Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, April 29, 2026:
- Five Texas trucking schools under scrutiny.
- DOJ urged to act on cargo theft.
- Fleet gets waiver to use flashing amber lights upon brake activation.
Texas AG investigating trucking schools for ELP, other violations
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into a number of truck driving schools he believes are “providing inadequate commercial driver training, including to non-English speakers, in violation of state and federal law.”
As part of the investigation, Paxton sent Civil Investigative Demands to the following companies:
- EP Texas Trucking School
- Trucker Certified LLC
- Fast Track CDL LLC
- CDLCALL.COM LLC
- Lindenwood Education System (Ancora)
Paxton highlighted federal English language proficiency regulations for CDL holders, in addition to Texas and federal law mandating that CDL training providers ensure students are adequately prepared to safely operate commercial motor vehicles in compliance with all applicable safety standards.
Preliminary findings of his investigation “suggest that certain schools are disregarding these requirements,” according to a press release from Paxton’s office.
Among the findings:
- EP Trucking tells prospective students that English proficiency is not necessary to complete the program and advertises its services in Spanish.
- Several entities under investigation have also falsely claimed to be a certified school.
- Some programs advertise accelerated training timelines that are as short as approximately 20 days, which is well below the industry norm of three to seven weeks.
“Actions such as these indicate insufficient instruction and evaluation,” he said.
The AG called the actions violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and pose a significant risk to public safety. Paxton said his office “will take all necessary action to ensure CDL students are protected from fraudulent trucking schools and that Texans are protected from the dangers posed by unqualified drivers.
“Putting non-English speakers behind the wheel of 18-wheelers in America can pose serious threats to public safety. ... My office is thoroughly investigating these trucking schools, and I am taking this matter very seriously. I will fight to ensure that Texans are safe and that only qualified, English-speaking truckers are operating commercial vehicles on our roads.”
EP Texas Trucking School has physical locations in Odessa and El Paso. Trucker Certified has locations in Pampa, Amarillo, Plainview, and Borger. Fast Track CDL is located in Garland. CDLCALL operates in San Antonio, and Ancora has a main office in Arlington.
AG Paxton's office got plenty of blowback from a few of the schools' in the AG's release detailed above. Overdrive spoke to three of them -- read that follow-up report at this link.
[Related: FMCSA announces rapid action to shut down CDL mills, 'chameleon carriers', ELD cheating]
ATA joins coalition calling on DOJ to crack down on cargo theft
A group of organizations and businesses across numerous industries -- including the American Trucking Associations representing trucking -- sent a letter April 28 to the Department of Justice urging immediate action to address cargo theft and other supply chain fraud.
The letter calls on DOJ to implement congressionally mandated measures to counter a sharp rise in cargo theft and organized retail crime.
In response to skyrocketing cargo theft in recent years, Congress passed an appropriations bill in January with a provision that directed DOJ to begin the process of establishing a unified, federal response to cargo theft. The Department, however, has already missed the first deadline set by the new law.
The FY2026 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act directed Congress to establish dedicated special prosecutors focused on combating supply chain fraud, cargo theft, organized retail crime (ORC), and related financial fraud schemes, including gift card fraud.
According to the letter, investing the allocated funding will allow DOJ to:
- Develop specialized expertise in complex cargo theft, ORC cases, and related financial fraud cases
- Strengthen coordination with federal partners such as Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), as well as state and local law enforcement and prosecutors
- Establish a prosecutorial model that can be replicated nationwide
- Deter increasingly sophisticated criminal enterprises that are exploiting our supply chain and the retail ecosystem
“We strongly urge the Department to move swiftly to implement the FY2026 funding and to establish this critical enforcement capacity without delay,” the letter concludes. “The continued rise in cargo theft, ORC, and gift card fraud presents a growing threat to workers, consumers, the movement of essential goods, and the broader American economy.”
[Related: Congress moves closer to federal cargo theft enforcement mandate]
FMCSA grants carrier’s request to use alternative, brake-activated light
Following a request last Spring from Yarde Metals -- a Southington, Connecticut-based motor carrier with approximately 119 trucks -- to allow the installation of an amber brake-activated pulsating lamp on its trucks, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has decided to grant the exemption.
An exemption to install such a light is required due to current regulations in 49 CFR 393.25(e) that require that all exterior lamps (both required lamps and any additional lamps) be steady burning, except for turn signal lamps, hazard warning signal lamps, school bus warning lamps, amber warning lamps or flashing warning lamps on tow trucks and CMVs transporting oversized loads.
In granting the waiver, which is effective for five years through April 28, 2031, FMCSA determined that allowing the company to operate vehicles equipped with an amber brake-activated pulsating lamp -- positioned on the rear center outside frame rail of each CMV -- in addition to the steady-burning brake lamps required by the FMCSRs, would likely achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than the level of safety achieved without the exemption.
The move follows news of the Intellistop company's own request that fleets be more widely granted an exemption to install pulsating brake lamps.
