America can’t claim road safety while dangerous truckers still slip through

When you’re hauling cargo on America’s highways, safety isn’t optional. It is the entry price.

This principle is at the heart of Dalilah’s Act, which the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed today.

This legislation, supported by President Trump during last month’s State of the Union, reinforces a fundamental principle: Only properly trained and qualified professionals should be behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound truck. It strengthens safety standards, ensures drivers understand and communicate in English, and makes roads safer for everyone by closing loopholes that allow unqualified or improperly licensed people to slip through the cracks.

FAMILY PRESSED FOR ‘DALILAH’S LAW’ AFTER TRUMP HONORED DAUGHTER SERIOUSLY INJURED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCK DRIVER

Dalilah Law is named after a young girl whose life was forever changed by a preventable accident involving an undocumented immigrant behind the wheel of a commercial truck.

Speeding through a construction zone, this careless driver crashed into the car in which five-year-old Dalilah Coleman was traveling, leaving her with a permanent disability that will require lifelong care. This is a devastating example of what can happen when security standards are not followed or enforced.

SOME STATES ALLOW UNQUALIFIED FOREIGN DRIVERS TO USE THE ROADS AND AMERICANS PAID THE PRICE

Only properly trained and qualified professionals should be behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound truck. Dalilah Coleman’s story is a painful reminder of what is at stake when we fall short.

The increase in freight demand in the years following COVID-19 has resulted in an influx of opportunity seekers into our industry. While many answered the call responsibly, others were looking to make quick profits without respecting the safety standards to which the industry adheres. Security suffers when the application scrolls. That’s when tragedies like Dalilah’s happen. We saw this in Florida. We saw it in California. We saw it in Indiana.

Dalilah Law directly addresses these gaps.

DUFFY EXPOSES 54% OF NORTH CAROLINA TRUCK LICENSES ISSUED ILLEGALLY TO ‘DANGEROUS DRIVERS’

It ensures that English language proficiency requirements are consistently applied during roadside inspections and makes clear that drivers who fail to meet these standards should be removed from service. Modernizes the driver registration notification system so that motor carriers are immediately alerted if a driver’s commercial driver’s license (CDL) is revoked, suspended, or otherwise invalid. The Department for Transport also needs to strengthen oversight of training providers and ensure new drivers receive the training they need to work safely.

Just as importantly, it strengthens accountability throughout the CDL system. States play a central role in issuing licenses, and consistent and stringent enforcement is critical. By closing loopholes and improving coordination, this legislation helps derail bad actors while supporting the vast majority doing the job the right way.

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This is what it looks like when government and industry work together to solve a real problem. President Trump, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Representative David Rouzer, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee responded to a call to strengthen highway safety.

Trust is at the core of trucking. Americans trust that the goods they trust will arrive safely. They trust that the trucks they share the road with are driven by qualified professionals. And they trust that the system that oversees this industry is working as it should.

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Dalilah’s story is a painful reminder of what is at stake when we fall short. This bill is our opportunity to ensure that we don’t do that.

There’s no room for shortcuts when lives are at stake. Congress should pass the Dalilah Act.

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