Arkansas Trucking Association

Truckers Fight Trafficking in Arkansas

On April 18, Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed into law a bill that will require truck drivers to complete training on recognizing the signs of human trafficking before obtaining their commercial drivers license. Arkansas is the first state to pass this kind of legislation.

With the support of the Arkansas Trucking Association, the bill was sponsored by Rep. Charlotte Douglas (R-75th) and co-sponsored by Sen. Linda Collins Smith (R-19th).

"The fact is that those places that [human traffickers] utilize to pimp or put out the young people are places that are frequented by truck drivers, and 95 percent of the truck drivers want to do the right thing," Shannon Newton, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association, said after a news conference at the state Capitol. "They want to help out. They want to know what to do if they see something that looks suspicious."

Once the law goes into effect later this year, the course will be administered by the Arkansas State Police or a state police-approved third party. Drivers can also complete an online certification course offered by Truckers Against Trafficking. Evidence of completion will be given to the state Department of Finance and Administration.

The free online course includes a 26-minute video and a 15-question quiz, said Kylla Lanier, deputy director of Truckers Against Trafficking, based in Englewood, Colo.

CDLs must be renewed every four years, but the training will only be required once.

Though Arkansas is the first state to pass this kind of legislation, Kansas,Texas, and Ohio are pursuing similar measures.

Truckers Against Trafficking partnered with ATA in 2015 and has encouraged its members to voluntary train employees to know the red flags of human trafficking and how to respond when they believe someone may be in danger.