Trucking news and briefs for Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025:
- The non-domiciled/foreign national CDL saga continues with a new House bill that goes beyond DOT’s recent interim final rule.
- Another state promises more truck parking in the near future.
- The Truckers Christmas Group heads into holiday in search of families in need.
House bill would codify non-domiciled CDL changes, end Canada/Mexico CDL reciprocity
New legislation introduced in the U.S. House looks to codify the Department of Transportation’s new rules changes and stricter requirements for obtaining or maintaining a CDL for foreign nationals, and also end existing reciprocity agreements recognizing CDLs from Mexico and Canada.
Introduced by Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas), the Protecting America’s Roads Act “mandates that states will come into compliance with stricter licensing and monitoring standards or they will suffer severe penalties,” a press release from Van Duyne says.
[Related: DOT hopes to force 194,000 non-domiciled CDL holders out of trucking]
Specifically, the bill:
- Requires CDL applicants to prove lawful status and domicile
- Mandates DHS SAVE verification for all non-citizen applicants
- Limits non-citizen CDLs to the shorter of Form I-94 expiration or one year.
- Requires in-person renewals and transfers
- Directs states to revoke licenses when eligibility lapses
- Establishes penalties for states that don’t comply
- Ends recognition of foreign CDLs unless authorized by statute
- Authorizes 287(g) agencies to report unlawful CDL operators
Should the bill advance through the House and Senate and be signed into law, it would take effect six months after the date of enactment. For now, though, the bill has been referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House Committee on the Judiciary for considerations of provisions of the bill that fall within their respective jurisdictions.
[Related: ICE and Oklahoma's I-40 raid: Trump's immigration crackdown sets sights on trucking]
Pennsylvania plans notable truck parking capacity expansion
Pennsylvania officials on Oct. 6 announced that the Commonwealth is adding more than 1,200 truck parking spaces in 133 locations by the end of 2026.
Additionally, the Pennsylvania Turnpike is evaluating opportunities to add more than 600 spaces across its system.
Officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), Pennsylvania Turnpike (PA Turnpike) and Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association said this is the first statewide expansion of designated parking spaces other than through facility construction projects.
“Truck parking is a nationwide issue, and with the high volume of freight traffic coming through Pennsylvania, the Shapiro Administration knew that we needed to tackle this problem,” PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said. “As a commercial driver’s license-holder myself, I know how important this commonsense approach is to our economy and workforce. By adding these spots -- and looking at ways to add even more -- we’re giving truckers many more options to safely park and meet their rest requirements.”
The PennDOT expansion joins another planned in its neighbor to the west, Ohio, announced back in July.
PennDOT’s designated truck parking spots will be established on interstate on-ramps with no sight distance or safety concerns, weigh stations used for PSP motor carrier safety enforcement, and various other locations within highway right of way. A map and list of locations can be seen here. PennDOT and PSP staff collaborated closely to identify sites that can be designated quickly and cost-effectively. Spots will be marked with truck-parking signage installed by PennDOT.
PA Turnpike officials said they are evaluating the feasibility of additional spaces at various locations throughout its system, including emergency pull-offs, interchange on-ramps and service plaza on-ramps. Over the last two decades, the PA Turnpike has added parking where it can, investing more than $30 million to expand truck parking at numerous service plazas, including Sideling Hill, Lawn, Highspire, North Somerset and Stanton service plazas.
To complement the added spaces and to share available locations, PennDOT also unveiled a new “Public Truck Parking” option on www.511PA.com and the 511PA smartphone app. The map displays existing truck parking options, and newly designated locations will be added as the parking becomes available.
[Related: Ohio truck parking expansion plan will add 1,400 spaces]
Truckers seek families to benefit over the holidays
The grassroots Truckers Christmas Group organization has opened nominations for beneficiaries of its fund-raising to bolster the Christmas season for trucking families in need. "We are seeking families that are having a difficult year and are losing hope of being able to celebrate Christmas," TCGO noted.
Anyone can nominate a trucking family today or make a donation to go to those families via this link.
The Truckers Christmas Group traces its origins to the tough recession year of 2008, when it was founded by truckers who wanted to assist other fellow drivers and their families who'd fallen on hard times. Now with closing in on a couple decades in existence, the group's delivered $175,750 to nearly 300 trucking families with the support of donors from within trucking.
[Related: Truckers helping truckers around the holiday season]
The core group of founders and many long-term volunteers "want this to be the best year yet," they said. All involved are volunteers, and no one receives remuneration for their work with Truckers Christmas Group. All monies raised go toward the families and minimal operating expenditures.
