A series of deadly truck crashes have brought a recent Executive Order by President Trump into stark relief. The order highlighted a federal regulation that most people were unaware existed. Since 1937, federal law required that all truckers hold a Commercial Drivers License and have a level of proficiency in English, such that they may communicate, read traffic signs, and make entries on official reports and records.
But enforcement of this regulation was relaxed in 2016, in the waning days of the Obama Administration. With the rule waived, a cottage industry sprung up around insourcing truck drivers from other countries, legally or illegally. This has led to an increase in trucking accidents while also putting enormous downward pressure on wages for a job that is the number-one occupation for men in 29 states across the country.