The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently launched its new human trafficking prevention campaign — “Your Roads, Their Freedom.” The agency seeks to give the nation’s 8.7 million commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers the information needed to identify and report suspected human trafficking.

Most in the trucking industry understand that human trafficking poses a threat to transportation safety. FMCSA is uniquely positioned to educate CMV drivers on ways to spot criminals perpetrating this crime. As such, it requires states and the District of Columbia to permanently ban drivers convicted of human trafficking from operating a CMV.

Globally, an estimated 28 million people are currently subjected to human trafficking, and the crime occurs in every state of the U.S. This new campaign will build on other federal efforts against human trafficking, including the Department of Homeland Security’s Blue Campaign and FMCSA grant programs that provide millions of dollars to support state counter-trafficking efforts.

Through the “Your Roads, Their Freedom” campaign and other federal agency efforts, the U.S. Department of Transportation aims to empower America’s transportation workforce to become the eyes and ears of a collective effort. FMCSA is making a variety of campaign materials available to help spread awareness:

  • Human trafficking indicator cards for frontline CMV workforce.
  • Awareness posters for display in rest areas, travel centers, bus stations, and other places where human trafficking may occur.
  • Social media content and a newsletter blurb that organizations can include in their internal and external communications.

Truckers made over 1,400 calls to the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline from December 2007 through June 2016, which helped to identify 452 potential human trafficking cases, according to FMCSA.

While the “Your Roads, Their Freedom” campaign will operate nationwide, states with the highest reported number of human trafficking cases or a high volume of driver traffic will receive heightened emphasis. These states include California, Florida, Michigan, New York, and North Carolina, among others.

For more information on the “Your Roads, Their Freedom” campaign, along with shareable resources, visit https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/stophumantrafficking.

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