After a nationwide sting operation found hundreds of driver training schools were in violation of federal regulations, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has notified 448 schools of proposed removal from the Training Provider Registry, and an additional 109 training providers voluntarily removed themselves from the Registry.

The agency’s announcement asserted the FMCSA conducted 1,426 on-site investigations of driver training providers over the course of five days. The investigators found schools lacked qualified instructors, used fake addresses, and failed to properly train drivers on the transportation of hazardous materials, among other violations. 

According to DOT, common violations included:

• Unqualified Teachers: Instructors did not even hold the correct licenses or permits—such as for school buses—for the vehicles they were teaching their students to drive.

• Improper Vehicles: Schools were using vehicles that didn’t match the type of training being offered.

• Incomplete Assessments: Providers failed to properly test students on basic requirements.

• State Non-Compliance: Schools admitted to investigators that they did not even meet their own state’s specific requirements.

DOT said an additional 97 training schools remain under investigation for compliance problems.

NEFI members are encouraged to use the entry level driver training program of the National Propane Gas Association, which is listed on the FMCSA’s National Training Registry.