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Tennessee truckers ensnared by Swift CDL issue can retake exam

Truckers affected by a suspension of many CDLs issued from a Swift Trucking facility have 90 days to retake the state exam in the Volunteer State.

Anyone affected by the 2009 suspension of CDLs by Tennessee must contact the Tennessee Department of Safety at one of the following locations: Knoxville at 865-594-6399; Chattanooga at 423-266-2128; Nashville at 615-532-9780; Memphis at 901-543-7920; Johnson City at 423-926-4911; Cookeville at 931-528-5669; Columbia at 931-380-2548; and Jackson at 731-423-6622.

In February 2008, the state-certified CDL testing center at a Swift Trucking facility near Memphis was raided by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, the U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general; Secret Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; U.S. Marshals; Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; and Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Tennessee Department of Safety.

Documents were seized, and the investigation reportedly centered on the illegal issuance of CDLs.

No prosecution related to the investigation, however, has been made public.

In January 2009, the Tennessee Department of Safety announced that drivers who obtained CDLs through one third-party tester in Tennessee between May 2005 and January 2008 might be required to do a complete retest.

A Freedom of Information Act request by Land Line later revealed the tester was Swift.

Tennessee’s move to yank the CDLs prompted other states to revoke CDLs from drivers who originally obtained their CDLs through Swift’s Tennessee school, and at least 5,000 drivers nationally were affected.

Philip Stephen Fuoco is an attorney who filed multiple class action suits related to drivers who had their CDLs invalidated because of Tennessee’s decision.

Fuoco said last week that the settlement with Tennessee follows previous cases that helped affected drivers in Georgia and Pennsylvania.

“The number of drivers who have gotten the right to retest through our lawsuits now approaches 1,600,” Fuoco told Land Line.

The 90-day window applies to “all current residents of Tennessee who were previously issued a Tennessee Commercial Driver’s License, based upon CDL tests administered by Swift Transportation between May 1, 2005, and Jan. 31, 2008, and who were sent a form notice by the Tennessee Department of Safety of the type attached hereto as Attachment A.”

A lawsuit against Swift over the CDL problem is still pending, Fuoco said.

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Related articles:
Swift was third-party tester in CDL debacle
ROAD BUZZ: Feds remain silent on raid of Swift driving school
FBI mum on raids in Memphis; Swift says it is not the target

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