Operation Highway Shield Targets Unsafe Commercial Drivers in Ohio, Three Other States
OHIO — A three-day enforcement operation targeting unsafe commercial vehicles and unqualified drivers resulted in hundreds of drivers and vehicles being taken off the road across Ohio and three other Midwestern states, federal officials announced.
The second wave of Operation Highway Shield was conducted July 28-30 in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa. The joint effort involved the U.S. departments of Transportation and Homeland Security, state highway patrols, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Homeland Security Investigations.
According to preliminary results released by the U.S. Department of Transportation, officers and inspectors:
Placed 766 drivers and commercial vehicles out of service for safety violations.
Detained 51 people accused of violating federal immigration laws.
Arrested 86 commercial vehicle operators for alleged dangerous or criminal behavior, including road rage and domestic violence.
Issued 36 violations to drivers who failed English-language proficiency tests.
Recovered nearly $1 million in stolen cargo.
Federal officials said 21 of the detained drivers possessed non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses issued by California or New York.
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said the operation was intended to remove unqualified drivers, combat fraud and improve safety throughout the nation’s commercial trucking industry.
“As a former state trooper who has walked these highways at 2 a.m., I’ve seen firsthand the devastation caused when bad actors cut corners or use commercial trucks as cover for illegal activity,” Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Derek D. Barrs said.
Barrs said authorities are focusing on alleged corrupt dispatch operations, manipulated logbooks and drivers who do not meet federal qualifications.
Operation Highway Shield’s first enforcement wave was conducted in Florida in March. Federal officials said more than 3,300 inspections were completed during that operation, resulting in 176 drivers being placed out of service, 35 criminal arrests and 42 people being taken into federal immigration custody.
Officials did not provide a state-by-state breakdown showing how many inspections, arrests or out-of-service orders occurred specifically in Ohio during the second wave.
The figures announced by federal officials are preliminary. Arrests and detentions do not constitute findings of guilt, and anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation
