Illinois Trucker Warns of Unsafe Practices by Foreign-Owned Carriers

CHICAGO — An Illinois trucking company owner is warning that some foreign-owned carriers are falsifying electronic logging device records, misclassifying drivers and underreporting fleets, creating safety and legal risks on U.S. highways. Zach Meiborg of Meiborg Brothers Trucking in Rockford said companies from Eastern Europe are recruiting drivers on H-1B visas with limited training and pressuring them to exceed federal driving limits, sometimes logging 17 to 18 hours a day instead of the legal 11. He said underreporting fleets allows these firms to cut insurance costs while compliant companies subsidize the risk, and said lax enforcement by federal and state regulators compounds the problem. Meiborg described the practices as a threat to public safety and economic security, citing recent semi-truck crashes in Florida and Illinois as examples of the risks.