CVSA Human Trafficking Awareness Week and What Your Drivers Need to Know
- Rob Carpenter
- 5 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Today through January 16, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is running its annual Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative across the United States. Law enforcement agencies are conducting outreach at truck stops and weigh stations. Motor carrier officers are handing out materials during roadside inspections. And your drivers are being asked to step up.
This is not just an awareness campaign. This is a compliance and safety issue that every fleet should be taking seriously.
The Numbers You Need to Know
Human trafficking has been reported to authorities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, on tribal lands and within U.S. territories. In 2023 alone, over 9,600 potential cases involving nearly 17,000 potential victims were reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 18,400 possible child sex trafficking reports that same year.
According to the Department of Transportation, 76 percent of surveyed human trafficking survivors used some mode of transportation during their exploitation. Traffickers use the same highways, rest stops and truck stops your drivers use every day.
This is a $150 billion global criminal enterprise operating in plain sight. And your drivers are in a unique position to help stop it.
Why This Matters for Your Fleet
Twelve states now mandate anti-trafficking training for entry-level CDL holders. Forty-eight states have adopted the Truckers Against Trafficking Iowa Motor Vehicle Enforcement model, which integrates trafficking awareness into commercial vehicle enforcement through weigh stations, ports of entry and safety compliance meetings.
Major carriers have already made TAT training mandatory. Werner Enterprises, C.R. England, Stevens Transport, Ryder and dozens of others require their drivers to complete this certification. The American Trucking Associations has partnered with TAT since 2012.
If your fleet does not have a human trafficking awareness component in your safety program, you are behind the curve. This is becoming a baseline expectation across the industry.
Truckers Against Trafficking: The Training Your Drivers Need
Truckers Against Trafficking was founded in 2009 with a simple insight: truck drivers are uniquely positioned to recognize and report human trafficking because they operate in the same spaces traffickers use.
Before TAT launched, the National Human Trafficking Hotline had received exactly three calls from truck drivers. Today, TAT has trained over 1.8 million transportation professionals. Those calls have led to the identification of more than 1,200 potential victims.
The training is free. TAT provides documentary-style training videos, 15 to 30 minutes long, for trucking operations. They provide wallet cards, window decals, hard hat stickers and employee-focused posters at no cost. There is no reason not to incorporate this into your driver onboarding and ongoing safety training.
When Drivers Made the Call: Real Cases
This training works. Here are real examples of drivers who recognized the signs and took action.
In January 2015, trucker Kevin Kimmel pulled into a Pilot station in New Kent County, Virginia and noticed an old RV with black curtains that did not look right. He watched a man approach the RV, knock, then enter. Moments later it began rocking. He spotted what appeared to be a young woman behind the curtain.
Kimmel called police. The woman inside was a 20-year-old sex trafficking victim who had been lured from her home in Iowa, held against her will and subjected to torture, sexual assault and forced prostitution. Her captors were sentenced to 40 and 42 years in prison. Without Kimmel's call, that woman might never have been found.
In Idaho, WinCo Foods driver Joe Aguayo spotted a trafficking victim during his regular route. The 27-year-old woman was nude, drugged, wounded, and her head had been shaved. Aguayo had received TAT training at a company safety meeting just months earlier. He knew what to do. The woman was rescued and received counseling. TAT honored Aguayo with its Harriet Tubman Award.
One trucker's single call led to the arrest and conviction of 31 traffickers, the release of nine people from the sex industry, and the takedown of an organized crime ring operating across 13 states.
This is what happens when drivers know what to look for.
Red Flags Your Drivers Should Recognize
The Department of Transportation and TAT have identified specific indicators for truck stop environments:
CB radio chatter about commercial company or flashing lights signaling buyer locations. A van or RV parked among semi-trucks that seems out of place. A vehicle dropping someone off at a truck and returning 15 to 20 minutes later. An individual going truck to truck or spending excessive time near showers and restrooms.
General indicators include a person who does not control their own identification or appears unaware of their whereabouts. Someone who will not speak for themselves or defers to a third party before answering questions. Visible signs of physical abuse, branding or tattoos that appear to be ownership marks. A minor unaccompanied at night who cannot explain who they are with. Clothing that is inappropriately sexual or wrong for the weather. Someone who gives scripted-sounding answers.
The Protocol: What Drivers Should Do
Make this crystal clear to your drivers: Do not approach or confront suspected traffickers. These are often violent criminals. Attempting to intervene puts drivers and potential victims at greater risk.
The protocol is simple. If someone appears to be in immediate danger, call 911. For situations that do not require emergency response, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888 or text HELP to 233733. The hotline operates 24/7 with support in more than 200 languages. All calls are confidential.
Drivers should document what they can without putting themselves at risk: vehicle descriptions, license plates, physical descriptions of individuals, location and time. This information helps law enforcement build cases.
Action Items for Your Fleet
Here is what you should be doing right now:
Add TAT training to your driver onboarding process. The training is free and takes 15 to 30 minutes.
Order free materials from TAT and CVSA. Wallet cards, posters and window decals are available at no cost.
Include human trafficking awareness in your safety meetings this month. January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
Post the National Human Trafficking Hotline number (888-373-7888) in your driver break rooms and on your internal communications.
Document your training for compliance purposes. As more states mandate this training, having records matters.
Human trafficking is happening on the highways your drivers travel every day. The trucking industry has trained nearly 2 million professionals to recognize the signs. Your fleet should be part of that effort.
This is not about heroics. It is about awareness and a phone call. Kevin Kimmel still drives a truck. Joe Aguayo continues his regular route. They did not do anything extraordinary. They paid attention and made a call.
That is the standard. Train your drivers. Give them the tools. Let them be part of the solution.
About Trucksafe Consulting, LLC: Trucksafe Consulting is a full-service DOT regulatory compliance consulting and training service. We help carriers develop, implement, and improve their safety programs, through personalized services, industry-leading training, and a library of educational content. Trucksafe also hosts a livestream podcast on its various social media channels called Trucksafe LIVE! to discuss hot-button issues impacting highway transportation. Trucksafe is owned and operated by Brandon Wiseman and Jerad Childress, transportation attorneys who've assisted some of the nation’s leading fleets to develop and maintain cutting-edge safety programs. You can learn more about Trucksafe online at www.trucksafe.com and by following Trucksafe on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Or subscribe to Trucksafe's newsletter for the latest highway transportation news & analysis. Also, be sure to check out eRegs, the first app-based digital version of the federal safety regulations aimed at helping carriers and drivers better understand and comply with the regulations.