Trucking news and briefs for Friday, Dec. 12, 2025:
Wilson Logistics requests extension of pre-CDL team-driving waiver
Wilson Logistics (CCJ Top 250, No. 185) is petitioning the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for an extension of a waiver that allows pre-CDL drivers, who have passed their skills test but yet to return to their home state to obtain their CDL, to operate without a CDL holder in the front seat, effectively allowing team operations with these drivers.
The company has held the exemption since Feb. 23, 2021, and it is set to expire Feb. 23, 2026.
As a registered training provider with FMCSA, Wilson Logistics administers the CDL test for prospective driver employees, which the company calls “pre-apprentices,” that have completed the company’s CDL training program. Since the initial granting of its exemption in 2021, the company has trained 1,381 prospective driver employees and successfully tested and approved 1,264, or 91.5%, of these individuals.
Wilson describes its program as a company-sponsored, hands-on, on-the-job, pre-apprentice CDL training program accessible only to Wilson Logistics prospective driver employees.
While participating in the driver training, the pre-apprentices are not employed by Wilson Logistics. Once pre-apprentices obtain their CDL, they receive an offer of employment from Wilson Logistics.
Once a Wilson pre-apprentice has passed the CDL test, a Wilson Logistics trainer accompanies the commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holder for their first 30,000 miles. For the first 10,000 miles, the trainer is in the front passenger seat of the CMV; during the remaining 20,000 miles, the trainer is in the truck, although not necessarily in the front seat of the vehicle. Trainers also accompany the CLP holders when they return to their state of domicile to receive their CDL after having passed the test.
Current regulations require that CLP holders always be accompanied by a valid CDL holder physically present in the front seat of the vehicle next to the CLP holder.
FMCSA will accept public comments on Wilson’s request here through Jan. 9.
Other fleets operate with similar waivers, including C.R. England, which first received the waiver in 2015.
Medical examiner indicted on bevy of charges, including falsifying DOT physicals
A grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington has indicted Anna Elperin, a former certified medical examiner through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, on numerous charges related to fraudulent Department of Transportation (DOT) physicals, among other allegations.
Elperin has been charged for conspiracy to defraud DOT; making a false writing or document; falsification of Federal records; conspiracy to dispense controlled substances; making false statements relating to health care matters; dispensing and distribution of controlled substances; and acquiring or obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, or deception.
According to court documents, Elperin was a licensed osteopathic physician residing and practicing medicine in Ellensburg, Washington, with a medical practice named Awake Health.
The indictment alleges that, between 2018 and 2022, when a patient came to Awake Health for a DOT physical, Elperin would charge $150 and “rarely, if ever, failed to approve an applicant who paid the required $150.” The indictment further alleges that Elperin and her co-conspirators “failed to conduct appropriate physical examinations in accordance with DOT regulations.”
Physicals at the business were allegedly often performed by office staff who were not approved medical examiners and often lacked appropriate medical training. Elperin and her co-conspirators “often failed to perform required parts of the examination, entered false and inaccurate information into required documentation, or certified as medically eligible applicants who had disqualifying medical conditions,” the indictment alleges.
The indictment alleges that Elperin “coached” CDL applicants who came to Awake Health to help them pass the exam, including allowing an applicant with high blood pressure to lie down in an exam room, “often in the dark,” for long periods of time -- “often hours,” the indictment alleges -- “with the goal of decreasing the individual’s blood pressure to a level” where the applicant would appear to be medically qualified.
Elperin used the scheme to “obtain future business from CDL applicants,” the indictment says, adding that applicants knew Elperin “would approve them for CDLs whether they were medically qualified or not, and she would approve them even if they had a disqualifying medical condition.”
Elperin also faces charges related to the alleged distribution of controlled substances for both her and her employees.
According to FMCSA’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners, Elperin was removed from the registry on Sept. 16, 2022.
NTTC names Driver of the Year finalists
The National Tank Truck Carriers group has named eight drivers as finalists for its 2025-2026 Professional Tank Truck Driver of the Year contest, sponsored by Great West Casualty Company.
The program recognizes the industry's most outstanding drivers, NTTC said. The competition celebrates the individuals who exemplify the highest standards of safety, professionalism, and service. Candidates are evaluated on their exceptional driving records, industry knowledge, and dedication to advancing the tank truck sector.
Through the contest, NTTC highlights the invaluable contributions of tank truck drivers and their role in delivering essential goods safely and efficiently across the nation.
The finalists for the 2025-2026 award are:
- Bruce Jones – G&D Trucking / Hoffman Transportation
- Jarrod Alsobrooks – SWTO
- Joseph Hafford – Kenan Advantage Group (CCJ Top 250, No. 17)
- Michael Key – Kenan Advantage Group
- Jorge Hernandez – Certified Express, Inc.
- Anthony Rocha – Foodliner (No. 70)
- Scott Tempus – Quest Liner
- Andrew Givens – ADM Trucking
From this group, one driver will be named Grand Champion during NTTC’s Annual Conference, held April 20-22, 2026, in Baltimore. The Grand Champion will serve as the face of the tank truck industry, representing NTTC at safety-focused events throughout the year and sharing the group’s mission of safety and education with the broader public.
