Regulatory Reset: How deregulation is disrupting trucking in 2025

Dirtier, less electric, and more English spoken. That’s how the first year of relaxed trucking regulations under the Trump administration is shaping the $1 trillion trucking industry.

The administration is betting that so-called “common-sense reforms” will help offset delays in converting diesel-powered heavy trucks to cleaner, low-emission units, even as rules on alternative-fuel vehicles slow down.

Beginning June 25, state and federal officials began enforcing out-of-service violations for drivers who fail to meet English-language proficiency requirements—a change stemming from several rule updates issued the previous month.

The English-only move is extremely popular with American truck drivers. According to a recent poll by the Truckers News, a whopping 94% of respondents supported the English-language proficiency (ELP) requirement. Also, a vast majority was in favor of the return of the violation to the “out of service” criteria.

“Let's face it, they’re driving an 80,000-pound missile on our highways,” wrote one commenter in the Truckers News survey. “If they lack ELP, our national security is at risk.”

That same survey asked respondents to estimate the percentage of working truck drivers encountered on U.S. highways who might flunk the English requirement, the most common answer was 40%. That’s higher than other surveys on this topic.

Trump’s executive order also called for a review of “non-domiciled CDLs” (Commerce Driver’s Licenses). These are mostly issued by states to foreign drivers. More than half of the “Overdrive” survey respondents felt such issuances shouldn't be allowed—they mainly objected on safety and economic fairness grounds.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) circulated a new enforcement policy last May 20. It began by asking officials to begin all roadside inspections in English. If the inspector suspects the driver lacks language proficiency, the official can then subject drivers to an ad hoc English test.

Drivers failing the test can be cited for a violation, effective immediately. After the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria (OOS) was updated in late June, inspectors began placing the driver “out of service for non-compliance” with the language standard authorized by executive order from President Donald Trump.

A driver operating in the U.S. can be placed out of service if they “cannot read and speak the English language sufficiently to communicate with the safety official to respond to official inquiries and directions in accordance with FMCSA enforcement guidance,” according to a Commercial Vehicle Safety Administration (CVSA) press release.

Drivers who are hearing impaired or those who are operating in border commercial zones along the U.S.-Mexico border will be exempt from some of these consequences.

Return to “common sense” regulations

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy calls it a return to “common sense.” His Department of Transportation (DOT) has proposed a sweeping deregulatory package that will “rescind, withdraw, or amend burdensome regulations that do not enhance safety.” In addition, the changes will help “streamline” the Code of Federal Regulations by deleting more than 73,000 words from the Federal Register.

“Big government has been a big failure,” says Duffy.

Duffy’s DOT also withdrew a Biden-era proposed rulemaking to mandate speed limiters for heavy-duty vehicles. The move was part of a “pro-trucker package” released by Duffy in response to an executive order issued by Trump. The order required him to begin efforts to improve the working conditions of truck drivers within 60 days.

“For too long, Washington, D.C., has made work harder for truckers,” Duffy said in the summer announcement. “That ends today.”

The DOT also officially removed a proposal to mandate speed limiters for heavy-duty vehicles last summer. That ends a nearly decade-long regulatory cloud over the pros and cons of such devices.

The FMCSA withdrew the proposal last June as part of a Secretary Sean Duffy’s “pro-trucker package.” Duffy has been vocal about his stance on speed limiters and other regulations he views as burdensome.

“We want D.C. bureaucrats OUT of your trucks so we’re eliminating the absurd speed limiters rule,” Duffy posted on social media platform X. The deregulatory actions primarily target “redundant and decade-old rules that have no real-life application.”

Where future rules stand

Of the 52 deregulatory actions, 43 are at the early Notice Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) stag, seven are final rules, and two are withdrawals of rulemaking actions. The DOT said that all 52 deregulatory actions will increase efficiencies without compromising safety for Americans.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are each facing 16 deregulatory actions. At the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 20 deregulatory actions were proposed.

Among the FMCSA regulations slated for recension or amendment are:

• The requirement that the rear impact guard be permanently marked or labeled with a certification from the impact guard manufacturer.
• The requirement that CDL holders self-report motor vehicle violations to their state of domicile.
• A rule requiring drivers to have a printed copy of the operator’s manual for their electronic logging device.
• House Transportation Committee Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.) has outlined his priorities for next year’s surface transportation bill reauthorization. Among them is the goal of reducing federal requirements and providing more flexibility to states to use infrastructure funding to suit their unique needs. He also wants to reform and streamline the permitting process for new projects and bolster the Highway Trust Fund through fees on electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid vehicles. 

“Under President Trump’s leadership, my department is slashing duplicative and outdated regulations that are unnecessarily burdensome, waste taxpayer dollars and fail to ensure safety,” said Duffy.

Driverless trucks

The push for autonomous trucks shows no signs of slowing. Inventors and investors appear to be racing ahead of regulators, leaving officials to grapple with a key question: “Who do we ticket if a heavy truck is stopped and there’s no driver inside?

Right now, the move to driverless trucks is on test tracks in wide open spaces mostly in the West and Southwest. But the promise of a round-the-clock operation, as well as the rising cost and lower availability of humans, is driving the move toward driverless trucks.

As the 36^th Annual State of Logistics report noted: “The rise of autonomous trucking has the potential to help ameliorate the driver shortage challenge and substantially disrupt the motor carrier market.”

Besides driverless trucks, the DOT is busy on other fronts. It recently withdrew a proposed rulemaking to mandate speed limiters for heavy-duty vehicles, the agency announced at the end of September. The move was part of a “pro-trucker package” released by Secretary Duffy in response to an executive order from April. The order required him to begin efforts to improve the working conditions of truck drivers within 60 days.

In another retreat from regulatory red tape, federal legislators approved three Congressional Review Act resolutions that rolled back California’s strict truck emissions policies. The moves tee up the U.S. EPA to nix the Advanced Clean Trucks rule, which would have required 75% of Class 8 trucks sold in the state to be zero-emissions vehicles by 2035.

The American Trucking Associations also hailed the measures. “California is the breeding ground of all bad public policy, and it’s long past time that our nation’s leadership in Washington stop abdicating its responsibility to unelected, cubicle-dwelling bureaucrats in Sacramento who have no understanding of the real world and how it works,” said ATA president and CEO Chris Spear.

California Air Resources board chair Liane Randolph called Congress’s move “unconstitutional, illegal and foolish” in a statement following the vote. She promised more action in the coming days, and said that the state agency would continue working with truck manufacturers on zero-emissions vehicles.

“California will pursue every available remedy to challenge these actions and defend our right to protect the public from dangerous air pollution. Turning the clock back on both cleaner combustion engine requirements and zero-emission technology is an attack on clean air,” said Randolph said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta called the zero emissions vote “illegal” and said that they will sue to keep their regulations in place.

Other bills under consideration with bipartisan support address industry workforce challenges and regulatory reforms:

• Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act: The bill would establish a $755 million competitive grant program in the USDOT over the next five years for the construction of new truck parking facilities.
• Veterans to Trucking Transition Act: Aims to streamline Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) approvals for veteran apprenticeships across multiple states.
• Strengthening Supply Chains Through Truck Driver Incentives Act: Offers tax credits of up to $10,000 for eligible new drivers and apprentices.
• Trucker Bathroom Access Act: Would requires facilities to provide restroom access to truck drivers when picking up or delivering goods.

These efforts reflect growing support from both sides of the partisan aisle for improving working conditions and recruitment across the industry.