Part 2/7:
Louis Pugh, the executive vice president and owner-operator of the Independent Drivers Association, has been a truck driver himself for 25 years. In an interview following the incident, Pugh expressed his deep concern over the ongoing problem, emphasizing that such accidents are preventable and should never happen.
A System Broken by Regulatory Gaps and Political Decisions
Pugh criticizes the regulatory environment that has inadvertently enabled the issuance of CDLs to unqualified individuals. He traces the root of the problem to decades of policy decisions fueled by a false narrative of a chronic driver shortage. This narrative has led to lax regulations, allowing more people—regardless of their language proficiency or ability to read traffic signs—to obtain commercial licenses.