ORLANDO, Fla. – Thousands of commercial trucks travel Florida roads every day, but a major statewide operation is now revealing how many may be putting drivers at risk. Officials inspected more than 3,300 vehicles, uncovering serious safety violations, making arrests, and taking dozens of drivers off the road.
The four-day crackdown—led by FDLE and multiple partner agencies—found hundreds of violations and resulted in 176 drivers being placed out of service.
Florida Highway Patrol’s Tim Pikul warned that, “The most dangerous things we see are cracked brakes and broken airlines. If there is an air release in a brake line, they have no brakes.” Major Tom Pichel
Inspectors also examined drivers’ credentials, and FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass said some identification issues were extreme: “Some of the driver’s licenses that we would find wouldn’t even have a name on the CDL — literally no name.” Mark Glass, FDLE Commissioner.
FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs added that the out-of-service rate is rising, noting, “In about 10% of inspections, the driver is going to be placed out of service. And we’re seeing a bit of an uptick in that.”
Authorities say the enforcement action led to 35 arrests on criminal charges and 42 drivers taken into custody for violating federal immigration laws.
There’s a significant uptick, and one of our administrative priorities in the state of Florida is partnerships,” said Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Field Office Director Kelly Walker.
Officials say Florida conducts around 3 million inspections per year, and while this was a pilot operation, they plan to conduct more in the future.