After years of lax oversight, the Trump Transportation Department is forcing more than 550 commercial driving schools off the road—because letting undertrained drivers pilot 80,000-pound rigs is a public-safety gamble families didn’t sign up for.
Story Snapshot
- DOT says 448 commercial driving schools failed inspections and must close, while 109 more removed themselves from the federal registry.
- Inspectors conducted 1,426 site visits in December 2025 as enforcement of 2022 entry-level training standards finally tightened.
- DOT says failures included unqualified instructors, weak student testing, and improper use of equipment.
- Another 97 schools remain under investigation, and DOT has signaled it may scrutinize graduates from problem programs.
DOT’s shutdown order targets unsafe training pipelines
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that more than 550 commercial driving schools training truck and bus drivers must close after federal inspections found widespread safety failures.
DOT identified 448 schools that did not meet basic standards, plus 109 programs that self-removed from the registry as scrutiny intensified. Another 97 schools are still under investigation, and non-compliant operators have been told to shut down within 30 days or face revocation of their certification.
DOT’s findings centered on practical breakdowns that directly affect roadway risk: unqualified instructors, inadequate student testing, and improper use of equipment during training. Duffy said families should be able to trust that commercial drivers received proper training before getting behind the wheel.
The enforcement effort also distinguishes between established schools that passed audits and smaller operations—some tied to school districts—that failed the new compliance checks.
A long-delayed crackdown follows fatal crashes and renewed scrutiny
Federal officials tied the heightened urgency to a series of deadly crashes and ongoing questions about who is being put into the driver’s seat. DOT scrutiny increased after an August 2025 crash in Florida involving an unauthorized immigrant truck driver who made an illegal U-turn and killed three people, according to reporting on the department’s review.
The department has also pointed to a recent Indiana crash that killed four, reinforcing the risk of poor training and weak gatekeeping.
More than 550 commercial driving schools in the U.S. that train truckers and bus drivers must close, the federal Transportation Department announced Wednesday. https://t.co/Ned7reWPfF
— WGEM News (@WGEM) February 18, 2026
The February 2026 closures build on an earlier fall 2025 purge that removed up to 7,500 schools—many of which were described as defunct—from the system. The newer action is different because it focuses on active programs that were still training students.
DOT’s December 2025 fieldwork included 1,426 site visits, a scale that suggests the department is no longer accepting a “paper compliance” model. The enforcement is tied to entry-level driver training standards established in 2022 but not meaningfully enforced.
Self-certification and weak audits created predictable incentives
The underlying problem, based on the available reporting, is structural: commercial driving schools and even trucking companies have been able to self-certify, while audits often came late, after complaints or crashes.
That environment rewards speed over competence, especially when companies are chasing quick hires and schools are competing for enrollment. Conservative voters who prioritize limited but effective government can recognize the difference between pointless bureaucracy and basic standards that keep dangerous drivers off public roads.
Trucking industry dynamics make the issue harder to ignore. Reporting describes high driver turnover and ongoing demand for drivers even as shipments have dropped about 10% since 2022, creating pressure for fast-track training.
In that kind of market, “sham schools” can flourish if enforcement is weak, and reputable programs get undercut. DOT’s approach is presented as separating legitimate training pipelines from outfits that can’t meet baseline requirements—exactly the kind of targeted enforcement that protects the public without punishing good actors.
Industry groups back the closures, but student impacts remain unclear
Major trucking organizations praised the shutdowns. The American Trucking Associations and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association supported removing schools accused of cutting corners, and CVTA chair Jeffery Burkhardt said “good players have no problem with it,” according to the reporting.
OOIDA’s Todd Spencer argued that corner-cutting undermines safety and contributes to “destructive churn” in the industry—drivers pushed through training quickly, then cycling out, leaving everyone else to bear the risk on the road.
Even with broad industry approval, key practical questions remain unanswered in the available source material. DOT has not released immediate numbers on how many students are enrolled at affected schools or how many recent graduates could see their credentials questioned.
Reporting indicates DOT may later audit graduates from shuttered programs, which could ripple into hiring and insurance decisions for trucking firms.
In the short term, closures could disrupt training supply; in the long term, enforcement aims to raise competency and reduce preventable crashes.
Sources:
Transportation Department says more than 550 driving schools must close over safety failures
New York State sees sharp drop in fatal crashes
