The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is considering major updates to improve CDL training standards across the trucking industry. Administrator Derek Barrs spoke about the current state of the CDL training provider registry during the Truckload Carriers Association’s annual convention in early March, noting that the system may need a complete overhaul.
Focusing on Values and Safety
Barrs opened his address by highlighting integrity as the cornerstone of the trucking profession.
“What are the values of your drivers? What are the values of your company?” Barrs asked. “For me, it has to be faith. It has to be family. It has to be my community, responsibility, and service. I have to live by those principles every single day as I go through and lead this organization. We have a lot of work to do. We’ve done a lot of work over the last few months, but that’s just the beginning of the things that we have planned and the things that we need to do to help clean up the mess.”
His comments underscore the FMCSA’s focus on creating a safer and more professional trucking workforce by ensuring that new drivers receive proper training before getting behind the wheel.
Challenges in the Current CDL Training System
The discussion turned to entry-level driver training. Barrs noted that all prospective CDL holders must complete training through an approved provider, but some programs are failing to meet standards.
“But as we found out real quick after I got here, that’s a problem,” he said. “Some providers were not meeting those standards. Some could not demonstrate that the training was even being delivered.”
Since his appointment, Barrs said the FMCSA has removed more than 7,000 providers from the registry and continues to address what he calls “bad actors.”
“To be honest with you, I would just as soon go through and just clear all of them out and start all over again,” he said. “We have a systematic problem here that we have to work through to ensure … we are putting the right drivers behind the wheel of commercial motor vehicles.”
Why Proper CDL Training Matters
Barrs stressed that professional driver training is essential for safety and credibility in the industry.
“Training is where professionalism begins; it’s the foundation,” he said. “If the foundation is weak, the structure above it is also compromised.”
“Carriers deserve confidence that when they hire a newly licensed driver, the driver has been properly trained,” he added. “Everyone traveling on local American roads deserves assurance that when someone earns a CDL, it represents real competency. The truckload sector is too important to allow weak standards, and there’s more work to be done.”
He also emphasized that earning a CDL should reflect genuine skill, not just paperwork.
“We all understand — or we should understand — that your CDL actually should mean something,” he said, noting that “fly-by-night” training providers and less-than-reputable carriers give the entire industry a bad name.
“Your CDL should represent real training, real qualifications, real competency — and it must be issued in a way that is consistent, resistant to fraud,” he said.
Looking Ahead
While no official plan to start from scratch has been confirmed, Barr’s remarks indicate that the FMCSA is exploring all options to improve oversight of CDL training providers. Drivers and fleet managers can expect stricter standards, more accountability for training programs, and continued efforts to ensure that new CDL holders are prepared for the road.
