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| FBI Raids Memphis Truck Driving Schools |
| 2008-02-28 |
| Federal and state agents raided two Mid-South truck driving schools and a Memphis driver's license center on February 25, 2008. Both schools, one on Brooks Road in Memphis, and the other on Veterans Parkway in Millington, are operated by Swift Transportation. The state run license center on Shelby Drive in Whitehaven was also targeted in the investigation. The FBI confirms that documents were seized during the raids but a spokesperson says no arrests were made. Sources say the feds are looking for information about truck drivers who illegally obtained their commercial drivers licenses. While the investigation continues, the Tennessee Department of Safety announced that the licensing centers inside the schools and the one on Shelby Drive aren't allowed to issue any new Commercial DriverÂ’s Licenses. "That's messed up," says Memphian Dewayne Matlock, who was stunned when troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol turned him and dozens of others away from the licensing station on Shelby Drive. When told why Memphis drivers couldn't take care of their business at that drivers license station Monday, February 25, 2008, Matlock responded, "If that's what it takes to keep us safe, it's worth it." David Turner, whose beer distribution company employs truckers, says if the investigation revolves around the issuing of fraudulent commercial drivers licenses, that means there are truck drivers on the road who don't have the training needed to drive safely. "That's very scary," says Turner. "I hope that's not what's going on. But that's part of what the Department of Transportation's job is and part of the FBI's job. That's why they're here. So there must be problems." At the West Memphis Pilot truck stop, long-haul trucker Daimond Blackmon says inexperienced drivers give the trucking industry a bad name when it's already getting criticized. "I mean, this is real serious," says Blackmon. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, large trucks make up just 4-percent of all registered vehicles in the U.S. Yet big rigs are involved in 11-percent of all fatal crashes. And when a tractor trailer collides with a car, statistics provided by RoadSafeAmerica.org, say 98-percent of deaths occur in the car. That's why Daimond Blackmon says a poorly trained trucker doesn't belong on the road. "Oh, Lord no," says Blackmon. "With a fraudulent license you don't get to learn what it really takes to drive." Blackmon says the government should definitely put the brakes on phony CDL's. "I think the U.S. needs to come down on that and do something to prevent that from happening," says Blackmon. "Because if they don't, there's going to be a lot more accidents out here with truckers." Swift Transportation employs 21,000 drivers in more than 40 locations around the country. A company spokesperson says Swift is cooperating fully with law enforcement and that they have been advised Swift is not the target of the investigation. The raids were headed by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. Other agencies include the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the A-T-F, the United States Secret Service and federal immigration officials. |
| Posted by:lotp |
| #3 I heard last night on the radio that thousands of foreigners have received their pilot's license here in the US of A, even though the Patriot Act forbids it. Who the hell is watching the store ? |
| Posted by: wxjames 2008-02-28 10:38 |
| #2 Let me guess. Certain swarthy driving students who wanted to learn how to use the gas pedal but had no interest in braking? |
| Posted by: ed 2008-02-28 08:54 |
| #1 Other agencies include the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the A-T-F, the United States Secret Service and federal immigration officials.. Hm. I can't for the life of me figure out why immigration would be involved in this. No sirree-bob. I also can't figure out why this was only mentioned in passing at the very end of the article. |
| Posted by: gromky 2008-02-28 03:10 |