again in Oregon weeks later and allegedly caused a multi-vehicle crash.
He allegedly crashed an 18-wheeler into another vehicle on Interstate 5, causing a six-car pileup and colliding with a school bus in December, according to the Department of Homeland Security. There were no children on the bus, but several people were injured in the accident.
Trooper Kameron Watts said the semi-truck allegedly “lost control and jackknifed” while driving at a speed “too fast for the conditions.”
iowa
Meanwhile, in early June Iowa State Patrol officers responded to a call about a man trapped in a ditch on Interstate 80.
ISP said the investigation revealed the passenger “just wanted to get home” and was allegedly driving despite lacking a CDL. The passenger reportedly “began driving the truck while the actual driver was sleeping in the sleeper.”
Officers also learned that the actual driver’s CDL was suspended.
The operator of this rig on Interstate 80 in Iowa reportedly lacked a CDL – and was not even the authorized driver of the vehicle. (Iowa State Patrol Commercial Motor Vehicle Unit via Facebook)
“Subsequently, they did not return home as quickly as the passenger expected. Multiple violations and out-of-service violations were issued during this inspection,” the ISP said.
California
The California Highway Patrol was recently called to two incidents involving unlicensed truck drivers.
On June 11, CHP officers from the North Willow Station found a truck driver who apparently had no driver’s license, along with his red big rig and trailer blocking the roadway.
The driver was traveling north on I-5 south of County Road 68 when the vehicle “went onto the right shoulder” just before midnight, the CHP said.
“It appears that in an attempt to get the vehicle back on the road, the driver veered to the left, causing the truck and trailer to overturn, throwing the contents of the crumpled trailer into the center median and blocking the fast lane,” the CHP said. “The driver, who did not have a license, was taken to Enloe Medical Center for minor injuries.”
Caltrans helped close one traffic lane while cleanup work following the accident was completed around 8 a.m. the next day.
Authorities issued a public warning to truck drivers to go to a safe area to rest. “The effects of driving while fatigued are very similar to the effects of driving under the influence. Don’t take this risk,” the CHP said.
In another incident, a CHP commercial vehicle officer from the Modesto office stopped a truck driver allegedly driving 71 mph on north-south state Route 99 near Salida in the Central Valley region south of Sacramento.
The CHP noted that the speed limit when towing a trailer in the state is 55 mph.
“The driver was unlicensed and the passenger was found unrestrained on the floorboard of the cab, which had only one seat,” the CHP said on June 8. The combination of speeding, unlicensed driving and unsafe passenger transportation resulted in the vehicle being impounded.
Georgia
Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call about an overturned tractor-trailer on State Route 83 on May 6.
They arrested truck driver Khino Bennett, 44, of Florida, on charges of possession of less than an ounce of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He was also cited for operating a CMV without a valid license or driving privileges.
Bennett reportedly told deputies that he “saw the arm of the railway crossing looking down, the lights flashing and the oncoming train taking a long time to stop.” He then “suddenly applied the brakes and drove away in an attempt to avoid a collision. This maneuver caused the truck to overturn and collide with one of the train’s freight cars.”
Deputies indicated that the crash impact caused “one train car to derail, causing the train to stop near two roads”, which had to be closed for a long period of time during the investigation.
Arizona
The Arizona Department of Public Safety’s Highway Patrol announced an encounter with an unlicensed trucker on May 28, saying, “We really can’t afford this.”
A CMV Enforcement Unit trooper stopped a truck carrying heavy duty goods on Interstate 10 during the morning rush hour. The driver was leaving Mesa and heading toward Tonopah.
“The trooper noticed there were no lights on the trailer, and no flags…and that was just the tip of the iceberg. An inspection of the combination revealed 32 violations. No commercial driver’s license, no insurance, no oversize permit and no certified pilot car, just to name a few,” AZDPS said.
The trooper found that 10 of the 14 brakes were inoperative, preventing the race from being effectively stopped. The driver received multiple citations and the vehicle was towed.
alabama
A traffic stop inspection on Interstate 20 in St. Clair County, Alabama on April 3 resulted in the seizure of 185 pounds of marijuana (Alabama Law Enforcement Agency)
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency noted on April 3 that a CMV inspection of a tractor on Interstate 20 in St. Clair County led to a massive drug bust.
“The driver, who was an illegal immigrant, was later identified as Dajun Sun, 57, of Oregon City, Oregon. Further examination of the tractor revealed 23 boxes containing approximately 185 pounds of marijuana,” ALEA said.
After the vehicle was stopped for inspection, an ALEA investigator reportedly discovered that the driver had provided an invalid driver’s license.
Sun was arrested for drug trafficking and operating a CMV without a CDL. He was booked into the St. Clair County Jail with a $1.5 million bond.
oklahoma
In March, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper stopped a red tractor-trailer with a Maine tag in Custer County. The trooper reportedly spotted the driver committing a traffic violation about 100 miles west of Oklahoma City.
The driver, Jose Carlos Morales-Gutierrez, a 31-year-old Mexican national, reportedly did not have a valid driver’s license, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Oklahoma.
Court documents say the trooper was talking to the driver while the Department of Transportation was issuing a warning for an improperly sized sign and became suspicious while questioning the driver.
Morales-Gutierrez allegedly initially said his cargo was going to New Jersey even though the bill of lading had a New York destination.
The driver allegedly told the trooper he was driving for his trucking company, called AMG, “but the current trip he was on was for his friend’s company, APC. The trooper noted the company name ‘AMDG’ was written on the side of the semi-truck, which was not one of the company names,” a criminal complaint states.
It was found that the registration of the truck had expired in September 2025. The trooper then used the K-9 unit to surround the truck and trailer. “Inside the trailer, law enforcement found a duffel bag containing more than 20 pounds of methamphetamine,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The driver remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service during the ongoing court proceedings.
