With roughly 1.8 million commercial trucks on California roads, chances are high that you’ll encounter one on your next drive. But despite the heightened dangers that come with such colossal vehicles, over a hundred unlicensed schools operate in California with little to no oversight.
As CalMatters’ Adam Echelman and Erica Yee explain, under current state law, private trucking schools that charge students $2,500 or less don’t need state licenses. At least 184 trucking schools in California are not regulated by the state, according to a CalMatters analysis of federal data.
Steve Gold, the founder and CEO of a chain of trucking schools, told CalMatters that his commercial trucking program took 18 months to become state certified. His schools charge students $6,000 and require about 160 hours of training. Meanwhile, students in unlicensed programs are told they can finish in 15 hours — the minimum requirement for behind-the-wheel training under state law.
- Gold, during a testimony last year in support of an unsuccessful bill that would have closed the tuition loophole: “Unsuspecting everyday drivers have no idea the 80,000-pound truck on the highway is operated by an individual who’s not properly trained.”
Aspiring truckers can also find themselves on the losing end of unlicensed schools that can open as suddenly as they close.
In August, Ricardo Chavez was enrolled at the Truck Nation School in Modesto. Two days before he was scheduled to take the necessary exams at the California Department of Motor Vehicles to become a commercial driver, Chavez showed up at the school’s gate to see a sign that read the school had shut down.
By then Chavez was out $2,000 in tuition and fees, and in the days after the school closed, he failed the DMV exam twice. He ultimately passed on his third try, nearly three weeks later and after paying $300 to a different unlicensed school.
Chavez still doesn’t have a trucking job.
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Other Stories You Should Know
CalMatters investigation leads to proposed legislation
A bipartisan group of assemblymembers gathered at the state Capitol Monday to unveil a handful of bills that aim to rein in roadway deaths. The bill package follows an investigative series by CalMatters’ Robert Lewis and Lauren Hepler that examines how California’s leaders, courts and legislators fail to keep dangerous drivers off roads.
One of the proposals would force first-time DUI offenders to install breathalyzers in their vehicles. These devices force drivers to prove they are sober enough to drive in order to start their cars, but California is one of the few states that doesn’t require first-time offenders to install one.
Another bill would require the California DMV to add points to someone’s driving record when they’re granted misdemeanor diversion. Currently, drivers who agree to take part in a diversion program can have misdemeanor charges for vehicular manslaughter dismissed by a judge. This enables them to avoid both a criminal conviction and having a point against their driving record.
State senators are expected to reveal details next week about their own bill package intended to address California’s rising traffic deaths.
Newsom agrees to $590M funding for Bay Area transit
From CalMatters politics and campaign reporter Yue Stella Yu:
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Bay Area transit officials have agreed to a $590 million loan to struggling transit operators in the region, who for months warned of critical, imminent cuts to services without the cash infusion.
The deal, declared Friday and put in print Monday, would tap into dollars approved for other construction projects and redirect them by July toward transit systems such as BART and Muni, which both face hundreds of millions of dollars in deficit. Under the deal, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission will receive, distribute, and, within 12 years, repay the loan.
The agreement followed months of negotiations during which Newsom’s stance kept shifting, first agreeing to a $750 million loan and then urging transit operators to instead use existing dollars, citing the state’s gloomy budget forecast.
Transit advocates say the money would help sustain the systems temporarily as local leaders bank on a regional ballot measure in November. If approved, it would establish a 14-year sales tax to fund the trains beginning July 2027.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Newsom’s autobiography, which comes out this month, predictably covers the trials and tribulations of his life, but doesn’t go over what he has done as governor.
CalMatters contributor Robert Greene: Numerous California judges are concerned about President Donald Trump’s broad attacks on the judiciary, and amid the differing political pressures facing state and federal justices, it’s more important than ever for judges to defend the rule of law.
Other things worth your time:
Gavin Newsom is playing the long game // The New Yorker
Sorting fact from fiction in fraud allegations surrounding Newsom, CA // Los Angeles Times
Why CA is years late on mandated disaster reports — and why it matters for the next big fire // LAist
Super Bowl arrives in the Bay Area as US’ political tensions spill into Levi’s Stadium // San Francisco Chronicle
Meta drops $65M into super PACs to boost tech-friendly state candidates // Politico
Leaked videos show CA prison guards pepper-sprayed incarcerated women who alleged sexual misconduct // Los Angeles Times
San Diego anti-child exploitation funding at risk due to Trump conditions, lawsuit says // The San Diego Union-Tribune