Federal and Virginia authorities ran a commercial vehicle enforcement operation in Stephens City, Virginia, in early November 2026, adding Virginia to a series of state-level trucking enforcement waves this year.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Virginia Division led the effort alongside the Virginia State Police and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Inspectors completed 86 Level I inspections, the most detailed roadside check available for commercial vehicles. Those inspections turned up 100 safety violations. Eleven vehicles and two drivers were placed out of service, and one of the driver orders was issued for an English-language proficiency violation.
The Virginia results followed a larger operation in Arkansas from October 27 to 29. Authorities there conducted 1,724 commercial vehicle inspections over 48 hours and placed 393 drivers and vehicles out of service. That operation also recorded 183 English-language proficiency violations, 44 criminal arrests, and 74 immigration violations referred for federal enforcement.
Nationally, the U.S. Department of Transportation said that as of November 4 it had put 33,000 drivers out of service for failing English-language proficiency requirements. The department also reported 31,000 commercial driver's licenses revoked and nearly 10,000 driving schools shut down. The department did not explain how those totals were calculated, so the figures should be treated as agency claims rather than independently verified counts.
Earlier waves this year included Florida in March, where 176 drivers were placed out of service, and a late-July effort across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Ohio that sidelined 766 drivers and vehicles.
For fleets running through the Interstate 81 corridor and other Virginia routes, the operation signals continued attention to equipment condition and driver qualification checks at the roadside.
Source: FreightWaves -- https://www.freightwaves.com/news/33000-truckers-sidelined-over-violations-as-highway-blitzes-hit-arkansas-virginia